Making the move to rack and panniers

Bluestoesonnose

I've been communting for the best part of 10 years and I've decided to go for a rack and panniers over the back pack I've been using all this time.

The bike is a much modified Trek 4300 disc running 700c wheels so I need to allow for the rear disc mounting. What rack and panniers would peeps reccomend, I've been looking at Blackburn racks and Alutra Night Vision or Ortlieb panners...

Blues

Agent57

Sounds good to me from a brand perspective. I've had favourable comments from colleagues who've seen my Night Vision pannier in the dark, and my Blackburn rack hasn't given me any trouble in a couple of years of use. When I got the rack, it was attached to the RockHopper Pro Disc I bought on the C2W scheme - didn't seem to be any problems with the fitting.

Plod

Consider Vaude pannier bags. Like Ortleib but not quite as expensive (I think).

noisepolluter

I went for a Tortec Velocity which works fine with discs and is very unobtrusive when not loaded.

I have a single pannier (Altura Urban Dryline 20) which is in truth probably a bit bigger than I actually need, though it is waterproof, sturdy and has plenty of reflective trim.

My girlfriend just bought a pair of Dryline 18's which if I was buying again I'd probably go for instead and just use one most of the time.

whitebait01

You'd be surprised how much you can get in a rack top bag. I started with panniers for my commute and realised I can get everything I need into a rack top bag. It's noticeably more aerodynamic giving me 3 or 4 more mph than 2 panniers and it's easier in a headwind too.