Originally Posted by sharrison
I just checked out the bike bureau on the Carradice website - looks pretty good! Do you use it to carry a laptop? How does it work for you? (I've heard laptops can't go in regular panniers because of vibrations). Besides a laptop, how much other "stuff" can you fit in there?
I've managed to fit my Toshiba Satellite (in a case), rain gear,a change of clothes, a book or two and my Cygolite Night Rover and bottle battery in my Bike Bureau fairly easily. Even with this load, I didn't feel the imbalance of weight riding my OCR2. I think the rigidity of the fastening system probably creates this stability.The Bike Bureau really is an excellent pannier.
The OP could use a Bike Bureau and
a townie basket on the other side to take care of the shopping needs. Items like the lock can be carried in the basket if the weight imbalance is a worry. I'm assuming the townie basket is similar to one of the
REI shopping panniers I have. Even folded up, it should be able to carry a lock.
It hasn't happened yet, but if I needed more capacity than my Bike Bureau offered, I would affix one of my shopping panniers on the other side of the rack.