Bicycle Panniers for Extended Touring

[articulate]

I'm dabbling more with bicycle touring off pavement and am peeking into the pannier marketplace.

My first stop was the local bike shop, which sold me a pair of nylon panniers by Jandd. These are totally not up to the task other than fair weather commuting.

I managed to get my hands on a single pannier by Seattle Sports for a magazine assignment. It's a "Titan" model that's also leaps beyond the set above. Waterproof, "dry bag" style with a roll up top, what seems to be heavy clips on the back, etc. The PVC (or whatever) material also feels highly resistant to puncture. I've been impressed with it, and have been riding for about a week with it.

However, they're really inexpensive compared to a similar pannier by Ortieb and a few other brands I've encountered via the web. This Seattle Sports bag above retails for about $45 a piece. Then I've found, say, these at REI: Novara Safari Panniers. $150 for the pair, and these are made of nylon. However, it appears most other things are equal-ish: water proof, same rugged clips/hooks on the back, etc. So that's about twice the money.

I understand Ortlieb is a quality brand: their Backroller model retails for about $160 each. I'd love to get my hands on one to make a physical comparison. Because the Seattle Sports model I have seems not just incredible, but also incredible for the price -- which my industrial side tells me that it doesn't make any business sense to price an equally rugged bag for less than half of the competition's. Admittedly, not everyone prices their product based on fair market value.

Help me come to grips with the spread, if you will . . .

1. What does a touring cyclist want from a pannier? (features, materials, etc.)
2. Do you know anything about the Seattle Sports products?

Thanks,
Mark

 

[bigreen505]

From what I have seen it might be better to start with a BOB trailer. I'm considering this. I've kind of gotten used to hauling around a 60 lb. Burly trailer.

 

[Twenty-niner]

I know you didn't ask for this but my first bit of advice would be to consider forgoing racks/panniers completely. We just did 100 miles of the Colorado Trail recently with 40 lbs of gear between two people and were comfy, warm and well-fed with hot meals every night.

:camping:

Not to mention that the riding itself was actually enjoyable rather than being bone-jarring and cumbersome.

But assuming you would rather not go quite so spartan as we...

I think that Seattle Sports has for a long time made good quality river gear and that making panniers wasn't much of a stretch for them, so they branched out into that market. And it sounds like they may be establishing new price points for all manufacturers of panniers. Not sure.

What does a touring cyclist want from a pannier? (features, materials, etc.)

Efficient use of space.
Durability
Light weight
And then some more durability.

 

[articulate]

And here I thought Bill was tossing me another one of his wrenches, "I know you already have Canon gear, but take your next $6000 and get into Leica!"


It must be your style, Bill, to impress upon people to make 180-degree turns.

I know you didn't ask for this but my first bit of advice would be to consider forgoing racks/panniers completely. We just did 100 miles of the Colorado Trail recently with 40 lbs of gear between two people and were comfy, warm and well-fed with hot meals every night.

So, you and Bill say the same thing. Essentially. I'm all ears. So how did you carry the 40 lbs of gear? Trailer?

Efficient use of space.
Durability
Light weight
And then some more durability.

 

[bigreen505]

And here I thought Bill was tossing me another one of his wrenches, "I know you already have Canon gear, but take your next $6000 and get into Leica!"


It must be your style, Bill, to impress upon people to make 180-degree turns.

Forget Leica, MF digital is where it is at. :elkgrin:

Mark, I guess to me it comes down to how much gear are you carrying both in weight and bulk, over what terrain and what will be least offensive to bike handling. For example, how much water are you carrying -- just enough to get to the next stream or 7 gal.? Bivvy or tent? Jetboil or Dragonfly? Are you more comfortable carrying a 20 lb. backpack like Twenty-niner (I'm guessing)?

Lots of choices, all of them correct, no real losers.

 

[Twenty-niner]

Lots of choices, all of them correct, no real losers.

Absolutely correct, there. Just about any set-up can be correct for a given situation and purpose.

My current set-up is a combination of dry bags and Carousel Design Works gear (www.carouseldesignworks.com). This is not my bike, by the way:

I have used the CDW handlebar bag (for a 3.5 lb 2-person 3-season tent) and the CDW seat bag (about 3 lbs of gear, including sleeping clothes, bag and sleeping pad). Everything else was in my 1400 cu. inch Camelbak backpack (which weighed about 12-14 lbs with 3 1/2 days worth of food, 100 oz. water, cook kit, etc.)

My touring partner uses the CDW frame bag, which is an incredible piece of equipment. There are a few different companies making these same types of custom frame bags, by the way.

I'm not saying this set-up is what you should go for, as it depends on the terrain, weather, availability of fresh water and sundry other considerations... but I do think that many people, if they stopped to consider a more svelte set-up and a less cumbersome mode of bike travel, would find that it works well for them.

It should be noted that I am most interested in touring on singletrack, rather than gravel roads or fire roads. And my goal is to be able to ride singletrack as nimbly as we do on a Sunday morning ride at home. For more tame terrain, I would likely re-think my entire approach.

Hope that helps a little. My own set-up is a constantly-evolving thing... which is 1/2 the fun!

Greg

 

[RAV4fun]

SeattleSport makes very high quality gear. I used several of their dry bags for kayak touring for years and I know outfitters that are still using their stuff after a decade of leading tours.

That said, they are using a slightly different material for their new line of bike bags(they make a killer commute backpack as well as the panniers) that doesn't have quite as long in the field. That said, I'd have no qualms about using the panniers, worst case is you aren't happy and send them in for repair or replacement (their warranty is great on all their gear), and go with Ortlieb.

As for what to look for in a touring pannier, your needs are going to be a bit different as all my touring experience is on-road in the Canadian Gulf Islands...loads of massive hills...but mostly paved. I used several generations of REI panniers with no problems, so I know their quality is good as well...

Look for efficient use of space and bomber mounting hardware (like the newest gen of Ortlieb) and you should be good to go...

 

[bigreen505]

Greg,

Thanks for sharing that, those look very cool. I think it brings up another point -- beyond what gear you want to bring (or have to bring based on the locale) and they type of terrain you plan to cover, the bike brings in its own considerations. For example, would the Carousel gear work on your bike? I can tell you that the main triangle bag won't work on my sisters small full suspension frame.

Sorry Mark, I know we have thrown your simple question into pretty murky waters.

EDIT: I have to say that the CDW gear, at least in concept (never seen in person) is exceptionally cool and if you think Greg's system would work for you, that is a pretty sweet setup. Of course, if you stick with panniers they can do double duty for bike commuting. In the meantime, go get yourself a Chariot trailer and take the little one for some rides. I have a Burly, I won't buy another one.

 

[29er]

I can tell you that the main triangle bag won't work on my sisters small full suspension frame.

Indeed. And a rack won't work on my Spot SS because there are no mounts on the frame and the rear hub is bolt-on. I've gotten by fine with a handlebar bag, seat bag and my backpack (no frame bag).

Sorry Mark, I know we have thrown your simple question into pretty murky waters.

:snorkel: :hehe:

 

[Sloan]

29er, how much does that Carousel handlebar bag affect the steering and feel of the bike? Obviously it is going to make it kinda sluggish, but what are your thoughts?

 

[29er]

29er, how much does that Carousel handlebar bag affect the steering and feel of the bike? Obviously it is going to make it kinda sluggish, but what are your thoughts?

I'm not married to any one mode of travel or way of attaching gear to my bike, so I'm being objective when I say: Not much. Can you feel the weight on the bars? Yes. Did it change my riding style or the terrain I was able to negotiate? Not at all.

We experimented a bit and found that it's best to limit the weight on the bars to < 4 lbs.



Hey Mark-

I assume you've read the customer reviews for the SS panniers at places like REI and Amazon, but just in case you haven't, check them out. Feedback seems to be overwhelmingly positive, albeit very commuter-oriented rather than adventure touring.

Exactly what kind of touring and routes are you most interested in, by the way?

Greg

 

[articulate]

Hey Mark-
Exactly what kind of touring and routes are you most interested in, by the way?

Greg

Indeed I have read many of the reviews. As far as the routes, I'm thinking fire roads for the most part. That would be on the domestic side of things. But I've got some northern Mexico touring on my mind, which would likely be on crappy pavement and graded dirt. I'm new to this, though, so the priorities could change. I dig what you did to carry all that gear, too.

I do ride to work about twice a week also, and do some neighborhood riding with my wife and daughter (who gets towed in a Croozer trailer . . . the daughter not the wife) often to dinner or something like that.

What are you thinking now?

 

[29er]

What are you thinking now?

Now I'm thinking... 'this sounds like a person who would be best served by racks and panniers.'

Either limit your total load weight to something reasonable (sub-40 lbs?) OR be very sure you're buying the stoutest rack you can. Working in a bikeshop for almost 10 years, I saw rack after rack after rack roll into our shop broken (shoddy welds and mounting brackets). People would roll into the shop while on a tour and they'd have their racks patched together with tree branches and duct tape.

IMO the best racks available are Old Man Mountain and the best panniers are Ortlieb, with Vaude being a slightly less expensive alternative.

I'd recommend putting no more than 20 lbs on each rack, front and rear. And also that you do use front racks in addition to rear to equalize the load. Otherwise you're likely to find yourself fighting to keep the front wheel down on climbs and/or keeping the bike under control at speed.

 

[762X39]

I have a vintage Cannondale with front and rear racks. The front rack is a Blackburn and the rear is a Vetta.If you are going to go the rack and pannier route get the best racks you can. For Panniers and handlebar bags I like the Arkel units ( http://www.arkel-od.com ). Hope this helps.

 

[articulate]

Now I'm thinking... 'this sounds like a person who would be best served by racks and panniers.'

:xxrotflma
Crackin' me up!

Duly noted on your suggestions. Thanks.

If you are going to go the rack and pannier route get the best racks you can. For Panniers and handlebar bags I like the Arkel units ( http://www.arkel-od.com ). Hope this helps.

Hell yes that helps. Many thanks. I'll check them all out.

Muchas gracias!

Mark