Originally Posted by
noglider
A lesson about panniers came back to me yesterday. I've been using panniers on my daily commutes lately to avoid having a hot and sweaty back from a backpack. I was barely carrying anything, so the heavy-ish bags were overkill, but it didn't matter. Then I met friends for dinner, and we did a little walking. And we had to stand around, waiting for a restaurant to have a table for us. Carrying a pair of panniers is never easy, and these weren't even very laden. Panniers are great for on the bike, but they are one of the worst things off the bike.
Oh whoa... You remove your panniers and walk around with them? Yeah, that's got to be a major PITA. Is there no way to secure them to your bike to deter theft? I have set of canvas panniers from Roswheel that I wrap a chain around and through effectively lashing it to Frtiz if I feel like it's a high traffic area. Either they'll have to break the lock or slash the pannier straps rendering them useless.
I also usually carry a string back pack (stuffed in a side pocket) to carry small items around that I don't want to leave unattended.