Panniers For Commuting

Levi_501

Morning All

I am thinking to try rear panniers rather than the rucksack.

Any recommendations, warnings, advice?

Ideally;
Strong
Tough
Large
Waterproof
They do not rattle
Cheap!

FYI, I commute all year round, rain snow sun etc

Thanks in advance

pastryboy

A rack top bag is preferable to panniers if you're not carrying too much. Many have side pockets that open out to panniers if you've got a little more luggage on some days.

davmaggs

I'd say that something needs to give on that wish list. What I mean by that is "cheap" usually means the rest of the list is unrealistic.

If you cycle lots, and think you'll carry on for a couple of years then buy quality. Ortleib or Vaude Aqua Plus (has outside pocket). If you don't like them then they have resale value too.

davis

davmaggs wrote:

I'd say that something needs to give on that wish list. What I mean by that is "cheap" usually means the rest of the list is unrealistic.

What he said. You can't do that lot cheaply. Look at it as an investment. Something like Vaude, Carradice or Ortleib, will last years and years... So if you work out the cost per week, it's not that much, and it gets cheaper as time goes on.

Also, you don't say what you mean by "Strong" and "Large". How much weight do you need to carry, really? How big is "large" in litres? I've got a couple of 20l panniers that will take more than I want to carry...

daniel_b

Ortlieb's go on forever.

Kieran_Burns

plus you need to say what you're going to put in them. I found the Altura dryline 17 ideal for me (but found I preferred the rucksack in the end) as I could fit everything I needed in without a problem and it kept everything bone dry no matter the weather.

tgotb

Daniel B wrote:

Ortlieb's go on forever.

+1. I've been using mine daily for (I think) six years, and apart from being a bit grubby it's still showing no signs of wear...

tangled_metal

I used to use a rucksack (alpkit gourdon 20 litre drybag sack). Bounced around a bit but was completely waterproof (provided you didn't open it up in the rain) and even had mesh pockets and bungee cord to take bottles and attach the cag if it stopped raining mid ride.

Then I stopped commuting for a few years then came back with the rucksack and didn't find it as nice. I was planning on trying touring out so got ortliebs and never looked back. Solid, plenty of space, waterproof and tough as you get. The fixings are solid. I rode a month or so without the bottom hook located in the best spot along the rail and since the commute had really dodgy surface I often found the whole pannier flying up into the air and landing against the rack. Never caused me much issues after I learnt to accept it because the top hooks were just so secure.

IMHO for about £90 if you shop around you will find a pair of classic Ortlieb back rollers. Use one for a long time then you still have the other. Think about it, I have heard of people saying they are using their ortliebs after 10 years or more of use. If you only use one then for £90 you have 20 years of commuting!!

I know spending that much in one hit is a lot but durability, performance and pretty much everything on your list bar cheap is covered. Vaude are as good as ortlieb I believe but cost more I think. Certainly not as prevalent and so less likely to be sold cheaper. If you are carrying a laptop for work then do you really want a cheap pannier to go flying off on a pothole or to leak onto your laptop?? Just a few things to consider.

Having said that try Altura as a cheaper alternative. I reckon they are decent. Topeak do rack bags with zip out pannier parts for your laptop if needed. Someone will be along to say Caradice saddlebag shortly I reckon (if you want that old fogey look!! )

roger_merriman

rather depends on what you mean by cheap!

i have one Topeak Drybag which is £70ish carries most clobber I take food, plus clothes, tablets/laptops etc

on the plus side its fairly narrow and tall so doesn't end up brushing your heal as you peddle! it is rather yellow which may or not be a plus.

veronese68

I got the Lidl cheap panniers which were fine but for the crappy hooks. I then bought some Ortlieb hooks and fitted them. They now tick all of your boxes. Not as robust as the Otlieb I grant you, but pretty good for what they cost.

apreading

I got a pair of Altura Dryline 32l in 2008 for less than 50 notes. Only use one, except on rare occasions. That one now has a bit of helicopter tape on the back where the rack was rubbing and it started to get a bit thin and the drawstring needed to be replaced (used a shoelace!) a couple of years ago. Its starting to look like it may need replacing in another year or two but it has done thousands of miles in all weather and all sorts of muck off road too, even on red routes occasionally(!). When it does wear out, I will just switch to using the other one of the pair which is still 'as new'. Pretty happy really and prefer them to the Ortliebs I have had a play with, which are certainly more robust but in some ways over the top and less 'friendly' as a result - like driving a tank on uk roads rather than a family car. Wont knock the Ortliebs though as they are the ultimate if you want a tank.

Levi_501

Thanks for your input.

Normally I carry, clothes, shirt socks etc. food flask and then the work related items, cardboard document folders, laptop.

I have pressed the BIN on some waterproof Agu panniers. Whilst I like the Ortlieb ones, I cannot (yet) justify the cost. I will see how the Agu ones are/go

dodgy

Just thought I'd share my experiences.

Started cycle commuting last August. At first I used a Timbuk2 messenger bag, I got by, but I knew long term I would come to hate it. Sweaty back, plus possible longer term back problems (my commute is reasonably long at 22 miles each way).

Then I went to Ortlieb panniers on my Day One Alfine. All very good, but more space than I really need, and they make the bike pretty wide (even when only using one side) which is not good when negotiating those hated (by me) ironworks on Sustrans paths.

Finally I tried a Carradice SQR Slim. REVELATION! Fits on any bike that has some seatpost showing. Sits behind the rider so no problems with Sustrans (spit) gates. More aerodynamic (arguably). And best of all, can be moved from bike to bike with ease, even better, when not in commute mode the entire contraption can be taken off easily.

I can get 2 pairs of trousers, couple of shirts, undies, shower kit, laptop no problem at all.

For me, panniers are for touring.

bunter

I like using panniers for the commute but it does put a lot more strain your rear wheel - especially if your bike wasn't designed as a tourer with a long wheelbase, the weight sits right above the rear axle. I get a lot more issues with snapped spokes than I ever did using a backpack. have sheared through a couple of rear hubs too. FYI I weigh about 90kg and I don't carry a lot of stuff on the commute...

apreading

bunter wrote:

I like using panniers for the commute but it does put a lot more strain your rear wheel - especially if your bike wasn't designed as a tourer with a long wheelbase, the weight sits right above the rear axle. I get a lot more issues with snapped spokes than I ever did using a backpack. have sheared through a couple of rear hubs too. FYI I weigh about 90kg and I don't carry a lot of stuff on the commute...

Sorry but I would think that is a problem with your wheel build rather than anything else. I ALWAYS carry too much stuff on my pannier rack and am a heavy rider (about same as you) and in 20,000 miles have never had a spoke or rear hub problem due to this. The only snapped spoke I had in that time was something getting caught in the rear wheel.

How many spokes do you have? I guess on a weak rim and/or low spoke count then the extra weight could be a problem but you should realise that wearing the weight on your back, it is still passed through the wheels, although I guess some of the weight will be distributed to the front wheel but I would not think much of it to be honest.

tgotb

bunter wrote:

it does put a lot more strain your rear wheel

Are you *sure* about that?

Say you carry 6kg in your backpack (which is a pretty high estimate), and your bike weighs 10kg:

With a rucksack, two thirds of your weight is probably on the rear wheel, plus two thirds the weight of the backpack, plus about half the weight of the bike. That works out at 37kg front, 69kg rear.

With a pannier, seems reasonable to assume all the weight of that is on the rear wheel; I make that 35kg front, 71kg rear, a whopping 3% increase. I suspect that something else is responsible for your rear wheel issues...

essex-commuter

Ortlieb.

There endeth the thread.

bunter

TGOTB wrote:

bunter wrote:

it does put a lot more strain your rear wheel

Are you *sure* about that?

Say you carry 6kg in your backpack (which is a pretty high estimate), and your bike weighs 10kg:

With a rucksack, two thirds of your weight is probably on the rear wheel, plus two thirds the weight of the backpack, plus about half the weight of the bike. That works out at 37kg front, 69kg rear.

With a pannier, seems reasonable to assume all the weight of that is on the rear wheel; I make that 35kg front, 71kg rear, a whopping 3% increase. I suspect that something else is responsible for your rear wheel issues...

I'm just reporting my experience - perhaps it's unique to me. Maybe I also should have used the word stress rather than weight? I ride carefully down a fairly rough track as part of my commute so that could have something to do with it. My current wheels are kinesis maxlight mountain bike hubs and rims. When I first got these factory built wheels I kept popping the alloy spoke nipples so the lbs rebuilt the wheels with brass nipples and new spokes. I have broken spokes since then and the wheel has been rebuilt. I sheared two hubs on two different kinesis cross disc wheels. I broke loads of spokes on the wheels that came with a charge filter. I took out a Mavic Crossone rear wheel in less than 20 miles.

I commuted for years with an ortlieb rucksack carrying roughly the same load (although I don't lug a laptop these days) and never broke a single spoke. I've never had any trouble with the spokes on my road bike (which is low spoke count).

Of course it's just my experience but perhaps you can appreciate why I might have come to this conclusion?

apreading

I can indeed understand how the evidence led you to conclude this.

Its still an incorrect conclusion though.

Unlikely as it may seem, the problem(s) that caused that catalogue of events are elsewhere...

tgotb

apreading wrote:

Unlikely as it may seem, the problem(s) that caused that catalogue of events are elsewhere...

^ this. By way of comparison, when I started commuting by bike (at 95kg, so marginally heavier than you) I was using a rucksack and popping spokes all over the place. I think I destroyed three rear wheels before the penny dropped. I now ride with a pannier, and my wheels last until the rims wear out.

The real issue is that, at our size, you can't ride cheap factory-built wheels, especially if you have the power to match your weight, you'll just tear them apart. If you want to go low spoke count, you either need to spend quite a lot of money or have a wheel builder who knows his stuff.

My commuting wheels are built 32-spoke 3x with Ambrosio Excellight rims (pretty much the same as Open Pro), and they're pretty much bombproof; I also raced a season of CX on them (at 90kg). You can build a set of those on decent hubs for £200, and a decent wheel builder will be able to suggest many other combinations that are just as good. You can go low spoke count (I race CX on 20/24) but you need to choose your rims quite carefully.

I'll wager your road bike has better quality wheels (and has the advantage of rim brakes; it's slightly easier to build decent wheels when you don't have to accomodate a disc brake).

jimmypippa

I looked at panniers at the LBS about 2008. They had some cheap ones (Avenir, I think) which actually fell to pieces in the shop when I asked for a demo. They also had some Vaude Aqua Pro ones. I decided to get the pair on the basis of "buy cheap buy twice". The one that I mainly use (kept loaded with commuting kit as opposed to the other which I use for popping to the local shops) has so far done 30,000 miles and is starting to have cosmetic damage.

Comparing it to a colleague's Ortelib, it is fairly similar, but possibly even more heavily engineered.

prhymeate

I don't own any so can't recommend from experience, but at £9.99 these lidl ones seem like a pretty good deal and you aren't too out of pocket if they fall apart after a few months. (available from April 6th). http://www.lidl.co.uk/en/our-offers-249 ... l&id=22226

MattPillinger

Another vote for Ortlieb

I used to have some cheaper panniers and when it rained, my stuff got wet. This was particularly annoying as I cycle half, drive half on my commute, so when it rained I wanted a dry top to put on for driving part, but never had one.

About 2 1/2 years ago I put down £100 for a pair of Ortlieb panners - now nothing ever gets wet, which is great, especially when I've got my laptop with me.

£100 seemed like a lot, but I've never regretted it.

Henry Royce (Rolls Royce) once said 'Quality will be remembered long after price has been forgotten' and I'd agree with that completely. Get the Ortliebs and you'll be thankful every day thereafter that you did.

telesv650

I use Halfords Bike Hut panniers. Got them for a trial, and for £20 each they are excellent value. Strong, tough and (so far) waterproof. They clip onto the rack and are easy to get on and off.

hegyestomi

PlanetX has this as today's offer:
https://www.planetx.co.uk/deals
Not sure about quality but for £10 it's worth a try!

eyko

Another +1 for Ortliebs. Have used mine most days for a year now and they are still going strong.

Soon after I'd got them I went touring with a friend and he bought some fair cheap panniers as he didn't want to buy the Ortliebs, they started falling apart pretty quickly and by mile 50 they'd broken and we had to bungee cord them to the top of his rack. Next time we went touring he had a pair of shiny new Ortliebs

DJFish

So now we all know which bags to buy.....

Any rack recommendations?

What are you all using?
I'm sure someone has been putting bricks in my bag and have decided to get some panniers but choosing the right rack seems more of a minefield than choosing a bag.

Levi_501

First day of panniers today!

It seems a little strange, but it is nice not having the rucksack. I went for Agu waterproof bags.

A couple of things I noticed:
You cannot swing the back of the bike over at the traffic lights.
You avoid pot hole even more

jeepie1999

After 4 years of dry carrying my Ortlieb has sprung a leak!!
I've noticed some wet contents after especially wet commutes so knew something was up. So I emptied the pannier and put water in it from the hosepipe. It fared well in this test, except it looked like it was having a wee!
It turns out.a part of the back of the pannier rubs against my rack and has worn away. I'm wondering if wearing out an Ortlieb is a historic occasion?

apreading

Jeepie1999 wrote:

After 4 years of dry carrying my Ortlieb has sprung a leak!!
I've noticed some wet contents after especially wet commutes so knew something was up. So I emptied the pannier and put water in it from the hosepipe. It fared well in this test, except it looked like it was having a wee!
It turns out.a part of the back of the pannier rubs against my rack and has worn away. I'm wondering if wearing out an Ortlieb is a historic occasion?

Same happened with my Altura Drylines - bit of helicopter tape over the wear line and it has been good since. Well worth a bit of heli-tape in this region before the fact - to prevent what will be inevitable otherwise.

tangled_metal

If you take one Ortlieb user's experience of the 2.5 years trouble free use for £100 and compare with £10 cheapo pannier. That works out at replacing cheapo every 3 months. If the Ortlieb lasts 5 years cheapo has to last 6 months. You hear of Ortlieb and also Vaude panniers lasting 10+ years. Makes the cheapo panniers replacing often not good financially. That's assuming you'll always get £10 panniers. Each to their own.
P.S. I got Ortlieb classic rear panniers for £89 or £80 I can't be remember which. Best buy I've made.