Was looking thru Amazon and found these. I have one of the Bushwhacker frame bags and it is well made, reasonable price and also made in the US. But now I am looking for some less expensive panniers to use for some short tours.


What is there not to like about these???

https://www.amazon.com/Bushwhacker-Mo...ushwhacker+bag


Thanks

For that price, nothing as long as they last for a few thousand miles. Attach mechanism? Rain covers?

Not much risk here. Order, examine, test. If not up to snuff, return.

Just say no to panniers with bungee suspension....

I have these same panniers. Bought them from the same website. They work great for me after one year of regular loaded use on both front and rear racks. None of the hardware has come loose or bent or broken and I've given it a workout, sometimes sandwiching them between my front rack top and a bungied u-lock. The are closed with zippers, but have two sets of long compression laces across each so they can take up minimal space (almost flat) when empty and you can lace them to keep your load tight to your rack/frame. They aren't specifically waterproof, but when I have used them in light rain, the content stayed dry.

The only downside I can think of is that the zippers ends can be noisy if you don't secure them or tuck them into the bag. And if you spill blueberries in one, it will keep smelling like blueberries. The laces seem like they could easily catch in the spokes (especially on my front rack), but that's never actually been a problem.

I'm surprised I haven't seen more of these around. I mean, Ortliebs are awesome, but probably overkill for many users who would do fine with a pair of Bushwackers.

I'd like to see how they attach to the frame. My current panniers, a no-name prototype set that was given to me by a low-end bike distributor, have a sort of rotating blade that slips between the frame and locks into place. Unfortunately, it's their only good feature, so I'm looking to replace them, but I wouldn't buy anything that doesn't have a comparable attachment system. Someone mentioned avoiding panniers with "bungee suspension." Do these attach to the bike using only bungee cords?

The other thing I think might cause you some grief at some point would be the lack of waterproofing. Like others here, my cheapo panniers kept everything dry until one day they just didn't. I hadn't planned for it, but I suddenly got stuck in a downpour with no option to bail out. I quickly packed the contents of the panniers into the plastic bags I had kept with me for a situation like this and stuffed it all back inside. Within minutes, though, everything was soaked...ruined... beyond salvageable. I vowed then and there that my next set would be waterproof; however, I haven't found a waterproof set that meets all my other needs yet.

The model you're considering looks really tempting, as they are a great shape to stay away from your heels. I agree that, for $45, they are worth trying, as long as you come up with a way to protect the contents in a heavy downpour!

Additional thought: How easy are they to get on and off the bike, and does removing them add wear and tear to any of the parts? I want my next panniers to be easily removable from the bike so I can take them inside with me when I arrive at a location. If you have the same expectation, you should really take a close look at the mounting system.

I assume these have the old fashioned hooks on top and bungee on the bottom type setup. Personally I think that is fine and I even prefer it. It is a simple and effective setup. Pretty much all panniers were that way at one time and I always figured that most of the newer attachments were not really that much of an improvement. If paranoid, a cable tie around one of the hooks or a strap connecting the two panniers at the top could be used as a fail safe in case the hook comes unhooked.

These panniers appear to be on the smallish side, which I consider to be a plus, but if you pack a lot it just might become an issue.

Bag the stuff inside them in a trash compactor bag or ziploc bags and all will be well. Alternately the Nashbar or Performance waterproof panniers can be had for close to that price or maybe even cheaper if on sale.

I seen a pair on a tourist yesterday. Seem solid enough, I like the design, seems to help with heel strike issues

I also think they look a little small, and the payload-to-pack weight ratio may be low. I have not had much luck in the long term with zippers. They will be the first things to fail. Looks like a good price, though.

+1

Website says 1,650 ci = 27 L. So they are slightly larger then Ortlieb Front Rollers @25L, and much smaller than Back Rollers @ 40 L.

These would be a good choice for a short chainstay bike due to the bag shape. You might have to combine with front panniers for adequate capacity, or simply pack lighter. They are not likely to be waterproof, so either rain covers or internal plastic bagging would be necessary for rainy travel.

Bushwhacker Moab bags can't be too bad a deal at $55 shipped.

https://www.bushwhackerbags.com/panniers.html

https://www.ortlieb.de/_pdf_en/radtasche_en.pdf

Here's the backside of another Bushwhacker model, looks pretty good to me.

Bushwhacker makes several different sizes - and they come in other colors besides black. I'd prefer yellow for visibility - which they do not make - but I suppose you could always use a yellow raincover.

Back in the day, most all rear panniers had the angled front edge to minimize heel-strikes. In fact, the used '70s-vintage Cannondale bags I just picked up are made that way. My old set unknowingly got sold at a garage sale... Trying to piece together a complete set in one color thirty years later is an exercise in futility!!!

They attach to the bike rack with metal hooks? That'll chew up your rack and let the bag wander on the rail. Suggest adding some rubber in there somewhere. Usually that kind of mounting system is lacking a locking safety mechanism to keep the panniers in place on rough roads. Incidental if your roads are better than they are here in Montreal.

Makes me feel like a schmuck for shelling out $150 for Ortliebs when I live in So Cal... In retrospect, these probably would have been a better choice for my needs, not to mention the money I could have saved.

For road touring I think they'll work fine for shorter tours; for longer trips get another pair and mount them low rider style. That would be enough space for a one or two week long trip, I'd say.

Bungees and hooks were the standard back in the day... if any of the parts failed, repairs could be made with parts commonly found in a hardware or auto parts store. That's a big consideration if you break down in a small town with few facilities, much less a full service bike shop.

Depending on what you pack that might be good or bad. Personally I think it is a good size for light-ish packing with just one pair.

Different strokes, but I have not found that length of trip impacts amount packed much if at all. My tours have ranged from 9 days to 73 days and in that range I have not found trip length was a factor at all in amount packed.

Definitely so. I'm at the other extreme, where I tend to pack more for short trips. Long trips are serious, solo events for me, all about the biking, all about reducing weight carried. Short trips are with spouse and/or friends, carrying more comfort and diversions, including the liquid kind.