Originally Posted by
i_am_you
I do like the idea of using the pannier as my school / grocery bag, although: if you have 2 panniers, do you take them both into the grocery store with you? Seems like if you only took one in there, then when you came out you'd have a very lopsided bike, potentially dangerous, even. And if you took both, well that would be a hassle, carrying two bags in the store and trying to hold them and shop at the same time. I dunno, I'm still not sold because of that reason...
I carry two if I need two. One if I need one. When carrying only one, it is the left one. My kickstand is a metal one - the cheap 3 euro one that mounts on the chainstay, right beneath the rear rack. So no tipping over. When I start riding it doesn't make problems.
Panniers ARE less convenient than a backpack for me. But when it rains or I need more room - I love having them.
I shop at the marketplace - that I can push my bike along with me, or at big shops that are on the way from work - there they have those big rolling shopping mall trolleys so I can put panniers inside.
Still, when it's sunny and I don't carry too much things, I definitely prefer just backpack tied to the rack top.
Originally Posted by
i_am_you
And even regarding rain, you could always just have a waterproof backpack or briefcase. But for getting groceries in the rain, yeah I can see the advantage. But I really don't think I could fit all my groceries for the whole week inside one pannier, or even two. With the milk crate it sticks out a lot but I've never lost any groceries even so.
For bigger shopping, my wife uses the car.
But many things can fit into panniers and a backpack. My job is an office one, so I love getting both excercise and saving 5 euros of fuel when going shopping - especially since because of trafffic jams, car is not much faster anymore.