Commuting - Pannier show down

I like the nashbar panniers because of the size of them, and the price do the arkel side straps acually warrent the higher price


Nashbar Pannier (http://www.nashbar.com/profile_moreimages.cfm?category=66&subcategory=1004&sku=6997&brand=)


http://www.nashbar.com/nashbar_photos/medium/NA-WPR2.gif


Arkel (http://www.arkel-od.com/panniers/utility/overview.asp?fl=1&site=)


http://www.arkel-od.com/panniers/utility/images/utility_B.gif

What do you guys and gurls thinks?

I dig Carradice bags myself.

I run a pair of these:
Super C universal/ front panniers
http://www.carradice.co.uk/product-pictures/super-c-fr-panniers.jpg
* 28 litre capacity per pair,
* Can be used on the rear when the larger capacity rear pannier is not needed,
* Large outside pocket,
* Carradice C-system pannier fittings for quick and secure fitting,
* Heavy duty black cotton duck,
* Hi-viz reflectives front and rear.

Whatever you get be sure the bags have really stiff backs so they don't sway in to your spokes. Cheaper bags usually have flimsy backs.

I like the carradice they look cool I liked th arkels because O saw them in the store an they were reall stiff and had compression I will look at the carradice I like how thick the material

I use the Bug from Arkel as well as a tailrider. never will buy anything but Arkel. never had a problem and they survive abuse. All kinds of abuse...

I've used the nashbar one for about 3 years now. Only issue is the bungee hook that holds the bag down onto the rack no longer really works. But, elastic straps out in the rain and such for 3 years, what can ya do. So I just use one extra bungee to keep it down and out of the spokes. Suppose I could just switch to the 2nd bag (I only ever use one) and have a brand new one to work with.

Arkel stands by their products. Their customer service and warentee is the best I've seen.....in ANY business. It breaks and they fix it, no questions asked.

I even managed to poke a hole in the bottom of my Bug (no small feat), it was my fault, and they STILL sent me material to repair it for free. Keep in mind that I live in Latvia. Arkel rocks.

Poking a hole in the bottom of one of my Carradice bags I think would take some effort I'd say. I can't speak to Carradice's customer service...never had to use it. The back of the Carradice don't use bungees to stabalize the bottoms,they use a hard plastic hook that adjusts along an aluminum rail (which also provides back stiffness). And the locking clamps of the Super C series bags keep the bags on the rack, and unless anyone really knows Carradice bags, makes them more difficult to steal.

I'm an Arkel person too. I had a problem with the stitching on a tailrider and they replaced it after 2 years. I can say that I abused the bag by stuffing it daily to the bursting point. The zippers and rest of the bag held up great. The little mesh pockets on the inside had the stitching come loose. They stand by their products. The Bug may be the best invention ever.

The hook and elastic style of mounting is pretty obscelete these days. Modern systems have a QR locking system at the top and an anti-sway hook that slots behind the rack stays. You dont have to mess around inserting hooks into holes. That may sound trivial but if you attach your pannier 4 times/day it soon mounts up and messing around in the cold, wet, dark should be minimised where possible.
Ortleib and Rixen & Kaul style mountings are good.

awesome thank you for the help

I noticed that the Nashbar bags are WAY cheaper than the other bags listed - not that I'm a cheapo or anything, but why are the other bags like twice as pricey? I guess more importantly, will the Nashbar bag "wear out" after a year of moderate use? Or do the features on the others really warrant the extra cost?

I saw the carradice bags and gilles berthound? and they were hella pricey I think I am going to go with arkel because people say they have good customer service and the stiffness is crucial. I looked at the other panniers on the arkel site such as the bug they are also spendy as well

myself..I use the transit grocery paniers, and then put in my own napaskcs of diffrent sorts for diffrent purposes..these are very good quailty, and no matter how hard I have rode they stay on, and go on and oof with in 15 seconds!

Nashar will be the least expensive by far and if you don't use them much will probably be fine.

I have an a couple of Arkel bags, the tailrider, which I use, and the utility basket which I don't use much anymore. I found the whole bungee thing to be annoying and the metal hooks really chew up the rack. You can't complain about Arkely quality or service, I just don't care the attachment method.

I have a pair of Ortlieb panniers that I've been using to commute with and I think they are great. Incredibly easy to get on--no bungee to fool with, and the plastic hooks don't dig into the metal of the rack. Taking them off is even easier, just lift the strap and they come right off. Lifting off a full Arkel was a pain, got to hold the bike down with one hand and lift the pannier with the other.

Go with Nashbar for price if that is a major consideration, but at the higher end, I prefer Ortlieb over Arkel. I'll also say I expect those Ortliebs to last a very, very long time.

Not waterproof, but I've just ordered some Deuter panniers from Sierra Trading Post for $62 that use the Ortleib QR1 system to mount.

I don't have them yet but pretty much everything I've read about them has been good and the price was excellent.

Axiom Cartier bags have been working great for me the last 6 months. Keeps water really well during the summer thunderstorms here in Houston.

Not waterproof, but I've just ordered some Deuter panniers from Sierra Trading Post for $62 that use the Ortleib QR1 system to mount.

I don't have them yet but pretty much everything I've read about them has been good and the price was excellent.


Wow, those look like a great deal...too bad they're not waterproof. Doesn't mention anythign about coming with raincovers. I suppose you could buy some; heck at that cost...

Yeah the purpose for a pannier in my book is commuting every day for 5 miles and maybe this fall a couple 37 mile one way commutes and I was looking at doing some weekend touring and grocery getting

Yeah I have an older 78 rack thats all scracthed to heck so I am no really worried about what a pannier might do to the rack

My rack is a TREK brand. The saddle bags or panniers are Jandd.

http://www.jandd.com/ProdImages/PanniersAccessories/EconomyPanniers/EconomyPanniers.jpg


H mm these too have the bungie mount system

Bear in mind that rain cover is not the same as waterproof. I've had two pairs of raincovered panniers, both had the same problem: in heavy rain, water gets inside the rain cover (from back of the pannier, where cover does not extend all the way round). Gradually you'll have a pool of water in the bottom of the cover, and your non-waterproof pannier sits there for the rest of the trip. Not a good idea.

Both my panniers' rain covers had a small hole in the bottom just to prevent this from happening. It did not work that well. No matter how carefully I tried to seat the covers over the panniers, making sure that the hole would be the lowest point of cover, there would always be small pockets of water inside. I ended up packing everything in plastic bags before putting them into panniers, making rain covers redundant.

I have Ortliebs now, and I'm not going back to non-waterproof panniers. Waterproof panniers have their shortcomings, especially in longer tours in warm and humid conditions. If you have to pack wet stuff inside a non-breathable pannier, then expose it to warm temperatures... nasty things start to happen inside. In the climate I ride that has not been a problem.

--J

I go for the Inertia Designs bags myself. Good price and excellent quality.

I was told that the arkel utility basket was water resistant not water proof seemed like a good idea

yeah I purchased the UB because I don't think the ortilebs would fit on my rack I would need a rack like this


http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/images/products/Racks/tubus_logo_photo.jpg

I go for the Inertia Designs bags myself. Good price and excellent quality.
+1 on Inertia. The models I have do not have bungee. One has a cam/ lock that you attach the hook to the rack, pull up on the strap, lock it down and you done. The second is a garment bag that fits a whole suit and shoes etc. that I need for work. This actualluy locks to the rack and is nearly impossible to remove from the bike with out unlocking it. As an aside, I used the garment bag for a year when a part on it wore out. I called Inertia, got the owner of the company:) They sent me a loaner bag to use while I sent them my bag back to be fixed, ( lifetime warranty) no deposit, and they took some of my suggestions for improvemnts on the the bag and sent it back to me, no cost. In additon I got a great messenger bag from them as "thanks" for my suggestions on the garment bag. This company rocks! Also you can, if you are so inclined, send them a design which they will embroider on your bags for an extra cost of course but also very cool. Made in USA and they supply a lot of police departments w/ gear so it is all top notch.

yeah I purchased the UB because I don't think the ortilebs would fit on my rack I would need a rack like this

Ortliebs are surprisingly versatile with respect to fitting a rack. Give Wayne at www.thetouringstore.com a call. I got my Ortlieb Back Roller Plus bags from him... he took dimensions of miy rack over the phone, and assured me they could fit (and told me how to set up the Ortlieb attachment). Highly recommended.

I have the Arkel computer case and an earlier version of the bug (backpack convertible pannier). I have had them for 7 years and have been pleased with them. They hold up very well. I don't know if they would be the best in a very rainy area unless you had waterproof covers (I may find out as I plan to commute in wet weather this winter). They are a little bit heavy, but built to last.

Arkels rock!

I like the nashbar panniers because of the size of them, and the price do the arkel side straps acually warrent the higher price


Nashbar Pannier (http://www.nashbar.com/profile_moreimages.cfm?category=66&subcategory=1004&sku=6997&brand=)
http://www.nashbar.com/nashbar_photos/medium/NA-WPR2.gif


Here's the front version on my bike...

http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/282/5223/400/DSCN1136-a.jpg

Yeah This what I purchased today with the Arkel Utility Basket the reason I went for it was because the bungee hook looked like it would fit my older rack and the top where it hooked on was made out of metal not plastic like others I have seen I am awaiting for their shipment and I purchased these to http://www.sierratradingpost.com/product.aspx?baseno=68405&CN=Seattle-Sports-All-Purpose-Dry-Bag---Small for it so it should work out if I ever get wet

Yeah This what I purchased today with the Arkel Utility Basket the reason I went for it was because the bungee hook looked like it would fit my older rack and the top where it hooked on was made out of metal not plastic like others I have seen I am awaiting for their shipment and I purchased these to http://www.sierratradingpost.com/product.aspx?baseno=68405&CN=Seattle-Sports-All-Purpose-Dry-Bag---Small for it so it should work out if I ever get wet

I've been an Arkel convert for the past 3 years. Utility baskets and the Bug........Performance Transit and Trek racks work just fine

Bear in mind that rain cover is not the same as waterproof. I've had two pairs of raincovered panniers, both had the same problem: in heavy rain, water gets inside the rain cover (from back of the pannier, where cover does not extend all the way round). Gradually you'll have a pool of water in the bottom of the cover, and your non-waterproof pannier sits there for the rest of the trip. Not a good idea.

Both my panniers' rain covers had a small hole in the bottom just to prevent this from happening. It did not work that well. No matter how carefully I tried to seat the covers over the panniers, making sure that the hole would be the lowest point of cover, there would always be small pockets of water inside. I ended up packing everything in plastic bags before putting them into panniers, making rain covers redundant.

I have Ortliebs now, and I'm not going back to non-waterproof panniers. Waterproof panniers have their shortcomings, especially in longer tours in warm and humid conditions. If you have to pack wet stuff inside a non-breathable pannier, then expose it to warm temperatures... nasty things start to happen inside. In the climate I ride that has not been a problem.

--J

I've seen a few people report that they had no issues once they poked several holes in the bottom of the raincovers for the deuter bags (I don't think the rack pack 1 comes with raincovers, but the rack pack 2 does). I think that more than one hole is key.

Also I'm not sure how well waterproof ones would work for me given that florida is pretty much the definition of hot and humid. If I need waterproofness for the panniers I'll use plastic bags. My laptop rides in my messenger bag which is already waterproof, I'm not too worried about the stuff in the panniers getting a bit wet.

They shipped my panniers today, I will let you guys know what I think when they arrive. Maybe I'll even take them for a spin in the florida rain and let you know how they fare.

I really like the Ortlieb panniers. They're totally waterproof, they go on and off the bike in literally two seconds or less, and they can take a lot of abuse. (Since they're made of thick waterproof material, they're ideal for transporting beer and ice.) They're kind of expensive, but worth it in the long run. Like anything else, you get what you pay for.

Yeah I will have to test my system out, and see how it works it doesn't rain to much here