I’m looking for a back pack for commuting.

Sometimes I need to carry an extra set of clothes, shoes and lunch.

Any suggestions?

Rack and panniers.

can you dump stuff at work? My shoes live at work on a semi permanent basis for example. Can you take in a weeks worth of clothing once a week? Do you intend to ride 5 days a week etc.

Presuming you can’t mount panniers….

An osprey talon or whichever other osprey pack suits the size you need

Aye, panniers of some sort. Any sort

Panniers. Body for enjoying cycling, bike for carrying stuff. have roll top ones from Lidl that are water-resistant, cost &12, and still better than a backpack. I learned bery early on in cycling (commuting and touring) that every pound of weight in a rucksack is a pound of pressure on the perineum and a pain in the neck for sweat. The whole experience is poor. Moving to panniers makes you feel as if you have a literal load off and can breathe and move properly once more.

Best pannier/s? Ortlieb make some expensive ones. You want some that don’t swing around. Most decemt panniers have seatstay straps/clamps.

Alpkit Love Mud Mool for a cheerful 700c/29er lightweight rack. Really depends on the weight you wish to carry. You can add a bar bag and carry a little less in panniers, ie lunch and drink etc in bar bag, clothes in pannier/s

I HATE riding with a backpack in, but, on occasions I do have to do it, I use this from Decathlon. It’s quite light, very airy on the back and doesn’t move much. Cheap too and there’s a 30l version for not much more as well.

Most of the time, I drop my stuff off at work the day before, so only need to carry a small back pack (5ltr one) for food.
Sometimes though, I get caught out, and need to take more stuff in.

At the moment, I use my road bike, which doesn’t have pannier capabilities.

Going with suggesting what I use;

http://www.carradice.co.uk/bags/saddle-packs-sqr-bags/super-c-sqr-slim

It’s ace and I’m very happy with it. Not exactly trendy but neither am I. FWIW I use it on a 21.7 mile commute to carry clothes and a packed lunch. Route involves unpaved sections and it seems very robust. Clips and unclips in seconds, it does affect the bikes balance but that’s only really noticeable when not riding.

Would any bike packing gear manage what you need? Frame bag might do?

At the moment, I use my road bike, which doesn’t have pannier capabilities.

Because I have more than one bike and use them all, I invested in some Freeload racks (company since bought by Thule and called ‘Pack and Pedal’, identical product) Highly recommended.

I typically use the sport deck on the forks (for tent, drybag, rolls etc) and a touring setup on the back for panniers. Can be a bit fiddly to release the straps when removing/switching bikes but they are super-versatile and just clamp on any frame or forks. I was a little dubious about using them in anger but they are top-notch and stay in place rock solid. Can’t remember what the rating is for weight but I’ve never bothered, they’ve handled full camping trips. Looking at getting an Alpkit Love Mud Mool for permanent-ish fitting on the ATB (below) so may be selling the rear Freeload setup soon 8)

decent review here

Rack and panniers.

+1

20 mile each way or round trip?

Each way I’d go for the Carradice SQR that piemonster recommended, in fact I did, and it’s great.

I’ve also got a 20l decathlon backpack that was about £6 that’s good, best backpack I’ve tried even though it was buttons.

Getting it off your back is great though especially on a long commute, gives you chance to quickly add or remove layers and your arse takes less of a pounding.

20 each way….

I reckon I might as well just look at getting a commuting bike with racks and panniers…

I’d fit a Topeal beam rack if you don’t need to take a laptop. Mine will just hold shoes, trousers and a shirt. It’s the bag with pockets, not fold down panniers. Shoes are always a pain and I keep a pair at work, with suit and a pair of jeans. I normally lug a laptop in my Deuter Race EXP, but panniers are great, but the Topeka system is very good and easy to remove quickly.

A rucksack is fine, as long as you don’t load it with heavy stuff: Osprey do some good ones. I use an Escapist 32, but they do a smaller version.

I’ve tried a few back packs and would recommend one that has a frame that creates an air gap, I use an osprey synchro 15 for my 12 mile each way commute and it’s excellent

Osprey Momentum 32 here

Clear opportunity for an N+1 gravel bike with mudguard and rack mounts.

I’ve been using an Alpkit Koala seatpost bikepacking bag. Then have a tapered dry bag that slides into it – so I can pack stuff in that then carry into work without resetting straps etc. I don’t carry a lot – lunch, shirt, socks and pants.

TBH, it’s OK…. but a QR seatpost rack would be better. It’s still a bit of a faff adjusting all the straps. It is light weight though and isn’t so annoying I’ve bothered getting anything else

I invested in some Freeload racks (company since bought by Thule and called ‘Pack and Pedal’, identical product) Highly recommended.

Having fitted more racks and panniers than I dare to think of, we fitted some of these to a test bike for the London Ambulance Service. Utter, utter, crap. Long winded, overcomplicated, and fiddly to fit and as soon as there was a decent load on them they moved down the stays, well, one side moved until it hit the disc mount, the other moved more, twisting the rack and pushing it into the tyre, wearing the sidewall through. I had them cranked down so tight I thought the straps would snap but it was pointless. They were binned in the end.
If I didn’t have proper mounts I’d use a QR mounted rack, so the QR takes the weight, then either use P clips up top or a seat collar rack adaptor

Peter Poddy

I had them cranked down so tight I thought the straps would snap but it was pointless. They were binned in the end.

I hope not literally, what a waste! As I say, they’ve worked used on the above (+ 3 MTBs and one utility bike for last 6 years) They shouldn’t require over-tightening as the oval rubber pad is designed to prevent them slipping.

For you to have repeated problems sounds like a poor setup. If you get the webbing strap in the wrong place (this is the fiddly bit for me, took a while to get it right first time) it can get between the oval rubber pad and your seatstay/fork, and then no amount of tightening will get it to stay. I suspect other wrong strap/rubber grip configurations would also compromise the fit..

If set up correctly and cinched firmly (not crazily) using the long ball-jointed hex-key I see no reason why you had the problem. The biggest problem I’ve had is getting them off, always seem to get the strap to wrap in on itself. When attempting fitting to the Vagabond I initially thought they were incompatible, even put them up for sale in a huff. A riding buddy (who is also good with puzzles!) intervened, had a bash and turned out they fitted perfectly.

Technique is definitely an issue with these, but I can’t surely have just gotten lucky with fitting/using succesfully to five different bikes?

I can’t surely have just gotten lucky

trouble-free for me too, including Camino de Santiago off-road. I’ve used it on a few bikes (that was the point of buying it) and it’s been fitted to suspension forks and even the rear triangle of a Yeti 575.

Bag-wise, I just use a pack. I get a sweaty back whether I wear one or not! Roll-top, double-lined so basically waterproof as on a wet day the last thing I want to find is my home-leg clothes sitting in a puddle of water at the bottom of the bag. Currently using a Bagaboo Jumbo (in small size), enough for clothes, shoes, books and a flask of veggie slop though I don’t often have to take all that and it’s a heavy pack when it’s empty.

I prefer the SQR bag to rack and panniers, I’ve tried both and I’m generally quicker with the carradice. It’s less affected by cross winds too and is really waterproof.

The only minor issue with it is you can’t mount ligts to the seatpost, which has meant I can’t use a cycliq fly on the back but other than that it’s great, and I’ve got 4 back lights on my bike at the mo

Carradice SQR Slim seconded (thirded whatever). Big enough to take a laptop, A4 binders, change of clothes, and emergency tools. Very quick to attach/detach from the bike and the part that remains on the bike is small enough that you won’t care about it when riding for non-commuting purposes.

Only word of caution: if it is for a road bike then check what your seatpost is made of. Probably not a good idea to subject carbon seatposts to heavy lateral loads!

As above a rucksack is fine as long as you keep the weight low. In spring/summer I carry a rucksack in to work on a Monday and take it home on the friday. In winter I carry it every say as I usually have additional kit, extra gloves, buff etc. There’s not much weight in it and I don’t find it an issue.

I also do 20 miles each way, welcome to the club 🙂

any of these panniers work well as a back pack for when off the bike?

I often cycle 12 miles or so then get the train the rest of the way.