Touring - Madden/Lone Peak Pannier Recommendation?

Hope you guys can help me out...

I did a search and haven't been able to get much info on the Madden or Lone Peak panniers. (Yea, I know Arkels or Ortliebs are the best but I'm on a budget :( ). I'll be using these for a future cross-country tour as well as day-to-day commuting on my Fuji Touring.

There's a 50% off sale going on for the Madden (Russi) panniers at:

http://www.russi.us/listproducts.cfm?catalog=122

CHEAP! I'm guessing redesigned models will eventually take the place of these sale closeouts. I was thinking of getting the Buzzard/Lizard set.

Also, Lone Peaks are reasonable at:

http://www.baysell.com/Lone%20Peak/LONE%20PEAK%20HOME.htm

I heard good things about this reseller. I would probably get the P500/P099 combo.

Any firsthand experiences with these 2 brands, especially with the mounting attachments--secure, easy to take on and off?

TIA,
Ron

Hope you guys can help me out...

I did a search and haven't been able to get much info on the Madden or Lone Peak panniers. (Yea, I know Arkels or Ortliebs are the best but I'm on a budget :( ). I'll be using these for a future cross-country tour as well as day-to-day commuting on my Fuji Touring.

There's a 50% off sale going on for the Madden (Russi) panniers at:

http://www.russi.us/listproducts.cfm?catalog=122

CHEAP! I'm guessing redesigned models will eventually take the place of these sale closeouts. I was thinking of getting the Buzzard/Lizard set.

Also, Lone Peaks are reasonable at:

http://www.baysell.com/Lone%20Peak/LONE%20PEAK%20HOME.htm

I heard good things about this reseller. I would probably get the P500/P099 combo.

Any firsthand experiences with these 2 brands, especially with the mounting attachments--secure, easy to take on and off?

TIA,
Ron

Hey Ron , I know Baysell and he's great, you can call him with questions, and He's more than happy to talk to you about the Lone Peaks. I think the panniers are just what you're looking for, haven't heard anything bad about the quality or the company. He also has the racks (Tubus etc..) The P-500/P099 combination is great. I almost went with them, but I needed more cu.ins. (wife and I) and ordered the Beckman panniers. IMHO. James

Hey Ron , I know Baysell and he's great, you can call him with questions, and He's more than happy to talk to you about the Lone Peaks. I think the panniers are just what you're looking for, haven't heard anything bad about the quality or the company. He also has the racks (Tubus etc..) The P-500/P099 combination is great. I almost went with them, but I needed more cu.ins. (wife and I) and ordered the Beckman panniers. IMHO. James

Thanks for the input, James.

Those Beckman's sure look sweet. One of these days...

I bought my lonepeaks from Wayne at Baysell! These are fine panniers for the money! As good as Arkels?? No way! But for the money, I am very pleased with mine. If buying from Baysell, just be aware of your Rack size. Lots of the newer racks are 10 mm and older ones 8mm. I ended up buying extra 8mm hooks so that I could use the lonepeaks on my older bikes. . . If you decide to go with lonepeak, I highly recommend Baysell! He is great to work with, and as someone said, will answer any questions you have!

My roommate and i just went on an 8 day tour across colorado. My roommate needed a new set of panniers, and since Baysell is in fort collins, where we live, we just headed over there to take a look at what Wayne had. My roommate ended up getting a set of P500s and a set of P100s, as well as the H100 Handlebar pack. He was very happy with everything he got. I'd definitely recommend them for someone on a budget, and i'd definitely recommend baysell. I'd also recommend getting the P100s over the P99s. The difference is an extra pocket on the P100s, which on panniers this small seemed very useful.

I'm in Europe traveling thru Germany on the Danube Bike Path, on the way to Vienna and Budapest. I bought set of Lone peak rear panniers and the handlebar bag from Baysell just before I flew here in July. Well satisfied with both.I didn't get the largest size and an VERY glad I didn't. Overloading can be a major problem on long distance trips.I hauled my bike thru Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris and thru the Metro in Paris on the way to my hotel, so very very glad I listened to the advice of others who repeatedly said to reduce the size of the load
My Trek 1000C would not accomodate front racks and panniers but I located a shop in Berlin and the owner installed front racks and a small set of panniers so I could carry some additional camping gear. I found that the front set made riding abit more balanced
Had great and fast service from Wayne at Baysell

anyone used serratus panniers? They look pretty cool but no one ever mentions them.

tim

Thanks everyone for your firsthand experiences with the Lone Peak panniers and Baysell. Seems like a decent pannier without breaking the bank.

Serratus is another company I was thinking about, but was a little leary about the shipping and duty costs to the U.S.

Here's more info on different brands of panniers:

http://www.lancerushing.com/bicycling/panniers.cfm