Pro and Cons of Panniers........

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Permalink Reply by Arrak Thumrs on March 3, 2010 at 5:23pm

One other note about my Ortlieb "Office Bag" that I like: The pannier hooks are mounted on an angle, so you can set it to clear your heel on shorter chainstay bikes. Looks a little unusual the first time you mount them, but I have come to see it as good design.

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Permalink Reply by Daniel Villarreal on March 3, 2010 at 6:55pm

I love them although it does add some weight to your bike. I am a huge fan of the topeak system. They have great bags that fit perfectly on your rack and have panniers that can be tucked away in the side when they are not being used.

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Permalink Reply by rik on March 5, 2010 at 8:00pm

Instead of panniers consider this neat pull trailer that doubles as hand cart

http://www.andersen-shopper.de/english/rop.php

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Permalink Reply by Liz W. Durham on March 5, 2010 at 9:05pm

Panniers are great! There are a number of good ones out there. I agree with someone else that Arkel (if you can afford them) are top of the line. 2 years of daily commuting followed by ongoing intermittent use and my bag still looks practically new. No stitching, no mending, no zipper problems. You can look on ebay for them at a lower price.

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Permalink Reply by spacemodular on March 5, 2010 at 11:10pm

For massive urban cargo carrying - I use a mountain mixte bike with front and rear racks and coke crates. This is an early example of a West Town Bike style commuter/cargo bike. I can carry about 8 paper grocery bags with this and bungee nets.

This is a picture after I originally put it together with my brother Alex:

Pros: Carry's a lot, easy to load, built like a tank.

Cons: Slower, built like a tank. If I need a faster ride - I ride a different bike - this is a cargo bike!

I wore out/destroyed the wheel set pictured - but the bike still works great. Getting ready to put the 4th wheel set on it. Many of the parts are original - everything except the wheels, seat, grips and brake pads and drive train.

Nobody makes a bike this tough anymore short of a custom frame set.

Nick

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on March 6, 2010 at 6:41am

4th wheel set, eh? I can relate. What kind of wheels are you using? I've had great luck with these Mavics (first picture at top). They've lasted longer than others I've had, in spite of lots of south side riding (= many RR crossings).

I've accumulated a few different panniers over the rest. My all-around favorite is the Jandd grocery bag pannier. It's great for shopping and general errands. If I need waterproofing for what's in the pannier, I use plastic bags. If I need to carry the bike upstairs (onto Metra train, in/out of CTA stations, into a building, etc.), i pop it off the rack and use the shoulder strap to carry the pannier on one side and the bike on the other.

I've used this bag often for years, and it's still going. When the corners got torn, I got some adhesive ripstop patch material from REI and patched the corners. Still going. For all-purpose carrying, this one is a lot of bang for the buck.

spacemodular said:

For massive urban cargo carrying - I use a mountain mixte bike with front and rear racks and coke crates. This is an early example of a West Town Bike style commuter/cargo bike. I can carry about 8 paper grocery bags with this and bungee nets.

This is a picture after I originally put it together with my brother Alex:

Pros: Carry's a lot, easy to load, built like a tank.

Cons: Slower, built like a tank. If I need a faster ride - I ride a different bike - this is a cargo bike!

I wore out/destroyed the wheel set pictured - but the bike still works great. Getting ready to put the 4th wheel set on it. Many of the parts are original - everything except the wheels, seat, grips and brake pads and drive train.

Nobody makes a bike this tough anymore short of a custom frame set.

Nick

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