koolerb

It seems like the trend is to big saddle bags away from rear racks and panniers. A rack doesn't add much weight, and adds capacity and flexibility. About to buy a rear rack for my bike and now I'm second guessing.

MarcusT

If you are referring to the under saddle bike backing, they are intended for road bikes that cannot fit racks or off-road touring where the cargo needs to be very secure. Of course, some people do it, because it's the latest "thing".
If you are riding your bike on finished surfaces and your bike can fit racks; go with the racks.

Andrew R Stewart 

It depends on how much you want to pack, mostly. Us kitchen sinkers tend to need 4 panniers and a rack top for out tent, bag, pad, stove, water, food, riding clothing, off bike clothing, tools and spares...… I know minimalists who think any rain gear is too much. For me I prefer to be able to sit up in my tent and not have to pack it into a pannier when wet.

Have you test collected all your gear then packed it into a known size bag? Doesn't need to be a bike bag for this volume test.

Will you be camping, cooking your own food, be able to fix your bike (or just smart phone the problem away) Will you only ride and won't care how you smell to others? Will you sight see for a day+? Andy

saddlesores

you've already decided "capacity and flexibility" are important factors for you. why should you care about "trends?" no need to crowdsource this one.

i prefer the ability to pick up awkward sized packages to carry back to camp...

KraneXL

The bigger the bag the more you will carry. I think you already know that.

indyfabz

I am actually a disciplined packer. My large panniers have ample room left even when I tour in places where I need to be prepared for cold, wet weather. I have always been that way. Never been one of those "I'm taking it because I have room for it" people.

djb

lets face it, its easy first time out on a bike trip to take too much stuff, and its a common occurance--I know I did it and its all part of the learning experience.
One has to learn from the mistake and those who dont will moan and groan about hard it is, but generally if someone is a "you can lead a horse to water, but can't make it drink" sort of person, its in their hands.

but yes, to the question posed here, for regular road riding and such, panniers offer a flexibility and ease of use (more space, spare space for extra food at end of day etc, easy on and off) that is a no brainer.
Top off that it encourages the use of the bike for regular commuting and whatnot in everyday life, which is a good habit for a healthy lifestyle and reducing the number of cars in our urban settings.

jefnvk

Outside of researching what others are doing to see if there is any usefulness in what they are doing for my use cases, what others are doing has never been a rational for any of my decisions.

If you like racks and panniers, use racks and panniers.

indyfabz

Glad to be in the minority on this one.

Andrew R Stewart 

chicken or the egg? Andy

jefnvk

I've never understood this logic. There are times I've had to pare my load down to fit into my available baggage, but I've never added to my packing list because I have spare room in my bags or planned to use all my available capacity. It is quite easy to take off with unused space.

djb

you evidently are not my wife ;-)

djb

smartass ;-)
chuckle

jefnvk

I would make a horrible wife

linus

Simple. Pack your stuff and see if you need the space for the two rear panniers or you can get away with a seat bag. Pick the best one you can afford and you are set.

fietsbob

1st weekend in June , the trans-america tour route racers arrive,
most use bikepacking bags .. and race & tri bikes,

Though, as I understand, last years winner used a velomobile ..
seems superior aerodynamics beats light weight.




....

CreakingCrank

Saddle bags aren't designed to be trendy (though they have become so with some cycle tourists). Their design is for bikepacking, a very different activity than traditional cycle touring. When touring off road (not just off pavement, but off roads entirely) panniers can easily snag on brush, rocks, cacti, etc. Luggage that rides high and in line with the rider (saddle bags) mitigate these snags. They have functional purpose.

As others have stated, and you argued yourself. Racks/panniers work very well on roads (even rough dirt roads). Pick what works.

djb

as per google....

Gas fills available space
Gases expand spontaneously to fill any container

and because of this law, this means that husbands then have to pick up and load both bikes up the steep steps into French trains one after another with very little time before the doors close.
It is known.

Andrew R Stewart 

And the very little time mentioned will be blamed on the husband no mater what. Andy

jefnvk

Especially when I was off getting her a tea and got back just in time to chuck everything in it when I found out the train decided it was leaving a couple min early.

djb

all kidding aside, I still its pretty common for a lot of people to fill up large panniers perhaps with too much weight, but unless one is disciplined in terms of observing cause/effect in terms of how hard it can translate to biking in hilly terrain, or carrying your bike up stairs, you'll only change how much you carry if it affects you too much in a negative way.
That said, I have another dear friend who tends to carry too much in her panniers, and struggles mightily on hills. Part of it is her gearing, which just isnt low enough but wont change it more despite my attempts over the years (Ive brought it down a bit) but part of it seems to just be stubborness or something, yet she suffers so much on hills when we've biked together and I always am surprised how bloody heavy her panniers are (U lock, tons of spare food etc) --which comes back to the "you can lead a horse to water..." comment.

Tourist in MSN

That looks like an e-bike battery pack in the rear rack, that is better to make sure you do not get too hot and sweaty before you unpack the odd sized package when you get to camp.

koolerb

My first overnight trip will be on the Erie canal trail from Buffalo to Syracuse camping either 2 or 3 nights. Panniers on a rear rack should do the trick. Also going to do a front handlebar bag or roll. Maybe a Wald 137 with a Swift Sugarloaf basket bag. The possibilities seem to be endless... .

skookum

I was listening to a podcast and this woman was talking about cycling the Peru Divide, using bikepacking gear and then complaining that she didnt have enough room in her bags for the food they needed, their bags were limited in capacity and there were long distances between re supply points. I thought "there is a solution for that problem".


This idea that panniers will catch on bushes and cactus and stuff is a bit weird, I've never experienced it on off road touring. I can see that front low riders could be a liability but I'm not sure hanging all that stuff on the handlebars is much better.


At the rear there are two main kinds of saddle bags, the football shaped bikepacking bags and the old British style transverse saddle bags, like Carradice make. A rear rack helps stabilize the transverse type, but it isn't strictly necessary, you can get attachments that will support the bag.


The main advantage of bike packing gear is the small bags force you to cut weight, and apparently they are more aerodynamic than panniers. Also much trendier. If you are doing the Divide and you see people with panniers, they are either over 50 or from Europe. Probably both.


Personally I'd go for the rack, it enables you to carry a flat of beer back to camp

cyccommute