Grocery panniers
 

Got any recommendations?

I've been scouring the net and the bricks and mortar, but nothing yet that floats my boat. Saw one at Performance Bikes (in town) that looked like it might be good (soft bags, no top) for $49 but then saw it ON performancebikes.com for quite a bit less, but then I read the reviews and they weren't all that positive.

I want bags that are secure yet easy to take off into the store, fairly lightweight, and don't hit my foot when I peddle.

Here's the one I looked at: Transit Grocery Bag Pannier which is on sale on the net at about $30 each.

http://www.rei.com/product/733820

Get 2 for the price.

bought my pair at a LBS, but they're too heavy (12 lbs!), so i took 'em off... i then made a pair out of a set of soft-sider igloo bags (about $6 at the local Big Lots)... nice for hot weather, but not as secure with a heavier load..

but honestly, i do my weekly Farmer's Market shopping using just a cheap Nashbar messenger bag and haven't run into trouble...

of course, i'm only shopping for two, not a big family...

other folks have used the big kitty litter buckets to good effect (e.g., ScoopAway):

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA200_.jpg

Whatever you get- make certain they fit the bike and the rack.



Did a ride with someone that had bags too large for the rack. I warned him that the bags were too big as the bottom of the bag was rubbing against the spokes- I also warned him that he had a rear wheel wobble about 10 miles later.

No recomendations but make sure you check the things ON YOUR BIKE.

I use the Deuter Rack Pack I.
I've used them on 4 different racks.
They don't fit on any of them!

The problem is the little tongue at the bottom of the pack that's supposed to clip behind the rack. On the Deuter, it's about a quarter inch too low, not enough to stop me using them but enough to need forcing onto the rack. These panniers offer adjustments in every direction ... except up and down.

Richard

I added a set of Wald folding baskets to my rear rack on my 'grocery getter' bicycle. They fold up very nicely, are adjustable to avoid heel conflicts, and are well made. Just add a couple of the newly popular reusable grocery bags and that adds the portability you need to go in the store.

Just another option, maybe worth a look.

http://waldsports.qbsoft.com/index.c...ingbasket.html

Mark

I've got almost three years of use on my Nashbar Townie Basket grocery panniers. When they're on sale they're $15-$20 each.

Others are more fashionable, but these were cheap and they work just fine. Not that it matters in San Diego, but they come with rain covers too.

I have two of the Transit grocery panniers, and use them a lot. Mine are two years old, and other than being two years dirty, they are as good as the day I bought them.

I sometimes load them pretty heavy, without problem, and they pretty much live on my bike, hanging on a rear rack. They fold up pretty tight, and I hold them tighter by threading a monkey ball thru the shoulder strap bracket, thereby tieing them tighter together, when empty.

They have not failed me in any manner, carrying pretty heavy loads frm time to time.

I bought them at Performance on a half off sale, paying $20 each.

For the grocery (Trader Joe's in my case) I use some cheapo Performance panniers on the back and some really ugly turquoise Kirtland panniers in the front (see the photo of my Hercules in the "Simple Bike" thread).

Anyway, mine are very cheap, not the least bit attractive, but they do work quite well.

Rick / OCRR

I don't take the panniers off of the bike for groceries, preferring to load the plastic sacks (which I reuse for trash) into the panniers. Loading a full pannier onto a bike would, in my case, be a challenge.

I can get 2 regular bags into each pannier, plus I have a foldup backpack I carry for two more grocery bags.

I have panniers on 2 bikes (total of four). One set from EBay - and one set on sale from mail order.

Additionally, my wife has one pannier on each of her bikes.

Each pannier uses a different mounting system, but they all will fit onto a rack securely, which is definitely a concern to watch for.

I don't hit any of them with my feet while pedaling.

There was a thread awhile back about somebody who made panniers out of those new recyclable mesh grocery bags, but I can't seem to find it. Very slick setup and easy to make.

I believe this is the link to the thread you mention.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ocery+reusable

+1 on the REI set. Plus, they're deeper than the Nashbar/Transit ones.

I got some Avenir Excursion Large Panniers. I wouldn't just put a large grocery sack in there, maybe the plastic or reusable ones. Load them when you get on the bike. They can hold a lot of stuff if you pack them. They hang off the side of a regular rack.

http://spokesetc.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=2447

I have those Transits and use them every day on my commuter. I really load 'em up. A lot. Laptop in it's bag, school papers and books, clothes and food.
I toss a bungee cord on for the laptop just because I'm a nervous about it. But they've held up well and work well. The reflector really reflects too.

Note that I had to hang them on the back part of the rack to get foot clearance.

http://curtis.corlew.com/hosting/commuter-curtis.jpg

I made a set today. I used coroplast instead of the board recommended in the thread. Right now coroplast is real cheap--as in free. My neighborhood was full of 24inch wide McCain/Palin signs that work perfectly!

DG, this is like the 3rd time you've started a thread like this! Are you looking for new products, since you haven't liked the ones mentioned?

I don't remember doing this before. But since I have a perfect memory, I must be having recall problems again. Dang it!

Besides, this is a new bike. I got the wire panniers for the Cypress and although I love their size, I hate the clips you use to keep 'em folded. Really tight and hard to use.

Well, to refresh your memory, this is what I recommend. I've turned 3 friends onto them, now, too. They're 55 bucks, I've never had them come off, and they don't hit my foot (and I've used them a classic road bike, a mountain bike and my Atlantis). A grocery bag fits in each one, as long as you don't over fill it width-wise. I've had them for about a year and a half, and I use them constantly. I use them almost every time I ride.

I don't use them in KS, because the wind would take me to TX. They will slow you down in the wind like parachutes, but they snap closed right on the bike when you're not using them. They also have a thing that connects them to each other if you need.

So easy to get off and on that you don't even think about avoiding it.

Edit: Available at REI


http://media.rei.com/media/654936.jpg

Seems to me they didn't work too well. :lol::thumb::innocent:


I tried to resist, honest I did. It was just too easy.
:roflmao:

what brand/model are they?

They're Novara "round town" panniers. You can read reviews on the website.... Click on the name I underlined.

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=365215
I have some of these & like them better than the Nashbar Panniers I had previously. They are well made, go on & off the bike easily. They have a shoulder strap for carrying off the bike. They only cost $2 each but you have to buy 10. When I got mine, they were selling them in sets of 5 for $9.95, here is what they look like on the bike

The ones in the link say that they're only 3" deep and 10" square. The ones on your bike look bigger, and much better suited to groceries....

I bought a pair back in July for $20 each with shipping, and I'm quite satisfied. But... the Nashbar site has them listed now for $30 each + shipping. They must have been selling by the gross back when gas was >$4.