Some good questions. As a sworn backpacker (on a rack)
, I have come to the use of both panniers and the backpack tied to the rack.
Originally Posted by
i_am_you
I don't understand the advantage of panniers, I don't know why people use them other than because they look better than a milk crate, they look less 'ghetto'.
Things I don't understand about panniers:
- Won't they get stolen? It seems so easy to rip them off and they can be really expensive; yours are $150!!
Most definitely. The beauty of Ortlieb panniers is they take about 3 seconds to mount and about 1 second to dismount and take with you (they even come with a shoulder strap. Just like you would also carry your backpack from the rack.
Originally Posted by
i_am_you
- What do you do with your briefcase or backpack? Do you take everything out and then put the backpack and the stuff that was inside of it in the pannier separately? For me, I take a briefcase to graduate school every day and the best option for it is to just throw it in the milk crate. It fits perfect, doesn't jostle around or anything.
When carrying panniers, I can put backpack on top of the rack, or don't carry it - keep everything inside panniers. Backpack is more convenient to carry on you, but panniers are easier to pack on/off the bike, have more room and are watertight - so on rainy days it is the panniers.
Originally Posted by
i_am_you
- If you take your bike to buy groceries (I do this every week), where do you put the grocery bag? I use a big reusable bag I got from whole foods a while back, I just load up my groceries into the bag in the store, pay for them, the bagger person puts them back in the same bag, then I go out to the parking lot and drop the whole thing perfectly into the milk crate. It's sturdy and excellent. I can't imagine this level of ease with a pannier setup.
Panniers would be more complicated. You could either use them as gorcery bags (with shoulder straps), or carry them along with the grocery bag. My local market place is not too crowded so I just push my bike along and put stuff directly into mounted panniers.
Originally Posted by
i_am_you
Aesthetically though, I really dig panniers. They make you look like a serious commuter, not some amateur. I know that doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, but I can't help but notice it.
I just don't get it. What is the advantage of panniers?
For me: waterproof and more room. I use them as an addition, not a replacement for the top of the rack mounting method.