MJH

I just bought a Deuter Grocery bag for my GT Virage. I thought it would be a great way to pick up a few groceries and try this utility cycling.

I was pretty excited about going and when I started, I immediately found my heel hitting the back of the bag, which was closed. I really want to try and do a lot of errands on my bike, but want to have some success first before I invest in a different bike, if I need to.

Any suggestions? Are my chainstays just too short to do this? Any help from you pros would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Mark

Aeneas

I retrofitted an old backpack with a couple webbing strips to create a pannier as outlined in https://www.instructables.com/id/Back...ill-backpacks/
I was worried about heel strike, being that I walk around on US size 13s and I believe my rack is a bit too close to my seat post (self installed, probably wrong, but it works.) I refrained from using the pannier until last week when I had to carry some nice clothes to work. I found that my concerns were justified by by moving the pannier back on the rack a bit, I was OK. Is it possible you can do this?
Alternatively, I am unfamiliar with the attachment system used for those bags, is it possible to adjust the bag so that the bottom is angled away from your foot thereby giving you enough clearance to pedal?

YULitle

I just move my panniers a little further back on the rack. Good luck!

MJH

I thought I had it as far back as possible, but I will take a good look at that.

YULitle

Also, make sure your rack is level. If it's leaning forward, that obviously will have an effect on whether or not it hits your heels.

johann

JandD make a rack with extra long rails that will give you some more clearance (I think it's called Extreme Expedidtion or something such).

You can also see if you can shift the pannier's hardware "forward" on each pannier, so the net effect is that the pannier itself shifts backwards..... I've done this before with grocery panniers, and simply had to drill a couple of new holes to shift the hardware. It also made them a "left" pannier and a "right" pannier (simply mark them accordingly to avoid confusion when you are in a hurry).

MJH

I'm pretty sure I'm going to take it back. I tried mounting it back farther, but it really didn't help. Even if I improved it some, it really is hard to get it on and off with the Topeak system. The pannier goes on well, but it is extremely hard to then slide the trunk on it's rails.

I went to the store today and just used my bigger handlebar bag and the 2 panniers that come on the Topeak trunk. Worked just fine. I just can't pick up too much stuff.

thedirt

jandd expedition rack ftw