Anyone using these? They ooze style and sexiness. On the right steel steed it would be perfect

They seem a bit small. Also being partly leather it's likely not a good idea to get them wet often. The two together to me scream impractical for utilitarian use. But If looks are all you are going for (and can fork out nearly 200 quid) feel free to buy them. I'd just not expect much.

Brooks luggage has always struck me as a bit of an affectation. It's really expensive and the designs seem more for style than actual function.

I considered the Brooks panniers, but they don't seem functional enough. I look at Brooks' bags and clothes as fashion items for the wealthy cyclist. If you want to buy traditionally styled panniers that are functional, durable, and will last a lifetime, buy Carradice. I have a pair of Carradice Kendals that I've used for ten years. They've seen commuting duty, touring duty, have been in driving Florida rainstorms and jungle humidity and heat---no problems whatsover.

Now, to be fair, I also have a thirty dollar pair of Nashbar ATB panniers that are the same age, have seen the same amount of abuse, and are holding up just fine.

For the hard core commute crowd around here I think these are a bit on the precious side. Aside from the expected Brooks premium price they have several downsides for year round commuter gear abuser like me.

BUT, I agree that they are very sharp, and the design is pretty clever. It's a niche and they'll find their target audience.

Tonight I broke down and purchased the brick lane panniers. They are so expensive and don't look extremely functional, yes. However, I was lusting after them for probably five years and had a little cash... I hope they are as I expect or better. (I am now hunting more reviews and thoughts.)

My main bags for a long time were Basil Kavan II, and those are wonderful. They are huge, look great, are leather and cotton, and with creativity they allowed me to bring home a week's groceries. However, they pretty much had to be left on my bike which took up too much living space and sucked for joy riding. Some purple Basil panniers have become my go to lately for this reason, but I still need to remove them too often. Eventually I found myself longing for the elegant and highly priced brick lane again. The rolling up feature is what sold me. Being able to do that and leave them on would be great!

I am unconvinced that they will prove as useful for groceries. Not even close, and I am not certain how well I like the closure method. The magnets and rolling up bit though... :drool:
I made some bags for my bike, because I am a competent seamstress and pattern maker, and I had thought about copying what I liked in the brook lane. Eventually I decided that it would involve just enough effort and material that I think I would prefer to spend/splurge instead. I bought from Amazon and might make use of the return policy. Lately I was shopping various components to "upgrade" my perfectly serviceable and lovely bike, so why not at least spring for something I had my eye on for years? I'm a bit nervous that I won't be thrilled, hence the searching, but I'll update when they arrive for the benefit of others. They sure look beautiful, to me, and will compliment my omafiets nicely... If they are sufficiently functional?

I use an old set of Cannondale front panniers about this size - The only thing that they ooze is street grime and rainwater.

At $242 USD I would pass on these. I got the Cannondales for $25 off craigslist.

Rapha Posh stuff.. , I got None to impress & I'm without a disposable income level,

to make those reasonably priced.

'pound-sterling' to dollar is about 1.5:$1, so thats $275

For me they were closer to 200$. It is still a ridiculous amount, but after five years of pining for them I was up for it. Either I'll end up returning them or they'll last years. Cost per use.
They arrive tomorrow, and I am very curious/anxious. I am quite afraid it will seem like money very poorly spent, but if so I can instead spend 50$ and some hours making what I want (something that I can still roll up but probably more functional?) I hope they aren't a letdown, but people online seem to like them in spite of the flaws and cost.

Something I couldn't find more information on is that supposedly the design was changed this year? I saw a reference to it in a review on Lovely Bicycle blog, but no one knew anything, and they all said the Brooks site hadn't been updated to reflect the new design.
Previously the bags had magnets and a single strap and post fastener on each side? It is said that now they use straps rather than magnets? I'm not really sure. I expect my order is the old style, and I'm not sure how I feel about that or if I want the new. For that sort of price Brooks ought to update their site and provide detailed information!

So, they arrived. I am unimpressed.

They turned out to be the new style, so the magnets that I found so neat aren't even a factor. I heard complaints that the magnets didn't hold well enough anyway, but the sort of straps that fit over a metal nub can quickly stretch out and become less secure too, going by the same research and complaints. There is more leather on the bags now, at least. haha.
I'm not sure how I like the look of the new strap version. The old ones, which were all I knew of when ordering, looked very clean and minimalist. I didn't find any images online of the new version. If anyone is interested I can post some photos.

They do have an internal metal frame that I wasn't expecting. That's nice. (It is in the connecting portion that sits on the rack.)

The canvas is not at all what I pictured. My expectation was for densely woven waxy feeling stuff similar to those Australian raincoats at Tractor Supply. The Brooks fabric is only printed on one side with the asphalt colour which feels laminated. If I had bought these from a random eBayer or something I'd suspect they were Chinese fakes, basically. It just isn't what I thought it would be like.

I had been torn about the colour choices, and I went for the asphalt. I'd have liked a very dark green, but some images online looked too tan. The asphalt doesn't go as well with my black bike as I pictured, and I suspect it is due to the depth of shade and texture I'd imagined the cloth would have rather than the flat, printed on, grey-black stuff over natural canvas. By the time I finished taking photos it has grown on me though. When I slid my bike into its parking space in the foyer it looked much more pleasing than when any of my other panniers are left on it. In that respect they are a success.


Obviously I don't think the 200+$ was well spent. The stitching is not perfectly straight in an obvious place, and I wouldn't care or point it out except that such a simple and no frills design ought to be darned perfect at two hundred some dollars. IMO these would be better priced at 100-130$, which should cover materials and labour but be nearer to the prices of other options like Basil.

I intend to wax some nice linen and make something that can be rolled up that also has a shoulder strap.