Panniers, bags, I am amazed at the technology

[Pinhead]

I recently (on the advice of many here for the need to carry things), thanks again, bought this

It is amazing, well for me anyway, you all know these things exist.

I then wanted another for my other bike and saw the same (I thought) on ebay from an animal charity, new, unused, same £30 as Halfords, so I bought it, hell, I never knew these existed, with built in bags. They said MTX I thought they were the same.

They are so light, the quality is amazing and they will never come off my bikes ever.

[Cowsham]

A cyclist I met at Tesco a couple of weeks ago bought something very similar from eBay for £30. I was impressed -- and may get one myself. Are you saying you bought an expensive toppeak one from Halfords and then a cheap one the exact same quality from eBay?

[Pinhead]

A cyclist I met at Tesco a couple of weeks ago bought something very similar from eBay for £30. I was impressed -- and may get one myself. Are you saying you bought an expensive toppeak one from Halfords and then a cheap one the exact same quality from eBay?

What I said was I bought the £30 one from Halfords and the more expensive £60 one from A charity on Ebay

Halfords, with "coupert" another £5 off,

the £30 Topeak does NOT have the panniers that is this one I got from the charity for £30

https://www.tradeinn.com/bikeinn/en/top ... lsrc=aw.ds

.

[Pinhead]

Check this out

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0BY8MJ2GZ

[L+1]

It’s important to compare ‘like with like’..... and that last bag on the Amazon link is definitely not the same quality as the Topeak ones.
Altura used to make a saddlebag/pannier combo but the pannier fabric was very thin.... it’s main problem was that the panniers could end up in spokes if not well loaded to use up the volume ( there was no reinforcing ‘back plate’) - but they weren’t suited to heavy loads. A high volume/ low weight load is a difficult trick to pull off.
Loading up the sides of a saddlebag is different to loading weight directly onto a rack or into proper panniers attached firmly to a rack.

The Topeak bag does look well made.... but is it actually better than proper panniers and a separate saddlebag? With the Velcro fixings, it’s usually possible to get both attached and offers a much more flexible luggage capacity.

[Cowsham]

My plan was to wait till winter ( which it is now hence the interest ) to buy some decent panniers and have some in mind -- the high vis rohtar ones -- I have the black ones and liked them very much when travelling this summer but the same volume ones in high vis are quite a bit dearer.

I bought the lidl ones ( £15 for the pair ) which are really good value but not as well made as the rohtar but thought they'll do for the winter shopping trips etc.

[Cowsham]

There's these £63

ROCKBROS Bike Pannier Bag 25L-32L 100% Waterproof Rear Rack Bike Bag Bicycle Bag for Rear Carrier Bike Handbag for Cycling Touring Travelling https://amzn.eu/d/cDtKd5v

Or these £33 each so £66 per pair

Deal of the day: Rohtar Waterproof Bike Pannier Bag - 18L | Pannier Backpack with Adjustable Straps, Handlebar Clamps & Hidden Zips | 3-in-1 Bike Rack Bag, Backpack, Cycle Carrier | Yellow https://amzn.eu/d/hsaWCb4

Anyone have any experience with these -- I only know about the rohtar

[a.twiddler]

Being something of a traditionalist I used to use a Carradice saddlebag attached to bag loops at the back of my old leather saddle on my steel tourer but when that was replaced with a newer saddle there were no loops so I had to think of something else. I had a budget rack bag which had done the job while attached to various bikes over the years but its main drawback was that it had no built in stiffeners. This meant that when partially filled it was fine but when full it had a tendency to flop to one side or the other as it depended on the width of the carrier beneath for stability.

I bought an used Altura rack bag from that ebay having read good reviews and could immediately see the difference. It had a solid base and stiffeners at the sides, was made of a heavy grade of nylon and just had a quality feel. It stayed put no matter what was in it.

A couple of advantages of the rack bag over a saddlebag. Firstly, I hadn't realised how much the saddlebag's width caused it to stick out and bump into everything in my crowded garage as I moved my bike about. For a similar carrying capacity, the rack bag made the rear of the bike feel much narrower than its actual dimensions would lead you to expect, particularly with drop bars at the front. Secondly, being on the short side, with 700C wheels I had to use a Karrimor bag lift which raised the saddlebag above the line of the saddle, to clear the rear carrier, causing me to have to swing my diminutive leg even higher to clear it when getting on and off. (It did have the advantage of making the saddlebag easy to remove to take with you if you left the bike somewhere).
The rack bag generally sits lower than, or level with, the saddle, depending on what's in it. Of course to fit a rack bag, you must already have a rack.

It doesn't prevent me from using panniers attached to the rack if I want to go shopping etc.

Since taking up recumbent riding, there's another world of luggage out there. Under seat racks, seat back bags, banana bags etc.
I like to see a traditional bike with a saddlebag but I like the ease of use of a rack bag too. The original budget rack bag lives on, on the rack on the Linear recumbent, for now.

[cycle tramp]

I recently (on the advice of many here for the need to carry things), thanks again, bought this

IMG_2947.JPG

It is amazing, well for me anyway...

They are so light, the quality is amazing and they will never come off my bikes ever.

I do believe that a bicycle doubles it usefulness when it can carry luggage.
However if is occasionally worth checking that racks are luggage carries are still fixed securely to the frame.

[Pinhead]

It’s important to compare ‘like with like’..... and that last bag on the Amazon link is definitely not the same quality as the Topeak ones.
Altura used to make a saddlebag/pannier combo but the pannier fabric was very thin.... it’s main problem was that the panniers could end up in spokes if not well loaded to use up the volume ( there was no reinforcing ‘back plate’) - but they weren’t suited to heavy loads. A high volume/ low weight load is a difficult trick to pull off.
Loading up the sides of a saddlebag is different to loading weight directly onto a rack or into proper panniers attached firmly to a rack.

The Topeak bag does look well made.... but is it actually better than proper panniers and a separate saddlebag? With the Velcro fixings, it’s usually possible to get both attached and offers a much more flexible luggage capacity.

That's why I bought Topeak, been using their things 15 years, and still none have broken

[Pinhead]

There's these £63

ROCKBROS Bike Pannier Bag 25L-32L 100% Waterproof Rear Rack Bike Bag Bicycle Bag for Rear Carrier Bike Handbag for Cycling Touring Travelling https://amzn.eu/d/cDtKd5v

Or these £33 each so £66 per pair

Deal of the day: Rohtar Waterproof Bike Pannier Bag - 18L | Pannier Backpack with Adjustable Straps, Handlebar Clamps & Hidden Zips | 3-in-1 Bike Rack Bag, Backpack, Cycle Carrier | Yellow https://amzn.eu/d/hsaWCb4

Anyone have any experience with these -- I only know about the rohtar

I checked out those you are suggesting to the other chap, what decided it for me was convenience, the Topeak fold up

[Cowsham]

There's these £63

ROCKBROS Bike Pannier Bag 25L-32L 100% Waterproof Rear Rack Bike Bag Bicycle Bag for Rear Carrier Bike Handbag for Cycling Touring Travelling https://amzn.eu/d/cDtKd5v

Or these £33 each so £66 per pair

Deal of the day: Rohtar Waterproof Bike Pannier Bag - 18L | Pannier Backpack with Adjustable Straps, Handlebar Clamps & Hidden Zips | 3-in-1 Bike Rack Bag, Backpack, Cycle Carrier | Yellow https://amzn.eu/d/hsaWCb4

Anyone have any experience with these -- I only know about the rohtar

I checked out those you are suggesting to the other chap, what decided it for me was convenience, the Topeak fold up

I like the convenience of being able to throw one pannier on and then clip it off and take it into the shop or house so that it doesn't get nicked when I'm in the shop and that it can be unloaded in the house -- the one I saw on the chaps bike at Tesco a few days ago ( like the one you've bought ) seemed strapped to the bike rack and we met as he was packing from his Tesco bag to his panniers. I'm wondering was that because it's too much trouble ( like my old throw over double panniers ) to detach and reattach to bike.

Both the ones in the links I posted clip on and off and have a carry handle. The Rohtar ones have backpack straps which I cut off cos they'd be too heavy as backpacks anyway.

[L+1]

There's these £63

ROCKBROS Bike Pannier Bag 25L-32L 100% Waterproof Rear Rack Bike Bag Bicycle Bag for Rear Carrier Bike Handbag for Cycling Touring Travelling https://amzn.eu/d/cDtKd5v

Or these £33 each so £66 per pair

Deal of the day: Rohtar Waterproof Bike Pannier Bag - 18L | Pannier Backpack with Adjustable Straps, Handlebar Clamps & Hidden Zips | 3-in-1 Bike Rack Bag, Backpack, Cycle Carrier | Yellow https://amzn.eu/d/hsaWCb4

Anyone have any experience with these -- I only know about the rohtar

I only know of ROCKBROS as a company which tends to ‘remake’ other company’s designs - but, having said that… I think they are good quality copies.

I’m normally a big fan of rucksac converting panniers like your Rohtar example - putting on a rucksac (and getting some weight off the bike) makes getting on and off a train for example, much easier.
But I notice the ROCKBROS one has an adjustable attachment rail which might be helpful. It looks very like an Ortlieb one/very close copy.
It’s Sods Law that panniers with a fixed hook location will clash with cross pieces on the rack - and that might become critical if you are trying to carry a rack pack at the same time. But if you know that the Rohtar bags fit, then that’s not a problem.

Another option, if you just want greater visibility for winter cycling, then high-vis covers like these from Arkel might suit. They’re made of water resistant silnylon. The new design has an extra cinch cord added compared to the ones we have which are a little flappy on an empty pannier. Keeps panniers clean and dry.
https://arkel.ca/collections/bag-covers

[Cowsham]

I thought about the covers but why faf about with covers when you can have the hi vis bags. The hi vis rock bros are down to the same price as the black ones I bought for the front panniers -- I intend to buy bigger ones for the rear though.

[L+1]

I thought about the covers but why faf about with covers when you can have the hi vis bags. The hi vis rock bros are down to the same price as the black ones I bought for the front panniers -- I intend to buy bigger ones for the rear though.

Yes, a bit of a faff maybe, but excellent for keeping bags clean in wet weather, particularly if you’re going in and out of B + Bs or hotels