Newspaperguy

There are two questions which will determine the solution.

1. Are you single?

If the answer is No, then look around for a trailer or look on line for plans how to build a trailer. The utility cycling section of this forum is a good place to ask trailer questions.

If the answer is Yes, then proceed to the second question.


2. How far do you live from the laundromat and the grocery store?

If you are reasonably close, you can get away with a day pack for most groceries, provided you are willing to make numerous short shopping runs. There are a few limitations. For instance, a 10-kilogram bag of flour or rice is a lot of weight to carry on your back. However, for the foods you'll need on a regular basis — vegetables, meat or other protein, milk, juice, bread and the like — it's easy to carry a week's worth of groceries in a backpack.

If you're more than a few kilometres from the store, then look for panniers instead. Carrying food on your back is not all that comfortable and I wouldn't recommend it for even a moderate distance.

Laundry presents a different problem. It tends to be light, but bulky. The weight isn't an issue, but carrying the load can be awkward. Here's my cheap laundry solution, if you're relatively close to a laundromat. Get a hockey equipment bag. You'll spend $10 to $20 if you shop around. Carry the bag on your back, much the same as you'd carry a backpack. Once again, if you're more than a few kilometres from the laundromat, go with panniers. Or consider a trailer.

ezdoesit

To inquiring minds who have answered my questions yes I am single and 60 years young.
I live app. 1.75 miles from all my shopping for groceries and Laundromat.
I also have some serious hills to go up and down like 9% and 14% .
I grocery shop once a week and usually do my laundry every two weeks. For my groceries I mostly shop for produce I am a vegan so no heavy meats just pasta and fruits but enough to last a full week.
I have been looking at the Ortlieb Backroller Classic Panniers - Pair from REI because they are having a great sale and I think the Pannier's would hold a lot of stuff. https://www.rei.com/product/604989
They are 2,441 cubic inches for the pair do you think this enough for what I need to do.

As usual guy's thank you for all your time it is much appreciated and as I have said money is tight and I feel a sale like this comes around maybe once a year.

travelmama

Hey, money is tight for most, including myself so a deal is a deal. REI has good deals on certain items throughout the year...check the outlet site. If a trailer is something that you can use, I suggest you go with it because you will be able to haul a bit more. It will cost double of what you would spend on the panniers providing you use the coupon. If you can grab a couple of large kitty litter containers, why not use them as panniers. They are cheap or even free, waterproof and built to last. If you had two on the side of the bike, it would make pizza toting a lot easier than just trying to strap the pie to your rack.

ezdoesit

Hey everyone,
I bought the Ortlieb Backroller Classic Panniers today and I am going to go grocery shopping tomorrow so I'll let you know how it goes,
I am liking the Ortlieb's and their capacity they are pretty big at least for me they look big and I am pretty sure I won't have any problems getting a week's worth of groceries in the two Pannier's.If these work out and I feel that they will then somewhere in the near future I am going to buy a front rack and the matching front Pannier's.

Just wanted to keep everyone up to date with my decision and thank you all for your help and if you have any more suggestions please post them.

It's mind over matter
if you don't mind it doesn't matter

wahoonc

You will like the Ortliebs they are great. Best use I have seen for them so far was to pack them with a bag of ice and a 12 pack of beer. I have a full set (fronts and rears) but don't use them often except for touring.

Aaron

Smallwheels

Buy a used washing machine and connect it to your kitchen sink. You could find one for less than the price of panniers on sale. Then hang dry your clothes with a fan blowing on them. Right now I live in an apartment with a washer and dryer. I rarely use the dryer. When I move to a one bedroom apartment later this year it probably won't have a built in laundry closet. In that case I'll follow my own suggestion.

I hate going to laundry rooms even within my building. It takes time away from my life because I must sit there waiting for the laundry to be done. I don't trust people enough to leave my clothes unattended.

swwhite

I don't have Ortlieb panniers, but I do have the Ortlieb backpack and it seems very well made (as a general reference to the quality of the brand).

If you expect to tour, the panniers would do double duty (groceries and touring) so that is an argument for them. Roll-top panniers might not be as nice for grocery shopping as grocery panniers, but grocery panniers for touring would be a terrible choice.

You might consider the issue of food storage. If, every time you go to the grocery store, you get a few extra of items that you regularly use and that keep a long time, you eventually will build up a little storehouse of common essential items. If you examine your recipes, and keep on top of the state of your supplies, you could reduce the number of times you have to make any really big grocery run. That would reduce the need for a trailer, and tilt the decision toward the panniers. Since either solution will work, and each has a mix of advantages and disadvantages, this might be an issue of playing the odds; which solution will be the best most of the time, and can you find a way to handle those other times.

I myself carry one grocery pannier to work with me sometimes, and stop at the grocery store on the way home. I trickle in supplies a little at a time--this still is a work in progress so I have no more advice on that concept.

ezdoesit

Hi Everyone,
Well I went grocery shopping today except I didn't use the bike and Pannier's why ? It was a crummy day here weather wise and I had a return to make at REI and can only do that by car so on the way home in this nasty weather I stopped and grocery shopped I call it a dry run.
When I got home I unloaded the groceries into my two Pannier's and the whole week of groceries fit in with no problem at all.
I then weighted the food in the Pannier's and came to a grand total of 34 pounds including my lock and the weight of the two Pannier's.
I think that buying a weeks worth of groceries and having it fit in two Pannier's is pretty dam good for a single guy.

OK opinion's and suggestions-any ?

swwhite I do expect to tour so yes the Pannier's are doing double duty.

tsl

And just think, all these years you've been using 4,200 pounds of vehicle to pick up 34 pounds of groceries.

Newspaperguy

I see people doing this all the time, but I don't understand it. I prefer to balance the load, so I'll either use two panniers or none.

spinninwheels

Ain't that the truth.

Over time, you'll be able to hone your shopping and packing skills, and it will become second nature. I've never used (heard of) grocery panniers, but with Back-Roller Classics you'll learn quickly how to pack them. If you wear cycling shirts with rear pockets, you'll find they work great for delicate items like bananas, avocados, tomatoes, peaches, nectarines, etc.

As for the weather, don't worry. You'll become seasoned before you know it.

ezdoesit

tsl ain't it the Truth

sauerwald

I have, and use, both Panniers and a trailer. When I am just picking up a few things, I use the panniers (I use Arkel panniers, my wife has Wald Folding baskets on the back of her bike). Between the two bikes with baskets and panniers we can usually get whatever we need at the grocery store. When I am shopping alone with panniers, I hook them on the shopping cart to serve as a reminder of how much space I have. The baskets work well for holding shopping bags.

When getting a lot of stuff, or going to the dry cleaners, I use a trailer. I have a cycletote utility trailer which I love - it is very versatile, and holds a lot, and can hold a lot of weight when going to the hardware store or something.

In my case both groceries and dry cleaners are within about a mile of home (washing machine is at home), and there are no real hills.

Cosmoline

Speaking of homemade bread, I've been getting great results with 1/3 rye and 2/3 wheat. But in both cases, the bulk flour came in fifty pound bags that no pannier could carry. The BOB had no problem. Indeed I hauled 50 lbs of Montana wheat home in the middle of a blizzard this past winter.

There are different tools for different jobs. If you're touring, the rules are very different as are the distances. But getting groceries is not not touring. It's utility cycling. The concepts are different, the goals are different. You don't pack light at the Costco. If you have to get off and walk up the steep hills, so be it. Think like Viet Cong, not like some spandex clad touring cyclist.

Newspaperguy

Touring cycling and utility cycling are two different things, although there are a lot of similarities. I haven't yet carried a 50 lb. sack of flour, but I've carried bags of flour or sugar or rice each weighing half that amount. Those things don't go in the panniers. Instead, I'll strap the bags onto my rear rack and be on my way. The weight is more than I carry when I'm touring, but it's not that bad, especially since I'm only riding a few kilometres with such a load.

And that brings me to another point. The weight, within limits, is not the issue. The much more difficult part is dealing with the bulk or the awkwardness of the load. Later today, I'll have to haul a 15-inch CRT iMAC computer and I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to do that. The weight isn't bad, but the shape and the fragility of a computer will make for an interesting ride. I'll probably have to carry it on my back. Fortunately, I don't have too far to go.

Roody

Yes, and the other issue is dealing with fragile items like bananas, lettuce, and the proverbial eggs. Sometimes the best solution is to put such items in a plastic shopping bag and tie it to the handlebars or to the outside of your main load.

I also gave up on the 12 packs of double-roll toilet paper. I pay a few pennies more (per roll) for the 4 pack, and it's money well spent. When you stop to add it up, the money you save by buying in bulk is not very great--especially compared to the money you would spend on a car for taking you to the grocery store.

AdamDZ

I've never though of it this way. Brilliant!

My interest in utility cycling increased dramatically since I did my two overnight practice tours. I bet that I'm gonna get a trailer and go shopping by bike once I return from my 3 week tour next month. Touring made me realize how much stuff I can carry on a bike without huge effort and have fun at the same time.

gerv 

I always thought it worked the other way. You commute for a while and then try a tour. It's sort of like commuting in one way... you just need a few extra pairs of underwear.

ezdoesit

Hey AdamDZ where you going on your tour ?

AdamDZ

Oh, I've been commuting by bike for a long time. But only recently (December/January) I built a proper commuter with racks, panniers, fenders, etc. Commuting doesn't necessarily equal utility cycling. For some time I commuted on a light singlespeed, a road bike, a full susp MTB, just with a backpack, hardly a utility setup.

And at first I haven't thought much about using the new commuter for anything other than commuting. But as I started reading about touring then preparing for my first tour over the last few months I started thinking more about using the bike for carrying stuff, mainly for shopping. The first two overnight rides showed me that carrying 50lbs of stuff on a bike is no big deal. So I got a set of inexpensive panniers and a rack for my wife's MTB (hardtail) too and we'll start going shopping by bikes. She needs to ride more too to build up strength so it all kind of clicks together. My current set of panniers I use for commuting are quite roomy, but I may get the cart just for kicks so I can have something to experiment with.

I'll ride from NYC to the Adirondacks, do a loop and come back. I think I'll take a train out of NYC to save two days of riding through suburbs though. I'm leaving this Sunday!

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/AdamsFirstTour


Adam

ezdoesit

I'll ride from NYC to the Adirondacks, do a loop and come back. I think I'll take a train out of NYC to save two days of riding through suburbs though. I'm leaving this Sunday!

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/AdamsFirstTour


Adam


Adam have a great trip and lets here of your journey when you get back,be safe and have a great time.
I wish I was going .

JesusBananas

*thread hijacking alert*

I'll be shopping at Trader Joe's (about five miles away) once a week, and I usually have two full bags of groceries, with the heaviest thing being roughly a gallon or so of juice. No pet food, big bags of flour or rice, or laundry for me. Possibly the occasional run to Costco, though.

I was going to buy the following from Amazon:
Topeak Explorer Bike Rack - $28
Bungie Net - $9
Wald 582 Folding Baskets (pair) - $44
(Being car-free - priceless)

However, I figured I would ask the forum to see if anyone else has suggestions? This seems like a pretty good deal for the price, but if you have any recommendations (I'd like to keep the price range in the same area), I'd love to hear them.

wahoonc

I use the reusable grocery bags in my Wald folding baskets.

Aaron

JesusBananas

Cool, thanks for the tip. I actually already have a few reusable bags that I've been using, but I'll keep this site in mind in case I ever need new ones.

ezdoesit

Well everyone I did my first run today with the new Pannier's did the laundry after two weeks it all fit in both Pannier's with not to much room left over.
The round trip was 6 miles and the last hill as usual which is 9 % grade was a B. I had total 24 1/5 pounds which included my u-lock,auxiliary cable and laundry detergent.
I couldn't get over how nice the bike handled it handled better loaded down then when not.
Well it was my first time with a loaded bike and it felt good to know I can do it.
Now the next stop in a few days will be groceries.