Pannier bags

100%

Hi,

I'm after some recommendations on some fairly cheap panniers to get started commuting with. Any recommendations? Ideally they'll be waterproof, but I don't want to spend too much in case it doesn't work out as well as I hope.

I have a fairly basic rear frame mounted rack on my (road) commuting bike.

If it does I've seen there are some pannier racks that are designed to carry a laptop...anyone tried one?

Cheers,
Steve

tomilinski1

Not cheap - but the ortlieb roll top ones were my first and only pannier bags - used for 5 years so far and no sign of wear at all!

If it doesn't work out I'm sure you will get most of your money back on ebay as they are such good quality.

buy cheap buy twice is my motto after many years of trying the cheap option!

dilemna

Cycling Active this month has a review of quite a few of the leading panniers, although I didn't see Altura Orkneys mentioned which are pretty good. Ortlieb Roller Classics were in. But the clear winners were the made in Germany Vaude Aqua Pluses which are the ones I have. I can only second their findings that they are bombproof and currently the best panniers on the market. I should think they would last for many decades TBH.

http://www.actionoutdoors.co.uk/shop/va ... -1789.html

davmaggs

+1 to Vaude Aqua plus (they have an outer pocket)

The ortliebs don't have an outer pocket, which is a pain for keys or spares. Also avoids having to open the bag if it's raining

Underscore

+2 for Vaude. I have the World Tramps, which were the predecessors of the Aqua and, after over 8 years, they still look to have a lot of life in them. I doubt that I will ever need to replace them, TBH!

_

walkingbootweather

Don't laugh but Lidl do some very good Ortlieb Roller Classics style panniers for about a third of the price of the real thing. The bad news is that the clips are a little fragile and they only sell them for one week each season

You can get an idea what they look like and order stronger replacement clips from http://www.vonderpalette.com/product_info.php?products_id=12313

Interestedcp

davmaggs wrote:

+1 to Vaude Aqua plus (they have an outer pocket)

The ortliebs don't have an outer pocket, which is a pain for keys or spares. Also avoids having to open the bag if it's raining

Ortlieb produces several panniers with an external pocket, like the Ortlieb Bike-Packer. But even the the Ortlieb Back-Roller Classic can be fitted with an Ortlieb outer pocket without compromising its water resistance. One can also attach a mesh bag for the helmet to all their panniers.


The Ortlieb QL 1/2/3 attachment systems are IMHO, superior to Vaude's copy (licensed by Klickflix I believe). The Ortlieb panniers also have a detachable shoulder strap that works very well when shopping or when needing free hands to unlock doors, while carrying 1-2 panniers. Another thing I like with Ortlieb panniers is, that almost everything can be had as spare parts; even for products at least a decade old.

In my own personal experience, Ortlieb products are superior to Vaude's, who for all their high-end products, are simply copying Ortlieb. Since comparable Vaude panniers are often at least as expensive as Ortliebs if not more, I can't see much reason for choosing them over Ortlieb.

--
Regards

flurblefish

Come on folks, Ortlieb and Vaude don't really class as "fairly cheap".

I'm also looking to get some fairly cheap pannier bags....just to see if I prefer them to using a rucksack.

There seems to be panniers under the £50 mark from Carradice (Carradura), Altura (Arran) and Deuter (Rack Pack).
Anyone got any experience of using any of these or can they suggest a better way to give panniers a go?

Lancslad

flurblefish wrote:

Come on folks, Ortlieb and Vaude don't really class as "fairly cheap".

I'm also looking to get some fairly cheap pannier bags....just to see if I prefer them to using a rucksack.

There seems to be panniers under the £50 mark from Carradice (Carradura), Altura (Arran) and Deuter (Rack Pack).
Anyone got any experience of using any of these or can they suggest a better way to give panniers a go?

They are all trying to tell you it isnt worth buying cheap. I bought Ortlieb and split the cost with someone else because I only needed one pannier. Its no good if you get cheap ones and the clips break or they turn out to be not so waterproof at the end of your journey.

jimmypippa

Lancslad wrote:

flurblefish wrote:

Come on folks, Ortlieb and Vaude don't really class as "fairly cheap".

I'm also looking to get some fairly cheap pannier bags....just to see if I prefer them to using a rucksack.

There seems to be panniers under the £50 mark from Carradice (Carradura), Altura (Arran) and Deuter (Rack Pack).
Anyone got any experience of using any of these or can they suggest a better way to give panniers a go?

They are all trying to tell you it isnt worth buying cheap. I bought Ortlieb and split the cost with someone else because I only needed one pannier. Its no good if you get cheap ones and the clips break or they turn out to be not so waterproof at the end of your journey.

I had a look at some cheepish waterproof Avenir ones in my closest bike shop; I asked to see how they worked on a similar bike to mine (which was in the shop). As the assistant put the pannier onto the bike, the pannier started to come to pieces...

I decided to buy the pair of Vaude aqua pros instead, on the grounds of "buy cheap, buy often, buy dear, buy once".

After two years there is very little difference between the pannier I use for commuting, and the one I use infrequently for shopping.

I have had an off at 25mph, which caused some superficial scuffing. My steel frame was pretty sad though, and an insurance write-off:

Specialized Needs

100% wrote:

Hi,

I'm after some recommendations on some fairly cheap panniers to get started commuting with. Any recommendations? Ideally they'll be waterproof, but I don't want to spend too much in case it doesn't work out as well as I hope.

I have a fairly basic rear frame mounted rack on my (road) commuting bike.

If it does I've seen there are some pannier racks that are designed to carry a laptop...anyone tried one?

Cheers,
Steve

Have you thought of putting a request on Freecycle? If you need waterproof, invest 20p in a couple of bags-for-life (they are roll top, too!) and use them as liners.

If it works, then invest in something more expensive...

Specialized Needs

walkingbootweather wrote:

Don't laugh but Lidl do some very good Ortlieb Roller Classics style panniers for about a third of the price of the real thing. The bad news is that the clips are a little fragile and they only sell them for one week each season

You can get an idea what they look like and order stronger replacement clips from http://www.vonderpalette.com/product_info.php?products_id=12313

According to a rumour I heard, that week may be very soon ...

Lidl, and Aldi, usually each do two weeks of 'specials' of cycling equipment: one in spring (for summer stuff), and one in autumn (for winter stuff). I heard that the Lidl one is in a couple of weeks (on past record, Lidl do theirs mid March and Aldi early May).

desweller

I have a pair of Halfords own-brand bags on mine. I've only used them for commuting and shopping, but they've been on there for 8 or 9 years (in fact they've outlasted the bike to which they were originally fitted!).

The hooks at the top have needed a whack with a hammer to get them back into shape after I overloaded them, but I expect to get another year or two out of them before they start leaking.

I have to admit I have been very surprised by how strong they've proven to be.

jamesco

Altura Dryline. 5 years of daily use & abuse, often carrying a 17" laptop, with zero problems. Convenient to use and they look like they'll last for the indefinite future.

RufusA

Maybe I'm harsh on my Altura's but I'm on my third Altura Ubran Dryline in so many years.

The current one - 17" has lasted the longest, but the zip for the pannier clips cover went months ago (like all Altura zips in my experience), the shoulder strap isn't looking too clever and the stiching near the handle at the top is coming undone. Another couple of months and it will either need extensive repairs with needle and thread, or be consigned to the heap!

Next time it will be Vaude or Ortleib for me.

Rufus.

walkingbootweather

Specialized Needs wrote:

walkingbootweather wrote:

Don't laugh but Lidl do some very good Ortlieb Roller Classics style panniers for about a third of the price of the real thing. The bad news is that the clips are a little fragile and they only sell them for one week each season

You can get an idea what they look like and order stronger replacement clips from http://www.vonderpalette.com/product_info.php?products_id=12313

According to a rumour I heard, that week may be very soon ...

Lidl, and Aldi, usually each do two weeks of 'specials' of cycling equipment: one in spring (for summer stuff), and one in autumn (for winter stuff). I heard that the Lidl one is in a couple of weeks (on past record, Lidl do theirs mid March and Aldi early May).

The rumourappears to be correct.. Unfortunately the panniers offered are not the Ortlieb style ones, but look like something that would last about three weeks worth of communting.

As others have said, in general cheap panniers are a waste of money

dilemna

Interestedcp wrote:

davmaggs wrote:

+1 to Vaude Aqua plus (they have an outer pocket)

The ortliebs don't have an outer pocket, which is a pain for keys or spares. Also avoids having to open the bag if it's raining

Ortlieb produces several panniers with an external pocket, like the Ortlieb Bike-Packer. But even the the Ortlieb Back-Roller Classic can be fitted with an Ortlieb outer pocket without compromising its water resistance. One can also attach a mesh bag for the helmet to all their panniers.


The Ortlieb QL 1/2/3 attachment systems are IMHO, superior to Vaude's copy (licensed by Klickflix I believe). The Ortlieb panniers also have a detachable shoulder strap that works very well when shopping or when needing free hands to unlock doors, while carrying 1-2 panniers. Another thing I like with Ortlieb panniers is, that almost everything can be had as spare parts; even for products at least a decade old.

In my own personal experience, Ortlieb products are superior to Vaude's, who for all their high-end products, are simply copying Ortlieb. Since comparable Vaude panniers are often at least as expensive as Ortliebs if not more, I can't see much reason for choosing them over Ortlieb.

--
Regards

I don't think Vaude have copied Ortlieb as Vaude's panniers are superior. If anything Ortlieb have tried to copy Vaude. Go onto CGOAB and you can see how Ortlieb panniers fair on a long long tour - they fall apart, the plastic hook inserts fall out, the catches break and the plastic mounts buckles. The lower hook mount breaks or falls off. Vaude and Ortlieb are both German. Like BMW vs Mercedes.


See post #13 by Erin and Arnold Barkley who rode around the world with Ortlieb panniers.

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/reviews/ ... R&nested=0

Vaude panniers are more robust than Ortliebs. There are other makes as well.

Buy cheap buy twice. Altura Arrans are good but they aren't waterproof needing silly covers when the rain becomes persistent.

rf6

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=13690

My mum uses a pair of these at £18. They'll take a shower, and have lasted really well for the cash. I gave her an old dry bag for really wet days, and she gets by with that and carrier bags.

The Rookie

I have some really cheap (and I mean really cheap) panniers on mine, got them from the outlaws after the Father in Law had his herat attack and decided he couldn't do a whole day cycling anymore, used them for 2 years (this is the third) commuting with no problems, so cheap I can't even find a makers name!

Simon

gareth1234

these are what i bought, seem to be fine with wind, rain and frost. ok for pump, tools, spares and my sarnies and drinks. And cheap as asked for

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BIKE-CYCLE-FRONT-REAR-PANNIER-SET-25-LITRES-11550-/160547100637?pt=UK_Sports_Leisure_Cycling_Bags_Panniers_SR&hash=item25615a57dd

walkingbootweather

I've got a set like those suggested by gareth1234 and rf6. The side pockets are useful and they are OK for occassional use, but they are quite small (I was finding that I was over-filling a single one or needing to use a pair), they are not very waterproof (but can be lined), have worn a fair bit and needed replacement bolts (perhaps I'm too tough on them).

If you want something to stand up to regular use (and abuse) I would advise something like the Ortieb or Vaude. My regular panniers are a good Ortieb copy and have stood up to the stresses and strains of communting and touring much better.

flurblefish

I picked up a pair of panniers from Lidl for the princely sum of 12 quid today. No idea how long they'll last but, at that price, they've got to be worth a punt and they do look reasonably well put together.

AndyManc

flurblefish wrote:

I picked up a pair of panniers from Lidl for the princely sum of 12 quid today. No idea how long they'll last but, at that price, they've got to be worth a punt and they do look reasonably well put together.

+100

I've bought a pair ... they are excellent, amazing value .

They may not last as long as my £90 ortlieb panniers but they will come a close second.

Buy them now, you wont be sorry.


.

pastryboy

My cheap halfords ones have been fine. Regularly load them up to the weight limit with papers.