Grocery panniers?
 

I've been looking at 2 different sets of grocery panniers and wanted some opinions. First, Novara 'Round Town Panniers for $55.00 a pair. Second, Sunlite Grocery Getter Pannier Bicycle Bag, $23.99 each. With S&H both would be about the same price. I was wondering if anyone here uses either of those or tell me what you use and how you like it?

TIA :)

edit - Oops, I meant to post this in the "Living Car Free" forum, could a mod please move this? :o

I don't remember the brand, but I used a pair of quality Grocery panniers for a few years. They were OK, but over time I found that a typical pannier that closes that holds just as much, is much more useful. You can still get groceries and then you can use it for all sorts of other things. "Out of sight out of mind" is nice when you have a camera, etc. in the bags and you need to stop. Plus they are more secure on rough roads, or when you really have to pack a lot into the bags, or if you get caught in the rain.

For my pannier, I use a Jandd Grocery Pannier which cost about $45. You can probably find a better deal, but this thing is rock solid, plus I only use one of them. For me, it should be as sturdy as possible. The Jandd has a internal support frame and a hard plastic back on the bike side.

I looked at the Performance grocery pannier, but it was a flimsy pos.

As for the 2 panniers shown, I have not seen either one of them in person. However, looking at the pictures, it appears that the Novara may have the internal support frame like my Jandd, so it might be sturdier than the Sunlite.

Forrest

The performance pannier is inexpensive, but as fevans states, it is not very durable. There is an interanal frame in the modelI have and it has been used for work commuting, grocery runs, etc. I wouldn't trust a laptop in it or any open pannier, and would hate to wreck a good bottle of wine/6 pack, etc. for short runs on MUP or really safe roads/trails, the open tops are fine though.

I know trek makes grocery panniers.

I have a pair of Novara grocery panniers. Although it's an older model it looks about the same as the one you posted, apart from the color. Each can easily hold a full large paper grocery bag and if you're not riding a rough trail, items wouldn't fall out. You won't get protection from the rain, but they are pretty sturdy and take a lot of abuse.

One problem I had was when they are empty and folded up and I hit a bump, the panniers would pop off the rack's rail. A small carabiner for each pannier solved that and prevented them from inching forward to hit my heels.

Not quite the same, but I use the folding baskets by Wald. The downside is that they are permanantly attached to the bike, but if you are car free, then that may not be as big a deal to you. The upside about that is that you never forget to bring them when you want to go shopping, and it's not likely anyone will take them.

I use canvas grocery bags with mine, but they fit paper grocery bags as well. They run 2 for 30 bucks from that Amazon vendor your second link goes to (I bought them from those guys, they arrived in about a week).

I also use mine to carry my backpack for my commute to school, and all kinds of other random stuff, and I like that I don't have to worry about the heat and UV here in FL breaking them down. It's also really easy to use bungies to make sure nothing is gonna fly out of them, and they attach quite solidly.

Thanks for the input guys. I'm leaning toward the Novara panniers as they seem like a "no frills lets get the job done" type of deal.

I've been lusting after those exact panniers. I like the idea of being able to put any kind of bag in them, but being able to fold them up when you're not using them. My friend who has them says the're heavy, but the specs say a pair is only 5.5 lbs, which isn't much considering all the other heavy crap I have on my bike. I'm glad you like 'em -- pushing me closer to getting some for myself.

I also use those wald folding baskets. I don't usually like the quality of Wald, but they do thier job really well, and I might say, quite pretty, too. I even go out of my way to buy something from the grocery store for a chance to use them.

Just one tip though, don't use the metal calmps they come with. Use the most powerful zipties you can possibly find instead to mount them on your rack, especially if you're going to use the black basket.

I'd love to have this Arkel Utility Basket: http://www.arkel-od.com/panniers/uti...asp?fl=0&site=

Don't forget that you can save $11 (20%) o the REI Novara bags by using coupon code MEMB26 through April 2nd.

Square profile bags can interfere with heels or require mounting further back on the rack.
I find that a pair of Carradice Super C panniers work well for groceries. They hold their shape well. The flap top can be overloaded with bulky objects such as loo rolls.

I use these too. Perfect for a commuter bike. But 5.5 pounds? That seems like a high estimate to me. Perhaps the spec includes a bike rack (necessary to mount the baskets). Even then. . . it just seems high to me.

I bought the Sunlite bag and not a fan of it. It's light, has plenty of storage pockets and folds when not in use, but the attachment system leaves a lot to be desired. I have found a way to ensure that it stays on the rack, but it's a bit of a PiTA.

I bought a Trek Interchange Grocery pannier yesterday.

http://store.trekbikes.com/jump.jsp?...&bShopOnline=0

It was steaply discounted as part of the LBS' get you in the store start of the season "Trek Super Sale".

It has a quick-release mechanism for clamping onto the side of a bike rack. The funny thing was that it wouldn't fit on the Trek rack it was designed for. That rack uses hollow tubing which is too large in diameter for the clamp mechanism. I think it will work on my Blackburn rack which uses smaller diameter solid aluminum tubing.

Im thinking it will be a good way to get a couple tennis rackets in with my regular commuting gear. That will allow me to commute this summer on days where I will be playing tennis after work. Up to now, I have been driving on days that I play tennis.

I'm a little worried about heel strike on such a large rectangular pannier. One advantage of the Interchange model over the standard Trek grocery pannier is that its horizontal position on the rack is adjustable.

I've decided on the Novara panniers and found these great bags to go along with them. They are nylon bags that are the same size of paper grocery bags and have handles to boot. ;)

Earth Tote Grocery Bags

http://www.reusablebags.com/store/im...h-tote-tan.jpg

+1
Yeah, DavidLee already made his choice but I assume other people will keep reading this thread for info like I do. I shopped for panniers for a long time and read a lot of info online. They're great for tourists and most commuters, I know. Durability of fabric left in the sun or rain and mud plus the really high costs associated with good panniers led me to the Wald folding basket. I wanted something that was cheap, zero maintenenace, out of the way, but always available and can be left on the bike without being stolen. These are.

On the way home from work and the wife calls needing potatoes, gallon of milk and shampoo? No problem. Stop at store, unfold basket, go home. My work clothes all fit in my trunk bag and I've never felt like I needed more space there. During the holiday season, people would give me fruit baskets, gifts, loafs of banana nut bread etc, and the folding basket handled them all with a little help from bungees. Nothings even come close to bouncing out.

EDIT: The attachment hardware included with the basket is sturdy but a can be a bit troublesome to use. Beefy zip-ties used to reinforce the basket/rack union help with peace of mind.

I use one at breezerbikes.com, which I got with the bikes. Two things I like are the aluminum frame, with I think your Novara has, and that it has a strap.

Sounds nerdy, but I just hang it across my shoulder and shop with it. I unload from it, and after they scan it they put the groceries right back in the pannier. I love it!

My laptop fits in it, too.

I like the open top--sometimes I'll buy something that sticks out. I have a rain cover for it.