curbowman

I was looking at the excellent library of old catalogs in velo-pages.com and "discovered" the Kirtland bags & panniers.

Kirtland

They seemed to do good stuff, including a saddle bag that looks very much like today's "bikepacking" ones. And their quick mounting system is very similar to Arkel's. And since they were doing business during the late '70s I can't help to think, what happened to them?

prathmann

Thanks for the link. I just purchased some Kirtland rear panniers from another BF member and was wondering which exact model they were (S/T) so the old catalogs were very useful. We used their smaller Century 200 front panniers on our tandem for daily commuting in the late '70s. Their panniers and other bags were highly regarded in the '70s but I remember them as being rather high in price. Don't know what happened to the company but by 1980 they had lots of competition and I had the impression that the popularity of bike touring was starting to decline.

fietsbob

Companies just go out of business.

tinrobot

I really like the way that handlebar bag mounts. Much easier than Ortliebs with their fussy cables.

djb

at that time, I was only dreaming of getting motorcycles, so have no recollection of this brand. I do however still have a cordura handlebar bag from about 1990 that used that same type of rigid metal brace thingee to mount, with the pokey bits going into sleeves along the side of the bag.

So I guess that method became the norm by then, as it seems to me that other handlebar bags had this system when I got mine.

Just last summer I was rooting around for the bits and couldnt find them all, which was too bad because it would have worked fine to go on an old bike or two we have that have quill stems.

I remember when riding the bike without the bag on, but with the metal support screwed on, it looked like you were either riding around searching for water, or were a nerdy ham radio enthusiast even when on a bicycle....

Bandera

Like Eclipse they made high quality innovative kit back when touring was a booming category in the industry.
If I recall correctly the founder sold Kirtland in ~86-87. Perhaps a member from Boulder CO will have more exact info since they were made there.

I still have a H-bar bag, small panniers and three late model seat wedges. The seat packs are still in daily service many years and thousands of miles on, faded but functional.

edit: Remembered that I have a set of NOS Kirtland Pursuit MTB panniers circa '88-90, on the un-opened package "Made in Korea".

-Bandera

Tourist in MSN

I have an old Kirtland bag that hung below the top tube and had a strap that went around the downtube, but it only fit well on a bike with a pretty short headtube. It held a few tools and a tube, not much else.

I bent up a steel rod (I think it was 1/4 inch) to be able to use such a bag (brand was Avineer, spell?) on a threadless stem setup. See photo. I sprayed it with black spray paint, but you can see the paint did not stick to the galvanized rod very well.

But later I got tired of a bag that did not have a quick release way to bring into a restaurant or store with me, so I switched to the modern style of bar bag.

djb

mine was able to come off easily, I think there was a strap or sometihng you undid, then slid teh bag off the prongs. Not too awkward at all, but getting a waterproof and click on click off modern bag is just plain nice and practical.

John N

I still have most of a full set with the "early warning" fabric in storage, first generation of "reflective" fabric. It reflected fair but I liked the medium blue more than the standard navy blue. I did have to replace the spring on the panniers with something with a little more strength as occasionally I would bounce a pannier off. Best, John

wahoonc

IIRC went out of business around 1989, towards the end everything was made overseas.

Lot of old companies have come and gone.

I would say either Arkel or Lone Peak would be the closest to it today, or possibly Jandd.

Aaron

Anna4255

Brands come and go.

BigAura

I was backpacker in the 60's & 70's. In 1978 I heard about bicycle touring and became intrigued. I saved up and purchased a full Kirkland pannier set for my ParisSport 10-speed. In May 1979 I quit my job and hit-the-road. For a little more than three months I rode up & down the eastern US.



The Kirkland's were excellent quality and served me well for that tour, and shorter tours I did in the following few years. I also used them for commuting & grocery-getting for a year when I lived car-free.

djb

That's a great picture. So, so 70s decor!

BigAura

That was my parent's house in NJ. I was showing off my loaded-rig a couple of days before I left. Besides quitting my job I gave up my lease too...I was ready!

nickw

Agreed - super cool pic. Interestingly enough, everything in that photo is cool / trendy again. Funny how that works.

edthesped

Lovin the Daisy Dukes!! Ahh the 70's... Please don't ever let the 70's styles return. 81 was my first tour, Bavaria, and if I remember correctly I rode in jeans or maybe even Daisy Dukes myself.

curbowman

Oh, yeah. The "official" cycling attire around my home was to wear shorts with the three white strips on the side. And for grown up, jeans were the standard, with the pants tucked inside the socks.

BobG

I had a set of Hartley Alley's "Touring Cyclist Shop" panniers which were the prototype for the Kirtlands that came later. From Wikipedia...

"The modern bicycle pannier was invented by Hartley Alley (1919-2001) of Boulder, Colorado, in 1971.[5] Alley also designed a handlebar bag and other bicycle luggage that he manufactured and sold under the Touring Cyclist brand in the 1970s until his retirement in 1984."

That said, I had a pair of canvas, French "Sologne" panniers long before the TC Shop bags. Leather straps with buckles so I guess they wouldn't be called modern!

photo 1- TC panniers 1983
photo 2- TC label
photo 3- Sologne panniers 1968...

indyfabz

Did you also have the pleasure of seeing Ben Franklin "discover" electricity?

Cougrrcj 

Looks like a Pletscher rear rack and Zefal HP frame pump, too! Exactly the same as my 'rig' back then, but I never used front bags... My set was Cannondale in yellow (for visibility )

And yes -- I also toured in cut-off jean shorts.

So, what bike is that? --and do you still have it??

BigAura

Yep. The Zefal was great! The Pletcher rack was only barely adequate, although it did get the job done.

Yes. That's my 1970 ParisSport. It's now a fixed gear that's generally my daily ride, although the only original parts are frame, handlebar (flipped & chopped), brake, and front-rack (Jim Blackburn).

I rigged it for a two-week tour (summer/2016). Only the frame & front-rack are the same from 1979.

Cougrrcj 

Mine still wears the Pletscher that I put on it in 1977. The Zefal HP is a replacement since they tend to get bent when used for rapping on bad doggie noggins. The blue handlebar bag is an old Eclipse...

The Pletscher's spring clamp is great for holding my rolled-up work clothes on my 12.5mi one-way commute...

Handlebar bag holds wallet, cell phone, basic tools, tire repair kit, etc.

Photo taken this past summer when I rode it to work...

muse kidd

I bought the full set in navy back in the mid-80's. I've just pulled out the handlebar bag from being in storage for 10 years. It's faded to pale tan now. The rear bags look almost new. I have no idea what happened to the front panniers? They must have been lost during one of my many moves over the years.

The front handle bar bag mount was quite simple and worked well. Ortleib and Arkel seem far too complicated. I've an Arkel on my Dawes Galaxy and though I use it extensively - I think it sits a bit too high. The nearest design I've seen is made by Swift? I think it's called the Paloma?

But like so many aspects of cycling, the older stuff seems simpler, better designed in ways. Btw, I also still have my original Blackburn front and rear racks. I'm a few years late to the convo, but thought I'd comment anyway. Cheers! - cm

Jim from Boston

Back in 1977 on our cross country bike trip, we used Bellweather pannier bags (and Pletcher rear rack). I don't think they're sold anymore either.

↓↓↓↓

Jim from Boston

ɅɅɅɅ

What happened to Kirtland bike bags?To further this trip down Memory Lane, I have posted:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston

My wife and I crossed the country in 1977 from LA to Washington DC. Some of the now-old-fashioned elements as I recall:

Hairnet helmets, woolen bike shorts, jogging suits for colder weather, toe clips, paper maps, phone booths for calls; sent post cards; for cash we used travelers checks and had money orders wired to us at various post offices. We were not into photography, so instead of an SLR film camera, we had a Kodak Instamatic.

To track mileage we had a mechanical odometer with a metallic striker affixed to a spoke. For lights we used those strap on D-cell battery powered lights with a front yellow and rear red lenses.

We rode Merciers, model not recalled, with sew-up tires and fully loaded rear panniers (not recommended)…