gerv 

I've been using a set of Axiom panniers to fetch groceries. But they are about to succumb to age.

I've been looking at options. Maybe a wire basket... Sunlight, Wald or Basil makes them



Thoughts? options?

FBinNY 

My wife and I have been using Jandd Grocery panniers for something short of a decade. One nice feature is that they fold flat, so the bike is slim on the way to the store, and they can be left on even when we're not sure we'll be shopping.

There are many similar bags, but we've found the Jandd to be of high quality.

3alarmer 

...I'm a a big fan of the dual wire basket rear rack. The only caveat I have is to make certain you buy one that you can set up so it rides far enough back that you don't get any heel strike interference when you pedal.

I've had one mounted on a Raleigh Sports for longer than I can remember now.

3alarmer 

...when I mount one, I drill out the rivets holding that stupid clamp bar for the stays and toss that stuff, then either use p clamps on the stays or (if you are fortunate enough to have them) bolt directly to the seat stay bosses.

Lively or Not

What I use isn't intended as a grocery pannier, but I quite like it. It's an Agu Qyoto touring pannier. It's waterproof and has an expandable top for extra carrying capacity when needed. I particularly like it because where I live is prone to heavy seasonal rains. With this pannier I don't even worry about my cargo getting soaked. As an added bonus it doesn't have the aggressively outdoorsy look of Ortlieb and other waterproof gear.

gerv 

Yeah... for a long time I was more in the camp of other poster here.

In my case I had a set of soft panniers, so I used them... but lately I want to have less futzing around getting the pannier attached... and I also like the idea of taking the basket off and filling it up in the store.

No more wondering if it will all fit.

3alarmer 

...I've never used a detachable basket, and wonder how they do when heavily loaded. (In terms of attachment to the rack and bike...seems like they might bounce some.) With the Wald baskets, I just keep a couple of those reusable Trader Joe vinyl plastic heavy duty shopping bags folded up in the bottom, and a couple of bungees stretched over the top portion to secure anything that goes up high enough to be in danger of bouncing out.

Walter S

I use front ortlieb panniers for small grocery trips. For a larger load of groceries I prefer a cargo trailer (mine is a Croozer I bought five years ago for $150). I find this easier to manage. I can easily get bigger loads and bulky stuff (try packing a case of wine and a big box of laundry detergent into your panniers along with fresh produce/other supplies).

It's particularly quick to load and unload. At the grocery store I just transfer my bags to the trailer. There's no distributing of the load into multiple panniers and sorting out what goes where. At home I wheel the trailer into my kitchen and unload it - which is easier than if I came home in a car and had to shuttle bags from the car to inside the house.

tandempower

I find a milk-crate mounted on a rear luggage rack most useful. You can keep a rain cover balled up in it, which can be quickly un-rubber-banded and put on when the rain starts. You can keep a couple bungees in it and bungee items underneath the sides that overhang the rear wheel. For this it helps to have a luggage rack with sides that form a barrier with the wheel and have good bungee-hook points.

I don't wonder. I put what I can inside the milk-crate and hold the rest on the handlebars. Sometimes I 'put off until tomorrow what I could buy today' in order to keep my handlebars free.

wahoonc

I have used a wide variety of bags and baskets over the years. Currently my primary grocery getter is either my '70 Raleigh Sports Standard with Wald folding baskets on the rear and a fixed basket on the front, the other one is my '08 Redline R-530 with 60 liter canvas panniers semi-permanently attached. The Sports is the more versatile. The folding baskets are sized to take a standard paper grocery bag. I have some reusable ones with fold over tops that are just a bit taller than the standard grocery bag, the front basket with a cargo net is for bulkier items. I have tried the fabric "grocery panniers" and just didn't like them that well.

Word of warning on milk crates... make sure it is legally yours. Some guy in Florida got locked up for having stolen property because he had a milk crate on his bike. It does cost the dairies big money, some estimates are $6-7 million a year.

Aaron

canklecat

I don't take my open top grocery panniers into the store. They get dusty and funky too quickly. The route I take to one store is along a gravel road, so it doesn't matter if I start out with a clean bag, it'll be grungy by the time I get there. I'd be irritated if I saw other shoppers bringing their funky dirty bags inside grocery stores and setting them in the buggies and on the checkout conveyor.

And They're not designed to carry loaded, despite the heavy duty strap -- it's placed at the back and a loaded bag would tip forward.

But I would use clean reusable tote bags inside the grocery panniers.

Ridefreemc

I wish I could find such a good price on one of those!

Walter S

They seem to call mine a Kiddy Van now. $204 plus $15 shipping https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0189...6TL&ref=plSrch

JoeyBike

I find Jandd grocery panniers hard to beat. Mine are 20+ years old and fold flat when not in use, easily detachable for taking into the store with you.


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B. Carfree

These and a front wire basket fill the bill nicely for "normal" grocery store trips. When I'm going to Costco or for a larger load, I've got a large flatbed trailer that I put water-tight tubs on. I don't care for panniers as grocery haulers since things inevitably get smashed. Oddly, my primary grocery bike is currently down while I await a spoke delivery, so I did use panniers today, but my spouse's bike had nice wire baskets to make it all work.

fietsbob

It Often Rains Here , so the Ortlieb Back Rollers come off the Bike, inro the cart , and are first thing on the checker's belt.

The food, etc. goes in They go back in the cart and the cart is pushed out to the Bike rack..

And I put the Bags Back On the bike , and I ride Home..

alathIN

I really like my Ortleib Back Rollers for all purposes, including groceries. You can roll them up so they're small on your way to the store. Unhitch them easily and take them in on the shoulder straps for your own re-useable grocery bags. If you get a gigantic load of groceries or something large, you can leave the top unrolled and stack stuff high.

Many other advantages for other uses, too, including being extremely durable and waterproof.

mr,grumpy 

I have a Kona Minute. Due to my living situation it's tricky to deploy and store. I also have a Trek 820 that has been my go-to do-it-all bike for years. Recently, I got a Banjo Brother's Grocery panniers for it. I'll tell you what: that sum***** is about 90% the size as the cargo bike bags that came on it! Of course, for just a little more than the price of two of them would get me a set of Backroller, on sale.