The Case For Large Panniers
 

This summer I have gone from 32L pannier set to a 67L pannier set. Man, they are big! I have not added more stuff, in fact I have shed the cook kit and dehydrated food. When I open a pannier, now I can see everything in the bag all at a glance as nothing is layered, everything is set "on end" in one layer making it easy to see everything without having to forage thru the bag.
Of course, the weak will pile in more stuff because they can! Each bag has two outside pockets, and only one on each bag is being utilized. Without self-control I am certain things could get out of hand.

"...but the kitchen sink is on sale!" :)

The Jandd Commuters I've used for 30+ years are 33 liters each, 66 combined. In town, I usually run one on one side and an open-top basket on the other. For multi-days I'll use both. They're a decent size, but not enormous 4-dimensional Bags of Holding like the supersize panniers are.

About a decade ago I was going to do a bike tour on a single track route. The bike I was going to use has a frame designed so I can use the solid fork that came with it or I can use a 100mm suspension fork. Planned to use the suspension fork, thus no front rack. Was looking for larger panniers. Bought Carradry panniers, they were rated at 58 liters for the pair compared to my Ortlieb Backrollers at 40 liters for the pair. When I received them, they obviously were not 58, I was guessing 50 or 52, thus still quite larger than the Ortliebs. Returning them would have been a hassle since I bought them from UK, shipped to USA, so kept them. (Now those Carradry bags are rated at 48 liter, not 58.) That trip that we planned was canceled for reasons not related to pannier size.

But since I owned them, several years later decided to try those panniers on a different tour. The larger pannier size meant that I could use a much smaller rack top bag. Thus had about the same volume on the rear rack with the Carradry panniers compared to my Ortliebs. The sewn on labels on the Carradry leaked water on rainy days, when I got home seam sealed that seam. But otherwise, the Carradry worked out well. Since my Carradry were gray and my Ortliebs are yellow, I chose to use some used panniers I picked up at a garage sale up front instead of the Ortliebs.

Racktop bag was mostly food, by end of trip that bag was almost empty. In the photo I have a mesh packing cube on top of the rear racktop bag, I had some damp clothing and did not want to store that in a water tight bag on a warm day.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...aef9a57be3.jpg

Comparing the Ortliebs against the Carradry, since my Ortliebs are the Roller type bags, I can easily run them only partially full. But on the Carradry, the top cover does not fit as well when the pannier is not full. The Carradry have one large rear pocket that I rarely openned, I am so used to panniers not having pockets. The Carradry are about the same weight as the Ortlieb Backrollers, the Carradry have a slightly lighter fabric.


That is HUGE. What brand and model.

Ortlieb used to make --edit -- still make, the XL ones. 35L x 2 = 70 litres.
I saw them in a store years ago and you could see that for a cold weather trip with bulkier warm clothing , sleeping bag etc items, they would be great.
I've never seen them in stores again, as I imagine they do not sell that many of them. They were and are a lot more expensive than regular 40L ones, so not a big incentive, but mainly I see them as being a real possibility of just plain overloading and very likely having a pretty waggy steering bike.

It seems to me that Arkel had a much bigger volume model of rear panniers also, not sure if still made.

looks like there are serious pannier ""problem" here ... lately. or is it the ""summer-pause""?

;)

I don't know about a pannier, but I've tried the "stack all the stuff on end" theory on a handlebar bag. It doesn't work for me. Somehow everything rotates while riding, so I end up with a "layer cake" with heavier things like cell phone and wallet laying flat on the bottom.

You’ve shed stuff but are calling others weak? :rolleyes:

how many days weeks have you been without water source on that trip?

The most capacious panniers on the market I'm aware of are the Jandd Mountain Expedition panniers at 163 liters / pair. Probably useful for smuggling small children.

https://www.jandd.com/Mountain+Exped...nier/p164.html

Weight: 3.03 kg or 6.7 lbs for the pair.

Way back there I had a pair of Axiom Champlain panniers that held 60 liters, but I was weak, very weak, and I tried routinely filling them...... to the point that if I stood up out of the saddle to peddle up a hill, my front wheel would come off the ground. I was not able to show restraint when packing and had to sell them for something smaller and safer.

I have a Ortlieb camera insert for my handlebar bag. Phone and wallet go in the little side pocket. Camera (either SLR or point and shoot) go in the main body along with some other stuff, Everything stays pretty much in one spot.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1afc44f59.jpeg

I tried a small cardboard box in my handlebar bag to help hold things verticle, worked. Changed that to Coroplast which holds shape when wet. The Coroplast is white.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1104bf42d9.jpg

Only reason I can see for big panniers is getting groceries or going to the laundromat.

In an other thread I noted I returned the Ortleib Rollers I recently purchased, then on a whim I checked FB Marketplace and there were a set of Jandd Large Mountain panniers selling for 20 bucks. Couldn't pass on them and sure am happy that I didn't. Each pannier is about 33.5L providing a total of 67L. Perhaps my math or measuring is incorrect and they are 70L, but who really cares?
The sleeping bag or quilt I use take up a full pannier, and the when using the smaller ones the bag or quilt had to go into a stuff sack strapped to the rack. What I really like is the organizational perfection these big bags provide. Because I switched from only using zip-lock bags to half zip-lock and half waterproof stuff sacks for my stuff, vertical placement in one pannier works really well. Nervana found by accident.
One more thing to note is I have moved all tools, tubes, levers, and chain lube from the h-bar bag to the top left rear compartment (kinda like a pocket, yet better) which reduces the weight in the h-bar bag by a pound.

Sounds like you got a GREAT deal. If you did not get rain covers, you might want to consider that too.

Jandd had a very good reputation a couple decades ago, but now we almost never hear of them. A friend had a Jandd rack on the front of his Cannondale touring bike that he really liked.
https://www.jandd.com/bikes.asp

About a month ago I described how I used compression stuff sacks, one for my down stuff (bag, vest or maybe a light jacket) and one for clothing to reduce packed volume.
https://www.bikeforums.net/23590658-post10.html

Do not yank on the cords to compress the bag, press on it (I sit on it) to compress it and then take up the slack in the cords. Mine are the Event version.
https://www.granitegear.com/outdoor/...ion-stuffsacks

There are other brands too.

I prefer to have my chain lube in the handlebar bag. But if the pannier pocket is readily accessible, that works too. Too many days, mid day I would think my chain was noisier than it should be, but since my lube was packed away, I planned to wait until the campsite. And once in the campsite, I forgot to deal with it. Did not think of it until the next day, then repeat. Thus, readily accessible is good for chain lube.

The sleeping bag is an old Army mountain bag. It is big and it is heavy and it takes up a lot of space, compressed or not, it requires its own pannier. I also have a pillow that I made in that pannier with it.
I use waterproof stuff sacks now because of the compression I can get with them. Sea to Summit is my go to. By forcing the air out of the bag, it is essentially doing what a compression bag does.
The Jandd mountain bags have a large top pocket that can be removed from the main bag, although I don't see why there is any need to ever remove it outside of over-stuffing the bag itself. That is where the tools, lube, tube go. Each bag has a side pocket as well. One is mesh and the other is not. Really well thought out design, and I think they were likely intended for someone doing an around the world tour.
Being a tinkerer, I couldn't leave a very good retention system design alone, and modified it to mimic what the Jandd Economy Pannier uses. Works the way I want it to work, plus had lots of fun fabricating aluminum hardware for it.

Possibly for a fanny pack or shoulder pack if you wanted to do any day hikes or something like that. One of my backpacking backpacks have a lid that converts to a fanny pack.

Long bag and pillow. The former fits easily inside the body of a rear Ortlieb SportPacker with all my off- bike clothes, even for cool/cold nights.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3200f795e.jpeg

I have an inkling the sleeping bag is a bit nicer and newer than my Army bag. In no way will it compact down to the size yours does. Mine also weights about 4.5 pounds. The pillow is made of foam and has a cozy fleece cover. It compresses using a vacuum bag designed for clothes storage, but cannot compress small like yours does.

There’s no harm in getting a new bag. Loosing a couple of pounds and gaining a lot of space with one item is not insignificant. It’s not like cutting off the handle of your toothbrush.

The pillow has a soft, fleece-like sleep surface. It’s from Sea to Summit.

Most of my sleeping bags, air mattresses, tents, etc., were purchased on sale. If I see something at a great sale price that I am sure I will like to use, I buy it. But, you have to be patient, sometimes for a few years.

But some years I have slept in a tent for as much as two months of the year, so I try to have some good stuff for a variety of conditions. Most of my camping gear is stuff that I have been using for over a decade, some for decades.

That said, I am still buying new stuff when I see something that I am sure I will really like to use, bought a new butane camp stove about a year ago. And it was not even on sale price, so it was an unusual purchase for me.

If you plan on doing much camping, having good stuff that makes you enjoy your trip better can be worth the money if you use it enough. For a variety of reasons I have not done a trip this year, but last year my bike tour was shortened to only two weeks due to weather, backpacking trip was a bit over two weeks, canoe trip for a week and a half, thus 5.5 weeks last year sleeping in a tent. Without good functional camping stuff, it would have been pretty miserable.

Well said Tourist

For tihab - especially for bike touring, having lighter, more compact stuff has always made the activity more enjoyable, and as tourist put so well, is worth it if you know you'll be doing self supported outdoor activities and camping regularly.

Good luck deciding and seeing how to reduce your canning weight, while still being comfortable and warm.

REI credit card+One of their big sales+saving rewards for big purchases=Less money out of pocket

And the way things are now structured, the awards you earn from use of the credit card for non-REI purchases are available right away. You don’t have to wait until the following year.

I have been looking for a replacement for the sleeping bag, but nothing suitable has come along on the used market at a price I am willing to pay. My friend made the quilt I use and it compacts down to about the same as the sleeping bag, not small enough. With the large mountain panniers everything is working out just fine. I don't pack extra stuff because I can, thus the load is as light as I can make it with the items I have on hand. As it is, I am not complaining about weight at all when the bicycle that I favor for touring comes in at over 35 pounds with racks!

A lot of people on this forum like to brag about how light their touring bikes are, but I think that your weight is closer to the norm. My titanium bike with racks, pump, fenders, lights, the tires I tour on, etc., tips the scale at 34.8 pounds. My medium touring bike with steel frame is at 38.1, I don't want to say what my heavy duty expedition bike weighs, it is too embarrassing.

Eight years ago I finally replaced my 2.8 kg tent with a 1.6 kg tent that I bought on a great sale price for bike touring. (I use grams, not pounds for my camping gear.) I had been watching for that tent to go on a good sale for over a year.