Commuting - My first DIY pannier

I didn't see a DIY forum so I decided to post this in the commuting forum since that's what I'll be using my panniers for. Mods feel free to move.

Anyhoo, last night I made myself a pannier out of an old kelty backpack I had lying around. I was amazed at how simple this was. Here's the final result loaded with groceries.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f342/wesley222/DSCN3548.jpg

I used an old sheet of acrylic to keep the back flat and hold the clips.
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f342/wesley222/DSCN3549.jpg

This bag has clips that are just perfect for holding back the straps. Here it is empty on the bike.
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f342/wesley222/DSCN3550.jpg

Nicely done.

I like the idea of a DIY sticky for modifications and gear.

The one I'm proudest of was retrofitting my Vintage Fingertip shifters to fit on my 1 1/8 stem.

Congrats for sticking up to the greedy mfg for charging a premium on a bag with hooks! I did a few DIY panniers and they have been working quite well. The cost was only a few bux vs $$$ at LBS.
If you do a search on DIY Pannier with Google, you can find lots of ideas. Yours look good. :thumb:

You may want to look into bungees as shock cords.

I'm not sure what you mean by shock cords, but I've got two on there to keep it in line in case of bounces and whatnot. Is that what you meant? One attached to the same side as the hooks to give a low anchor point and one that goes around the bag to relieve strain on the hooks and hold it tight. There are some great ideas online for DIY panniers. I think my next set will be a 6-pack (or more) cooler, then some big buckets for grocery store trips.

Congrats for sticking up to the greedy mfg for charging a premium on a bag with hooks! I did a few DIY panniers and they have been working quite well.


BTW, what did you use as hooks? I bent some corner braces into hooks because I couldn't really find anything suitable at Lowe's/Home Depot.

When I made my bucket panniers, I got hooks from the LHS (Local Hardware Store). I don't remember exactly what they were called.

Good job. I'll be posting my modified panniers soon.

I use the same hooks on my backpack pannier: framing corners. They work like a charm.

It's amazing that these hooks won't dig in your back either. People often ask me about this. I'm not even sure why.

The only problem with these panniers is that after a year, the zippers will pack it in and you'll be looking for a new one to hang your hooks on.

No worries. I think for the next pack pannier I'll use army surplus packs with no zippers. This go round was mostly to try to figure out the best way to do it. The top bungee alleviates some of the tension on the zipper, but they're already a weak point on this pack. Oh well, it's already transporting stuff--more than it ever did sitting in the closest!

very cool.

I'm hitting the local army surplus on Monday to get a front bag together for my new sunlite front rack.
http://teamcyclingandfitness.com/images/library/small/sl_front_10_s.jpg