509

I am in the process of updating my touring equipment from 1976. I have looked at Panniers and have not been impressed with today's equipment.

I had a set of Kirkland rear panniers and would like to find a similar set. Now the tough part....they have to fit the rear rack of a Trek Electric bike. The rack rails are about 3/8 inch in diameter. The only set I can find that fit is the German Orlibs by using the widest setting. I have gone to bike shops and picked out panniers only to find that they do NOT fit the rack. Cannot swap out the rack since it is the battery holder. Thanks.

The second question is I still have the Eclipse handlebar pack from that era. It fit perfectly on my Holdsworth road bike, but the Trek electric bikes have a mountain bike handlebar. Does anybody know of a "wire pack holder" that would fit the mountain bike handlebar?? Or does anybody know of someone that can make one for me? It is a great handlebar pack and I would like to continue using it.

So just a final question. Why are today's panniers so poorly designed?? It seems they are all ONE BIG BAG with plastic clips. Whatever happened to Kirkland and Eclipse??

wahoonc

No clue as to what happened to Kirtland. I had a set of those bags back in 1977, unfortunately they got stolen along with my Bob Jackson Super Tour.

Check out Arkel, they are well made, but I don't know if they will fit on a 38mm rack. I currently tour with either Ortliebs or Lone Peak. May be give Wayne at The Touring Store a call, he may know off the top of his head what will work and what won't. Great guy to deal with and honest.

As far as you handlebar bag, you might see if you can find a bicycle frame builder or even a custom motorcycle shop to bend up a hanger for you out of rod stock. I have converted over to the newer style Klick-Fix mounts, but still have a couple of old style handlebar bags that use the metal frame mount. One I was able to bend the existing frame to work on MTB bars, the other I will eventually have to make a new frame for.

What stove do you have? I toured transcontinental in 1977 and used a Svea 123R... still have it.

Aaron

indyfabz

+1. Wayne was very helpful. He spent time with me on the phone, and he stands behind what he sells. BTW...The info. for Lone Peak on his site suggests that the 10mm hook will fit 3/8" racks:

https://thetouringstore.com/INFORMATI...IZE%20TIPS.htm

VT_Speed_TR

I'm going to replace my 1976 Cannondale panniers this year with a set of the Lone Peak 400's. I purchased a small set of Arkels as front panniers but their hooks/clamps are overly complicated and I find difficult to use. They are built very well otherwise and I like their pockets. the Lone Peaks remind me of my Cannondales and have a,simple mounting system.

I've purchased a rack from Wayne@thetouringstore and his service and prices are both first rate. I'll be ordering my Lone Peaks from him.

509

Thanks to everybody for replying. I will check out the Lone Peak and Arkel's panniers. The links to the various sites were great.

Thanks Wahoonc for the tip on the handlebar packs. I will check one of the motorcycle shops. Hopefully, I can continue using the Eclipse pack on the Trek Electric bike.

As for stoves, I have TWO Svea stoves. I spent a lot of time in the 70's working as a Forester in backcountry situations and seemed to have acquired a ton of stoves. There must be something about collecting backcountry stoves. I probably used the Svea 123 more than any other stove.

My favorite though was the "repaired" Whisperlite stove. It sits low and is very stable. I got the first model with the aquarium feed tube. I called REI to complain about the safety aspect of low melting point aquarium tubing feeding white gas into a hot stove. They were willing to refund the money, but not take the stove off the market. I told I would keep it since I would be getting a new redesigned feed tube within the year due to stove failures and injuries. Two fatalities later REI sent out the new gas feed tubes. Still mad at them about that one.

However, on the 1976 trip through Europe I used one of those butane Camping Gaz stoves since the canisters were easy to get in Europe. It was WAY to high and very tippy, but we never did have any problems getting canisters on the trip. Have not been touring in Europe since, so I am not sure what would be the appropriate stove today. I suspect my wife would answer...."the one in the bed and breakfast kitchen".

fietsbob

Bruce Gordon and Tubus use 10mm steel tubing for racks. both source bags for their racks.
Bruce, for his ; US .. Tubus and Ortlieb are the same Import hub in Seattle .
Racktime is Ortlieb's sewn instead of welded seam bag line..

find bags but don't like the hooks? change the hooks.

As to the HB bag, Klick-fix handle bar mount + their wire bag support ,
slips right in the sleeves on the side of eclipse bags
and the velcro wraps around the [8mm]wire..

(but UV has likely really weakened the nylon fabric by now, so it tears too easily)..

VT_Speed_TR

Ah yes, I still have my Svea 123 brass stove with cup! I fired it up last summer and it still ran find after 20 years of not using it. Its still a jet engine with only on or off function. But it brought back many memories. I went thru a bunch of stoves, small Coleman, Wisperlight (great for winter camping), then to canister stoves (MSR and Snowpeak). Now I then to use a canister or one of the homemade alcohol stoves I have. Kind of a toss up between them, sometimes I just like my Snowpeak (fast) others I just sit back and watch the alcohol stove. Both are light. But you are correct, I have a bunch of stoves, each one brings back memories.

Doug64

I've upgraded my touring equipment several times since the early 1970's and it got better at every iteration. My last upgrade was converting all my wife's and my gear over to Orlieb gear. It was not done all at once but over a period of 3-4 years. Since we started the Ortlieb upgrade, about 5 years ago, we have used them for about 10,000 miles of touring, and have not regretted it a bit. Waterproof is nice. The 3 other sets of panniers that I've owned leaked, tore and did not survive crashes or airport baggage handlers very well. UV also is very hard on nylon fabric. The Ortiebs are durable, waterproof, and mount easily and securely. I've never had a problem with the "plastic" clips. Actually, the Ortlieb, and many of the newer mounting systems, are easier to use and provide more secure mounting than the older metal hooks.

I've also done the same with bikes, stoves, sleeping , bags, tent, etc. I use the MSR Pocket Rocket in the states, and a Primus cannister stove in Europe. If a lot of cooking is anticipate or travel off the beaten path, I carry a MSR International, a cousin to my Wisperlite.

Sometimes post 2006 equipment is pretty good.


Just take a hose and rinse them off.


This "flesh wound" to my front pannier is the reult of a high speed encouter with a high curb. Panniers made out of packcloth or even codura would not have fared as well. It is still waterproof

wahoonc

I lost track of how many stoves I have...

I know my Svea 123 and Optimus 8R are probably my oldest. Current stoves are a Kelly Kettle, MSR Whisperlite Intl and a Triangia Clikstand combo. I just purchased a MSR Pocket Rocket as part of a foray in to the ultra light world. Each one has it's place and use in the grand scheme of things.

Aaron

fietsbob

The MSR Dragon Fly is not an Impediment to good Cooking, since It Simmers, nicely.
and is Multifuel,, I just got some Unleaded Pump Gas, less than a $ worth,

even at $4 a gallon..

juggleaddict

I think the idea is that most things just come in stuff sacks now, and because everything is nested, or compressed, they just expect you to use the space and fill it with sacks, not individual pieces of gear. This allows you to be more modular, and cut off weight in some cases. I agree, arkel maybe what you're looking for.

indyfabz

My first set of panniers were from Robert Beckman. Highly compartmentalized. Some of the dividers could be unzipped to create larger spaces if desired. I still have them, but the racks they go with were stolen along with the bike that was attached to them. I then went with Ortlieb Bike and Sport Packers. Making the transition to mostly one large compartment was easy. I thought it wouldn't be. Still, I am hoping that a guy I know who works at Bilenky can modify my Nitto racks and Beckman bags so I can put them to use again.