wharfrat

I'm getting ready to drop money on a pair of the Trek Interchange panniers (2520 cu in.) at the LBS. I also may end up getting the trunck bag as well. Does anyone have these? I'd sure like to hear your feedback. Also, panniers + trunk bag = overkill? Do you use just panniers? Panniers plus the trunk?Thanks in advance for your feedback. Oh...if you have a pic of your set-up...even better!

Lizzylou

I don't have the Trek panniers, but I have one of their interchange trunk bags for my interchange rack (which is massively convenient). With the panniers that I do use, I cannot have the trunk bag on at the same time as the panniers (and I've really tried for some larger shopping trips). Not sure if it would work with the bags you're talking about.

DoB

I have the Trek interchange oanniers. I've used them for almost 3 years (includes winter) and about 11,000 miles.

I actually don't have a lot of negatives. They snap on and off quickly and securely. They are waterproof in terrible downpours if you deploy the yellow rain covers. They have held up for me so far, no zipper issues or whatnot.

What can I say? Roughly 1200 one way trips. No drama. Lunch and tools on one side, clothes on the other and I'm off and riding.

Here they are on the summer ride:

Caleab

I currently have a Trek Interchange trunk and use it every time I ride.
I love it. I too am looking into the Trek Interchange panniers also. My understanding is the Interchange products will together on the same Interchange back rack. (hence my main reason for looking at them).
They're quite a bit pricier (good time to mention REI's Ortlieb discount currently?? 25%) which is the only thing holding me back. of course, Trek's 90 day same-as-cash card makes buying the Treks a little easier on me.

DoB

And here thay are in winter with the covers out.

wharfrat

Thanks for the feedback and for sharing the pics! Exactly what I was looking for.

jbabic

I have the Trek Bontrager Interchange rack on the back of my bike and tried the Interchange trunk bag. The bag was very convenient to mount and dismount.

I had to return the trunk bag after one week of use as it bounced off at least four times that I can recall. I have a drop at the transition from my driveway apron to my street of about an inch and the Interchange coupling would fail unless I slowed way down. The trunk bag also bounced off once on rough road. I was able to rescue the bag and it's contents just before it was about to be run over by a car.

I don't think I was carrying an unusual amount of gear or excessive weight; I carried my lunch, a thermos in one of the side pouches (silver bullet type fit great), change of underwear and socks, wallet, keys, and still had room for other knick knacks. I don't carry my chain or lock as I keep them locked at the bike rack at work.

I was impressed by the ease and convenience of the Interchange attachment system and thought it was a good sized bag. I was very disappointed at how easily it would bounce off. Though the bag includes a velcro strap at the bottom, that's not why I paid the premium price for an Interchange compatible product. I could have gotten a Lone Peak trunk bag instead. Check my website listed in my signature; I document my experience with this trunk bag in this post.

I hope you have a better experience with the Interchange line than I did.

dcrowell

I have one Interchange pannier, and two Interchange grocery bags. I went with an Arkel trunk bag though.

The pannier has come off twice. Once on my recumbent (it fell harmlessly out of the way), and once on my hybrid, but it caught in the wheel and destroyed the fender.

Other than that, it appears well made. If I had to do it over again, I'd find something with a different mounting mechanism. The Interchange stuff may be convenient, but it's not extremely secure.

ews

I have them and use them daily, same size you're thinkinga about. Pros: the rain cover (pictured in yellow above) is nice. They are plenty big. In fact, I only use one pannier to hold tools/pump/gear/bikeclothes, toiletries, change of work clothes, breakfast, lunch, work papers, wallet, cell, keys. To that end, I would say that two panniers and a trunk bag is definitely overkill.

That said, I would not recommend them, as I think they are poorly built and do not stand up to the rigors of daily commuting. Part of the mounting system includes a platic knob that gets screwed in to the back of the pannier and then wedges in the "V" of the interchange rack. The hardware securing the knob really sucks. I've lost knobs. The pannier has also fallen off as a result on more than one occassion. Another part of the mounting system involves two hooks that latch onto the rack and some sort of plastic doohickey that wedges underneath the rack. A spring in the doohickey fell out once before, rendering it essentially useless.

I've also broken zippers.

Trek has been good about replacements. They don't really carry replacement hardware so I've actually received brand new panniers in the past. But I think that overall, these panniers are weak. I'll keep using them though, but only b/c I already paid for them.

Sonoma76

I was going to buy the Interchange Panniers until my disastrous experience with the INterchange basket.

Like the guy above the basket would simply bounce off, the interchange connector just failed to secure it at times. not a lot of weight in the basket, just standard work stuff (lunch, thermos, newspaper, shirt, lock).

It bounced off at least 5 times, a couple at higher speeds, and a few at lower speeds. one time it bounced off and fell after I went over a speed bump. The only thing that kept it from hitting the street was the cargo net I had placed over it.

And just last week, the basket broke. The bolts that secure the bottom of the basket to the frame broke through the metal web.

So I thought I might give the panniers a try instead. I fiddled with them at the bike store and even installed them on my Bontrager rack. I was less than impressed. There's no clamp on the top part of the panniers. Instead, you just set the pannier down onto the rail of the rack. Nothing physically secures it to the top. The mechanism on the bottom of the pannier seemed to do well enough to physically attach the pannier to the bottom of the rack frame, but again, it would have been all to easy to bump this off the rack. I simulated that at the store, just jarring the back end of my bike, and sure enough, the pannier fell to the ground.

Curious, I googled other panniers and found that they have clamps on the top that physically wrap around the frame of the rack.

I hate to be a hater, but I've sworn off all Trek products. Every single one of them that I've bougth in the last six months has either under performed (As in the case of the cheap $20 headlight that I can't actually tighten enough to make it point striaght) or the basket which failed or my Trek 7500 after it had three failures.

So I went and bought some Banjo Brothers Panniers and I've been really happy with them. $50 for two and it's very secure.

TechKnowGN

Question: how much of a benefit are things like the subject of this thread over a backpack? Think lunch, a few toiletries and work clothes for a 300# guy.

Sonoma76

It gets tiring to carry a backpack. On the other hand, it gets tiring to remove panniers if you lock your bike outside.

TechKnowGN

The backpack i have experience with. How much difference is there in the ride? Where i lock my bike is a security controlled bike parking area at work, and Ill only have work clothes (and lunch) in the panniers anyways.

Can they be easily fitted to standard size MTB or do I need a roadie to use em?

DoB

I don't think you were using them correctly or were understanding how they attach. Perhaps this explains the various people on this thread who seem to struggle with them flying off.

The plastic knob does slide down into a 'V' in the rack side. My panniers fit three different racks that I own, and only one of them is a Trek rack.

At the top, two metal clips hook over the top rail of the rack and then a button type thing snaps under the rail. Once you have the clips grabbing the top of the rail and the button grabbing the bottom (plus the plastic knob preventing them from swinging out) there is essentially no way the panniers can come loose. I've ridden thousands of miles on Detroit's potholed streets and mine have never come off on their own.

This is the advantage (IMO) of the Trek Interchange panniers. You get the convenience of a backpack (in that they come off the bike in one move - no fiddling around) yet you get the riding pleasure of panniers. I personally hate riding with a backpack.

What can I say....some people sure have struggled with these judging by this thread. I've never had a problem and I love the convenience. Every other pannier I've looked at is more of a hassle to attach.

CCrew

I don't know what panniers you were looking at, but my Interchange ones have a locking tab that catches the top bar and latches the pannier into place. To make matters worse I'm not using a Trek rack, mine is a Topeak Explorer. Sounds to me like you're hating on something you haven't seen. I love mine and have never had a problem with attachment.

If I had to name an issue with them, it's the fact that the latch mechanism (ya know, the one that's not there ) protrudes into the inside of the pannier and unless I pad my laptop it's plastic vs plastic.

-Roger

FYI, if you picked up the Trek Panniers that use the bungee cord attach at the bottom, they're junk ... but they're also not from the Interchange line.

ews

That may be your experience and I'm happy for you, but your statement is not universally true. I know exactly how to use these panniers. On separate occasions both the "button type thing" and the "plastic knob" broke (rather, the cheap integrated hardware broke) during commutes.

As I said, I still use them daily, but I wouldn't recommend them to someone who hasn't plopped down their money yet. However, these are the only panniers I've ever owned. To the extent that their attachment and removal is uniquely simple, I'll admit that's another check in the PROS column.

DoB

Well yes, if they break I suppose they come off. My comments were directed at the person I quoted, who seemed to think that they can fly off if you simply bump them.

Mine have never broken, so I recommend them.
Yours broke, so you don't recommend them.

Sonoma76

I admit I didn't figure out how to use the plastic latch thingy with the interchange logo...

Given how well that same latch performed on my Interchange basket, I don't have confidence in the entire product line.

If that makes me a hater so be it. Trek interchange and their lights are junk. THere, I said it.

tdister

I got a pair second-hand for cheap and have been happy with them. Mine are also attached to a Topeak Explorer rack with no problems. Actually 2 Topeak racks on different bikes. One is 700c the other is 26" and they both fit great. Never had any other panniers except the hideaway versions on my Topeak MTX bag.

I don't use them everyday nor do they have K's of miles on them. I would likely have gone with something fancier if I hadn't stumbled on these for such a great deal. Never knew they existed until I got them.

Caleab

I don't own panniers yet, however, I try to limit whatever I'm gonna carry because I hate wearing the backpack. I just get too hot. I don't mind the weight, but it just halts the flow of the air on my back (to remove the heat).

I've come to use my trunk + bungee cargo net to strap down lots of stuff (including strapping my backpack to the top of the trunk).

mortecai

I have the trek interchange deluxe trunk and 2 interchange grocery bags. I use the trunk everyday and love it. Holds everything I need and is super easy to attach and detach. I have never had an instance where it has bounced off and I ride some pretty rough streets. I do, however, make sure it has securely latch by pulling up on the trunk before I depart. I'm very happy with the trunk but I've only had it for one season. Time will tell if it will hold up through the years.

You can attach the interchange grocery bags and trunk without issue. I have not tried the panniers so I can't comment on that. The grocery bags were a big step up from my Sunlite bags which were shallow, a pain to attach/detach, and unstable (they would bounce off sometimes). The interchange grocery bags are deep, easy to attach, and fix securely to the rack. One thing that bugs me about the bags is I have to manually flick the clip so it secures to the rack properly. Not a big deal, but I thought it was supposed automatically snap into place.

If graded I would give the trek interchange trunk an 'A+' and the interchange grocery bags a 'B'

- Mort