I'm looking for recommendations for panniers that aren't eye-wateringly expensive... Also can one carry a laptop in a normal pannier or should one get a laptop-specific one?
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Stuff
Panniers
(20 posts)-
Posted 1 year ago #
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Buy the expensive ones. They'll last.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I had a set of Altura panniers a while back that were reasonably priced and sturdy. I also bought an Alpkit pannier bag and although the fabric was decent the clip didn't make it home. So I probably wouldn't recommend one of those.
I've now got a set of Vaude panniers that are well-made, sturdy and adjustable. Unfortunately I don't currently have a bike with a pannier rack since selling the Shand!
I'd say a laptop should be fine provided it's in a sleeve/case.Posted 1 year ago # -
‘Buy expensive or buy twice’ is often a wise maxim, if you have the cash in the first place.
Panniers are very much personal choice.
Personally I don’t like Ortliebs and generally like Altura.
Random review -
“
With a retail price of £69.99 for the pair they a reasonably priced against the competition.
“
https://www.allabouttheride.co.uk/reviews/reviews/accessories/altura-arran-2-36l-panniers-review
But first consideration is usage.
‘Just for work’ or mostly work but enough capacity for the annual tour’?
If the latter, maybe a big pair and a small pair - or even just a single.
Another use consideration is how easy they are to take off - some people use panniers as permanent fixtures, others are on/off several times a day.
Personally have never put a computer with a hard drive in a pannier, but many people are happy to.
As ever, there are bargains to be had -
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=panniers&_sacat=7294&_sop=15
Also there will be CCEers willing to lend so you can try size/style.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I got a pair of the Elops 500 rolltops from Decathlon, 25 quid each now, they work great the only downside is the attachment method(plastic clips up top, which have proven quite resilient actually, but a velcro strap at the bottom for retention which means muddy hands if the walkway has had some rain). For a laptop specifically, ehhh, I'd put it in a backpack personally - no matter how nice/specific a pannier you get it's going to get a lot more shoogling attached to your back wheel than it will with your body to act as a shock absorber.
Posted 1 year ago # -
For what it's worth, work gave me a very basic (amazon!) padded laptop sleeve, and that's what I chuck into panniers and it's been fine hammering over cobbles etc.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I posted about this a couple of years ago, and got plenty of good suggestions.
In the end, I went with the Air Pannier from Wales, which is nearly-infinitely adustable. It can be mildly fiddly to get the straps adjusted, and you'll need to hook the mesh behind part of your pannier rack fittings, but it's very sturdy. I just pop whatever bag I'm using that day into the mesh, and adjust the straps to fit.
Another option might be the Copenhagen Bags, which come in a range of prices and types. The cheapest ones fold up like a good 'bag for life' and then unfold to hook on to the pannier. So you could pop the laptop (in it's case) into that, and then fold the bag back into the laptop case on arrival.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Oxford do a nice mid sized waterproof roll top. Strange fastening on the sides which often catches me out as I am trying to click at top like with my Ortliebs.
harts sells em for forty notes.
I use a slightly padded sleeve for my laptop inside the pannier. Also usually full BUT NOT OVER FULL. So nae rattlin.
Posted 1 year ago # -
It's a shame Edin bike co-op don't still sell their own brand ones. I have a pair that I can't break, one is still basically brand new as I can't wear out the original one, I bought the pair thinking that extra one will come in handy one day. It will outlive me.
I have a padded sleeve for my laptop, and I've not had any bother just chucking that in the bag.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I'm on my second Carradice Bike Bureau Pannier. Not to everyone's taste, but pretty sturdy.
Posted 1 year ago # -
We wore our ortleibs out through hard hard work. Probably 10 years? Definitely worth the price.
Currently have Arkels which must be at least 2 years old? Still look new. But have had less bad treatment than Ortleibs. Waterproof. Capacious. But like ortleibs main compartment is just a pit of doom, with keys always at the bottom. Shoulder straps have to be bought separately. Rather annoying to use with the panniers. But still probably worth the price.
I also still have an ortleib backpack pannier (old style). Rather meh. But still gets use.
MrSrd got a small Wildbounds pannier recently. Pricey, but nice looking.
Posted 1 year ago # -
+1 for the Ortleibs or similar. Mine done a load of commuting, shopping, family trips out and even bit of touring, still going. 'Pit of Doom' is a definite issue, but the single big bag approach with rollover top rather than a flap is pretty versatile.
Like others, I got a cheap neoprene sleeve for my laptop, seems to do the job.
Posted 1 year ago # -
My Carradice Super-Cs have just passed their 21st birthday. 21 years of weekly shopping and some fairly epic tours.
Some repair was necessary over that time but I needed nothing more than needle and thread.
The kind Carradice people offered to replace the ancient attachment system with something more modern as and when I require it.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Thank you for all the comments.
I carry my laptop in a rucksack for short journeys on my Brompton, but I am not doing this for a journey on my road bike from Livingston to Musselburgh. This is a downside of my hybrid working from home and office pattern - I'm transporting the laptop back and forth every week.
I have a pannier that I got ages ago that has done fine but the plastic clips that hold it to the rack are slowly dying and the whole thing is just getting a bit battered. So something to transport a change of clothes to the office is required.
I don't think I'm likely to do a lot of touring but some credit-card touring is a possibility.
Posted 1 year ago # -
My Carradice Super-C saddlebag is plenty big enough to take my laptop, when I ride an upright bike to the office. I tend to have the laptop on the bike and clothes in my rucksack.
I like my Arkel panniers for recumbenting purposes, and they're also plenty big enough for a laptop and notebook and headphones and power supply and mouse and clothes and food and everything else I need for hybrid working.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I got a Carradice Cadet specifically for carrying my 13in laptop, which it does well, especially when padded with a jacket or something like that. I don't think the main body of the Super C is much bigger than the Cadet, but there's much more side-pocket storage, which is probably handy if you don't want to have to jam other items in around your laptop.
I don't use it for that purpose regularly but haven't had any vibration issues. I would however ensure that your laptop has a solid state drive rather than a mechanical hard drive as that would be the most likely thing to be damaged by vibration, especially if your laptop somehow woke up in transit. I think SSDs have been pretty standard in laptops for a while though.
I haven't used panniers much but with bike luggage generally my experience has definitely been that you get what you pay for. Bike bags receive so much abuse - vibration, being thrown about, stuffed full beyond their capacity, falling off, rubbed on on metal etc etc - that cheaply made versions get found out extremely quickly if you're using them for anything more than an annual sunny bimble down the canal. If you're going to put expensive items into them that applies doubly so I'd say.
Posted 1 year ago # -
My bog standard Alturas have been going strong for probably 20 years now. Daily commuting, weekly shop, family days out and the occasional longer distance tour.
I'd actually quite like them to fail so I can buy some shiny new Ortliebs or Arkels, but they... just won't...
Posted 1 year ago # -
This bike tour in 2009 finished off my old Edinburgh Bicycle panniers:
which had already developed various holes in the bottoms that I'd glued and patched, but being grounded on every other corner didn't help things. My pedal spanner migrated to a hole, and my friend reported seeing sparks coming off it on one particularly enthusiastic bit of cornering. I bought my Arkels after that, but kept the EBC bags for emergency use, which has yet to occur. They were only made from perhaps 500den cordura, so not very robust.
I do have a pair of the little Carradice Super C front/universal panniers, which I bought yonks ago to partner my EBC bags, but I mostly use them with my Brompton now, as they're annoyingly small for proper cargo and not even the right shape for a laptop.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Recently got a Altura Thunderstorm City 20, which I'm very happy with - especially if you get it for less than £50. It's great on the back rack...
But to hijack the thread - any recommendations for a pair of small front panniers? The 20L Altura is ok on a low rider front rack, but on the large side and a bit of a sail with moderate wind. Ideally Would want the, small, laptop on one side and the other junk on the other...
Posted 1 year ago #
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