ncscott

I'm one step closer to becoming a bike commuter as I just had a good interview (no offer yet) and found a nearby house for rent.
Now for some fun...
I've posted directions about making panniers on another site. https://www.backpacking.net/makegear/panniers/index.html
I could turn these into grocery panniers real easily by making the stuff sack more durable and adding handles to them. OR... Should I stick with the current train of thought about making a ridged frame around the outside of the pannier. I could do this with aluminum strips.
Any ideas?
Scott

jordanb

That's interesting. I'm making panniers out of #12 duck and cotton webbing (I know about all of the supposed benefits of nylon, and will admit that it has better abrasion resistance, but I'm too old-school to go for all that synthetic crap). I'm going for a much more traditional form than that though. The bag hooks over the side tube of the rack with steel hooks that I make out of steel dowels (through lots of twisting with vice grips) and then insulated with rubber tubing to prevent scratching. I'll post some pictures some time.

roadpig2001

Thanks for the link on how to make these. I think Ill give it a shot . IMO for grocery panniers they should have maybe a solid bottom so they keep their shape when loaded. An exterior frame may be a bit much.

ncscott

roadpig... I guess I've never seen grocery panniers. I thought they had a rigid frame/hoop around the top of them, and another around the bottom. kinda like a wire basket but made out of fabric. Are they more like a shelf ala what Loki posted recently?

jordanb... Lets not forget that coated synthetic crap never frays either. My father in law never liked synthetics either, but didn't complain much about the day bag I made him (I doubt I converted him though). Cotton definately looks like cotton and that is probably why people prefer it more than anything. And in that respect, definately post pics of your old school panniers when they are finnished.
I'm not trying to adverstise my design in any way as I get absolutely no money from it, but if anybody has any questions, my email address is attached to the directions. I posted those over about a year ago but being on a backpack site, they don't get too much attention. Now that I think about it, adding a shoulder strap would make them real nice for commuting.
thanks all,
scott

roadpig2001

I guess I am thinking of the one that performance sells . They fold up , I assume have a ridgid bottom and are sized to accomodate a grocery bag. Maybe I missed what you were driving at in your first post.

jordanb

Well, I surge the ends of the canvas and then wax it for water resistance. There's not much fraying after that. Actually given the coursness of cotton and thread density in duck, there's much less chance of fraying with it than with typical nylon.

GTcommuter

A frame made of coroplast plastic (corrugated yard signs) is both cheap and lightweight. If you wait until the day after an election, you can get a lifetime's supply for free.

https://www.mile43.com/peterson/BarBag.html

ncscott

I was thinking like the Jandd (https://www.jandd.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=FGBP). Apprently REI sells a similar model and Nashbar sells one without an upper frame. My question realy was is the frame necessary or could I get away with just cinching everything nice and tight? I've never carried groceries on my bike, so I'm clueless about it. It seems to me that by using a solid shape, it will be harder to prevent the contents from moving around (and bruising my tomatoes...). On the other hand, I wonder if the extra frame helps support heavy stuff, like a gallon of milk.
Thanks for all the reply so far,
Scott

CastIron

At somehwere in the $30 range for these, I don't see any need to make my own.

MichaelW

My Carradice panniers are basically hand made. They have a corrugated plastic stiffener rivetted to the base and side with an Al rail for the Rixen and Kaul mounting parts.

ollo_ollo

https://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=71235
I have found these to be excellent commuter panniers & the price of 5 for $10 is far less than you could purchase the materials to make your own. Swiss military specs mean they are very durable with leather attachment straps that are perfect for attachment to a front or rear rack. Mine are olive drab but they are also available in "salt & pepper" camo. I found the canvas bag benefits by addition of a standard grocery plastic bag over the pannier to keep road spray & dirt off the bag in wet conditions. Don

sherpa93

Nashbar/ Jannd groc bags...
I looked at them. Look like overpriced sawed off panniers.
I was going to make my own. In the end its still too much and
u have "sawed off panniers"

Best bang for your buck is the cheapo mtb panniers from Nashbar
1150 Cu in ea, black. $34 pair. These are nice bags for price (made in malaysia)
Get a $3 aluminum yardstick, cut to size, drill holes for hook bolts. Place
inside bag. This will add enough strength for 30 lbs in each bag. (chevy road test ;- )

I like these bags. Nice drawstring on top, expands alot. Im amazed how much u can
cram in there. Everything cinches up nice and tight. Plus its still a nice pannier and
small enough for a front rack. Empty wrap a bungie around em and their nearly
flat. Cant go wrong.