Panniers and General Advice

LightningBolt

Hey,

I picked up a Lapierre Francais De Jeux for a daily commute (14k e/w) I'm just wondering if anybody can recommend a set of Panniers and what sort of price range should I budget for. I could probably get away with a cheap enough set till Sept and then splash out on an expensive pair for the winter months. Besides the Panniers I assume I'll need a rack or will the Panniers come with that?

Apologies for the basic questions, I cycled the guts of 50k and played a couple of matches on Thurs and lugging 8kilos on my back in a bag with no padded strapping for 15k on the way home was not a pleasant experience!!

Thanks for advice/suggestions/general mocking

blorg

I use a Tortec Ultralite rack, (from Wiggle) cheap, sturdy and light. Rated to 25kg and carries that no problem. Cheap panniers will be fine to get started- CRC have a pair for £18 or so. Stick stuff in plastic bags inside to protect from the rain. Make sure you use at least 700x25c tyres if carrying stuff, 28 would be better but probably wouldn't fit that bike.

ray o

I took Blorg's advice and bought that pannier. It's a great value rack that does the job perfectly.

keenan110

I just bought myself the Ortlieb Back Roller panniers last week and i'm thrilled with them, was out in that heavy rain yesterday and they kept everything totally dry!:)

ray o

I use Altura Arran panniers for a 30 minute commute and they have never let in rain in the heaviest of downpours. Maybe the the Ortliebs would be worth the money for touring or longer commutes but I think they are bit much for 30-45 mins runs into work.

ipodrocker

blorg wrote: »

I use a Tortec Ultralite rack, (from Wiggle) cheap, sturdy and light. Rated to 25kg and carries that no problem. Cheap panniers will be fine to get started- CRC have a pair for £18 or so. Stick stuff in plastic bags inside to protect from the rain. Make sure you use at least 700x25c tyres if carrying stuff, 28 would be better but probably wouldn't fit that bike.

i got the exact same kit and cant complain perfect for commuting to work.

SubLuminal

blorg wrote: »

Make sure you use at least 700x25c tyres if carrying stuff, 28 would be better but probably wouldn't fit that bike.

How come?

LightningBolt

Thanks for the replies.

keenan110

SubLuminal wrote: »

How come?

The wider tyres are better a bearing the weight of full panniers.

monument

Also try http://www.carradice.co.uk/ and look under ranges - some of the other navigation doesn't show everything.

Pizarro

D1gger wrote: »

I use Altura Arran panniers for a 30 minute commute and they have never let in rain in the heaviest of downpours. Maybe the the Ortliebs would be worth the money for touring or longer commutes but I think they are bit much for 30-45 mins runs into work.

Would you recommend them for camping/touring? I was planning to pick up a pair of the Arran 36s pretty soon.

LightningBolt

blorg wrote: »

I use a Tortec Ultralite rack, (from Wiggle) cheap, sturdy and light. Rated to 25kg and carries that no problem. Cheap panniers will be fine to get started- CRC have a pair for £18 or so. Stick stuff in plastic bags inside to protect from the rain. Make sure you use at least 700x25c tyres if carrying stuff, 28 would be better but probably wouldn't fit that bike.

By the way, how do I check what max size tyres I can fit to my bike? Is there some place I can check? Again sorry for asking some incredibly basic questions!

SerialComplaint

If you have big feet, make sure you try the panniers for size before buying. I've had trouble finding panniers that don't rub off my big size 10 runners.

DualFrontDiscs

SerialComplaint wrote: »

If you have big feet, make sure you try the panniers for size before buying. I've had trouble finding panniers that don't rub off my big size 10 runners.

If your shoes won't fit in the panniers, you could just wrap them in a plastic bag and strap them onto the rack!

wersal gummage

Are all the racks and panniers universal ?

I'm looking to pick up a cheap combo rack and pannier set - only want small panniers really for carrying a bit of lunch, shirt and a few bits, maybe some wet gear now coming into the winter. 16 litre seems to be as small as they come.

would something like the set up i've linked to below work together ??? (i've never used panniers and dont know how they clip onto the side of the rack or whether some racks are designed for taking a bag on top of the rack as opposed to on the side ????)

Thanks

panniers

rack

blorg

wersal gummage wrote: »

Are all the racks and panniers universal ?

I'm looking to pick up a cheap combo rack and pannier set - only want small panniers really for carrying a bit of lunch, shirt and a few bits, maybe some wet gear now coming into the winter. 16 litre seems to be as small as they come.

would something like the set up i've linked to below work together ??? (i've never used panniers and dont know how they clip onto the side of the rack or whether some racks are designed for taking a bag on top of the rack as opposed to on the side ????)

Thanks

panniers

rack

They would work fine together. If you are only touring light I wouldn't bother with that rack but get a Tortec Ultra Lite instead at only 400g. I use one for all my touring even reasonably heavily loaded.

wersal gummage

sorry to drag this up again.

last question: does cycling around with only the one pannier attached affect the balance of the bike ????

at the moment i'm using a 25L bag-pack and i never more than half fill it so I think i'd only bother with the one pannier.

or alternatively, is it handy to just bungee a bag-pack onto the top of the bike rack ??? i suppose there's always the risk of it falling off or bits getting caught in the spokes.

monument

wersal gummage wrote: »

last question: does cycling around with only the one pannier attached affect the balance of the bike ????

I use one pannier just on one side. At this stage I don't notice it at all. Even when over full I don't really fine balance issues, just extra weight issues. It may take a slight bit of getting used to, but you shouldn't notice it after a short time.

blorg

As monument says, initially it feels a bit funny but you can get used to it. I also strap bags to the top but panniers do work better. They stay put better and are easier to get on and off. I have had bags strapped to the top fall off on occasion.

Tau

keenan110 wrote: »

The wider tyres are better a bearing the weight of full panniers.

How much weight before this becomes important? I'm surprised to be honest - I'm 70kg and I know 90kg guys on 23c tyres - surely I can put 20kg on before I need to get wider tires?

I suppose the weight is more over the back wheel, but I'd imagine I must be able to get away with at least 10kg. And after that, would I need 25c's on the front and back, or just the back?

Then again, I don't know anything about panniers, which is why I'm asking?

blorg

Weight is more over the back wheel and it is also strapped to the bike. A rider can get out of the saddle as the bike goes over a pothole while with panniers that weight just goes straight into it. I am 75kg and while I have toured on 700x25c I would treat 700x28c as the general minimum now, with 700x35c if I expect rough surfaces. I would not tour on 700x23c any more full stop, even with a saddlebag. I did this before with only 3.5kg on the back and had issues.

Also bear in mind that heavier guys generally report far more problems with wheels going out of true, pinch flats, spokes breaking and so on. This is what you will get yourself if you strap on panniers without increasing your tyre width.

Don't let any of this put you off if you can't put on wider tyres, you will manage grand, but if you have the option I would certainly do so.

Tau

It occurs to me now that you say it that the only pinch flats I have ever got ever were both front wheel flats when I had a 3kg handlebar bag on. It never occurred to me that it would make such a difference!