ban guzzi

meh...
Have both, use both. Time and a place for everything....

QuickDraw

https://www.flickr.com/photos/fastboy...7603504213103/

looks hip enough for me

Sirrus Rider

Ignorance mainly. Many new and prospective cyclists just haven't been exposed to panniers. They think cycling and associate images of the TDF/Road Racing, Track cycling, or Mounting bike racing. After all the images we see of cycling on TV are exactly these images. There are no televised events showing the use of racks and bags. I don't know about you guys, but it's been many a moon since a TV crew followed me around on a commute where my panniers were explained to an audience. On the other hand there are many movies showing kids packing up a backpack then climbing on a bike. (E.T. and Pay it Forward come to mind)

Geewhiz

If you're speaking to pure asthetic hipness, I have nothing to say, but what about wind resistance!?

Schwinnrider

Depends on what you consider "hip". There's not much cool or hip about plain black nylon panniers, true. But if you start using the ones from Rivendell, Gilles Berthoud, Basil, or Carradice, that's a different story. I have Carradice Kendal panniers---black cotton duck with leather straps. Retro understated cool, and they'll only get better with age.

Berthoud panniers are beautiful, but expensive. The Basil panniers come in funky cool patterns.

Industrial

I don't like that I have to leave panniers on the bike when I go shopping. I prefer really really uncool metal baskets or really really hip messenger bags. NO IN BETWEEN

huhenio

panniers make my butt look big

ragboy

good points

ragboy

Welcome to BF, Mr. Personality.

HeIncreasesMe

I think panniers are sooo tight. I wish I could find some really nice ones on sale. I just have some grocery panniers and a trunk bag right now.

lisitsa

I have tried panniers. The major problem is that they are not simple. A bike is so pure and simple in its purpose. Panniers have flappy straps, and bounce up on the rack. The rack itself has pin joints which wobble and rattle and shake. The panniers put more weight on the rear wheel which affects the steering.

Now ok if you've got some hybrid with big fat tubes and a millions lights connected, a kickstand, and these fat balloons of tyres, you might be happy to add to its bulk a bit. But if you have a nice and simple singlespeed or road bike, then all the precise and handling and light feel to it is absolutely ruined.

neilfein

To me, this is the ultimate in bike coolness:

Sirrus Rider

Sounds like you may not have had the right rack or panniers. If the rack (and the panniers!) are attached correctly they won't rattle. In fact they should feel like they are an integral part of the bike. As for altering the feel, my '07 Sirrus feels as nimble with the panniers on as without. When I ride the Monitor Pass with a single front pannier is the only time I get a little performance degradation mostly from quick right hand turns when the pannier adds some inertia.

neilfein

Cheap panniers do, yes. Well-built panniers are nothing like this.

Again, the quality of the rack matters enormously. A good rack is welded together. (There are some good racks that are not.)

I frequently ride with just two front panniers, often very heavy ones. When using all four, I front-load the bike. Putting heavy stuff on the bottom and balancing the weight left-to-right helps a lot as well. My Randonee is a bit slower with a load but actually more stable with one than without.

Road bikes are usually not built to handle a load, so of course the weight ruins the ride. Touring bikes and mountain bikes handle loads quite well. To my mind, a bike that doesn't handle a load is pretty much useless for anything other than recreation.

TalkingHead

I think i have seen exactly ONE messenger in las vegas. They drop your sunday paper off via car or pick up.

i plan to pick up some sort of pannier or bag system soon, the backpack is getting heavy on rides down to the store or whatever.

neilfein

My god, they have shoelaces on them. This is so cool.

thirdin77

They don't look hip because they're purely functional, and naked functionality is the antithesis of hipness which itself is often such because it's so unfunctional. The high-heeled shoe or the scarf worn in the summer are perfect examples.

CommuterRun

I tried a messenger bag on a bike once, a couple years ago. I'm not doing that again.

I used to wear a backpack while riding. I'm not doing that again, either. Especially not when it's over 90.

For me there are two good ways to carry stuff on a bike.
1. Panniers. For a little bit of stuff frame bags and seat bags work too, so I include them here.
2. Trailer.

Is that hip? Who cares?

devianb

That is what I was thinking. There are times when they would come in real handy, but it just doesn't go with my style. I'm vain like that.

jpmartineau

Holy sh*t, I'm touring with 5 panniers...

I guess I'm not hip.

SqueakyOnion

When you don't really care how others think of you, and thus don't care who thinks you are or are not "hip," the question becomes irrelevant. I see a bicycle as a tool to get the job done. Panniers or no panniers, depends on the task at hand. Its nice to not have an ugly bike to my own eye, but utility always comes before looks.

Another perfect example of this is the umbrella hat. Who actually wears them? Well, I do. They're so incredibly practical, even if they look absurd.

theWolf

Panniers make you look like your riding with a purpose. That's cool right? I really only plan on using them when I have too. The wind hates my panniers.

Bekologist

panniers and the utility bike phenomenon are definitely catching on as a cool look in american bike cities.....

fixies and messenger bags are flop.

DataJunkie

flop?

How about a SS with panniers? I am so cool!
Is a road bike with a messenger bag cool? lol

I like messenger bags, backpacks, panniers, and rack trunk bags. There is a time and place for each of this.

Gonzlobo

I wouldn't be caught dead with panniers. I carry my day's supply in my Blowfish. When I need to carry more gear, I'll drive.