Originally Posted by
landstander
No offense, but it sounds like you were using a rather lousy (or defective) pannier. A good one, quite simply, won't fall off.
EDIT: Any chance that it lacked a positive locking mechanism? In other words, was it held in place simply by the tension of a bungee cord?
It's a trek pannier. It has a positive locking mechanism. It's just not a good enough locking mechanism. I'm of the opinion that anything that would be bomber enough to stay on, would also be pain-in-the-ass inconvenient to take off. Panniers are pain-in-the-ass inconvenient anyway if you stop to do an errand -- you get to choose whether you're going to carry this thing around the store with you, or leave a pricey piece of luggage on your bike.