Folding Bikes - Panniers for a folding bike?

Ok, so I'm sick of throwing my groceries in my fred-y milk crate because it's too small to carry them all and I end up having to hang some bags from the handlebars of my bike. I'm thinking of getting grocery panniers to complement the milk crate, but I'm worried about heel and road clearance. I have a 16" wheeled bike--are panniers a good idea for me?

I used to have a folding bike. I had a plastic tub on the rack and never tried a pannier. I think the road clearance would work, but I really doubt you would have the heel clearance. When I went grocery shopping, my wife went along too and we could carry back about four bags worth, and we just went more often to pick up food that we couldn't carry all at once.

Have you considered any kind of bag for the handlebars or front wheel?

They work with my 20" wheels...
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2125/2111460348_3077353aed.jpg

^^^ Judging from that pic, panniers would definitely NOT work w/ 16" wheels. Maybe front rack + another milk crate would work, but then there's the issue of added weight while commuting and carrying the bike up and down subway staircases...

I found that panniers on my Dahon didn't quite work out well. They were small bags but still had ground clearance issues.

If your rack is high enough and you have heel clearance, it should be ok.

I wouldn't normally recommend this, but maybe a backpack is in order? Like one of these: http://www.ergon-bike.com/us/backpacks/bd1.html?WYSESSID=638h6bgca8b0bss29gg25ehpf0

You can take a look at Mrs J and my setup, see the Tassie tour linky in my sig.

Heel clearance was achieved by moving the panniers back as far as they would go. Both our racks are just plain old standard ones. My panniers have sloping front sides to help but Mrs J's panniers are actually meant for the front so they have straight up&down sides. Heel clearance was a problem for her which I solved by making small stainless steel plates which moved the bottom mounting point backwards and slightly downwards. This and putting the panniers right at the back solved the problem, and we toured Tasmania like that.

If the tour pics aren't clear enough say the word and I'll post a piccie of my solution.

http://www.unknownhighway.com/images/uploads/tidycatsdrum.jpg

I have bungied one of these to my rack when it rains, tilted horizontally and sans litter,
of course :p

This, and some panniers over top ?? No heel stike.......:D

^^^ Aaaaaah, teh bf has a kitty, so we have kitty liter boxes. Hmmm...

I use Arkel's Utility Basket Panniers on my regular sized bike, but it doesn't look like it'll work on the 20" Downtube with rack I just got. Heel strike is the main problem as I can't move the bags back far enough without compromising the bags' mounting stability. They also only sit maybe 6" off the ground so 16" would seem awfully close to the ground. I think it could work with a customized rack though.

Btw, someone into cycling & Japanese pop culture, a rare breed indeed.

Just like with full sized bikes. It depends on the geometry of that specific bike. This one for example is made with full panniers in mind.

http://home.iprimus.com.au/kenhall/bike_friday/P1010002_1.jpg

It seems like the best solution for panniers on small wheelers is to fit a rack from a full-size wheel bike. You do end up with the rack way up in the air, but it seems to have worked for a few here.

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/juried/R20/twentyfinal.jpg

Btw, someone into cycling & Japanese pop culture, a rare breed indeed.

Ehehehe...I grew up cycling to and from school in Japan, so that's why.

Aaaah, I see what you mean about the rack, jur. But seeing as I'm an impoverished student with no money to buy a new rear rack but a surplus of kitty litter buckets, I'll try Lem's suggestion first.

That's the first time I've seen your 20 in profile Jur - I love it! Looks almost military; jeep-like. It's got an SA8, right?

Ok, so I'm sick of throwing my groceries in my fred-y milk crate because it's too small to carry them all and I end up having to hang some bags from the handlebars of my bike. I'm thinking of getting grocery panniers to complement the milk crate, but I'm worried about heel and road clearance. I have a 16" wheeled bike--are panniers a good idea for me?

I use a SunLite Grocery Getter on my BF tikit (16" wheels) and it works just fine. It's actually designed to be a grocery bag, which is nicer than a bookbag-like pannier. I haven't had any issues with it. You can buy it on Bike Friday's site for $25. I'd say the rack height is more critical than the bag. On my tikit the rack they designed for it sticks up above the tire about 2" at the closest point. The rack extends from the fork to about 9" horiz in line with the frame. Find a rack that sticks up at least that high or modify yours and you should be fine. I'm hesitant to put a lot of can goods or a gallon of milk in it, but if you have a crate you should be fine.

http://store.bikefriday.com/product_info.php?cPath=2&products_id=10431

Or use a seatpost rack and clamp up high on seatpost. I use a 7.99 front rack from nashbar on my folder, hooks to vbrake bosses

That's the first time I've seen your 20 in profile Jur - I love it! Looks almost military; jeep-like. It's got an SA8, right?Thanks! SA8, yes, which is giving me uphill. More details to be posted in another thread later today...

Interested to hear that. Got my eye on one for my Moulton Mini roadie-killer....

The Wasp can be seen with front and rear panniers at www.flickr.com/photos/stevegor (http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevegor) , click on "The Wasp's first tour" and check the pics with and without panniers using standard R-20 racks. No heel clearance problems and the front panniers sit high enough to avoid anything, but not to affect handling.


fmattheus,

that bikefriday is a piece of art...just beautiful