Originally Posted by
wunderkind
I wonder how much of a difference panniers would make considering commuting speeds are no where as near as those racers bombing down the Alps mountain...
I feel like I'm dragging somebody behind me with loaded panniers on the bike. It probably doesn't make a huge difference in average speed but I really like the bike to respond when I stand up to sprint. You lose that to a certain degree with panniers.
Originally Posted by
wunderkind
I do see one distinct advantage of using backpack/messenger bag. That is you don't have to hook and unhook the bag onto the rear rack. You can save some precious seconds there and if you are like me with butter fingers... minutes!
It's sort of like have a garage door opener or TV remote. It's not like getting out of your car to open the garage door is a time consuming onerous task, but it sure is nice not to have to do it.