Just bought 1 of these for my daughter to use in and around Asheville NC.

Looking for moderate sized panniers to use with it. Will also be trying to determine the best locking solutions along with theft insurance.




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Does the bike have eyelets on the rear triangle to install a rack ?. That drives some what the type of pannier she installs. If no eyelets, you can add a rack that clamps to the seat post then get panniers to fit that. Also ask what is she carrying ?. School books ?, groceries ?, maybe give REI I look at, they sell all kinds of gear for this purpose.

No, the pannier rails are built into the fender stays. It's good to go.

Ortleib is the brand of reference but she might not need or want something so serious / dorky. You can get ones that are styled like backpacks, messenger bags, briefcases.

Looking a Back Roller single 20L for starters.

Also Vaude since the mounts on the bike were designed with those in mind.

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Is she going to be using these in the rain? Pluses for Ortleib are absolute waterproofing, both now and for years/decades to come. On/off the racks is so easy she never needs to open them in the rain. The yellow ones have another plus. They just might get noticed by an otherwise oblivious driver. (And those have been observed around college campuses.) Ortleibs are also up to college life abuse. Falling off the rack while going downhill, loaded and heavy, simply doesn't phase them. (Mine, at 14 and 24 years old have done that a few times. Skidded some nice long distances. Only repairs I have done are once, a routine raft repair after I stuck a very sharp kitchen knife through it and new hardware about every 8 years. (Used to be $35 a pair for the hooks.)

I agree with ortlieb panniers. I have both the front and back rollers and my favorite setup is using the front panniers on my rear rack. The back rollers are huge.

Ortleib or Arkel will do you well! Arkel has some great commuter stuff that would be really nice if a standard pannier is off putting.

Ortlieb has a new pannier that converts into a backpack pretty easily.




As with most 2-in-1 things, it's a compromise; it's not as good as a dedicated backpack and not as good as a dedicated pannier. But it is good
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[Note: the single bag front mount did not work well, especially since I had the bag stuffed. But it should be fine on a rear rack.]

I have had good experience with Rhinowalk. Lower price than Ortlieb.

Fortunately she is not a slave to fashion. Went with a single Ortlieb Back Roller free for starters.

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i love my ortliebs. They're basically indestructible, rainproof, snowproof, and i've fallen a few times and they've just had a few scuffs. They're mega expensive, but I don't regret paying full price for them. My only negative is that I wish they were a bit easy to remove if I'm going grocery shopping/commuting, especially if the weather sucks and I have to take off gloves to get them off.

Explain, please? A pannier that is ultra durable in many senses of the word and will last a long time so you don't have to buy a new one seems like a good low cost pannier to me? $20 a year seems pretty cheap if I have them for 10 years and they will probably last longer than that, VS say $50-80 every year or two for cheaper ones that aren't as good or waterproof or durable.

I like to look at long term costs when talking pricing because short term only really matters on goods that aren't needed to last or do anything super well.

Some of us are not so fortunate as to be able to do so.

I love my Ortlieb.
If budget seems to be the challenge, try buy 2nd hand like I did. I got mine only around 35$ and works wonders.

Will not look for other brands for panniers..

Doubtful around here. Sure they are some people who are truly absolutely struggling but trying and really cannot afford anything but that is not this thread. Rich people can easily only look and care about short term costs and continue paying them over and over not everyone has that luxury to be able to just buy the same thing over and over multiple times. If you are truly truly truly struggling homemade bucket panniers are a cheap way to go and beyond the mounts the buckets should last a while.

However this thread in general was more about someone buying a nice new bike and wanting panniers which ended up being Ortliebs.

​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Well, having lived in a university town I've noticed that bicycle things can (might) disappear.
I tend to just go for used/beat up or if not possible then kinda cheap stuff, less temptation.
One can't keep one's eye on all their stuff all the time in that kind of environment.
And if (sometimes when) things disappear the sting is not so bad.

Yes if you leave it on a bike for a thief yes it will disappear. Stuff that you can take off easily like an Ortlieb pannier is ideal rather than more complicated stuff that you might tend to leave on the bike . Obviously though if you are leaving something out something less nice or that looks less appealing is useful but I wouldn't really leave any bags on my bike if locking up for any appreciable amount of time.

I would get one of those pannier backpacks that Ortlieb or Arkel make or just use a regular backpack and a milk crate which usually happen to be behind the university dining hall if you want a little risk in life or you can probably get a facsimile at Ikea called the Schmoofung or Düngöl (totally making that up) or find people locally selling them.

Speaking of theft, I heard a story of a person having their pannier stolen while on the bike waiting for a light. Ortlieb panniers are very easy to remove by pulling one handle. I was commuting with Ortlieb panniers when I heard that story, so I ran a bungee through my handles for a while. But I've come to realize that I don't often see many people of the type who would pull that kind of stunt.

That is bold. Damn! I am also lucky I don't have people in my area pulling that at least not as far I know or they haven't messed with me ever.

You said moderate size. I consider the Back Roller on the large size. The Sport Packer is more moderate size with Sport Roller 15 % less but not small. Unless she needs something to hold a large laptop I’d go for smaller. I have a Back Packer plus, Sport Roller and Sport Packer Plus. Two full large panniers is a very heavy load. I started using double lower hooks with the big bags and off road use.

I paid 200ish? bucks for a pair of my ortliebs. And yes, they will probably last a decade.

I add a second attachment of some kind to anything I hang on my racks because I’ve had panniers and baskets fall off in traffic when I’ve hit a bump at speed.

Bags that will last a long time and work reliably don't sound expensive when you break down the cost over the years? I don't see $20 a year to be expensive. As a pure ultra short term super narrow viewing window cost yes it could be high but not having to re-buy them again in a year or two is a win in my book.

Agree with Ortliebs. Found a pair like new on eBay for CHEAP. $150 for a pair of “Bike Packer Plus”. Love them for my daily commute, groceries, etc. Any weather, functional, quick release handles, nifty attachments to frame.

Ortlieb stuff is in that class of stuff "why is it so expensive?" which later becomes "why did I take so long to buy it?" I held off, being pathologically frugal. Then some "front rollers" became available at $100. The word "front" is because they are small enough to be considered for the front of the bike, but they work fine on the back. "Rollers" because the top rolls down before buckling, making them waterproof. They are well made. Some buckles failed, and Ortlieb said it was because of a defect of theirs so they replaced them for free, of course. Customer service is built into the high price.