Touring - Ideas for Panniers on the Cheap

I saw this site for old army canvas bags into panniers.
http://www.bicyclinglife.com/HowTo/HeavyDutyRacks.htm
I like that. Anyone else got a set of penniers and racks made out of old laundry bags, back packs, or old marine corps sea bags?

You need to be VERY careful. Pannier have a stiff back to them so that they don't sag into the spokes. Aside from causing you to lose control they can also break a wheel.

I suggest you go to Performance. Their latest front and rear pannier are on sale now and I LOVE their bags. They are extremely good for the price. There may be better bags on the market but believe me, the differences aren't worth mentioning.

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=16436&subcategory_ID=2312
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=16435&subcategory_ID=2312

Why don't you just wait for a sale at Nashbar? The waterproof nashbar panniers are not bad at all. They are on sale at the moment for $45 and I bet that you can find a coupon for an additional 10%.

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=66&subcategory=1004&brand=&sku=6997&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=Shop%20by%20Subcat%3A%20Panniers

The front panniers are available for $35.

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=66&subcategory=1004&brand=&sku=6998&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=Shop%20by%20Subcat%3A%20Panniers

Just to be clear, they are sold as a pair.

-G

Pretty hard to compete with china on diy bags - i also recc. nashbar bags on sale - wait till they cut price, then get a 20% coupon (search). But don't wait till the spring price increase!

Ken Kifer made his own and wrote about it in this article:

http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/touring/bags.htm

Water and crush proof, free except for the labor if you have cats.

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=lt&doc_id=1841&v=1k

Its not that I wont pay out 50 bucks for some bags. I just want to get innovative. I put together the bike by my self from spare parts, and now I want to make my own bags.
Do people have pictures of the mounting systems for their panniers. I havnt yet used panniers yet, so just seeing how high end ones work would likely help.

You can use corrugated plastic (correx) from For Sale signs as a stiffener. You rivet the sheet inplace like on Carradice panniers.

Water and crush proof, free except for the labor if you have cats.

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=lt&doc_id=1841&v=1k
Awesome idea
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/pics/01/docs/00/00/01/11/large/LoadedBikeGray.jpg?v=3

Check out this thread:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=205708

I found 3 gas mask bags at a local thrift store for $2 each. I added straps for attaching to my racks front and rear. They work very well. Here they are on my loaded touring bike.
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/8808/gaspannierip2.jpg