Right, been commuting to my current office for a while no problems as I’ve got an office where I dump all my stuff and can leave things like my lap top overnight.

Im now faced with a cahnge of office and a move to hot desking so wont be able to leave anything at work and will have to drag my laptop around with me.

This means that I’m going to have to bring lap top, clothes and everthing else I need for the day in with me if I commute.

I know I’ll get everything in a set of panniers but dont really like the idea of them.

What are other people using? Was thinking of a suitable bike orientated backpack to meet my needs??

Any ideas?

How far? A couple of miles rucksac for convenience, a good few miles panniers for greater comfort and efficiency

I hear what you’re saying (I’m not a pannier fan either), but panniers will be the way to go – to carry all that kit around, both ways, everyday, will (quite literally) be a pain in the ar$e!

It’s only a 8 mile commute but I often get a longer training ride in on the way home, sounds like my worst fear have been realised…..panniers

Have a look at the Carradice saddlebags, I use a Nelson with the SQR Seatpost attachment, comes off and on in seconds, 15 litre capacity, lifetime warranty etc.
I think you would want to get one of the larger ones maybe the Super C if you are taking a laptop in.

Interested to hear why you’re against panniers. I love them, but then I hate anything on my back. Isn’t there anywhere to store stuff at work? Even leaving shoes there will reduce the load a bit.

You can get panniers specially designed for commuting – to take a laptop, files etc. Carradice make one, I expect there are others.

Just ordered an Osprey Momentum as I’ve started to carry my laptop a bit more and the old rucksack’s getting a bit long in the tooth. It has a dedicated laptop space which is held away from the back so looks a bit more comfy. I too am not that keen on panniers, and commute on the road bike most of the time.

Even though I hot desk, I seem to find somewhere to stash a few bits – shoes and towel as a minimum, and laptop if in the office on consecutive days.

+1 on Carradice, I’ve been using their bike bureau for a year now through some torrential downpours. Cotton duck material has kept everything out.

I has a suspended laptop compartment so it reduces some of the thumps and bumps transmitted by the rear of the bike hitting the potholes etc., and can take a surprising amount of stuff. Mounts at an angle so reduces risk of heel strike (not an issue for me I have tiny weeny feet!) and pops on/off the rack real easy. Way comfier than a rucksack with a heavy laptop on board.

Craig.

Liking the look of the Osprey Pack.

Im not a fan of panniers as Im not keen on having the weight associated with them upsetting the handling of the bike.

The bike I communte on also serves as my training road bike and I’m unlikely to do any touring so dont want to be taking a rack on and off all the time.

My commute is 10 miles and I use panniers as I need to carry daily kit. I use the extra weight and a longer route home as a training ride working on the basis that a heavier bike is harder to cycle 😆 Been using panniers on and off for 6 years and have no issues at all with them. I did used to use a seat post mounted rack which you could take on and off in second with the panniers attached but now have a dedicated commuter.

I tried panniers for ages but didn’t get on with them. I guess that, as a lardcore mountain biker, I’m used to the weight on my back. As a %-age of that weight it isn’t much on me but feels loads on the bike. I was lucky enough to get an Ortlieb waterproof messenger bag for less than half price on E Bay – a great bag that is far more use than I thought it would be.

Mounts at an angle so reduces risk of heel strike

I always wondered why I’d see the odd pannier at a wierd angle, I just assumed they were a numpty 😀

I spent a year doing a round trip 30 mile commute carrying laptop, clothes and washbag in a Deuter rucsac – some of them have suspended / ventilated backs which means you can comfortably carry the load and don’t get too sweaty. An integrated rain cover keeps things nice and dry in the worst weather… highly recommended.

How do laptops cope with the vibrations of being on a bike rack?

I know my dad killed a laptop a while ago which he used to carry to work every day.

Cheers, Rich

Not had a problem with my carradice, but as I said, it has a suspension system to reduce the knocks – I think generally most panniers would transmit a fair bit of shock through to any on board laptop (I know soft fruit never survives too well!)

Previous to that I used to use an Edinburgh Co-op backpack which was fine, but I had an ultralight tiny laptop in those days, now I have a brute to carry and I don’t think I’d like that on my back for too long.

Weeble, best thing to do is take your average daily load to the shop and see if it works okay in the bag of choice, load up and wonder round the shop for a bit, everyone is different and what suits me will never probably suit you sir!

Hope you get something you can be happy with, I hate carrying shoes to work, don’t really know why! hot desking sucks if you can’t get any sort of locker to store stuff in.

Craig

I cycle with my laptop in the front bag on my brompton, its been fine so far (it has SSD not HDD so possibly a bit more robust).
Certainly in this weather I resist the opportunity to carry anything on my back.

Just as an update.

I’ve ordered an Osprey Momentum 34 pack as recommended by buffalobill, this seem to tick alll the boxes. My intention is to fill it up with all my kit when it arrives. If it doesnt work I’ll send it back and look at the panniers option.

I did 7 years carrying laptop and clothes in a rucksack. This year my commute got a bit longer so I switched to panniers.

The change of handling took a while to get used to it, but now I’d be pushed to notice it and I certainly wouldn’t go back.

I can easily get everything I need daily in one pannier, and the option of using the second if I’ve got other stuff to move is very handy. I often ran out of capacity with my rucksack, and if I carried anything more than my usual stuff it got unpleasantly heavy.

I also find it easier to pedal out of the saddle, and your shoulders get wet when it’s raining.

I also have a theory that you can stop more quickly, as the load is carried lower down, so it takes more force to lift the back wheel.