Removing Jandd Mountain Panniers?
 

So I picked up this set of Jandd Mountain Panniers that I THINK I'm happy with. They took me about half an hour to install so that I'm comfortable they will stay on the rack. However, I typically REMOVE my panniers when I leave the bike for an extended period, and these don't seem to want to come off.

Is there a trick to loosening the bottom hooks so that they give up the death grip and let me have my bags?

We have a whole slew of Jandd panniers here. 3 full sets of 4 panniers each. We use them a lot. They last forever.

Do yours have a plastic piece of hardware that the strap runs through to tighten it? If you lift the plastic piece it should loosen the strap.

Ok I found a picture:

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=329581

It's the tension lock that I am referring to.
The strap that goes through it should have velcro on the end to hold it down. You'll have to undo the velcro to lift the tension lock piece.

>>>You'll have to undo the velcro to lift the tension lock piece<<<<

I sort of found that piece by accident and got as far as releasing the velcro. After that, I can't get my hands in the tight space between the pannier and the spokes, though, so loosening the tension lock piece is nearly impossible.

They can be a bear depending on your rack set-up. Ironically JandD racks put the release buckle and velcro right in line with a vertical support making it especially difficult. My solution was to never remove that set of panniers while on tour ;) Best advice is to work with it and figure out the little moves that release the buckle, it's a pain but I love the panniers.

I think I'm just going to rethink how I use my panniers. Perhaps I'll put all my valuables (phone, wallet, etc) in a small zipper case and just take THAT with me when I leave the bike.