Utility Cycling - How do you transport bananas?

I can't seem to get them home without bruises. I've tried buying super ripe to eat them all in two or thee days, and by day two, lots of bumps and bruises show up. I've tried buying green, again as they ripen up, the bruises show up. I've tried everything short of wrapping them in bubble wrap! How do you get your bananas home safe and sound?

I've never had a problem. They just go in the bag with everything else and into the freeloaders.

I wish I could be helpful here, but I can't stand the things. I wish I could, but yuk! Try putting them on top of your load, or just under the bread.

Shut your eyes when peeling then into the blender

You need a banana hammock.




(If it makes you feel any better, when I drive bananas home in the car they usually sustain some bruises too. When biking them home, I just lay them on top of the other stuff as best I can and hope for the best.)

Buy two bananas at a time, walk out the shop eat bananas, cycle home, e'voila , no bruised bananas.

i put the hard stuff at the bottom of my pannier, then i put the bread on top of that, then i wrap the bananas in an extra shirt i pack when i know i'm getting bananas.

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Di7z7lUaIkeM&v=i7z7lUaIkeM&gl=US

banana hammock

edit: i see NormDeplume beat me to the punch

Shut your eyes when peeling then into the blender


Of course, the rum! Very smart.


You need a banana hammock.


Prefer boxers thank you.


Buy two bananas at a time, walk out the shop eat bananas

It's the remaining 6 I'm having problems with


i wrap the bananas in an extra shirt i pack when i know i'm getting bananas.

Sounds like a plan! Buy some rum and a speedo, quick stop at the grocery for bananas, wrap em in my shirt and peddle home..I guess this should end with a pool party right?

http://tysontravels.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/oil-man.jpg

I have a set of Basil rear baskets that I use for shopping, http://goo.gl/d1giR . They just slide over the rails on my rack and work great. I take them into the store, line them with some of those re-usable grocery bags and fill them up. Things like bread and bananas go on the very top. Once I've checked out, I gently tie the handles of the re-usable bag to close them up at the top and keep things from bouncing out. The bananas just ride along without any real trouble. I get bananas all the time and never have any issues with bruising. Are you doing something foolish, like picking up groceries with panniers or a backpack?

Prefer boxers thank you.

I am shocked and dismayed that you thought I meant underpants! (envision me clutching my pearls here). I very innocently thought that you might want to mount this to your rear rack, to protect your tender fruits.

http://images.bedbathandbeyond.com/assets/product_images/230/189710525586P.JPG

I am shocked and dismayed that you thought I meant underpants! (envision me clutching my pearls here).

:o


thought that you might want to mount this to your rear rack,
http://images.bedbathandbeyond.com/assets/product_images/230/189710525586P.JPG

I'm thinking on the front rack so I can watch em laxin' away as I grind up the hills.


Are you doing something foolish, like picking up groceries with panniers or a backpack?

Nope nothing foolish, use either soft sided grocery panneirs or wireframe wald baskets

I do live in the NE and pothole fields are an issue, which is the cause I'm sure. I'm just hopin' to find a solution short of moving south. I'm really likin' the Banana Hammock for it's practial and entertain value!

Don't use panniers, they are not suitable for grocery shopping. I just put them 'concave' side down gently rested on top of the rest of the stuff in one of my Basil baskets. I'll usually try to put them on top of something that's relatively soft if possibly, or at least something that roughly matches the curvature. Also, don't put them in with the 'convex' side down, as that will focus all of their weight onto a smaller area. If that doesn't work, you might have to try this:
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3479/3788941821_245a76977b.jpg

I wonder what the crash-protection value of a banana helmet would be? Would green bananas have a more protective effect than ripe ones? These are the things that go through my mind when I'm staring down the barrel of a work deadline.



I do live in the NE and pothole fields are an issue, which is the cause I'm sure. I'm just hopin' to find a solution short of moving south. I'm really likin' the Banana Hammock for it's practial and entertain value!

Illinois has a great tradition of potholes, too.

I would love to see someone riding down the street, bananas swinging out above the front wheel. The very thought makes me giggle.

First thing I thought of when I read the title of the thread...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7z7lUaIkeM


EDIT: Blah, Kevbo beat me to it! hahahah

Buy them greener.. :rolleyes:

There are just some things that are going to sustain a bit of damage about half the time no matter what you do. Eggs, bread and, of course, bananas come to mind. It's part of the price of being a utility cyclist.

You could make a special trip for these items. I've done it. With more room on board, it's easier to protect them. This is where the bubble wrap could come in handy. (A good idea, by the way)

PS: I do wish that you had not posted the "speedo" photo. It's like a bad dream.

I buy bananas all the time and I haven't noticed any bruising, but I usually grocery shop a couple of times a week so the load is never too big or too heavy, nor do I have a long way to go.

This post did remind me of something I saw on the web a year or two ago, it was a plastic case to put bananas in:

http://www.bananaguard.com/products

You need a banana hammock.




(If it makes you feel any better, when I drive bananas home in the car they usually sustain some bruises too. When biking them home, I just lay them on top of the other stuff as best I can and hope for the best.)

*giggle*

This looks like a good technique, might take some practice,...

And these ladies are balancing on their heads an array of tropical fruits.

In all seriousness, I often hang a bunch over my sternum strap of my backpack. This suspends all the weight on the stem instead of the fruit. However, you probably wouldn't want to ride too far with this setup; I live about a mile from the grocery store.

For me, bread is the hardest thing to carry. Eggs are surprisingly easy.

Velognome, as you know, I use a kiddie trailer for hauling. It works very well for me, and it's easy to tow. I can't wait to break some records on my English three-speed. I recently installed a 24-tooth sprocket on the rear!

I've never had a problem. They just go in the bag with everything else and into the freeloaders.

well
i just put them in the regular plastic shopping bag, and hang that off the handlebars
it helps that i have a road bike and the brake levers have points on the top
don;t let them hang low or long so they won;t swing and hit wheel or head tube


wle

I found the best solution ever.

Marry a woman who is allergic to bananas.

:D

I love bananas and appreciate their wondrous nutritional properties but have to be careful if I eat them and have to de-contaminate before I come close to the girl.

only time I had bruised bananas is when a kindly, sweet old lady drove her bumper into my pannier. she used her signal so it was okay to hit me.

I bedazzle them and use them as apparel.

http://missouriwomen.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/380px-baker_banana.jpg

I bedazzle them and use them as apparel.

http://missouriwomen.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/380px-baker_banana.jpg

ok but i thought everyone did THAT!

wle

I'm in the pannier camp. Did not know that they are a shopping nono.

What i do is let the bagger shove them into the bags, take them out to my bike, and artfully arrange produce on top of the sturdyer items. For me its burrito shells that are the hardest, followed by tomatos and bread. I like to use all four pannier and an insulated rack bag, with each packed with lots of care for the four highway miles then six miles of barely maintained county roads, followed by one and a half of washboarded dirt. Bananas do ok if packed with the bread. Some bread compression is the price I pay to save a food I really don't like that much anyway.

The worst part is that the only place to pack the bike is right by the smokers bench.

only time I had bruised bananas is when a kindly, sweet old lady drove her bumper into my pannier. she used her signal so it was okay to hit me.
Ah, that explains why the blinker is never turned off!

I can't seem to get them home without bruises. I've tried buying super ripe to eat them all in two or thee days, and by day two, lots of bumps and bruises show up. I've tried buying green, again as they ripen up, the bruises show up. I've tried everything short of wrapping them in bubble wrap! How do you get your bananas home safe and sound?

I haven't read all the posts (so this might be a repeat - sorry), but the bumps and bruises may have gotten on them before you picked them up. If you have ever watched the handling of fruit by the stockers you will see why (some, but not all). They practically throw the stuff up on the shelf. Then, you have the shoppers sorting through stuff. I watched last week as a woman squeezed an avocado for about five minutes (I guess trying to tell if it was ripe, or...?) and then put it back. I bet that thing was brown inside by the time the person who bought it took it home and opened it up.

I wonder what the crash-protection value of a banana helmet would be? Would green bananas have a more protective effect than ripe ones? These are the things that go through my mind when I'm staring down the barrel of a work deadline.


Oh no! The helmet discussion arises:roflmao2:

Backpack, on top. Or if you're particularly un-selfconscious hang the plastic bag from your handlebars.

First you have to consider whether the bruising is happening on the ride home or earlier.

They have been shipped thousands of miles, by cart, train, ship, and truck. The grocer has to get as many out of the boxes and onto the display as fast as possible. You don't know what kind of temperatures they have endured en route.

But the big thing I suspect are the people who want 3 bananas so they grab the biggest bunch and pull the bunch into to 2 or 3 smaller bunches. I've noticed that people who do this, are never gentle.

So, I accept that some of the bananas are going to be bruised. My shopping criteria are size, number of bananas in the bunch, whether there is some green at the top still and whether I can see a brown crease at the top of the banana. They need a little green but the brown crease is a good indicator that there will be rot at the top of the banana.

I also do no take my bananas through the cashier, instead give them gentler care at the self-checkout. The bananas get loaded on top of the groceries in my pannier and don't seem to get much damage from the transport.

Don't use panniers, they are not suitable for grocery shopping.[/IMG]

What makes you say that? My SunLite Grocery Getters were designed just for grocery shopping.

ha!

Thirty six, now 37 posts on transporting bananas. Wow.

I can't seem to get them home without bruises. I've tried buying super ripe to eat them all in two or thee days, and by day two, lots of bumps and bruises show up. I've tried buying green, again as they ripen up, the bruises show up. I've tried everything short of wrapping them in bubble wrap! How do you get your bananas home safe and sound?

What are you packing them in? Panniers, trailer, backpack, what?

I put mine on top of other groceries in the trailer or in the backpack, then put the bread on top of them.

Thirty six, now 37 posts on transporting bananas. Wow.

Hey now be fair. Several of the posts are on banana fashion, underpants and helmets.

Banana confession:

I buy six bananas at a time but from 3 different bunches - one that's ripe, one that's got a bit of green at the top, and one that's very green. That way I always have perfectly ripe bananas.

Hey now be fair. Several of the posts are on banana fashion, underpants and helmets.
Yes, agreed! Deserving of separate categories and not counted towards the total (which does include my three posts:).

I bedazzle them and use them as apparel.

http://missouriwomen.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/380px-baker_banana.jpg

Why does this make me think of "The Triplets of Belleville"?

a google image search proved to be very.................... fruitful


http://farm1.staticflickr.com/57/194862199_a86e4ab65b_z.jpg



http://www.wafflesandsteel.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/IMG_0897.jpg

my fave: http://theknitcycle.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/banana21.jpg

these individual banana holders.. um.. yeah

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KXiP39Cc-x0/SXT7rJLmp_I/AAAAAAAAABg/TCZsVxr5Y4o/s1600/glass182pz9.jpg http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KXiP39Cc-x0/SXT7ro7Vj3I/AAAAAAAAABw/itQtwFTdxXg/s320/41xxr3N4-7L._SL500_AA280_.jpg

http://blog.jempp.com.au/uploaded_images/Banana-Guard-708418.JPG
clearly the answer is to attach one of these to your bike

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_gSlNhM3fKA4/R_vqCi9FvkI/AAAAAAAADKI/il8mapWI1Cs/s400/black+banana+holder.jpg

I don't eat bananas.