I recently got a Trek 520 and the bikes pretty great. There is a lot of stuff on the market and was wondering if anyone has a durable/reliable/price efficient set up for a front/back racks and panniers? I'm looking to tour my ass off so they would have to be bigger. Thanls.

I and many here prefer Ortliebs because they're waterproof and durable. I use the Back Roller Plus Rear with matching fronts. I use the Tubus Cargo and Tara racks that work very harmoniously with the Ortliebs.

What does "price efficient" mean to you? To me, it could mean expensive but worth it because the stuff will last, which is what you want if you are going to tour "your ass off." Thetouringstore.com has quality Tubus racks and a couple of different pannier offering, including Ortliebs. They also provide excellent customer service.

BTW...For me, and I suspect, many others, what you carry, and thus pannier size, is not directly proportional to the length of a tour. I have taken a ten day trip carrying as much as I would for a three month trip. What I carry is driven primarily by whether I will be cooking a lot and anticipated weather conditions.

The touringstore.com will hook you up. As Indy has posted, knowing your needs will really help you select the best combo. Like any other trip - Ya gotta know how much "stuff' you are going to pack before you can decide which suitcase to use - so to speak. The touring store can size you up. Figure on spending about $500 - $700 all up on quality bags and racks. Money well spent.

And don't forget the bar bag! A place to keep the things you need to reach, wallet, camera, sunscreen, maps, snacks, etc.

+1

Do everything Tom says and you'll be happy. This is what I did last year, and I'm super happy with thetouringstore, my Oteliebs panniers, and the handle bar bag. First tour last year went great in a large part due to the bags I bought.

I now also use my Orteliebs for commuting to work. It's nice putting in 4 days worth of uniforms, riding 35 minutes in the rain, and having everything come out clean and dry on the other end with out the use of rain covers.

Even if you decide not to go with Orteliebs (there's lots of great panniers out there, and enough threads comparing them to make the decision process frustrating), thetouringstore was awesome to deal with.

Same here. Rock solid racks and absolutely waterproof bags that are simple to remove and attach. If you wanted to do a river crossing, you could float the bike across on the bags. Mine have done several multi-week trips without showing any signs of wear.

For me, 10 days or a month are easy to pack for. An overnight trip or even a 2 day trip are relatively easy. Things start getting difficult at around 3 to 4 days/nights (riding home the 5th day). On an overnight or even a 2 day trip, you can carry enough stuff so that you don't have to do laundry. On a 5 day to infinity trip, you are going to have to do laundry anyway so it just becomes part of the routine. But on a 4 day trip, you have to either carry enough stuff for the 5 days of riding or you have to decide to do laundry at 3 days (or 4 days or every night). Bleeck! I'd rather be riding, reading or just enjoying the evening than doing laundry.

IDK price efficient might be 'cheap'... if it breaks get a new one, still cheap . if it doesn't .. fine..


Tubus racks can be transferred from bike to bike .. I did this with some Bruce Gordon racks ,

another tubular steel rack , made before Tubus came on the market.

What I meant by ""price efficient," was something that is not overly expensive for the quality that you're getting. Thanks for everyones input.

Bigger than what? I take "tour my ass off" to mean riding more than carrying the kitchen sink.

.02 is to start with a set of front panniers, front low rider rack and rear rack then learn to pack and tour with that capacity. If you need more capacity over time get another set of panniers, front or rear. Starting off with the whole shebang of large rear panniers, front panniers, handlebar bag, rack bag, simply commits you to carrying a lot more stuff than you may actually need to ride and enjoy the trip.

It also gives you the opportunity to try different configurations. Front panniers on lowriders with load on top of rear rack holding bed/tent gear. Or smaller front panniers on the rear rack with same load on top, or lighter load with everything in the panniers.

If you need just a little more room and you have a 56cm+ sized frame check out Revelate Designs medium Tangle frame bag. It's a good replacement for the ubiquitous seat bags folks put tubes and stuff in. When you start piling stuff on the rear rack a seat bag gets in the way of moving things as far forward as possible.
the medium is a good size for holding a range of stuff besides tubes and tools.

I'm not a fan of handlebar bags that cantilever weight high and forward but a lot of folks like them.

You don't have to go top dollar with Tubus and Ortlieb, there are many other products that are perfectly serviceable for half the price. Knowing how to secure things properly, rack to bike, bags to rack, matters a lot more than tossing down a pile of cash for a pile of stuff. For top dollar a Tubus Tara lowrider, Logo rear rack and Ortlieb Sport Packer Plus would make a good starter set up.

Tubus And Bruce Gordon both make Tubular CrMo racks , you only need one for the life of You.

My BG racks are 30 years old, only a few paint chips where the bag hooks set for all those miles.

ditto with my Bruce Gordon racks. After 27 years I got a lot of miles with those racks and Robert Beckman Designs panniers. However, I am replacing with Tubus (rear) and Nitto (front) for my new commuter / tourer.

Only a rich man can afford cheap tools.

Panniers and racks should be long wear items. The cost of buying the best is amortized over the long life of the product. And, yes you could save some money by going lower shelf, but why would you? To save what? Maybe a couple hundred bucks? IMO, that makes no sense.

It makes sense if that couple hundred bucks is what enables you to acquire other essentials. A person can damage high end stuff through misuse as well as a careful person can make low end stuff last through care.

02p, I use My Ortlieb roller panniers all the time , grocery shopping , etc.

If a couple hundred bucks, amortized over several years, is the difference between touring and not, the person needs to find a cheaper way to spend their time.

I agree that you can gear up for 30 cents on the dollar. I disagree that it is the smartest way to go.

There are many products that aren't worth the money. Ortlieb and Arkel Panniers are not on that list. Even at full retail they are worth every dime. That they can be bought at substantial discounts even better!!!! As you point out, taking good care of them, they will last for years.

If you are a disciplined packer you can buy large capaticy in case you might need it later without overpacking. But that's a big "if" for some people. As Bruce Gordon told me when I was looking for my first set up, a lot of people tend to fill up all the space they have and end up with too much. That was certainly true in a couple of instances on my first trip, which was a x-country trip. One woman started out with a blow dryer and a Watchman TV, among other creature comforts. At least three people mailed stuff home on the third day.

I ended up going with a paretty large capacity set of racks and panniers from Robert Beckman because I wanted to carry a lot of film camera equipment. But even then I did not max out the rack and bag space because I was disciplined about the clothing, etc., that I took. When I had to replace the Beckman stuff I went with Nitto Big racks and Ortlieb Bike and Sport Packers Plus panniers. They also afford me a lot of capacity, but I never fill them. And I have left over space to easily carry groceries and a sixer if I camp a ways from a food source.

Not everyone can spend a lot upfront for their ideal gear. If I had insisted in getting everything I have now three years ago, I would never have gotten started on my first tour. Sure, I spent more but I managed to get 3 vacations in.

If you're cash strapped try a want to buy ad on Craigslist. There is plenty of lightly used equipment sitting in people's garages.

not much Money , now? buy some low cost racks and sew your own bags .

For what it is worth my setup on my Surly Long Haul Trucker is:

Front: Tubus Tara + Ortlieb Sport Packer Plus
Rear: Tubus Cargo Expedition (Classic now?) + Ortlieb Bike Packer Plus panniers.

Works well for me. Not sure if it is price efficient but.

Andrew

Theres a common theme on bike touring sites with a reason.
Ortlieb panniers and Tubus racks.
Might there be other stuff out there that works?
Sure.... I guess.

I've given up trying to save a dollar by buying second rate gear that ends up failing when I need it most.

My gear includes Front and Rear Ortlieb Roller Classics and bar bag Ortlieb Ultimate 6 (I think) and Tubus Cosmo and Nova stainless racks that neither rust (hopefully) nor have paint to scratch.

This gear lasts and does what its supposed to whilst keeping my stuff dry in any conditions.

Good luck with your purchase decision.

I had the same conundrum earlier, as I'm planning my first tour this summer. After a LOT of weighing, reading forums here and journals on crazyguyonabike, I got the Ortlieb front and rear. I want to do this a lot, and near as I can tell, these are the tops, and last a long time.

The way I look at it, for not a huge amount more than an average set, I can buy the Cadillac (that phrase used to mean something!) of panniers. To me, it didn't make sense to go cheaper (but then, I could afford the extra at the time)

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