kookaburra1701

I have a pair of Louis Garneau Beta Stream panniers, I love them and they're great for carrying stuff, but unfortunately they seem to blow supermarket baggers' minds, and I always have to repack them because they never load them up to full capacity. I'm looking for a good square shopper-style set of panniers. They need to be somewhat waterproof, since I live in Oregon, and I'm looking to spend ~$100. I was thinking about the Typhoon panniers from Axiom: https://www.amazon.com/Axiom-Typhoon-...720385&sr=1-21

At first I was thinking of Banjo Bros. shopping panniers, but those have those non-latching hooks on them, which are what my Biria shopping panniers have, and I'm bad enough at dodging potholes that I don't want to risk it.

There's also these: https://www.niagaracycle.com/product_...ucts_id=800041
I could just get a pair.

How are they at standing up by themselves/in a bag carousel? Are they square enough for grocery clerks to deal with? I regularly buy half-gallons of goat milk in glass jugs, so they need to be sturdy.

Any other pannier suggestions?

modernjess

Don't have any other rec's but I will say that I've had good luck with my banjo brothers grocery panniers. I really only use them for a round town errands and casual stuff (not commuting). You are right they do not lock on but I'm sure there is a way to DIY that. Mine have never fallen off and they hold a grocery bag perfectly which then extends over the top of the bag, so you can load the grocery bag pretty tall and they handle weight well. I've had them for 4 or 5 years and they are pretty much like new still. Of course as with any rec, YMMV. For the price I think they are a good value.

Jaye

The Axioms look to be styled after an Ortlieb Classic Roller, which if that is the case I can tell you does NOT stand up waiting to be loaded. That being said I love my Ortliebs. As for shopping I typically hate the way baggers bag anyhow so for me I just let them do their thing into paper bags, then pack into my paniers myself and toss the paper bags into the stores recycling.

no motor?

The living car free section has some tips for this, have you looked there?

I've found that if I use any of my backpacks or panniers, I always end up packing things for the ride home. It's just easier that way, even when they don't seem too puzzled by what I'm using to carry things home.

Sixty Fiver

Worth every penny...

https://www.carradice.co.uk/products/...hopper-pannier

My wife bought one of these 5 years ago and it has been used on a nearly daily basis in Portland... it still looks great.

MNBikeguy

I don't really understand the need for seperate grocery panniers.
Similar to Jaye, I pack groceries in a regular pannier the same way I would in a grocery bag, fold in the bag and use it for garbage at home.
It seems that as long as you have enough c.i. , any pannier would work well.
For those that use them, is there an advantage to the square, grocery bag shape? Maybe I'm missing out on something.

mattheis

big ol ugly cheap garneau:

kookaburra1701

Ooh, they're purdy.

kookaburra1701

I like the looks of this one too, especially the way the load would be distributed. Do you remember what it was called? I can't find it on the LG site.

kookaburra1701

The main advantage, for me, is that grocery baggers grok them and they fit in bag carousels. Around here, we get charged for paper bags and we get a credit (5-10 c per bag) when we bring our own reusable bags. (The city is banning plastic bags in 2013, we'll see what happens then.) Also...I really hate packing my own groceries. I'm not that good at it, I'd rather not do it myself.

myrridin

While about twice what your interested in (~$100 each) I have found my Arkel Shoppers to be great for carrying groceries. I can easily fit a weeks worth of groceries (for me) into a single bag, so two should cover most folks easily.

https://www.arkel-od.com/us/all-categ...-foldable.html

I must say I have several arkel bags and I really do prefer their mounting system to any others I have tried.

MNBikeguy

Good link. Has a video on their "shopper bag" which also shows the convenience over a regular pannier.
Thanks for the info. These will go on the Christmas list. Happy shopping!

P.S. Charging for a paper bag? ouch!

kookaburra1701

Oooh, I like those - though with where I live (rainy PNW) I really need a flap over the top, so maybe I'll save up and go for these: https://www.arkel-od.com/us/all-categ...ty-basket.html

bigbenaugust 

I have some old Nashbar grocery bag panniers that I will gladly sell you for cheap. I bolted in an extra sheet of ABS on the rack side so they have a little more structure.

https://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...2_170997_-1___

Sixty Fiver

My new panniers only cost $2.99 each... but you need an extrabike to use them.





Seriously... if you can afford the Carradice (which is around $100.00 in the U.S.) it would be money well spent.

kookaburra1701

Oh man, I want an Xtra bike bad and the Pugsley...I think I covet quite a few of your bikes.

While I'm saving, I'll see if I can find a Carradice dealer around here, so I can see them in person.

mattheis

garneau black box pannier
I picked it up from nashbar in the spring, but dont see it listed anymore. Im sure it's purchasable through amazon or ebay. It was a little more than $2.99, I think it was around $25

tsl

I was undecided between the Arkel Shopper and the Arkel Utility Basket for exactly the same reason.

After thinking about it, I went with the Shopper. So the top isn't waterproof. It's not an issue with what I buy. Produce grows outdoors, so it's undamaged by a little rain. Everything else I buy comes either wrapped in plastic (no need to keep that dry) or in cans. The few times I buy something wrapped in paper or (like flour) or boxed goods (like oatmeal), I can plan ahead to shop on a dry day.

Besides, the Shoppers are foldable which makes a big difference in the closet here at home. And being able to overstuff it and have things sicking out the top has saved me extra trips too.

After 2½ years, I've not regretted the decision.

longhaulblue

I have Ortlieb Roller classics. I pack my groceries in order to get a balanced load but like you I'm not very good either.. I'm actually thinking of getting a trailer so I can simply dump the grocery bags into the trailer.

no1mad 

I take it you've never shopped at an Aldi store then- they charge for every plastic and paper bag (they also make you "rent" a shopping cart for a quarter that you get back if you put the cart where you got it from).

Back on topic, just a little over the initial budget, but the Banjo Brothers Market Panniers combined with the Arkel Retrofit kit may work. That being said, if you got the scratch for the Arkel Shoppers, you might want to consider that route. I remember a pic that tsl posted that had his Shoppers next to his old Nashbar Townies- the Shoppers were freaking huge.

AbundantChoice

I'd second the vote for the Arkel "shopper" panniers. They're more expensive than what you were looking for, but they're awesome.

- the latch system is super easy to get on and off the rack just by pulling the handle, but when it's on it's not going anywhere
- I actually like the lack of a bottom fastener as it makes it easy to get on and off quickly.
- They hold a ton of stuff, and the expandable draw-close top thing means it can store an 'excess' amount in a pinch or stuff that's taller than the pannier itself (or you can just zip those parts off if you want)
- I also love that they fold flat against the bike when not in use (or in your closet when not on the bike)

Sixty Fiver

I built my own extrabike and it has been such a useful machine for hauling stuff and just riding around... I am quite pleased with the new bags which were very easy to adapt to being panniers and their total capacity is rather immense but not everyone needs this much space.

kookaburra1701

LOL out here that would mean waiting about 6 months until I could buy oatmeal - "dry days" just don't happen between November-mid May. They do sell a rain cover, though. Just seems like one more thing to futz with. The main thing that drives me nuts is that futzing with my load/groceries/lock/etc. often takes longer than the actual ride to the store.

fietsbob

Sunlite has some welded seam rectangular bags.. dry contents..
I just put 1 of my roller Ortliebs
on the checker's belt feed, and the others stay in the cart, and get used, next
when #1 is full enough.

I also have an assortment of the Meyer store's reusable grocery bags

acidfast7

what's a supermarket bagger?