Thinking of getting my mum a nice stylish bag to go on her new hybrid. What are Basil bags like in terms of usefulness, build quality, etc? Do they all mount on a pannier rack?

I was thinking of something like this, which looks ideal for tootling to the shops:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=38886

i asked this question just the other day – http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/basil-sports-double-pannier

nobody answered about the basils, but i settled on the ortlieb in the end. helpful, eh? 🙂

They’really rather good acutally- a nice balance of style and function. They’re hardwearing and well thought out.

I don’t think you can go far wrong with Ortliebs as a pannier to be honest (except the lack of internal pockets is a bit irksome). I’m just thinking of soemthing a bit different, and dare I say a touch more quirky than all the black and grey polyester bizniz that seems to prevail in this country.

well the basils are definitely a good price on CRC and i did look into them a bit and the company gets positive feedback, though i couldn’t find anything specifically about those ones.

Found a review here by the way:

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/accessories/luggage/cycling-bags-and-cases/panniers-front-and-back/product/pannier-mirte-shopper-19096

oh yeah, saw some reviews of those, not the ones i was after! that pattern would look most fetching on my bike, but they’re not quite large enough!

If you want guaranteed dryness, then you can’t go past Ortliebs, the white ones are ace!

I’ve seen a few of those Basil bags in use around London and they look nice. I suspect (although am happy to be proved worng) that your Mum won’t be out riding in rubbish weather so these are probably a good, fun alternative which are more likely to be used if they judged to be stylish as well as practical.