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Attempting to use the car less for the occasional need to pop to the shops/pop into town.
I have a Salsa rack already but have never gotten around to getting a pannier (or two).
I wouldn’t imagine needing to carry a huge amount so a single pannier could do but I guess two feels more balanced?
Any recommendations for a decent bag or bags?
been using a set of these for 10+ years. perfect.
Look for second hand ones - they do come up barely used.
I've Thule ones and while they're a good few years of use in, I wouldn't buy them again. The mechanism isn't wearing well, so the bags can pop off occasionally, and they were not that great from day 1.
I use ortlieb back roller. They're very robust and waterproof (tested on many a commute this winter). Only thing I miss over a previous pannier I had was a smaller external pocket for keys / phone / lock to avoid opening the main bag
Had these 10+ years and still look in great condition
ORTLIEB CITY ROLLER REAR PANNIER SET
The mechanisms have worked flawlessly throughout
I have loaded them fully with tinned goods from supermarket and each time thought would this break the plastic clips, never has, nothing wrong and I am confident they will keep on working for another 10 years
One is fine for a small shop. My Ortlieb nicely swallows a single carrier bag. If I was putting together a shopping bike though I'd buy some Aldi specials or equivalent. Too worried about people stealing my panniers otherwise.
I’ve found one feels really unbalanced and annoying - that’s with a change of clothes / laptop in it. So I got a second one and spread the load and it’s much happier cycling then.
Ortlieb seem to be the gold standard but I went with some decathlon ones on offer - Elops 27L ones. So far they seem alright, but it’s early days yet.
Thanks Folks.
Probably daft question but … do people secure/lock their panniers when left on the bike?
Another vote for ortlieb from me.
They're waterproof, resilient and reliable.
If I were asking for the moon on a stick, I'd like a few more internal dividers. But it's not a massive issue.
I quite happily ride with 1 or both depending on what I need to carry. Never been an issue.
I'll leave an empty pannier on the bike. I suspect it's the contents that make it appealing to steal.
I normally only run one, and it feels okay like that to me.
Probably daft question but … do people secure/lock their panniers when left on the bike?
If im leaving them on the bike i use the carradry panniers i have as the are a right fiddle to get on and off.
Ortliebs come off so easily that its no hassle to take tbem with you. You can hook them onto a shopping trolley usually
I ended up getting the Ortlieb Gravel Pack (pair). 12.5 or 14.5l each (Ortlieb don't seem to be able to decide what the actual capacity is). Decent quality
https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/recommend-panniers/
Can’t go wrong with Ortlieb. Boring but true.
@letmetalktomark I took them off whenever I left the bike. Ortlieb come off easily anyway.
Having once left a bike for ten minutes with it’s rear light attached and it not being there when I came back, these days I take everything off the bike.
I have a set of large Axiom panniers for the town bike. I've added bolts, jubilee clips and many zip ties so they stay on the bike permanently. When I shop I carry regular shopping bags then just drop them in to the panniers. A Dutch frame lock with chain, and dynamo lights mean it's a pretty handy car replacement for anywhere in a few miles radius.
Ortlieb fan here, 25 years old and just scuffed a bit. I leave them on at the gym and shops, just zip tie each clip to avoid casual theft. I just bought another set of the fronts as they were in a sale. New ones have inside pockets which are nice.