Garment Panniers - Two Wheel Gear Classic 2.0 vs. Nashbar
 

I've been testing out riding into work, and I'm finding that carrying my big messenger bag in my rear basket is not very convenient. I work in a somewhat formal office, so I am thinking that a garment pannier is the way to go. I've been looking at the following two:

• Two Wheel Gear Classic 2.0 Garment Pannier
• Nashbar Garment Pannier Bag

They appear to have similar basic features, but the Two Wheel Gear bag is about 3x the price of the Nashbar. I am happy to pay more for a higher quality bag (and it does seem to have better zippers, be easier to attach, etc.), but I don't want to spend $$$ for something that's more than I need. Typically I'm carrying work clothes, shoes, toiletry bag, and lunch; occasionally some documents or other miscellany.

Does anyone use either of these bags and have any thoughts?

I no longer need to use my Nashbar garment pannier but I did use it for a number of seasons. I liked it a lot. it was perfect for carrying a business suit, shirt and tie and accoutrements on a 7.5mi. each way. I cannot imagine what 3x the price would get you.

Thanks! With the price differential I was concerned a bit about the quality, but if it served you well for awhile than it's probably sufficient for my needs.

Hi guys,

Thanks for this discussion and mentioning the options for business commuters out there. We are glad that our bags caught your eye! My name is Reid and I am the president of Two Wheel Gear. Seems like a good conversation here and it popped onto my radar today. There is a lot I can say about the differences between our products and other companies that emulate our products. We created the garment pannier back in 1999 in the basement and since then have poured everything we have into creating, improving and spreading the encouragement of biking to work. Since 1999 we have worked with our customers every step of the way in refining and improving every aspect of the bag. It is not without our loyal customers and commuter fans that we would have been able to evolve the product to the level we are at today. Our customers know immediately why we are priced the way we are when they receive our product. You will also figure out pretty quickly why other companies that have tried to imitate our products are priced they way they are. If you guys have any questions related to biking to work, our products or Two Wheel Gear in general, please feel free to contact me directly at reid@twowheelgear.com.

Ride on,

Reid

Hi Reid, I definitely appreciate that quality comes at a cost. However most of us are required to find a balance between the best quality and that which we can afford. :) Part of that is determining which product has sufficient quality for our purpose. Given that, I'd be interested to hear what you think are the two or three most important things that set your product apart and make it worth the extra cost for your customer.

Hi Kobaneul. That is absolutely a fair question.

So first off, the quality and the price will always reflect where and who makes your products. We choose to use ethical manufacturing that is audited annually who is held accountable for social, economic and environmental standards. Our manufacturing partner is a world class producer of technical bags that also supplies the likes of the US military.

If we want to talk about technical details, there are many. Our mounting system is sourced from Germany and is likely the best supplier of those individual components in the world. Our system works with the most bike racks, is adjustable, quicker, easier and more secure than our counterparts.

Our bag is made of TPE waterproof coated 600D polyester which is extremely durable and more weatherproof than our counterparts. On top of that, we also designed an innovative rain cover that protects all the seams and zippers for when you are caught in heavy rainfall. This comes included in every bag we make.

Our Classic 2.0 has more storage, more organization, including a dedicated padded laptop pocket. We have 5 exterior pockets that expand with the amount of gear you carry and 4 internal pockets plus the main garment compartment. It is also an awesome travel garment bag which can be used as carryon luggage.

There are many more details but you can easily find them from our customer reviews and industry publications. I totally understand the price consideration. Our mission is more people riding bikes to work and everything in our company reflects that greater goal. We let customers use our bag for 30 days in their routine and if it doesn't work for any reason we allow them to send it back for a full refund. We completely understand there is a place for lower cost but we are based on quality, innovation and our mission of biking to work. There will always be people/companies that start something and people/companies that try to recreate that for a very low cost. Either way we are happy to see more people riding to work!

I have a Performance garment Pannier I bought on eBay 10-15 years ago, and looked at the description in the links. The Nashbar pannier looks similar to the Performance pannier I have.

I generally kept my suits at the office, but bought the garment pannier for the occasional times I needed to bring suits to the train station for trips etc. The Performance garment panniers did everything I wanted; they don't pretend to be made to the same standards as the Two Wheel Gear.

Carrying clothes - I had no problems with suits, shirts, ties, shoes in the Performance bag. It also kept them dry in light drizzle; I never tested it riding in a downpour.

Laptop - The Two Gear bag advertises a compartment for carrying a laptop, not mentioned by Nashbar. I didn't try this with the Performance bag, and wouldn't recommend it. I'd already been carrying a laptop in a Carradice saddle bag, so this wasn't important to me.

Attachments
The rack on my bike was a little wider than the center/carrying portion of the bag, and the standard attachment didn't fit my bike very well. However, I put it on 1960 Gazelle (28" wheels, rod brakes, not a standard set up from Nashbar or Performance) I've found very few new panniers sold locally that fit this bike & rack. The garment bag did fine with 2 bungee cords for my 7.5 mile rides. If the Two Wheel Gear has mounts from Germany, it might have fit fine without the bungee cords. I don't doubt that the the Two Wheel Gear may have nicer attachments than Performance or Nashbar; for light use the Performance bag has been fine.

For my purposes (suits & clothes, no laptops, occasional use), it was easier to justify an inexpensive bag and using bungee cords than a bag that cost 6 times as much. For commuters that carry a laptop and suits daily, the decision may be different.

I have been using the Nashbar pannier for about 6 years, and just placed and order for the TwoWheelGear classic model. I'll report back with my impressions on the differences once I receive my new bag and have a chance to try it out.

In the meantime, some thoughts on the Nashbar pannier, and why I'm trying out the TwoWheelGear bag.

The Nashbar pannier has been $55 well spent. I bought it when I was just trying out bike commuting; I attached it to a seatpost rack on my full suspension mountain bike. It mounted easily on that relatively wide rack and stayed in place well.

I have never been able to fit a suit jacket in that bag, or dress shoes (44 suit jacket; size 15 shoes); I leave these in the office and bring in slacks and shirt. Even then, I have had to bend the hangers to fit the shirt and slacks.

After 6 years of occasional use (1-3 days a week), the Nashbar bag looks more or less new--all of the zippers work, and the seams around the zippers look unfazed.

Now a 5-day-a-week, 16-mile round trip bike commuter, I recently bought a touring bike with a relatively narrow touring rack (Tubus Logo Evo). I have found it harder both to mount the Nashbar bag on this narrow rack, and it tends to pop off on bumps (I have rigged it with an extra bungie, which just adds time on either end).

My wishes for the TwoWheelGear bag are twofold:
(1) That it will be quicker to mount/dismount the bag, and that it will stay in place; and
(2) That I can fit more into it (actually carry shoes when I need to, documents, several days worth of clothes for dry cleaning runs, etc).
The included rain cover was also a consideration.

That TwoWheelGear seems like a great company was not my initial impetus for buying a new bag, but certainly helped me to rationalize the marginal expense over the very competent Nashbar bag.

I'll update this post once I take delivery of the new bag and commute with it for a week.

Looking forward to your review!

Super cool answer. If I needed a garment bag, I wouldn't have a problem buying yours. (Unfortunately I already have panniers! Sorry!)

I'm also looking forward to the review from the above poster.

I have had the original Two Wheel Gear suit/garment bag for 10+ years. The quality is great. The only thing that has ever broken on the bag was a zipper for one of the small outside pockets. I load it with a 17" laptop (wrapped in a towel for padding/protection), clothes, shoes, a spare tube, a small tool bag, my lunch bag, and more. Loaded, the bag usually weighs 30-35 lbs (13 to 16 kg). I carry the loaded bag from the locker room at work to my desk by the two handles, and they've never failed (I don't use the shoulder strap). The hook and velcro that attach the bag to the bike rack are easy to connect and disconnect, and hold the bag securely.

Pricey, yes. But there are very few other products that I own that work just as well after 10+ years of regular use as they did the day I bought them.

I just received the Two Wheel Gear Classic Garment Pannier and, as promised, will share some additional thoughts on how it compares with my trusty Nashbar bag. At this point I have only had a chance to try out the mounting system on the new bag and load it up for my commute tomorrow morning. I'll obviously have a better sense of how this bag performs after my rides tomorrow.

Here is a picture of the Nashbar bag with a shirt and slacks in the main compartment.

Attachment 530565

And here is the same loaded into the Two Wheel Gear bag.

Attachment 530566

Whereas I always used bent hangers with the Nashbar bag to maximize vertical space, this doesn't appear necessary with the TWG bag, which seems just a bit longer inside. In fact, using my old bent hanger system would interfere with one of the nicer features of the TWG bag: the two mesh, zippered pockets on either side of the hanger, which easily fit a belt and tie. Whereas I had stuffed these in an external pocket with socks, underwear, etc. in the Nashbar bag, I think it will be more convenient to have them in the main pocket (to avoid flipping back and forth between inside and outside pockets while getting dressed).

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I leave my suit jackets and shoes at the office, and don't think this practice will change with the TWG bag.

The main compartment's nicest improvement over the Nashbar bag is the laptop sleeve and the mesh pocket above it. I don't commute with a laptop, but do carry documents back and forth, and this will make that much easier. The Nashbar bag does have three horizontal straps, which I sometimes used to lash down a legal pad or redweld folder, but that was a less elegant solution.

Attachment 530567

I was relieved to find that the TWG bag fits nicely (with some tinkering) on my exceedingly narrow rear rack. Whereas the Nashbar bag had fit effortlessly (and stayed in place) on the wide rack on my older commuter, it bowed up on the narrower rack, and proved more difficult to attach and keep in place. Here's a picture of the Nashbar bag on the narrow rack:

Attachment 530568

At first I tried to attach the TWG bag in the same manner--attaching the mounting points to the very top bars--and found that it was even more bowed/bunched up than the Nashbar bag. Then I realized I was being daft, and attached the mounting clips to the lower horizontal bar. This stretches the bag rather tightly over the top of the rack, mounting it about as low down on the bike as it can be.

Attachment 530569

I will wait until I have commuted at least once with the TWG bag to opine on how it compares overall with the Nashbar bag.

These garment bags are cool, but how do you carry beer in them on the way home from work?

Having commuted with the Two Wheel Gear garment pannier for a day, I'm sold. Every aspect of the bag feels like an incremental improvement relative to the Nashbar bag. It is a bit roomier in each of its compartments. So many of the details are well thought out; you can tell that this was a bag designed (and improved) by people who bike to work (one example is the external pocket angled so that it is right side up when the bag is laying flat). It is a bit easier to get on and off the rack. And the rain cover is pretty slick (although I didn't have occasion to test it on this beautiful sunny day).

Do these incremental improvements rationalize buying the ~$170 Two Wheel Gear bag (on sale) over the ~$60 Nashbar bag? I think it depends how you use it.

While I certainly would have enjoyed the Two Wheel Gear bag when I was an occasional bike commuter, I don't think I would have made full use of its advantages relative to the Nashbar bag. As a fair weather commuter, with the option of taking the metro on bad weather days, I didn't need the rain cover (which you can buy separately from Two Wheel Gear, by the way; I think it would probably fit the Nashbar bag if you already have one). More fundamentally, I didn't depend on my bike/bag to cart *everything* to and from work. If I needed to drop off a package, or pick up a bunch of dry cleaning, I could simply not bike that day.

Now an every day, year round (aspiring) bike commuter with a longer, faster commute (8 miles each way, mostly on a fast trail), I depend on the bike to carry everything I need to cart to and from work.

When I commuted on my old mountain bike with a seat post rack, I used the Nashbar bag exclusively for clothes, cramming everything else (lunch, lock, documents) in a backpack. And then I commuted one day without a backpack... and realized how much more comfortable it is, particularly on a longer ride. Once I switched to a touring bike with a heavier carrying capacity than my mountain bike/seatpost rack, I ditched the backpack and put everything in the Nashbar bag. This worked well enough--I brought home 4 sets of shirts and slacks one day--but the bag felt like it was bursting at the seams, and a little bit more space would have gone a long way. The Two Wheel Gear has that extra space.

Another consequence of ditching the backpack was that I use the the garment pannier as a briefcase, carting lunch, documents, glasses, phone, wallet, etc. up to my office. Both bags have a shoulder strap that makes this pretty easy, but the Two Wheel Gear strap is again just a little bit nicer. It's external pockets are a bit roomier, which makes briefcase duty a bit more workable. I wasn't blown away by the quality of the zippers on the external pockets, but it may just be that they are stiff because they are new. I open and close these pockets many times throughout the day, in using the bag like a briefcase, and hope they hold up.

That's my .02. Either bag will allow you to carry your professional attire (minus suit jacket, if you wear a large size) on your bike, which is a great thing for those of us stuck with a humorless dress code. The Nashbar got the job done for me--very well, over several years--while I was an occasional bike commuter. Now that I depend more on the bike/bag, and interface with it many times each day, I can certainly appreciate the marginal niceness/utility of the Two Wheel Gear Bag. And, as someone becoming increasingly passionate about bike commuting, I am happy to buy from a company with such dedication to enabling people to commute by bike, no matter how stuffy their institutions' dress code.

I just bought the Nashbar bag - quite expensive, but seems worth it. Today was day one, and it works quite well. I think there's a trick to getting it on and off quickly - not that I had a big issue, but it took longer than my separate panniers.

Thanks everyone for your opinions! I decided to order the Two Wheel Gear bag based on your advice and how I expect to use it. I'll post an update if I have anything else to add after I receive the bag.

I used the nashbar bag effectively for a few months. My chief complaint was that it obscured my rack-mounted tail light, especially from the side. Now I just keep the clothes at work and walk them across the street to the dry cleaner.

I'm quite happy with my Two Wheel Gear bag. It's huge improvement over the basket. I really like that the side pockets are so roomy; I can fit my lunchbox, cable and u-lock in one pocket with a little room to spare. The inner pockets are very useful; I don't carry a laptop but use that pocket for a pair of shoes.

I had to test it with a few hangers to find the ideal fit; some of mine had longer hooks which wasted space. The little pockets on either side of the hanger are a good idea, but they zip open at the bottom which is a little inconvenient for small items (jewelry, etc). There is plenty of space for a skirt and blouse, however dresses need to be folded over the hanger.

The bag hangs by a handle at the top; a hook would have been a little more versatile, but I found a heavy-duty s-hook to use when there is no convenient hook in the wall.

The mounting system is very easy and with a little practice I can get it on and off pretty quickly. I've only used the raincover once, and it seemed to do its job fine and stay firmly attached, but it obscured my taillight and I had to attach the light to my belt.

We also used the bag as carry-on luggage travelling to a wedding, and were able to fit a suit and two dresses in. If you pack the bag 100% full it will not fit in the luggage sizer, but if you leave the top pocket empty and don't put too much in the sides, it can squish in.

I have used the Nashbar garment pannier for about 4 months. It's very well made, but beginning to think it's a bit overkill. I have smaller hangers which fit fine, but keeps my suits no more pressed than a careful roll within a regular pannier would do. It's also a bit clunky in the cramped biker locker room at work to fold open the full garment bag on a narrow bench or the floor.