I just got the rack and panniers installed on my bike, and I'm glad I did. I had a handlebar bag, but I hated the way it threw off the front wheel every time I tried to park the bike, and I hated that it was so huge and really didn't carry all that much in the grand scheme of things. It's headed to eBay one of these days.

So after a little bit of online research, I went with the Racktime Addit because I was scared about heel strike and wanted to be able to mount the panniers further back if need be. Then I completely negated that by ordering Racktime's Doubleit pannier. It's $60 and uses the Racktime rack's SnapIt system, which is a completely foolproof mount - I was pissed at first that the the Doubleit didn't include mounting instructions until I snapped it on the rack in literally five seconds. Then I was like "yeah, I guess it doesn't need instructions."

The rack didn't come with instructions either, and me not being the most technically minded person ever hurt me, so I struggled with putting it on. There was a parts sheet and the parts had numbers next to them, so I figured that was the way I should put the rack on, by the numbers. Turns out the numbers were totally backward and I should've been starting from the last number and working up. So after watching a YouTube video on installing a rack, I'm like "AHA!" and put it on semi-correctly. It isn't the nicest installation ever, but it's currently doing the trick.

Total cost of the whole thing, including a key lock that goes on the SnapIt system that keeps anyone from removing the double pannier, was $125. The pannier has lots of room but isn't waterproof - they do give you a waterproof cover for it, though - and it just seems like the material it's made of could be a lot less "flimsy." It feels kind of like the stuff they used to make gym bags out of in the 1970s. But it does work with the SnapIt system, which is truly neat.