Commuting - Panniers

I have a question about them. What is a good price to pay? Most I have seen are $55 to $200+. I found some at REI (can't remember the brand but I had never heard of it) that were on sale for $25. Is that too cheap?
Thanks.

Ron

Ron, thats probably not a good durable set I've allways bought cannondale, I have two sets both 15 years old not one failure in either pair one is a front set I use on the rear for small loads the other is a set of cross country's they have done many trips and are still good as new dont try to enonimise on panniers you get what you pay for 15 years ago mine were 45 and 125.!

My Avenir panniers cost, a few years ago, $24 (linked set of two). They're great for anything short of long-distance touring,
and might be OK for that, too.

I don't think price means much in bike stuff. A lot of the time it's just based on what manufacturers or distributors think the market will support. That's how it looks to me.

Ron,
How do you plan to use them? If you want something for commuting, check arkel-od.com for one. I have one of their Utility Basket Panniers. It is a large, simple bag that is built like a tank. They also have backpack and laptop bags. I am so thrilled with it, I would buy a set of their touring panniers if I were going to tour. Ortlieb.com sells waterproof panniers that are considered among the best. They do not seem to have very large sizes. Brule has some interesting models, including a garment bag pannier.

Regards,
Raymond

By the way--and you may already know this, but it could be new to someone else--a lot of clothing will remain more wrinkle-free if you roll it up rather than folding it before stowing it in a pannier.

Hi, Ron, I agree with Rainman, the Arkel panniers are pretty solid panniers. I've been riding with mine for, hmm...I guess 6 mos, and it's held up really well. They hook on pretty nice on my rear rack, too. I've used in in the rain. It held up pretty well. I wish I could say the same for my poor headlight--that fell apart in the last rain storm out here... :D

If you have any questions about them, send them an email at info@arkel-od.com. They are super friendly, and have lots of good ideas. They helped me decide which pannier worked best for me...and that didn't mean buying the higher-priced model! :)

I haven't bought panniers, yet, but I think I will when I can.

Techno-warrior (o.k., Technogirl) says Arkel are great and mentions the customer service. When I was looking, I called Arkel up in Canada toll-free. Someone answered the phone in French... Anyway, they were so helpful and I was very impressed. So impressed, in fact, that I suggest you check out their website. They profile their employees, they are bike commuters and it's really neat.

:)

Chech out Ortlieb panniers ,these bags are bombproof !!!

I know this will make me sound like some hick from west Texas, but how do you pronounce "pannier"?

I tried pronouncing it phonetically (pan'-e-yer) in conversation with Rainman, but was gently and subtly corrected when he pronounced it "pan-yay'". Much as I admire the French influence on New Orleans speech patterns, I wonder if there is an alternate pronunciation that won't trigger hoots of laughter from the rednecks I live and work with.

For now, I think I'll pronounce it "sad'-del bags". The cowboys around here will understand immediately...

c~

HogWild,

You have to remember that RainmanP is heavily influenced by Cajun culture. ;)
Sorry Rainman.

Every bike shop owner around here (Atlanta) pronounces it pan-ee-urs or pan-years. They generally know more about bike stuff than me. ;)
So I guess you are right.

Ron

Originally posted by HogWild

I tried pronouncing it phonetically (pan'-e-yer) in conversation with Rainman, but was gently and subtly corrected when he pronounced it "pan-yay'

I've been pronouncing it as Rainman does all this time, until last week. Not because I live in New Orleans (I don't) but because I speak French. I just assumed it was pronounced that way.

Then in one of my many idle moments, I looked it up in the American Heritage Dictionary and found that the pronunciation is pan-yer or pan-e-yer, in English.

Live and learn. Yes, I think sad-uhl-bag is a good alternative pronunciation.

RonH, no apology needed here. I was lucky enough to have spent some wonderful years growing up in Lafayette, Louisiana, heart of Cajun country. I love the sound of a Cajun accent. To this day, my heart flutters when I hear a soft Cajun accent in a woman's voice. It's OK, Rainbabe knows. :D

You get used to some interesting pronunciations. Everyone knows that Breaux is pronounced bro (long o) and Thibodeaux is tibodo. Braud is also bro and Billeaud as well as Billiot are both pronounced B-O, two syllables with a little up accent on the b and down on the O.

I had wondered about the pronunciation of pannier myself. I know it looked and probably was French and therefore, pan-yay. The day I called Arkel and got a lilting "Bonjour, Arkel!" I found out for sure. Then it suddenly dawned on me that the name refers to bread baskets and I remembered seeing pictures of cyclists in France with loaves of long thin French bread (which, by the way, we have PLENTY of here in New Orleans) sticking up out of baskets mounted on the sides of the rear wheels - panniers! Bread, in French is pan, not pronounced like pan, the an has a short nasality to it. You know, like boudin.

As a general rule, if a word ends in ier and the word is French, that ier is pronuonced yay. Obviously, this does not include English words with the ier added to make them comparative.
Raymond

Rainman,

I can picture those loaves in my mind, and since it is getting close to lunchtime, the image is making me very hungry. :D I love the smell and taste of warm, freshly-baked bread.
Too bad there isn't a bakery close to work.
Or, maybe it's a good thing there isn't a bakery close to work. ;) If you know what I mean.

Ron

Although, I speak French, I tend to pronounce it like pan-ear around other English speakers. I want to pronounce it as in French - from whence it came - but the eye-rolling gets to me after a while and I give in.

I don't, however, get that eye-rolling when I say derailleur. In some company, I am almost tempted to say derailer, but I don't.

As for breadstuffs in the French Quarter, my wife makes fun of my love for beignets at breakfast. "You're eating funnelcakes for breakfast!" "Bien sûr! Avec fraises!"

A bientôt!

Jonathan

I'd give Ortlieb and other "waterproof" panniers the big miss if you're climate is anything like mine. There are two reasons for this:

1. They will make your stuff stupidly hot in ultra-humid conditions (a real problem if you carry your lunch with you as I do).

2. Their waterproofness will not extend to tropical downpours. I learned that six months ago.

If you wan't to make your stuff rainproof, get some thick plastic bags to put it in inside the pannier. That seems to work for me.

Chris

Being that I am in rainy Oregon and winter is nearing, I am looking at investing in some waterproof panniers. Does anyone have any experience with Ortlieb or Vaude brands?

Ortlieb seems to get the best talk of their waterproofness, but are a bit more expensive than the Vaude. But, if Vaude really is waterproof (I hear good things about Ortieb) I might go with the less expensive.

Thoughts?

Plenty. I've never used Ortlieb myself, but I've never heard any good comments from people who have. I learned the hard way last January in a tropical downpour that using plastic bags inside the panniers is a more effective way to keep stuff dry than spending extra money on waterproof panniers. Another thing you'll need plastic bags for is to separate the wet stuff from the dry inside your bag.

Oh yeah, and in really heavy rain, a dry change of clothes after the ride will be more useful than any rain jacket on the market.

Chris

I got caught in a hard rain while riding home a few weeks ago. Everything got soaked, but not from the rain.
It was from the water in the road splashing up from the bottom and from cars splashing me as they passed.

Chris is right. The only thing that stayed dry were my clothes I wore at work. I put them in a plastic grocery bag to separate them from the cycling clothes I wore that morning and my "clean-up" towel.

This weekend I re-waxed my Carradice panniers.

I find it very therapeutic to melt the beeswax mixture over a waterbath, wipe it into the cotton canvas, and see it dissapear into the threads as I waft a hairdryer over the material. The bags are waterproof for another year.

MichaelW,
Excellent approach! Is the beeswax mixture something Carradice recommends/sells or is it something you came up with elsewhere?
Regards,
Raymond

I use the wax sold for proofing Barbour waxed cotton hunting jackets.

I have not seen that here in the States. I have used several of the Nikwax products on boots, shoes and outerwear.
Regards,
Raymond