I'm going to be commuting on my bike to work soon. I'll need to carry a pair of shoes, socks, slacks, and dress shirt.

Just curious if I should go for saddle bags or a hard case. I'll try to avoid riding in the rain but it is a possibility that I will get caught in a shower.

Would the forum recommend saddle bags or top mount hard case?

I think it's just going to end up being a matter of cost and personal preference. Both panniers and a hard case will keep work clothes dry (if used correctly). Myself I use panniers. A third option is a nice backpack and leave your bike nekkid.

Personally, I like a nice small (20L) backpack. I can fit a lunch for two people and changes of clothes for two people in it.

It also is nice to have a high-quality small backpack was traveling light (carry-on a plane/train/boat for a weekend) or when doing other activities (rock climbing or playing badminton, for example). It's also nice for a quick load of groceries.

I'm sure that you could use a hard/soft pannier for the other activities, but I would personally find it cumbersome.

I would be concerned with the weight penalty for a hard case, which of course then prompts the question, what's the benefit of a hard case in this application?

Certainly you can get soft panniers with equal rain protection, at the pinnacle of which are probably the roll-top, dry bag styles.

As far as hard cases go, you ask about a top mount one, but I don't know of any such one that would be big enough to accommodate the gear you want to carry as easily as a pannier (ie. rack side mounted) style case, hard case or soft. I suppose you could rig up your own hard case top mount, probably using a flat, briefcase style hard pack, but you'd have to figure out how to do that, then weigh whether it offers any advantages over off-the-shelf systems.

Even hard case panniers are scarce, and certainly you won't find the range of price options, styles, or features that you can find in soft panniers. Their absence, I think, suggests that they generally offer little advantage over soft cases. Perhaps rigid, molded or thermoformed foam cases would be of interest?

It all comes back to the question of need; what do you need a hard case for? If your ride takes you trailblazing through scrub brush and you want durability against abrasion by woody, thorny bushes, then yeah, a hardcase is probably worth it. For the OPs stated needs though, I'd say a hardcase is too heavy, too expensive, too much trouble, and just generally overkill.

I just bought a set of panniers they are Ortlieb made in Germany and water proof. I paid $170 but are well made and hold my 17" laptop no problem.

I like to use the panniers, less weight and easy to saddle on and off. I leave the shoes at the office, no need to haul those back and forth. Backpack isn't so good as it puts additional weight on your saddle and harder on the bum bum. Put the weight on the bike. Your gonna love commuting, its addicting.

I'll second the Ortlieb recommendation - they really do keep things perfectly dry, and they're very durable. They're also quite stiff (the classic ones, anyways), so I don't see the hard case being much advantage unless you plan to fall on your laptop a lot. Riding in the rain with a backpack is kind of miserable.

You have to realize that the feedback that you receive will be biased based upon individual experiences. I've tried wearing a mess bag, wearing a backpack, strapping backpack to rack, putting backpack in a grocery pannier, and a rack trunk- they all have pros and cons. I've even considered using a top case, but couldn't bring myself to justify the expense.

If you can avoid hauling the shoes around, that will greatly improve your options.

Some people here are recommending a backpack. I disagree. The best thing I ever did was switch from a backpack to a saddlebag. I get much less hot and sweaty on my ride in. I see that you're in Hawaii? Yeah, a backpack will be sweat-central.

I would recommend panniers for your situation (note that a saddlebag is a different thing). I myself use a Carradice saddlebag, which might be a good option also.

The OP may find one of these, a garment bag pannier, useful:




https://www.performancebike.com/bikes..._400005_400103

I use this system of rack and panniers, they are not water proof, only water resistant. I use a couple of 2.5 gal. Hefty zip-locs for my clothes and anything else I don't want getting wet.

Some one mentioned saddlebags and panniers are different. I had not realized that. A backpack would be the least expensive solution (since I already have one) but it would be hot and wrinkle my clothes. I hadn't thought about the hard case being heavier but it makes sense.


I hadn't thought that far ahead I guess but yea, I'll certainly be leaving my shoes at work. doh!

That is awesome for my purposes! Thank for the link.

I knew some good would come out of asking the forum about this. Thanks guys and gals.

Leave the shoes at work. Drive monday with a whole weeks worth of clothes so you don't have to shlep them around every day.

Yeah, it can be a little confusing. A saddlebag is a big bag that attaches to your seat rails (Carradice, among others), everyone knows what a pannier is, but saddlebag panniers (two panniers joined together by fabric or straps) tends to stump some people when they first encounter the word.

Since you've decided you can leave the shoes at work, you don't really need the garment bag to avoid wrinkled clothes. Simply roll them up and place in a bag of your choice.

If you have to carry a laptop, I would suggest panniers/backpack over a hard case. Panniers or a backpack will keep the laptop suspended which will help to minimize shocks - hard case would transmit all shocks straight to the laptop.

I didn't realize that saddlebags and panniers were different either. I think a lot of people use the terms interchangeably anyway - The ones I use I guess you would call "saddlebag panniers" since they are one unit and drape over the rack. I's cool that we have so many gear carrying options!

This might also be of interest: found this on ebags.com. It's soft, and Velcro straps to the rack.
https://www.ebags.com/product/detours...36&rlid=DETAILI'm also looking at bike bag options. Ortlieb, as mentioned by others, has high quality stuff and a quick, cool attachment system (QL3) for bags and briefcases.

If you're interested in Ortlieb, but can't swing the price, then check out RackTime, Ortlieb's 'budget brand'.