Shilo Rune 96

I recently bought my first good bike, well I think it's good, and for my price point ($550) I am very pleased. It's the Giant Escape City. I am trying to find a good solution to hauling groceries via bicycle, either with panniers that detach relatively easy or a comfortable grocery bag to strap on my back. Any ideas?


Thanks!

barturtle

The Nashbar Townie Basket/ Transit Grocery Bag Pannier are good budget bags for this type of work. A word of caution, depending on how far back you need to place them to get heel clearance, you may need a rack with a dogleg rear support, as the backplates on these bags is fairly lightweight. I use an Axiom Journey Adjustable rack.

I can also highly recommend the Arkel Utility Basket, however it's a bit on the pricey side.

Northwestrider

While in an R.E.I. store the other day, I noticed a few pannier models that look like they would work very well for your plan.
https://www.rei.com/category/4500129/q/Bike+Baskets

Artkansas 

I use the SunLite Grocery Getter panniers. They are big. Pull off easily, and seem to be pretty rugged. REI carries them. I got mine at the LBS.

myrridin

I use the arkel shoppers. They easily carry a weeks worth of groceries. Mount on and off the bike easily and seem to hold up very well.

tsl

I started with a pair of the Nashbar Townie Baskets. They're cheap and gave me a feel for whether I could keep up with shopping by bike on a routine and continuing basis. I found them just fine for light-duty shopping. They don't like more than 15 or 20 pounds each. A sack of potatoes and a gallon of milk fills one to capacity both by weight and by volume. They're designed to stay on the bike. They're nearly impossible to mount when loaded.

The Townies showed me what I really wanted and needed--A pair of Arkel Shoppers. They cost about the same as a tank of gas.

The Shoppers are 50% larger, mount much easier, can be taken right into the store, and have several useful features, like the cinch top to keep things from falling out and a zipper pouch inside for my coupons, shopping list and grocery money. I plop them in the cart, and fill them as I shop. That way I never buy more than I can tote back home. I empty them on to the belt, the cashier fills them back up, and I can mount back on the bike one-handed. Easy-peasy.


Townie vs. Shopper. Townie on the left, Shopper on the right.


Townie vs. Shopper, 2. Shopper's cinch top extends for extra capacity too.

AlmostGreenGuy

For small grocery runs, I like my Detours Toto panniers. Each pannier holds about a single grocery bag. When off the bicycle, the shoulder straps make for easy on-foot transport. They come with rain covers for the nasty days, and can accommodate multiple thickness racks. The top of the pannier just sort of flops over to close, and locks with a simple magnet. Reflective tags, and blinky attachments of course. They're also excellent for locking up your bike and doing some window shopping on foot.

dcrowell

Panniers work. Used kid trailer can hold even more. Can often be found cheaply on Craigslist.

Torrilin

I use a pair of Novara Safari panniers... now discontinued of course . They're basically 20L per side bags, and waterproof enough to make a reasonable bucket substitute. I recommend them highly. Ortlieb makes a similar pannier, but iirc they have more organizing pockets. The Safaris are especially nice since they're a single pocket design, so you can finangle things exactly how you like. For overflow, I have a cargo net and a Topeak front basket. This is pretty rare, since you can fit a solid 20-25lbs per side in the panniers, or an entire CSA share in the pair. Even in salad explosion season.

While some brands make panniers that are more than 20L per side, I'd be cautious about 'em. My panniers are similar in volume to the giant rear baskets Wald makes, and if I seriously needed more space than either of those on a regular basis, I'd go for a trailer or an Xtracycle.

gerv 

From my experience, the Axiom panniers provide a pretty good value. I have a pair of the LaSalle model. I have had them for about 4 years, for groceries, commuting and just about every time I get on the bike... and they are still in good condition. My only complaint is that I didn't get the model with the shoulder strap.

They aren't as deluxe as the Arkel and Ortlieb. They have a simple design (almost no zipper!!!), tough material and pretty solid rack-locking mechanism.

wahoonc

I went the other way and use folding baskets or large fixed panniers depending on the bike I happen to take to the store.

Aaron