Originally Posted by ghettocruiser
Maybe this is a MTB-background thing, but I've never seen anyone hop up a curb with loaded saddlebags, and I know I never could. That alone kills the deal for me.
It's also a lot harder to pick up a loaded bike and carry it up stairs etc. I used to use saddlebags for long-haul trips, but I think nowadays I'll vote backpack, at least for trips of less than a hour or so.
Never underestimate the power of fear - you should see me jump a curb when my spidey sense tells me that a cager is fixing to make me a permanent part of the landscape!
I prefer panniers for a couple of reasons.
1. let the bike carry the weight, not my fragile, wimpy bod. I spent too many years humping packs.
2. My 'vent' for heat and sweat is my back and pits - wearing a backpack blocks up my ventilation
3. I don't have to worry about locking and unloading - my parking space is my office.
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"Let us hope our weapons are never needed --but do not forget what the common people knew when they demanded the Bill of Rights: An armed citizenry is the first defense, the best defense, and the final defense against tyranny. If guns are outlawed, only the government will have guns. Only the police, the secret police, the military, the hired servants of our rulers. Only the government -- and a few outlaws. I intend to be among the outlaws" - Edward Abbey