Plus one for the Wald basket set. They're really solid. I got the smaller one and it fit on my bike perfectly, which is rare as I understand it. They include a package of small hardware to jury-rig the installation, but you may still need to visit a hardware store. Get a little bungee cargo net to go over it.

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I now also have a pair of the Wald #582 pannier baskets. Unfortunately they included a mutant U-clamp which won't work so, I have to wait for them to send me a replacement.

I Love Vons. Vons Online Grocery Shopping and Delivery/Pickup is unavailable which I use for myself to have groceries. Online prices do not reflect in-store pricing/availability and Vons is a Southern California and Southern Nevada supermarket chain owned by Albertsons.

Consider the physics involved. If you mount things high on the bike, especially on top of the rack, you can affect the handling and stability of your bike. That's why touring bike riders use panniers. I have experience on loading up the panniers at a grocery store and was thankful to have panniers as well as using a recumbent trike where stability is unaffected. If you live where it rains, enclosed panniers protect your groceries far better than plastic grocery bags. I never had a problem with anyone stealing anything off my trike while it was parked at grocery stores but perhaps I live in a better neighborhood than some do. These days I use a different trike and just hang stuff off the rear part of the frame in those reusable fabric bags. I can carry a gallon of milk and a couple other items that way since I don't have a rack on the trike.
You can get an inexpensive set of panniers like these by ordering from China for around $15. A similar but slightly smaller set from a US seller is $18. https://www.ebay.com/itm/313189767368 and https://www.ebay.com/itm/333766183116

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its only 3 miles-go everyday

If you plan on picking up eggs, a gallon of milk, chips, & a loaf of bread all at once during a shopping event, you may find it more of a challenge. A more rugged cargo setup with large enough individual compartments might be the way to go.

Most of the problem with a backpack is getting a sweaty back on a long ride, particularly if it's then going to get cold later on.

But for three or five or even ten miles it's really not an issue.

Some experience in how it handles and in packing with care is key.

Something I learned back in college is that shopping with a basket was a good size predictor for the rear rack (replica) milk crate.

More recently in addition to leveraging the backpack I've discovered possibilities like tying a tote back with a couple of frozen pizzas in it to the outside of my backpack, or tying a 6-pack of toilet paper there, or sticking a bottle of cooking oil in a bottle cage (that already had a velcro strap for security)

That said there is a strong counter-argument to cycle-based grocery shopping at the moment though, and that's that in a pandemic it probably makes more sense to go into a few stores once a week and really load up at motor vehicle scale, rather than to make a greater number of smaller trips. Indoor-grade masks are also going to work better when not on a sweaty face; especially single-use ones there's any desire to save for re-use. Masks for riding in are another matter, more of an outbound/courtesy kind of thing than something likely to offer meaningful inbound protection when entering a shared indoor space.

1. Do your grocery shopping
2. Return to your bike and unpack the cart and decide which items will go in the basket, which will go in the panniers, and which will go in the backpack. Use weight and bulk to help decide.
3. Ride slow-ish on the way home - things can flop out of an open basket, but heavy items like milk and canned goods tend to stay in unless you are riding like a maniac. Use your backpack for lighter things and things you don't want crushed, like bread.

it’s not really that big of a deal. Specially for short grocery trips. A lot of us poor folk in Orange County do it, besides your big ole butt weighs more than any groceries and sits higher up over the rack, the only real issue to be careful with is when leaning it against something or if you use a kick stand. I also have a Bell branded knockoff of the wald 582 folding basket. Great for tossing my library books and dvds in.

Three miles to the grocery store, as thread starter Juan Foote is looking at, was the distance we had when we were car-free grocery shopping. None of the on-bike solutions of this thread would have worked for us though. I'd be loaded down with 4 or 5 times what the basket will hold. Two DIY canvas pannier bags strapped on the rack , double load of duffels on the rack (the lower duffel had a rigid bottom and would extend a foot or two over the rear), plus backpack for bread and eggs and such. My wife had a smaller load. I'd have gladly used a trailer if I'd had one.

Ease of handling wasn't an issue, because there was no ease of handling - you keep it straight and upright. Get the weight and bungies wrong however, and weight can get to swaying and that's bad news. Tie down with nylon cord instead, heavier loads on the rack.

I keep a few grocery bags in my milk crate and some bungee cords. So when I buy too much food I can bag some of it and strap the bags down. Also if you don't want to smoosh the bread put it in a bag and hang it over the side.

I made this little cargo trailer with an old kiddie trailer I found in the trash. I use it to schlep my ladder and tools. There's 19 gallons of water there. 8.33 pounds per gallon.


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this is the "WinCo Wagon", there is a piece of plywood lining the milk container so small stuff does not drop out which also serves as a foundation for the foam liner, which helps absorb the bumps, the plywood also helps when it comes to bolting down the container to the rack.

if we are really going to town, then we also take the back pack, together i can get about 40 lbs or about 56 dollars worth of stuff home safely.

i use a Trader Joes shopping bag for stuff that goes in the container, you can tie the handles together to seal stuff in.This means that you do all yo bagging inside the store where it is warm and bright, so you come out to the bike and just plop that shopping bag in the back and go. This also means that you can keep the bike balanced, because if you load a side pannier while your bike is leaning against a post o on the kick stand, then it will fall over while you pack. so we unlock the bike, throw on the back pack, then load the container with the shopping bag last which means the bike don't tip over.

the back pack is good for hauling dog food (for the crows) because who wants to peddle 12 miles at night just for dog food?

you can rest the bottom of the back pack on the front edge of the milk container so you do not even feel any weight.

make sure the rear stays are on good, had one cut loose which made the load swing back and forth wildly till we got home fo repairs.

popping wheelies with a full load is very easy. and the workout coming up the final grade gets those fast twitch muscles in shape so we can lead out Woot.
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I use a pair of cheap panniers and a rack bag. At the moment I'm shopping for us and my mother, and I can get a full week's shopping for mother in one load.

I can get much of our shopping (we're a family of four) on board, although we get our meat, fresh vegetables, and cheese from a local farm shop.

Keeping the bulk of the load low down in the panniers means that the bike's handling isn't affected and fragile items are safe in the rack bag.

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