Originally Posted by
winston63
Yeah I'm with you on that.
I mostly commute on one of my bikes with racks and I always vastly preferred panniers, but I've added a lightweight road bike which I love to ride and the only option is a backpack if I'm commuting on it.
I bought a backpack designed for cycling, a Deuter Race Exp Air, and it's amazing how much more comfortable it is compared to a standard backpack. The design keeps most of the fabric off my back and allows air flow as I'm riding. It's a world of difference!
This is true, you don't really want to put a rack on the lightweight road bike. A backpack with thoughtful design I'm sure works well, but I have in the past gone to some lengths to avoid them on the road bike.
It may be a little off topic since we're talking racks, but a nylon or canvas bag is very easy to rig up as a quick release frame bag and that was my go-to for a couple of years. More recently I've switched to handlebar bags, that I've designed ... but most of my commutes now are happening on the bike with a rack.