no1mad 

1. How durable are they?
2. How much weight can they carry?
3. How difficult to attach/remove?

I'm asking because I'm going back to school. I posted a messbag vs. backpack thread, and the general consensus was: backpacks are better than messbags, but panniers are better still.

It's either this, or the backpack into the milk crate...

stevo9er

Whoops read that wrong.

JosephPaul86

I picked up a rack top bag w/panniers from bikepartsusa.com. Its a SunLite brand, and has served me well for 4 months.





now I also have a set of full panniers and a trailer for when i do the big shopping trips, but for maintenance grocery runs this works fine. What I love is the fact I keep all my tools, pump, locks, and etc in the main rack compartment and have fold-out panniers for when i need to carry extra stuff.

commute

I got a Trek Interchange Deluxe Rear Trunk last year. I used it for a few months. It's not the lightest, but it's durable. And the expandable panniers are very useful. In the winter, I stuffed my jacket and heavy clothes in a pannier during the ride home.

In the summer I threw extra food in for turing trips.

I like the rear tab for the LED blinkee. The main interior is easy to clean, if your lunch leaked on the way to work. It comes with a carry strap, which can be useful as well.


Donno about the weight capacity.

BTW: I'm impressed by the interchange system, at least compared to the last rack I used. It's very convenient to press a button to get my bag off the rack, vs untying and unclamping bungee cords.

If you're going to do a lot of walking in school, I'd seriously consider a bag that has good carry straps.

Good luck.

margoC

I have the topeak rack and trunk bag, the bag fits into a rail built in the rack. They are perfect for my needs but I am not so sure about the durability of the fold out bags. I will know more later as I use them almost daily.

Grim

I picked up a Topeak a week ago for commuting. The track is awesome. Easy to use. Trunk is perfect for my lunch and little stuff.

I have not used the panniers yet. My main want for them was the occasional request from the wife "stop by the store and get X". For my needs they should work fine as it will not be a a daily need.

If you are wanting to use them to carry text books daily........I'm not so sure they are the best choice. They would work but I don't think they would make the long haul. I think I would look at a wire frame folding basket pannier for text books.
Maybe some hard cases. I did these and wish I could justify the money.
https://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...20Frame%20Bags

stringbreaker

The Sunlite model works fine for me too

cmoe25027

Wow, that hardcase seems like it would be comparable to carrying a mini fridge on the side of your bike! I have been using the Topeak MTX trunk bag, I think it would be fine for you, but I would use the panniers for lighter stuff and put any text books into the main compartment (slid in with spine up or down, could fit 4 books easily, prolly more). With the Topeak explorer rack, connect/disconnect to/from the bike is a snap, and the shoulder strap that comes with the bag works great. I have been using mine for a couple months, using the middle to hold lock, lunch, tubes, and tools- and the panniers to hold scrubs and shoes; so far I love it and highly reccomend.

Cheers,
Collin

kenl666

I have one of these too and really like it. One caveat: the bungee that secures the lower part of the pannier to the bottom of your rack is not really robust. On mine the inner part of the bungee has already broken after only a few months, the only thing holding the attachment ring on is the outer fabric.

But I probably used it more often than it was intended for. I think it was inteneded for occasional use, I used it for every ride.

I went out and got a pair of Transit panniers from Performance, I'm happy with those now. I still have the trunk with all my tubes & tools in it, but I don't use the fold-down sides anymore.

evblazer

My wife uses the topeak mdx with the foldout panniers on a topeak disc rack.
It has been working fine for over a year with occasional use of the fold out panniers.
She mostly uses the panniers for books/notebooks she is bringing to/from work but doesn't use them day in day out.
The only problem with the topeak rail system I found is I can't seem to find the rail seperately for a rack? I thought at one time they sold it seperately, that could have been before they made alot of racks.

JR97

Longtime user Sunlite bags. Work great. But I don't think even the biggest trunk bag they make will take more than a text book per side.

My bro has the Topeak bag and hauls a 17" laptop in one of his drop downs. The Topeak seems a bit tougher than the Sunlite when I was looking at it

Lamplight

Another satisfied Sunlite user here. I've got the second to largest Toploader model, and I routinely carry a gallon of milk in each pannier with a little room to spare:

stevage

Glad someone else started this thread, I was curious too. My main interest would be commuting plus occasionally picking up some fruit and vegies on the way home. It's a pain when you don't have any spare carrying capacity.

I'd also consider just using the fold out panniers for light touring trips, but I suspect that would be pushing it.

Steve

Rob_E

I have the Topeak (MTX, I think) bag. I like the fold-out panniers for occasional use. Shoulder strap is nice. You could probably fit two or three books/notebooks per side, depending on size, of course. But I would have to agree that they may not be the best choice. If you are going to be using the panniers just about every trip, get "real" panniers. The Topeak ones won't hold quite as much, and carrying the bag using the shoulder strap with loaded panniers is very awkward. I would favour a pannier that can be work like a backpack, or even the backpack in the milk crate, over hauling around the full MTX bag, but maybe that's just me. That bag works fine for what I do with it, but I would get tired of dealing with it if the panniers were always full. Also, the quick on/quick off aspect of the bag is lost when you fold down the panniers and tie them to the bottom of the rack. It's not huge chore, but it is an extra step, and spending money on a quick release system when you're never actually going to be able to use it that way might not make sense.

mountaindave 

Two questions
1. Has anyone tried the Biria Rear Bag and Deluxe Bicycle Panniers?
2. How is the attachment system of the Sunlite Toploader - does it seem stable enough for the occasional books/groceries/dinner?

Thanks,

Dave

alhedges

When I was in school, I used the milkcrate technique. Once I was at school, I needed my backpack to carry all of my books around from class to class - panniers wouldn't work nearly as well. Plus, there's a lot to be said for just dumping your backpack in the milkcrate and taking off.