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My school bag always weighs a lot and I do not want to have a scoliosis or other back problems. My shoulders hurt every day and it is very tiring to ride my bike with the heavy load on my back.

How can I manage my school notebooks, papers and materials so that I make a considerable difference in the weight of my bag?

Help would be very much appreciated by me (and by my back ;)).

P.S. This problem is very recurring with kids, so I don't see the reason to vote down

Thanks for your advice

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  • Is it a backpack type or a handbag type? If the last having two equal weight bags will make it very much easier to carry.
    – user22753
    Nov 6, 2017 at 9:58

6 Answers 6

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If possible with your bike, get a pannier rack or pannier and put your stuff in/on there.

If you have the rack without pannier, then a couple of bungees from the seat post to the back of the rack should allow you to put a rucksack between them, with the straps looped in opposite directions over the seat post.

Its not comfortable carrying weight on your bent back when riding, and as a side benefit, carrying the weight lower down on your bike makes it a lot more responsive.

I guess thats not a direct response to your question, but could help if combined with any other suggestions.

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  • I rode a bicycle (racing type) with a backpack for years when I was in high school. I'd rather carry a reasonable load that way than on the bike -- with a belly strap on the pack and the shoulder straps tight, it moves with me, so it's like not having it at all relative to the way the bike handles.
    – Zeiss Ikon
    Nov 13, 2017 at 13:59
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Something that might help, is not bringing one diferent notebook for each lesson you have. Just bring some loose papers, 10-20 for the day, and when you are back home you can have different folders for each subject.

Main point is, you don't need one heavy notebook for each lesson, when you will only use like 10 papers / day.

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  • Agree, i use binder notebooks before, but stubborn teachers will require separate notebooks per subject. LOL
    – Jem Eripol
    Nov 3, 2017 at 7:37
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    At school and Uni I had just the one binder with a divider for each subject. then I only took as much material as I might need on that day, and some spare sheets. This not only keeps you pack lighter, it forces you to get out the binder at home and look at what you did today, and tomorrow it forces you to think about what's happening next.
    – RedSonja
    Nov 6, 2017 at 9:55
  • It would be great for studying because you could copy what is on the paper neatly into your exercise book each afternoon. I remember one day where I just wore a jacket with a massive pocket inside to school and did this, mainly because I had left my bag at home.
    – user30646
    Nov 10, 2017 at 2:31
  • At university, most days I would just bring a folder with 10 blank sheets and 1 pen, that's all you need. I understand though, that for school you need books
    – Mario Garcia
    Nov 10, 2017 at 7:17
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The subjects you are taking have a course description.

This will allow you to know beforehand what you would be discussing/learning each day/lesson.

Copying the pages of the chapter or the part discussed, you wouldn't have to carry the whole textbook every day, but only the required parts.

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Many kids at the school I work in use backpacks with wheel systems built in, so they rarely ever carry their backpacks on their backs. https://www.amazon.com/Rolling-School-Backpack-Wheels-RED/dp/B0071CT6IC . I also have one for adults that I use for traveling. If you don't have access to that, try creating a wheel system yourself.

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  • This may be possible if you get to school with a public transports, but on a bike this is no solution.
    – Martin H.
    Nov 13, 2017 at 16:40
  • If you have a rack on your bike you can tie this kind of bags to the bike. Some even come with clip-on hooks to attach it to a bike rack.
    – Willeke
    Nov 13, 2017 at 19:44
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One way you could reduce the number of notebooks is to digitize your notes. Something I have personally found useful is the Rocketbook. It's simple.

Let's say you've written an essay in the notebook. You can scan the pages using the Rocketbook mobile app to a destination which includes Google Drive, Evernote, Dropbox, OneDrive, OneNote, Slack, Box, iCloud, iMessage, or Email. Once the pages have reached their destination, it will be archived. The best part is that you can erase what you've written with a damp cloth, making the notebook completely reusable.

Source: This is a link to their website: https://getrocketbook.com/

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I saw some students cut theirs book in half. If it contains more than one semester you can divide it into two books

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  • 1
    That only works if your parents and teachers agree. Where I live you have to hand in your books at the end of the year. When I was in school your parents used to try to sell those books you were done with. Neither would have worked with 'halved' books.
    – Willeke
    Nov 18, 2017 at 21:06

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