mannie3moon

I live in a pretty bike-friendly town with lots of LBSs. I don't understand why more commuters don't invest in a pair of panniers for toting stuff around. Of course there's nothing inherently wrong with riding with 3 or 4 plastic shopping bags swinging from your handlebars, but I find panniers so much more convenient, especially when grocery shopping. What's the deal? Nothing I'm angry about, it just makes me wonder

steve-in-kville 

I commuted with panniers for a few years. I use a backpack almost exclusively now. My first concern would be theft.

52telecaster

i use panniers all the time.

revcp 

I've actually switched to Salsa Anything Cages on the fork, one 10L drysack on each side, clothing in one, shoes in the other, with part of my lunch in each.

srestrepo

i love my panniers but, i park my bike under the stairs, near our main security office, on our work campus that is completely fenced in and accessible by electronic badge swipe. i agree with the concern for theft. when i'm going somewhere where the panniers could easily be stolen, i suck it up and take a backpack unless i know i can keep my eyes on my bike at all times. i.e. at school - literally roll my bike into class - the professor thinks its great.

mcours2006

I use panniers when I have a lot of stuff to carry. For me it is a waste if I'm riding around with empty luggage space. So, Depending on how much I have to carry I'll commute with packs ranging from a nothing but the jersey pocket to a fanny pack to a tailbag (recent acquisition and loving it) to a backpack, and last, panniers (plus backpack, if necessary).

Any extra baggage on a bike just creates extra drag.

Bikewolf

As a commuter I favor panniers because it’s so much easier than carrying weight on your back (e.g. sweat).

I just need one, and that one has a shoulder belt.

wphamilton

Overkill, as mcours2006 mentioned. I'm using a medium/small trunk bag now, which never leaves my rack - I just shove a bag with clothes/lunch in and zip it up.

acidfast7

One trick pony. Not good, at all, for mutlimodal commuting. A backpack is far better when I do a:

House - bike - lock - train -subway - train - bike - work

or a

House - bike - lock- hovercraft - bike - lock -work

or a

House - bike - train - plane - subway - bike - work

commute.

Panniers are boring and not practical ... not even the nice Ortlieb ones.

Backpack all day on the tube, boat, hovercraft or plane.

srestrepo

Folding bike or do you have various bikes locked at the different places you commute to?

RubeRad

Because it's an investment. Everybody's got a different tipping point as to where the inconvenience of not having panniers, becomes more painful the pain of having to research what panniers (and rack!) to buy, and dropping $50-$200.

The more disposable income you have around, the more frequently you carry loads on a bike, and the more you enjoy shopping for bike accessories, the more likely you are to get a rack and panniers. If you are poor, and/or rarely ride a bike and/or rarely carry loads on a bike and/or consider researching bike accessories to be a hassle, you are more likely to make do with grocery bags swinging from your handlebars, or a backpack.

no motor?

Panniers make my bike harder to get in and out the doors at both ends of my trip and slow me down due to the extra drag.

RubeRad

Have you tested that empirically?

mcours2006

Yeah, I am not completely convinced either about the drag produced by panniers slowing you down, at least not significantly, even though I made such a comment on an earlier post. It is more likely that whenever I have my pannier-installed bike I am carrying a load of groceries which adds a good 25-40 pounds of extra weight to the bike, which slows the bike down considerably whenever there's any kind of incline.

Then there's the actual bike, which is a heavier steel bike with 38-mm 'city' tires, that undoubtedly slows the bike down.

Finally, when the panniers are loaded up they jut out to the side even more which creates extra air resistance, further slowing me down.

So all these factors added together reduces the overall speed of the bike.

mannie3moon

Thanks for the responses, guys! Very insightful. I do take my panniers in the store with me when I go shopping, because I'm sure they'll get stolen if I leave them on my bike outside the store.

PaulH

Years ago, I decided that, when I was going for a drive, the top and side-curtains would always be in the car. On a bike, which I think of as a manual car, the panniers hold the boots, overcoat, and overpants. That way, I;m ready, year round, for any kind of weather.

VRC

Pretty much the only place we take them is to the farmers market. I commute very light but if I brought stuff it wouldn't be a panier full. I see lots of roadie commuters with a little back pack. I guess if you are getting sweaty already it doesn't matter.

Gresp15C

I prefer a rigid basket. I've had a Wald 585 for almost 20 years, and a couple more Wald baskets that my dad had for years before giving to me. I attach them to my rack with stainless hose clamps, and some innertube rubber to keep them from rattling loose. One is on my commuter, and another on my winter bike.

Big enough to hold a regular shopping bag, or a backpack. I don't need to open or close anything, but just throw stuff in and go.

SHBR

Panniers are great if you got a lot of stuff to carry.

If not, there are other options.

I find them to be most useful for grocery runs.

autonomy

I see a lot of commuters with panniers, even people on beater bikes who look like they have no idea what they're doing - still sporting Ortliebs.
Panniers are expensive, a 'specialty' item, and if you stuff them, affect the handling. If you bike frequently, bike in the rain, or tour, then waterproof panniers are it. However, for the occasional errand runner, IMO, the cheapest, most common, and easiest-to-use solution is a wire rack or a milk crate on the back. Just stuff your backpack/grocery bag/jacket/lock in there and you're good.
I got my Ortlieb panniers because I wanted a waterproof way to haul stuff to work (hate backpacks & sweaty back), on 'short' day-trips with the wife (like ~20ish miles one way carrying stuff to the beach), and because everyone said they would last forever. I almost never leave them on the bike - on the rare occasions that I do, I lock them with the bike. They're not cheap, not well-organized, not that easy to carry to the store. Gosh, why am I using them? I guess they're indestructible, completely waterproof, and hold all my stuff.

InTheRain

I've seen mostly panniers used by the bicycle commuters in my building. The only time I don't use at least one pannier is when I ride my road bike on nice weather days... then it's my large seat bag or jersey pockets. In the winter/wet months, I find that I have to carry so much clothing to be prepared for any type of weather... rain, wind, ice, snow, or rarely sun - capacity is a huge advantage of panniers for a load. Panniers are the most comfortable for me to ride with. I have ridden a few times with a small pack on my road bike... I still prefer panniers for comfort (as well as capacity.) I don't like the constricted feeling of a pack.

The bike I use with panniers is touring bike... the frame and rack are built for the purpose of hauling a load. Weight is not an issue - my touring bike has been converted to an e-bike.

Steely Dan

I love the panniers on my commuter bike. I roll with them every day even though I don't carry much because I never know when my wife will email me a grocery list of things to pick up at the store on my way home from work. This happens at least once week, and often 2 or even 3 times a week. We're always running out of stuff because we tend to "buy as we need" instead of doing one big massive and annoying grocery run with the car every week. Panniers make convenience grocery shoping by bicycle possible for me.

tdonline

I have old raggedy Nashbar panniers and use them as I cannot stand to have anything on my back while riding. These basic panniers are a pain to carry off the bike though. Recently I've experimented with plopping my regular day bag/purse in a pannier. When the bike is locked, the bag goes with me and the empty pannier is left behind. Hasn't gone missing yet. I leave it with top and pockets open--nothing to hide. I'm considering zip-tieing the pannier to the bike but that would mean some hassle if and when I don't want to leave the pannier.

Kedosto

I have a most excellent set of REI Novara panniers (which are no longer available). Most days I use just one side, but on heavy days I pack both. They slow me down a bit but I'm not trying to set any records so it's no big deal. Carrying the weight on the bike and not my back is far more comfortable to me.

They sure are nice when I wanna hit the grocery store on the way home.

-Kedosto

PortlandEddie

seems like it's a 50/50 split. If you want them use them. I am in the process of making a rack for my road bike to hold panniers. all of it will be homemade easy to use when i need it simple and quick to remove when i don't.