Commuting - panniers and rack?

I am starting to come into the hot months here and as a result, I am looking for a set of panniers and a rack for commuting. The reasons are two fold:

1. More carrying capacity
2. a back pack is too sweaty in the hot humid weather in Tennessee.

I do have a set, but the set in storage 1100 miles away with no one to just go get them and ship them here. the rack is the same. I paid close to 150 for all before, however my budget is somewhat smaller this time around; closer to a third of that. Does anyone have any suggestions? Possibly you have a buddy who is wanting to sell something cheap? any ideas would be very welcome, even so much as a HOME MADE solution LOL. It does not have to be pretty, just has to work. The ride is 15 miles each way through hilly terrain, along a busy highway, so losing the load would prove unfortunate to say the least.

Nemo,

How about a rear rack and 2 kitty litter/oyster buckets with lid. Just put on some hook hardware to attach to the rack and use bungee cords to bit that hook on the bottom of the rack. Reflective tape, bright colors, could make you a little more visible.

This would be a little heavy solution but would be sturdy, easy to mount, could give you a wider berth by the drivers since they would stick out a little on each side.

Another suggestion that I have used is a rear rack and an aluminum freezer basket that was cut to the size I desired. I used small radiator clamps to hold the basket to the rack. Cut a piece of the side to fit as a lid. I cut the wires of the basket to help make the shape I wanted and left them long so I could use the extra wire of the basket to wrap around and hold things together. Put a small piece of 1/8 inch thick plywood in the bottom. Put you stuff in plastic bags. Easy to get into and out. Put the heaviest stuff on the bottom to keep the weight low.

Good luck.

Gary

Nemo,
If you already have a set that might be retrievable at some point, you might consider the folding Wald baskets that attach to a rack. They are only about $15 each at most LBS and come in black or silver. They are large enough for a backpack to just drop in. Nice thing is that when you don't need them they fold flat against the bike. I plan to put pannier type suspension on mine so I can stick them on when needed. I commute with panniers, but sometimes an open basket would be more convenient or preferable for carrying something I may not want to put in my panniers.

Yeah they rattle a bit and baskets might be a little dorky, but, hey, we're bicycle commuters, right? We're already dorky by definition! :D
Regards,
Raymond

Nemo,
If you already have a set that might be retrievable at some point, you might consider the folding Wald baskets that attach to a rack. They are only about $15 each at most LBS and come in black or silver. They are large enough for a backpack to just drop in. Nice thing is that when you don't need them they fold flat against the bike. I plan to put pannier type suspension on mine so I can stick them on when needed. I commute with panniers, but sometimes an open basket would be more convenient or preferable for carrying something I may not want to put in my panniers.

Yeah they rattle a bit and baskets might be a little dorky, but, hey, we're bicycle commuters, right? We're already dorky by definition! :D


I'm using folding baskets, and I removed 99% of the rattle by lubricating the joints (the small clamps that holds the foldable sections together). I also wrapped small pieces of black electrical tape at key locations that touch when the baskets are folded up.

I don't care if they look dorky. They are very practical. For my commute to work I put a backpack in one of them. I often load them up with groceries on my way home, and put the backpack on my back. This makes them more flexible than panniers. With a bit of careful loading it's amazing the amount of groceries I can carry home!

Sverre

When I was financially challenged, I tied a pair of gov surplus gas-mask bags to may rack. They are about the size of small (front) panniers, with velcro and clip closure, with a strong D ring for mounting. Zip ties should work well.

Get the rack ASAP. Then either use bungee cords to attach your backpack onto the rack (watch for those straps), or install a milk crate on the rack and dump the packpack in it. Then in due time, either buy good panniers or retrieve yours.

Get the rack ASAP. Then either use bungee cords to attach your backpack onto the rack (watch for those straps), or install a milk crate on the rack and dump the packpack in it. Then in due time, either buy good panniers or retrieve yours.

I just picked up a rack and zip tied a milk crate to it. So far it works great. I have had about 40lbs in it and it has been quite steady. The rack cost about $12 from Performance and the milk crate was free, so it was pretty cheap overall. I just throw my bookbag in the crate and there is really no need to secure it. This changes the handling of the bike a fair amount, but the comfort of not having a bag on my back far outweighs it.

If you are looking for a cheap rack Performance has their transit rack on sale for $14.98. Link. (http://www.performancebike.com/shop/Profile.cfm?SKU=2380)

thanks for the suggestions guys this is great!

I agree with the comments above. Get the rack and then either strap the backpack
to it or use a milk carton or something. The important thing is to not cheap out on
the rack. Some of the cheap racks are really short so they don't give you much
clearence. Get a good rack now and wait until later to get the panniers. I really
like my Jannd expedition but I know there are many good racks out there.

Don't know about cheap, but an Old Man Mountain rack with an Arkel Briefcase is a dream come true for commuting if you have a laptop. I've been using mine for a couple of weeks now, and its made my commute a lot easier and fun.
http://www.panniers.com/panniers/briefcase/overview.asp?color=&site=
http://www.arkel-od.com/index_fl.html
http://www.oldmanmountain.com/rear_rack_page.htm

In terms of rear racks, most racks that attach directly to the rear eyelets are fairly good for medium weights (say 30 lb or less). The Blackburn EX-1 is fairly cheap and offers good price to quality ratio. Other makers have similar designs with similar results, all in the $20 (Canadian funds) range.