General Cycling Discussion - Why are they called Panniers?

How did they get the name Panniers? Why not Saddle Bags?

I do not know but if I had to guess it is not an English word.

My wife teaches French.. Think she said it means like shopping bag or sack... So, of course it is a French word....

a pannier is a basket. originally, bikes were fitted with baskets where we now have bags. some people are amazed to find out that many cycling innovations -- including the bicycle itself -- ocured in europe and were consequently named in european languages.

why a derailleur and not a gear changer?

Yup, pannier is a French word meaning basket, specifically a breadbasket. Interestingly enough, the word has bled over into the equestrian world where some horse saddlebags are now called "panniers."

Regular guy.. I Like Tom Petty. Great choice... Velocepido..One of the French's greatest invention to the cycling world.. I noticed on bikes in France... A carrier designed for wine bottles.. A bike ride with a little wine and cheese- life does not get much better. And very French.. Once when touring the Santa Barbara wine district- bought a bottle of red wine at favorite local vintner..
Well, the story... The owner did not want to see us the awesome Merlot.. Been braging to my cycling compatriots how awesome this Merlot is.. They ended up agreeing. Slept great that night..Can you imagine a vintner not wanting to sell us a bottle of wine! Have to commend them for that !
Anyway- the vintner was emphatic- riding with a fine bottle of red wine on this bumpy wine road would destroy the Tannin.. In spite of her insistance- we bought it.. It was great, when we got to camp.. My cycling friends would not mind repeating this bike tour, just to pick up a couple of these Merlots... Actually, I think placing my wine in the panniers' with towels packed about the bottle worked better than this French wine holder attached to the down tube...

In the equestrian era panniers were baskets slung on either side of packhorses and mules for carrying bulk loads. Saddle bags were attached to the back of a rider's saddle for carrying his personal gear, they were much smaller than panniers.

Why not Saddle Bags?

hahhaa... doesn't that just remind you of an old haggy-lady on a Harley? :D

Anyway..... they just did... considering most of our bicycle terms are from Europe....

"the boot and the bonnet"


hehe.

pannier is a French word meaning basket, specifically a breadbasket.
Indeed. And nothing strikes me as more quintessentially French than the people you see everywhere, especially on Sunday mornings, carrying their baguettes around in their panneirs. They often have enough for several families in there. And some of the baguettes are so large that they create a traffic hazard as they hang over the car lanes or sidewalks. :)

Cheers...Gary

Originally posted by cyclezealot
I noticed on bikes in France... A carrier designed for wine bottles..

Therefore, if the 'bread' versions are called 'Panniers', then the wine versions should be called "Vinniers"

Are they designed for a single bottle on one side and the cheese on the other (therfore a 'fromagier') ? Or do they come equipped for 3 bottles a side ?

Originally posted by cyclezealot
Regular guy.. I Like Tom Petty. Great choice... Velocepido..One of the French's greatest invention to the cycling world.. I noticed on bikes in France... A carrier designed for wine bottles.. A bike ride with a little wine and cheese- life does not get much better. And very French.. Once when touring the Santa Barbara wine district- bought a bottle of red wine at favorite local vintner..
Well, the story... The owner did not want to see us the awesome Merlot.. Been braging to my cycling compatriots how awesome this Merlot is.. They ended up agreeing. Slept great that night..Can you imagine a vintner not wanting to sell us a bottle of wine! Have to commend them for that !
Anyway- the vintner was emphatic- riding with a fine bottle of red wine on this bumpy wine road would destroy the Tannin.. In spite of her insistance- we bought it.. It was great, when we got to camp.. My cycling friends would not mind repeating this bike tour, just to pick up a couple of these Merlots... Actually, I think placing my wine in the panniers' with towels packed about the bottle worked better than this French wine holder attached to the down tube...

Thanks for the story.... lol.... it's soooo "French"!!!!

Seems to me an Italian company like Campagnolo would have a hard time calling their product a French word like derailleur:confused: :D

How do you pronounce pannier?

I've heard it pan-e-er and pan-e-yay.

Those of us who are lucky enough to own an Oxford dictionary know that pannier comes from the latin panarium or bread basket. In middle English they were baskets carried on either side of a beast of burden (based on the French panier).

All I know is when the clerk at the bakery asks if I want a bag for my baguette and I say no, I'll put it in my pannier, I get a blank stare. I've also broken more than one with my leg when I mount the bike.

I've heard it pan-e-er and pan-e-yay

This gets into an area of curious interest for me.

In French, the latter is much closer. The former is almost the phonetic pronounciation, which seems to be all the rage. OK, as long as you pronounce all foreign words using that method. But people pick and choose, and pronounce some using each method. I prefer to use the native form - after all, it is their word.

BTW, I have thought for a long time that our attempts at phonetics to teach spelling is the primary cause of many (many too many) people these days spelling the word lose (as in misplace) the wrong way through the addition of an extra o (as in not tight). Has anyone seen any research on this?

Cheers...Gary

Delirou5--- Notice I did not give a plug to our favorite Southern California vintner. We are very loyal to that vintner and depend upon them for our Christmas Reds.. They don't distribute through any liquor/grocery chains. Only internet or in person... My cycling companions loved the wine.. They did not take my 120 miles of bragging seriously before cycling up to this vintner.. They concurred..
Only night we did not have wine on our Central Coast wine/bike tour was one night at a park in Big Sur and we had ale with our British neighbors biking along our route and staying in the state park's Bike and Camp section reserved for cyclists.
Anyway, our favorite California vintner south of Napa is in the Santa Barbara wine district on the north end of Foxen Canyon Rd( scores of Vintners, there ) and adjacent a historic church which the vintner prints its' silhoutte on the label..It has taken a lot of experimentation to make that determination..
Wine goes great with cycling/camping. Surest way to sleep should the night be chilly..
Cycle touring is great. Look at the map, where you rode and you usually can recall a story for that location...Sometimes not always good, however......
ps- I had to brag, because it was a little out of the way to make a east swing about this vintner... The added miles needed encouragement to get up a couple hills en route..

Pan - French for bread from panis, Latin for bread and, as Stoklee pointed out, panarium is Latin for a bread basket, usually referring to large baskets carried on the backs of animals or the shoulders of people. Can't you just picture donkeys or people making their way through the ranks of the legions with large baskets delivering the day's bread ration.

The French pronunciation is pan-yay, just two syllables.