jade408

I have 2 of these baskets and use my arsenal of reusable bags! Then when I get home I just grab the baskets. They hold a standard grocery bag.

https://www.amazon.com/Basil-Memories.../dp/B0030SZ0HC

Arcanum

I use Banjo Brothers Market Panniers. They're big and well built.
Market Pannier, Red | Banjo Brothers

They also have a black version. The only down side I've noticed is if they're empty or top heavy and the elastic strap on the back isn't tight enough, big bumps can pop them off the rack rails. I wish they had an Ortlieb attachment system.

If you want a trailer, want to save money, and are a do-it-yourselfer, Carry Freedom has plans for a "bamboo" bicycle trailer: Carry Freedom Website | 12. The Bamboo Trailer - Carry Freedom Website

I haven't built it, but you should be able to make one out of bamboo, PVC pipe, or other materials.

elizwlsn

These are what I use and they are handy if you aren't doing mega shopping.



Grocery Bag Pannier

harshbarj

All you really need are bags. I find a strong front rack important as well, but you can get by without one.

CliffordK

As far as grocery shopping. I do a lot with my backpack. My little camelback pack (without the bladder for now) is good for small things. I'll carry a mid sized pack for many of my trips. I'd prefer to just take it into stores. But some stores with a bag check policy, I'll either strip the valuables and lock it to the bike, or check it (with my helmet and helmet light).

Every time I pass by the grocery store, I ask myself if I need a few more quick supplies.

Then, big grocery runs are done with the Burley kid's trailer, usually filled up quite a bit.

Some loads go on my cargo bike rack, but truthfully I don't like riding it with 100 pounds of cargo. I'd rather pull a trailer. So, the cargo bike normally gets reserved for towing the big flatbed.

Arcanum

I just bought a couple of these: Alemany Bike Pannier - Best Bike Grocery Pannier | Timbuk2 Bags

They may just be the best grocery/utility panniers yet. They have simple but secure and adjustable attachment hardware (the panniers won't jump off the rails when you hit a bump), they're pretty well weatherproofed unlike most grocery panniers, and they are bigger than any other grocery panniers I've seen.

I also bought a Carry Freedom Y Large trailer for hauling bigger loads. Carry Freedom Website | 1. The Y large - Carry Freedom Website
If you're in the US and want a Carry Freedom trailer, I recommend buying from Chain Reaction Cycles, even though they're in Northern Ireland. They somehow managed to have the trailer at below MSRP, and ship it across the pond quickly for a mere $6.

ikaika777

Between my Topeak DXP trunk bag and my Chrome Bravo backpack that expands from 20L-40L, this is what I brought home from the grocery store last night:
Folgers coffee, French vanilla creamer, 2 jars Japanese Furikake, a bag of beef jerky, dried pepper flakes, 1 large bag of Soba noodles, 1 small bag of Soba noodles, 1 jar of Salsa, 3 cans of chili, 1 32oz. bottle of Tapatio hot sauce, 1 jar better than bullion, 2 pound block of cheddar cheese, 2 1.75 quarts of Tllamook ice cream, 1 pound of butter, a bag of peperoni, 1 pound of Italian sausage, 2 large frozen pizzas, 2 large fat Daikon radish roots, 1 stick of summer sausage, 1 bag of tortilla chips, 2 4 pound bags of frozen chicken thighs, and 1 bag six count Bolillo rolls, 2 garlic bulbs.

Miele Man

I wanted to go to a MEC store (Mountain Equipment Co-op) in another city and get some 53 liters panniers that were $99.00 Canadian. This was a few years ago and my niece was going to drive me there in early March. Instead we went at the end of March that year and I really lucked out over the delay. I ended up getting the pair of 53 liter panniers, a good rear rack and Blackburn-like low-rider front racks for About $80.00 Canadian because those panniers were 50% off.

If I was going to have a pure grocery getter then I'd consider those folding wire baskets for my rear rack. They are convenient bot here there's a nickle-a-bag fee fpr shopping bags. It's a scam disguised as enviromentally friendly. Thus I prefer the panniersfor shopping. I take them in with me and fill them at the checkout.

Cheers

Scummer

The red bag with the carrier is very handy and is normally pulled by my wife. It's an Andersen Royal Shopper Plus with the Shopper bag.


Weekly shopping run with case of water (sometimes beer), groceries in bags and if I take my other bike, ortlieb back rollers. The trailer weighs about 6 lbs, so it's very easy to pull it when empty.

PatrickGSR94

heh what's with the BRKAWY license plate? Just for fun? I know the movie reference obviously but surely a bike trailer isn't required to have a plate where you live, is it?

n/m just saw it's Indiana and you're in Germany, duhh

Scummer

That was my actual license plate on my Minivan when I lived in Northwest Indiana before I decided to move back to Germany. My other license plate from my Accord (the car I took with me to Germany)

KD5NRH

What I'd like is a folding basket for the top of the rack that is easy on/off, and capable of being secure when only attached at the very front and back, since I usually use cheap one-piece panniers and take them off at home and at work. They barely have room for a 2L soda on each side if I'm not already carrying anything bulky, which I usually am. (Work clothes, lunch, etc.) No chance of stuffing a bulk pack of TP in there.

FWIW, these are the ones I'm currently using: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Would not recommend them; first set, a zipper failed after less than two weeks, and the current set (warranty replacement for the first) have a hole where the bare metal hooks have dug through the back of one side after less than three months, and the poorly assembled shock cord that the hooks are on has also failed on one side. (Goes into a crimped ferrule, broke right at the end of the ferrule.

Previously, I used these: M-Wave Amsterdam Double Bicycle Pannier Bag, Black/Grey - Bags & Panniers
Great size, and mostly good quality, (a buckle broke after ~2 years of heavy use) but a real PITA to get on and off, since their idea of "quick release" is a squeeze-buckled strap around the rack stays on each side.

Trek75

If you have a bike you can dedicate to utility duty, I'm a big fan of the old-school Wald folding baskets. Just leave them on the bike and they're always there if you need them; for example if you're out riding around and think "gee, why don't I pick up a loaf of bread on the way home?", no problem.
If panniers are a better fit for the task at hand, I've always been able to clip them over the folded baskets.
Rattling has never been a problem for me, but when I installed the racks I made sure to dog everything down tightly, and any noise could be addressed by judicious application of padding - bits of old inner tubes come in handy for that purpose. You can get a surprising amount of stuff in the baskets and also on the rack - just remember that bungee cords are your friend.
If necessary we have additional front baskets - they're the kind that come with an easily installed/removed bracket, and you can take the basket into the store with you (I think it's another Wald product). If we're heading out on a serious cargo mission, we put front baskets on both bikes, and the folders are already there on the rear racks. Make sure we have plenty of bungees and we're good to go.

LouB 

Yup. these work for me too. I like that I can take rack on/off easily. Max grocery load to date for me is ~ 35lbs.

ikaika777

35 pounds is pretty much what I carry in kitty litter alone. That's not counting the rest of the groceries.

ikaika777

Do you think the Topeak rack and trunk bag could be used for the front of the bike? Because if it can I wouldn't need to take my backpack I would just buy another system.

LouB 

They make all kinds of modular carriers. Mine slides onto the rear rack. I've never been a fan of a back pack. Prefer the weight to be carried low--but thats just me.

PatrickGSR94

Topeak makes a front basket with its own style of quick release + handlebar bracket. I doubt there's any way a rear rack and trunk bag would work on the front, not without some serious custom work anyway.

mestizoracer310

I've seen several youtube instructions on how take a normal bag and convert to use as panniers... I also am debating on using my sister's old instep trailer for cargo. it's just missing the arm and the hitch. Hitch I can get on amazon, but having a hard time finding the actual tow bar. guess i'm stuck having to go to instep directly. the fabric is shot, so i'll just use the frame and maybe mount a plastic bin or a steel cage (like a shopping cart). Then just "throw in" my reusable grocery bags or whatever else i'm carring. also want to find a way of hooking up my kid's bike if she grows tired from riding. I currently use a Trail Gator tow bar attachment.... but next step up for her is a 24" wheel and i'm sure that it can't handle those.

KD5NRH

FWIW, replaced those with Axiom Seymour DLX 20s and they're tons better; drawstring and flap, so no zipper to break, and even in the 20L pair (10L per side, really intended as front panniers) I can fit two 3L bottles per side. If I were shopping for more than just myself, or carrying more to and from work, I'd want the 40+L size, but these are fast on and off, hold enough for daily commute/utility and seem to be a solid design for the $46 price I ended up paying.

The BVs, OTOH, twice lost shock cord into the spokes from it coming apart, once breaking a spoke on an almost-new wheel. New spoke and re-true at the bike shop would have cost $20, so I decided it was time to spend more and get something better.

PatrickGSR94

Shot of my cargo trailer last weekend, loaded up with stuff. InStep trailer with no fabric, storage box attached to plywood, plywood held to trailer frame with clevis pins and cotter pin clips for tool-free installation and storage.

sarahbruce

Saturday shopping trip!
Bruce

PatrickGSR94

Oh wow, I would be nervous about the plastic bags breaking en route.

kickstart

I figured, what the heck, since I have a cargo bike I might as well go big.

90L De Poort newspaper bags from Holland with some extra straps added.

PatrickGSR94

@kickstart what handlebars are those? Looks like they have more rise than my FSA Metropolis bars on my utility bike, which might suit me better.