Originally Posted by
GFish
One more thing.
Having panniers that securely lock into place is a good idea.
Mine uses a bungee cord stretched between a ring at the base and two clips at the top to secure the pannier to the rack. If the bungee isn't tight enough, the clips fall off the rack. Three times now, I've had a pannier fall off while going over either a rail road track or very low curb at slow speeds. Not good.
Quality panniers mount securely. They're costlier than lower quality bags, but secure in exchange.