Commuting - Need panniers that can work with a short wheelbase

Hi,
my bike has has a short distance from the pedals to the rear wheels. At first, even my small panniers were hitting. I have them adjusted. There is no way my big panniers will ever work. By big, I mean roughly 2500 to 3,000 ci. The pannier needs to be able to slide the bag back using it's mounting hardware. The rack is short and and already all the way back.. It's a Tubus, I picked it because it's light. My bike with rack, fenders, and computer weighs 25 pounds. It weighs more than I would like; but that is pretty reasonable for a touring bike. This may deserve it's own thread; I put a pair of cateye 300 headlights on yesterday. A pair feels like it weighs a bit over a pound; but throws an amazing amount of light. A real winner in the bang for buck category.

I posted this a while ago in a MTB conversion thread in Classic and Vintage.

I have large back panniers and had to move the hooks to the forward position, meaning the bags hung further back thus making my bike rear heavy and awkward. (The Mtb I used had a 42.5 cm. chainstay length.) I also adjusted the rack the best I could and the cleats on my cycling shoes. The bags, 56 litre, had to be stuffed full, otherwise my heals would hit them. I purchased medium size panniers, 40 litre, for the front, which work well on the back. I would try using medium size on front and back to see if that would work.

Regards
Gordon p

I had the same problem with my Cannondale M600. My heels were hitting the panniers which could not be moved further to the back because the external pocket at the back of the panniers bounce into the spokes when I was pedalling heavily and wagging the bike from side to side like when stnding out of the sadle in a climb. I made a pair of extentions for the rack to mount further back in the small triangle. Welcome to take a look

http://www.karlstam.com/

Just klick on "Bicycling" in top main menu and then on the link "Pictures and tips about the bike and gear". The pic is not the best but you get the picture?

Regards
Anders

Carradice panniers have an aluminium rail on which the mounting hooks are fixed, so they can be positioned as far back as you like. I wouldnt recomend their large panniers with rear-ward mounting, but the small/front ones should do fine. They also have heel cutouts on the front edge. If you need more room, then fit a large saddlebag.