Touring - panniers with heel cut-outs

I'm hoping to kit my surly pacer out for touring using a tubus fly rack and have been warned about heel clearance problems. can anyone recommend some bags with a heel cut-out that would work? the ortlieb back roller classics look like they could do the job....

cheers

I use Vaude (http://www.vaude.com/epages/Vaude-de.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/Vaude/Products/10381/SubProducts/103810100) They're expensive, but I find them superior to Ortlieb because of their greater rigidity and the fact that the lower "hook" to secure the bottom of the pannier to the rack can be adjusted through a wider range of positions. And their slightly tapered shape, wider at the top, narrower at the bottom, does the job you want in maximising capacity while cutting heelstrike. I take an American size 12.5 shoe, use 450mm chainstays and get no heelstrike.

I believe that Jannd makes some highly tappered panniers because they are usually used on mountains bikes.

Ortlieb are slighly tapered. On the cheap end, there is Sunlite.

But talk to Wayne of the TouringStore.com. He should be able to fiz you up with a bracket for your tubus that will allow it to be moved back away from your heels.

axiom makes panniers with heel cut-outs for heel strike avoidance. more than one model too!

axiom cartier
axiom dutch shopper
axiom lasalle
axiom mount royal

You can also avoid the heel strike problem by slightly modifying your rack and/or pannier mounting system to move the panniers further back. Many people did this, including myself: I moved the mounting clips and the tensioning hooks/rubberbands on my Axiom panniers that I use on my MTB based commuter. You can easily gain 2" or more of heel clearance this way.

Someone should make a short pannier or saddlebags for sport bikes that aren't carrying huge loads. That way you don't have to move the weight back. Maybe 8" tall 6" wide and 14" long. That should keep it up high enough to prevent heel strike. Or maybe a narrow rear rack with flat 4" side plates for strapping a bindle/dry bag/compression bag onto either side and top.

No cut-outs, but very narrow. The hangers are also adjustable side to side so you can hang them pretty far back. They are not huge, but it sounds like your rack is for lite touring anyway. These are very nice bags.

http://www.arkel-od.com/us/all-categories/touring-bike-bag/xm-28-touring-accessories.html

Made some from this pattern: http://cam.ucsd.edu/~spav/play/panniers.html (http://cam.ucsd.edu/%7Espav/play/panniers.html) which assumes you're trying to maximize volume vs. heel space.
http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i181/GHayduke/panniers_front.jpghttp://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i181/GHayduke/panniers_rear.jpg

The profile doesn't really show in the photos, but I measured for heel strike and made a cardboard pattern to get the measurements. I should probably add some cinch straps, but I keep half of a rainsuit loosely balled up in each side when I'm not hauling anything and they work fine. Roll top and seam sealed with silicone caulk dissolved in mineral spirits, so they're very waterproof. They're customized for easy removal and a few other changes from the pattern (many intentional).

The Jandd large mountain panniers.


I believe that Jannd makes some highly tappered panniers because they are usually used on mountains bikes.