Panniers setup for bike with rack mounts

I’ve got a 29er Inbred with frame rack mounts. It’s my parts bin doitall SS pub shopper, so I don’t need anything shmancy, but I was thinking of adding panniers so I can do a midweek shop on it. I’m a newbie when it comes to the world of panniers. What rack and panniers would you advise for my (basic) needs?

Is everything you’re going to buy waterproof? e.g. flour

If not, Ortlieb are good (the cheesiest Ortlieb of the right size is probably the way to go.

Racks – plenty of good ones out there. I like Topeak, but others like other brands.

On a 26 inbred I needed to use a rack designed to fit around the disc brake fitted on the top of the seatstay. I went for a Blackburn local rack which had the offset built in to the feet at the bottom of the legs. My original rack with straight legs clashed with the brake.

We got a couple of Topeak Explorer disc compatible racks, one’s on the tandem and the other’s on the e-kitted Marino that is used for heavy/bulky shops. The panniers came from Lidl a few years ago and barring a repair to one of the seams they’ve been fine. OH converted them so they’re a snap fit onto the rack (no faffing with velcro straps!)

Fill your boots with something appropriate to your needs. You don’t need to pay the Ortlieb tax to go shopping (or even cycle round the world). Have a look at Decathlon, for example. Having finished off some Ortliebs a few years back, I bought some second hand Boardman panniers off here for shopping duties when Covid hit, and they’re fine (but no longer available, it seems). Carradice are worth a look.

I have one Trek and one Topeak. Both 10+ years old and both still working.

Ortileb are good, but do look at things like Decathlon own brand or Alpkit bags.

I find a couple of hooked bungee’s on the rack is great for shopping – from beer to baguette…

I like the Topeak Super Tourist rack as it takes a rack pack that slides on and locks into place without needing velcro all over the place.

I’d opt for something with serious side framing.  Rear end corner of panniers can drift inwards towards the spokes and can rub/catch, so something that supports the whole thing is better in the long run.

Found this out on the thule pack and pedal rack for suss frames. Meant another £35 on top of the cost of the rack for the add on frames.

sorry for a bit of a thread hi-jack, but i have a cannondale topstone gravel bike, purchased a couple of years ago. Its this model:

https://www.hargrovescycles.co.uk/bikes/road-bikes/2020-cannondale-topstone-105-mens-gravel-bike-in-grey__31270

It has bosses for what i assume is mud guards or pannier racks.

Having never purchased or fitted panniers before, are they fairly universal and will/should fit with the available bosses on my Topstone? As i want to use the bike to commute with in the near future, it would be nice use a pannier rather than have a bag on my back.

Again, apologies to the OP for the hi-jack, seemed more sensible than starting a new thread!

I’ve been using massive Bikehut ones for the weekly shop since 2007/8. Still using them. They have concealed raincovers if it gets squally. Have rarely needed the raincovers tbh they still look like new. Panniers have fared well also. I like that I can just dump a massive shopping bag or two in there and be off. Extra roomy side- pockets for more shite if you forget something/see beer.

Pictured here in 2012 (L) and recently (R)

For smaller runs (such as local eggs, chores, chips, bakers, etc) I keep a 10L rackpack with handy drop-down panniers.

Big panniers like a long chainstay to keep your heels away or a rack that does likewise.

Forgot to say the Bikehut ones have sturdy plastic/viny loop/handles on the top also. Greet for heaving a 10+kg bag into the kitchen with minimal fuss. I’d normally be lost without them but just invested in a single-wheel trailer which has a huge dry-bag to dump stuff wholesale. I’d fully recommend that route also (even better I get the centre-kickstand sorted for it)

The other night I used the trailer to collect a full-sized upright vacuum cleaner, shopping and a bag of chips, 10 mile round trip and didn’t really notice it except for the last climb but it was still easier than panniers.

That Cannondale up there ^^^ should fit a rack no probs. We have 2 or 3 Tortec ones on bikes here. The ultralight one on my old audax style bike that I use for commuting is great but if using bigger panniers then it’s preferable to have a larger side frame rather a simple V shape to prevent the bottom of a large pannier flapping into the wheel when you’ve been to Tesco and packed awkwardly or are carrying them empty on a windy day. The Tortec tour rack that is on my wife’s bike reduces this issue.
Topeak and Blackburn (I have an MTN1 on my hack bike) racks are also reliable and solid.
The other advantage of shopping by bike is that parking is so much less hassle and often right by the door of the Supermarket.

Ortlieb front rollers here (used on the back – they are a little smaller than the rears). Used them for years on the fixed gear commuter, and now back in use commuting along a muddy canal. They are fast to close, and tough as mine have survived a fair few crashes (cars hitting me).

Tortech racks are pretty well designed, durable and cheap. They have disk versions with the spaced out legs and normal ones of a similar design.

I like the topeak ones with the mount for the slide-on top bag.
I’ve got a 29er disc compatible one, that I’ll advertise in the classifieds.

As for panniers, they fall into two camps;

a) The ones that are basically two panniers, connected by a piece of fabric that hangs over the top of the rear rack.

b) The kinds that clip onto the rear rack.

There’s cheap ones with non-replaceable clips. When these clips snap, you’ve got an awkward load to carry in your hands (as well as the bike!).

Then there’s ortlieb, carradice, altura, vaude, etc, with the replaceable mounts. These are the best option if you’re carrying anything heavy.

Id also make sure that any pannier has a strong back plate. This prevents it from deforming and swinging into the spokes.

Fwiw, if the load was really heavy, I found it useful to only attach the panniers with the two mounts at the top. I’d remove the lower mount, allowing the pannier to remain perpendicular to the ground, even if the bike was banked into a turn.

I can’t condone this, but I never encountered any problems.

the topeak setup has options for a little cargo basket, which works really well and carries bulkier items better than a normal pannier. You can slide/click one of their panniers on in seconds, I guess a non-MTX would fit their rack the same as any other rack. Can also take a kids seat

https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Topeak-TrolleyTote-Folding-MTX-Rear-Basket_34468.htm

https://www.wiggle.co.uk/topeak-mtx-rear-basket-wfixer-6

Racks, I’ve used topeak (great), cheapy no name (good), surly (great,but weighs a flippin ton), cube rfr (excellent, only one available for the bike it’s on) and blackburn (poor and expensive).
Panniers, i have 2 sets, ortleib back rollers (excellent) and some altura ones (excellent)
My mate has ortleibs on the rear and aldi ones on the front, the aldi ones randomly just snapped off on one side while riding along a tarmac cycle path, so I doubt id buy those tbh.
Good kit lasts for decades, but it doesn’t always have to be expensive.