Panniers - what should I look for?

CamillaRhodes

I want to get my partner a nice bike pannier for his birthday, but have no idea really what to be looking for.

He cycles to work each day, circa 25 mins each way through Dublin city centre. Sometimes he'll go further, e.g. when playing footie, but rarely longer cycles than 45 mins at a pop. His bike is an old men's 'high nelly' style. Doesn't do any off road or hills or anything like that.

He'd want to be able to take the pannier off the bike and bring it with him as a bag (as locks it up in the city centre quite often, so security would be a problem if it wasn't detachable). I guess it being water-resistant is also important, given our lovely climate.

Any other tips for what I should be looking for, in terms of brands or design or features or anything like that?

Thx!

(BTW am thinking of something like this or this or this)

Tonyandthewhale

I think the bolzano looks the nicest out of those three (the other two are messenger bags/single panniers, do they definitely clip onto a rack?).

Personally, I've always been a massive fan of ortlieb, they're very rugged, reliable and easy to use clip-on mechanism (I've brought them off-roading and they haven't even thought about falling off) and water-proof enough to be dragged through rivers and floods if needs be. However, they're not as pretty as any of the ones who've linked to, basically they're utilitarian sacks and they lack extra pockets which some people find inconvenient.

I would say whichever one you do get, make sure it's big enough. Figure out exactly what sort of stuff he's going to be wanting to cart around with him and make sure there's enough space for it in whatever bag you choose.

padjo5

Tonyandthewhale wrote: »

I think the bolzano looks the nicest out of those three (the other two are messenger bags/single panniers, do they definitely clip onto a rack?).

Personally, I've always been a massive fan of ortlieb, they're very rugged, reliable and easy to use clip-on mechanism (I've brought them off-roading and they haven't even thought about falling off) and water-proof enough to be dragged through rivers and floods if needs be. However, they're not as pretty as any of the ones who've linked to, basically they're utilitarian sacks and they lack extra pockets which some people find inconvenient.

I would say whichever one you do get, make sure it's big enough. Figure out exactly what sort of stuff he's going to be wanting to cart around with him and make sure there's enough space for it in whatever bag you choose.

Not meaning to hijack, but I too am in the market for panniers.
Looking at a set of Ortlieb Back Roller Classics from Wiggle.....or just a single one if i can, from the Rose website. Price-wise very little difference between buying single or in the pair.
I believe they are 20litres per pannier so......
At a guess would 1 pannier suffice to carry the following: shoes, slacks,shirt and a standard laptop?? Random question but any guidance would be appreciated!

feck sake lads

really very hard to beat Ortlieb 100% waterproof basically bomb proof panniers,
i have the bike packer plus on the rear sportpacker up front which should be perfect for your needs, i think you can attach a shoulder strap on sport packer but i'm not going into the closet to pull them out just to find out.:D

carradice also make great panniers and bags of all discriptions also first class.

feck sake lads

http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=69006&sid=810f5525a664619183ec3256817d6306
there yis go buy them before someone else does.;)

thebouldwhacker

What they said.....

If my gf bought me panniers it would be a great present
If my gf bought me Ortlieb panniers it would be an amazing present.... And here is why.

Ortlieb are the big name in bags, they are 'the' label but they also deserve the prestige. They will work, they will last and so really tick all the boxes

el Bastardo

Ortlieb are great (Been using a Velocity bag for years - been patched, but still waterproof!).

Ortlieb do all sorts of panniers, but there are choices to be made; I'd consider something made for city/office use (because they come in singles rather than in pairs).

get on your bike

el Bastardo wrote: »

Ortlieb are great (Been using a Velocity bag for years - been patched, but still waterproof!).

Ortlieb do all sorts of panniers, but there are choices to be made; I'd consider something made for city/office use (because they come in singles rather than in pairs).

I've a nice set of Oxford ones. Will dig out model tomorro but they are angled so ur heel doesn't hit against it. Also they don't take up the rack & cone off handy. Very good imo

Undercover Elephant

padjo5 wrote: »

Looking at a set of Ortlieb Back Roller Classics from Wiggle.....or just a single one if i can, from the Rose website. Price-wise very little difference between buying single or in the pair.
I believe they are 20litres per pannier so......
At a guess would 1 pannier suffice to carry the following: shoes, slacks,shirt and a standard laptop?? Random question but any guidance would be appreciated!

Yes. And lunch, spare lights, a U lock and some slim files, with room to spare.

I have the Ortlieb laptop sleeve too, which has decent padding without being cumbersome. Presentable in meetings too.

Not cheap, but I reckon I've finished buying panniers for a lot of years. Oh, and the quick release is a great bit of engineering - absolutely flawless once you have it set up.

kilns

I have a Carraway saddle bag which I used cycling down France, it was a perfect size

It clamps onto the seat post and so does not unbalance the bike

The quality is top notch and held all I needed for a weeks travel through France

doozerie

I agree with everything mentioned about Orlieb. I've been using a single Ortlieb Front Roller Plus Classic for my commute for a few years now and it has been entirely waterproof, reliable, and robust. I bought them as a pair, which means I have one spare should I find some way of killing the one in use - even a slide on the ground hasn't left it scratched though, so it may actually be immportal! I could also use the second one if I needed greater carrying capacity on any particular day, though I've never actually had to resort to that for commuting. They are listed as 25L capacity for the pair but while I've not actually measured this that seems a very conservative estimate of their capacity - you close them by rolling the top down and if you roll it a couple of times only (and it still keeps water out quite effectively like this) it seems to me that the capacity is actually closure to 20L per bag.

You can buy a harness for some of the Ortlieb pannier bags which basically converts (one of) them to a backpack. I've not tried it though so I've no idea how comfortable or practical it is in use. Ortlieb are available from a number of sources, both online and in some Irish shops, but ProBikeKit's prices should give you some idea of what you might expect to pay. I've not compared ProBikeKit's prices with other sources but I reckon they are not miles off the average price.

Another place that may be worth a look is The Dutch Bike Shop in Dublin. They also have a stand at the market in Marley Park at weekends, or used to anyway. My wife has a Fastrider Report (11L) pannier bag from them which she has been very happy with. It's gear more towards a woman, and a business woman at that, as it looks more like a formal handbag. They might do something aimed at men too, perhaps.