I realise this had been done quite a bit recently but after reading the threads I am now more confused that ever.

My girlfriend would like pannier racks for her bike (Giant Yukon Women’s 16”) but it does not appear to have rack mounts as it has disk brakes. Previously she would just carry her stuff in a rucksack but she is now working between 2 offices in the city and has to carry a laptop and papers on top of the usual change of clothes, towel and lunch so is now finding a rucksack uncomfortable.
With a change of wheels her bike is used at the weekends off-road so a rack that could be removed fairly easily would be a bonus.

I have seen the Topeak racks that mount onto the seat tube which seems a reasonable option to me but don’t know if they are any good or how you connect panniers to them.
http://www.topeak.com/products/BeamRacks-MTX

The next question is what panniers to go for? I want something that is big enough to fit her laptop 15” (regular business size) but not too big that they will get in her way or more importantly that she cannot overload with stuff that will then exceed the 7-9Kg capacity of the rack.

Thanks again

Rusty

You can fit any rack to any bike – whats your budget? Tubus and Old man mountain make racks with various clever fitments and yo get seat clamps with upper rack mounts

Seatpost mounted ones are heavy and not so strong

Budget – £100ish for rack and panniers hopefully ❓

The Blackburn disc rack Rik linked to recently looks excellent, and with a rack-mount seat collar would come off very quickly I think.

Seatpost clamp-on ones offend the engineer in me! But NO doubt they work.

al

this rack?

http://www.cyclebasket.com/m5b0s144p2367/BLACKBURN_EX1_Disc_Compatible_Pannier_Rack_

and this clamp?

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/mpart-single-bolt-seat-post-clamp-with-rack-mount/

I think i just saw that budget fly strait out the window I did not realise how expensive they were.

yes, perfik.

Ok ta,

Any advice on pannier bags?

In Aberdeen so anything waterproof would be good

Edinburgh bike co-op have some, I think made for them by Vaude, so with a strong reputation.

I have an Ortlieb Office Pannier that I need to sell. It’s unlikely I’ll ever have a need for it again. It’s the slightly larger (21L) one of the two and I have the padded laptop insert to go with it. Interested?

I use these from Ortlieb, a little pricey but very nice. On a Blackburn rack (non-disc)

druidh, will keep it in mind. Ideally looking for something new as it is probably going to end up being a present.

druidh – Member

I have an Ortlieb Office Pannier that I need to sell. It’s unlikely I’ll ever have a need for it again. It’s the slightly larger (21L) one of the two and I have the padded laptop insert to go with it. Interested?

I might be, druidh. How much are you looking for? Can you send photos or a link to the specific pannier at a shop? e-mail in profile, but notify me on here if you do, please.

Forget the pics; I’ve just seen one. What colour is yours? I’m still interested, so price would be appreciated!

I have seen the Topeak racks that mount onto the seat tube which seems a reasonable option to me but don’t know if they are any good or how you connect panniers to them.
http://www.topeak.com/products/BeamRacks-MTX

Have you seen the Topeak Office Bag that goes with them? :

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut8uvElicZA[/video]

I looked at these a while ago and in the end I went for the Carradice SQR Slim instead:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/carradice-sqr-slim-bag-including-sqr-bracket/

Happily swallows my laptop, change of clothes and emergency tools.
Considerably cheaper than the other options and made in the UK.

If i go for panniers that sit over the wheel what will be easier for her, a single larger bag or a pair (hoping she would have the common sense to distribute the hevyer stuff between the 2)?

I’ve got a Carradice SQR rack with a saddlebag, moved to this after using panniers for a few years and I much prefer it as theres no rack on the bike now and the saddlebag can be removed in a few seconds.

Just got home, and looking forward to the possibility of a new pannier to make my life easier.

druidh?

😳

YGM

TPTcruiser – Member

Edinburgh bike co-op have some, I think made for them by Vaude, so with a strong reputation.

These really are very good.
Like Ortliebs, but cheaper.
Daughter has been using them daily for years – stupid value for money.

Rusty Mac – you mean a single bag that will hang over both sides? If she’s planning on carrying any kind of load then make sure you can balance it, a heavy load on just one side is a right pain.

tonyd

Cheers, answers my question perfectly. Was thinking a rack and a single bag may be an option but obviously not. Has also highlighted that she would need to pack the bags in such a way as to balence them.

The likes of the bags GrahamS posted the links for may be more appealing to her as there is less to worry about.

Going to try and talk her through some of the options tonight.

hows the wheel ?

hows the others coming along ?

Drop me a line if you want to go for a ride out some time.

get something very paddded for the laptop is all i can offer on top of above- my dells looking VERY battered after my collision with the car on monday night – i forgot it was in there till i got to a meeting on tuesday and pulled it out – all the surround of the screens is cracked and falling off in places … and the tops dented !

Wheel seems good, got may hard tail built up on Wednesday for the first time since November last year, but was in such a rush I put a tube in with a slow puncture on the new wheel so didn’t get too far.

Other two were finished of on Monday night, hoping to get out at some point at the weekend to try them out on some rougher terrain.

Rusty Mac

I’m selling my panniers + rack (only covered about 100 road miles in total… not even seen any rain!). I’m going back to a rucksack.

I’ll snap some pics tonight if you would like?

xiphon

if the rack fits a mountain bike with disk brakes i could be interested. My email is in my profile.

YGM 🙂

get something very paddded for the laptop

Good point – I have a thick (1/4 inch?) neoprene case for my Mac (which is pretty sturdy anyway) and it’s taken all manner of bouncing around OK.

The likes of the bags GrahamS posted the links for may be more appealing to her as there is less to worry about.

The Topeak one might be a good choice if she needs to look relatively smart. But it is pricey.

The Carradice one is a bit more rugged/basic, but holds more and does mean you have a useful bag for trips. It is has no compartments inside, just one big bag which is a good and bad thing: keeps it versatile, but needs careful packing. Also before you use it take a look inside and glue some old inner tube over the exposed screw head at the base so they don’t scratch up your laptop!

get something very paddded for the laptop

I usually just wrap my change of clothes around the laptop.

Doesn’t need to look too preofesional, maybe my original post was a little missleaing. She is not commuting between offices on a daily basis just working in one office 2 days a week and another 3 in different parts of the city so brings the laptop home most nights.

I usually just wrap my change of clothes around the laptop.

Me too to start with but decided a decent case was a worthwhile investment – a badly packed bag (morning rush) could mean it comes unwrapped. My commute used to go through some woods so lots of bouncing!