Carrier or backpack?

p15574

I'm about to get a new bike on the CTW scheme and was wondering what your opinions are on carriers.

I currently use a carrier as I need to bring clothes/towel etc in and out of work and I find it handier for the following reasons:
- don't have the weight of the bag on my back
- don't get a sweaty back where the bag would be
- bag would obscure the hi-vis vest. I know you can get hi-vis bags and/or a hi-vis cover for it, but I have an aversion to spending 80-100 for a bag when a cheap one for a tenner does me.

I'm thinking of getting a Giant Defy 3.5 but I'm wondering if attaching a carrier to this would be a sacrilege, or look ridiculous.

So - what do you think? Carrier or not?

Similarly, I'd like mudguards to avoid the ol' stripey back. My commute is about 12K each way, into Dublin city centre, and you know the crap you get on the roads. I was told by the bike shop that "half mudguards" could easily be added, but also that full ones could - though I'm not sure where they'd go, as the brakes are so close to the wheel. Again, any opinions?

Thanks.

ednwireland

my bike doesnt do carriers very well (i really need 28mm + tyres to carry my weight and the carrier) and i dont have far to go so just use a backpack if i commuted further would have to sort something out.
hi vis covers i got the yellow and orange one 5 from bottom

http://www.beseenonabike.co.uk/acatalog/cycling-Rucksacks-covers.html

Vélo

I carry a bag mainly because I don't have panniers on my fixie but I also carry my laptop. I read on here before that panniers aren't great for laptops because of the vibrations.

You can get hi-viz covers for bags also.

lukester

It depends on how much you value form over function.

Personally I'd never consider putting a carrier on a bike like that, but there are others here who would.

There are cycling specific rucksacks that help avoid the sweaty back. If you're worried about hi-vis, get a brightly coloured one.

Rucksacks give you more flexibility in my opinion.

For mudguards, use race blades or crud road racers.

blorg

There are specific full length mudguards made by Giant for the Defy that drop down to get under the brakes.



No question get these over Race Blades or Cruds, they will work much better. Cruds do not work with tyres bigger than 700x23 in my experience trying to fit them onto a Giant Bowery. Race Blades do but they won't provide the coverage full-length will. The advantage of Race Blades is they are two second on and off. The advantage of full-length is superior coverage and they will stay in place better. But certainly not quick on and off.

As for rack versus backpack you have already said you prefer a rack, as I do myself, I would be driven mad having to carry a backpack any distance. It is perfectly acceptable to stick a rack on an entry-level racer. I would get something like the Tortec Ultralite which is only 400g. You can always take it off for weekend spins, it is just four bolts.

cdaly_

I use rack with a 10l rack bag on my FCR3. For work clothes/lunch, I use a clip-on pannier also.

Lumen

I'm not sure there is a right answer to this question.

When I use a backpack I feel more "dynamic" but less comfortable.

When I use a rack my back is more comfortable but I have to ride gently because I carry a laptop (which is slowly disintegrating with the abuse).

lukester

If you do go down the bag route, CW review of bags may be of interest.

poochiem

dammit I have a sweet €8 lidl backpack but its starting to fall apart now. can't complain, 4 months rain hail snow, commuting, shopping, laptop etc. I'm not payin shaggin 90 quid for one, anyone else got cheapo ones they can recommend?

short circuit

Lumen wrote: »

When I use a rack my back is more comfortable but I have to ride gently because I carry a laptop (which is slowly disintegrating with the abuse).

Very interested in this as I was planning on getting a rack with panniers for the laptop. I carry it on a backpack now ... but it is a brick and don't think I can get a tiny one yet.

What do you mean by disintegrating ... and do you have a rack top bag or a pannier bag. And which rack and bag do you use.

Sorry for bombarding with questions.

I am worried about the 21st of August this year ... which is 1 day it will be too hot to cycle with the backpack on.

blorg

There is a risk with panniers that you will shake the laptop too much as it is connected directly to the bike. A bag on your back is far more insulated from vibration, but for me at least, very annoying. I bought a Sony Picturebook (1kg laptop) ten years ago now simply as anything heavier on my back was driving me nuts.

I have carried my work laptop in panniers but might be slow to carry one I owned myself

Lumen

short circuit wrote: »

Very interested in this as I was planning on getting a rack with panniers for the laptop. I carry it on a backpack now ... but it is a brick and don't think I can get a tiny one yet.

What do you mean by disintegrating ... and do you have a rack top bag or a pannier bag. And which rack and bag do you use.

I use a Pletscher Touring top-mounted rack pack, which fits my smallish laptop (Thinkpad X301) in a vertical plane across the diagonal. I generally stick some squishy clothes underneath to cushion it. By "disintegrating" I mean "becoming steadily less well screwed together", and some hardware faults have started appearing.

A side-mounted Pannier would probably be more gentle, but I prefer to keep things narrow.

LastGasp

I currently use a backpack which I don't like for all the same reasons. I quite like the look of the Topeak Beam racks like this one, but I don't need to carry a Laptop so should be fine for what I need. Would also be handy for some of the longer Audax rides which I hope to do during the year !http://www.topeak.com/products/Racks/RXBeamRackCarbon

blorg

ednwireland wrote: »

my bike doesnt do carriers very well (i really need 28mm + tyres to carry my weight and the carrier) and i dont have far to go so just use a backpack if i commuted further would have to sort something out.[/url]

I'm not sure how it makes much difference if you have the weight in a backpack or in panniers. It's all weight on top of your bike and tyres... Maybe a small bit of the weight of a backpack would be shared with the front wheel but to be honest even that I would doubt given the location of a backpack.

blorg

LastGasp wrote: »

I currently use a backpack which I don't like for all the same reasons. I quite like the look of the Topeak Beam racks like this one, but I don't need to carry a Laptop so should be fine for what I need. Would also be handy for some of the longer Audax rides which I hope to do during the year !http://www.topeak.com/products/Racks/RXBeamRackCarbon

For Audax a saddlebag (and/or bar bag) is cheaper and lighter. Most beam racks are very very heavy and have a low carrying capacity. That Carbon one is lighter than most but if money is no object you can get a proper rack @200g. Which you don't need anyway. The advantage of a beam rack is easy on and off I guess.

cdaly_

blorg wrote: »

I'm not sure how it makes much difference if you have the weight in a backpack or in panniers. It's all weight on top of your bike and tyres...

Ah but it's extra weight on your back and arms in a backpack.