BROOKLINEBIKER

Hi everyone,
I may be changing jobs soon. At my new gig, I will have to wear suits & will apparently have very limited storage space for clothes (e.g., a small shared coat rack for our warren of cubicles). Thus, I may have to ride my wardrobe in & out daily. I am thinking that a bicycle garment bag pannier may be the solution to keep me riding into work. What model garment pannier bag is recommended? Are there better solutions to my issues?
Thanks,
Neil

Trueblood

I don't know if it's any good, but nashbar sells one - https://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...2_166278_-1___

Leisesturm

I have found three other companies making garment pannier bags since I ordered my Nashbar one. Two of them (Performance Bike and Transit Authority) are the exact same bag as the Nashbar one with different badging. Performance's price: $99, Transit Authority: $150. The third Jandd is $224 and is single sided. I don't see that it is available in any case. YMMV, FWIW.

H

edsmemberships

I have been very happy with the Nashbar garment bag. Tight fit width-wise for a 42 long suit, but it fits. I usually have to fold up the bottom 1/8 of my dress shirts to make them fit length-wise but no worries there. Not waterproof, but water resistant enough that it keeps my clothes dry even in the rain.

BROOKLINEBIKER

Hi edsmemberships, Leisesturm, & Trueblood,
Thank you all for your very helpful recommendations. It is good to know my suits will make it to work!
Best,
Neil.

littlefoot

+1 on the nasbar I use it to tote my chef coats and pants to work, not exactly a suit, but works for me.

edsmemberships

Just used the Nashbar this morning in the rain. Not super heavy, but steady. 20 minute ride. Clothes (and other accessories) completely dry. Today I had two dress shirts and two pairs of pants.

BROOKLINEBIKER

Thanks edsmemberships & littlefoot for the information! Neil

Juha

I've used a Smart Pack bag for several years now. It's not bike specific gear.

Pros: it's small, about the same size as bags for 15" laptops. It sits on my rear rack, so it doesn't interfere with panniers in any way. There's enough room for two shirts, suit and accessories (ties etc). It's very convenient to carry off the bike.

Cons: it's small, so getting everything in there in good condition requires a bit of effort. It's far easier and quicker to just toss a suit in a full sized garment bag. It's not waterproof. The Suit Bag (that's what I have) seems to be always "out of stock" on their web site. I bought mine locally from London.

--J

Leisesturm

Got my Nashbar Garment Pannier in the mail yesterday. She Who's Opinion Should Strongly Be Considered suggested I pack it before bed so I could avoid rushing around in the morning. So I did. Threw it on the bike for a quick check of fit last night but did not notice that there aren't any dropout eyelets to engage the elastic holddowns on my folder. Worse, as soon as I got on the bike and started cranking I discovered I had heel strike! I was able to at least get to work today by pushing the bag as rearward as I dared on the rack-top but I will have to look at it at lunch-time so the trip home won't be as annoying. No rain. Darn. Would have liked to check out the water resistance. Stay tuned.

H

edsmemberships

That sucks about the heel strike. Hope you can get it worked out. I haven't had any heel strike problems with the Nashbar garment bag, but I have relatively long chainstays. Do you have regular panniers that you don't have heel strike on?

DogBoy

I keep seeing some reviews of the nashbar/performance bag that its not very rain worthy. I've seen two other bags out there:
Lone Peak GP-1000:



and two-wheel gear:


Both of these are significantly more expensive than the nashabar/performance, and the twowheel gear bag doesn't look like a very fun attachment. I don't know anything about the lone peak bag, but it does come with a rain cover. Has anyone out there used either of these to compare how they work? Are they worth the extra money vs the nashbar bag?

Leisesturm

The Two Wheel Gear bag is the Nashbar/Performance bag! Thanks to the helpful reviews (ahem). I prepared my clothes when rain was forecast. I simply made a small hole in the bottom of a 30 gal trashbag and put the neck of the hangar through it and hung the clothes in the bag as usual. After 35 minutes in soaking rain I got to work. First thing I did upon unzipping the bag was to feel inside for wet. There was none. None at all. Ed is right, these bags have an undeserved reputation for a lack of waterproofing. Even the waterproof bags aren't waterproof they just have a waterproof cover... well waterproof covers are sold separately... I mean... go ahead and stall, the Nashbar sale will be over soon if not already. After that they will likely not sell them anymore. The only way to get one will be to pay 3x as much.

H