Another Commuter Question

[Summer23]

Someone sent me this link the other night when I posted on Craigslist asking whether anyone had any panniers or rear-rack baskets they didn't want anymore. Looks cheap & relatively easy - I think I might try it.

(Linking you to the entry in my bike blog about it instead of directly to the link given, because someone commented on my entry with a good idea about carabiners.)

DIY Pannier basket thingies

[xeney]

I have a set of the Nashbar grocery panniers and I have not had a problem with them dumping groceries, but they don't hold very much. They also are kind of a pain because you have to think ahead and bring them with you if you want to shop that day, and then take them into the store with you so they don't get stolen.

I switched to old-school Wald folding baskets. That first review there is mine. I love everything about them except for the weight they add to the bike. My bike was pretty lightweight to begin with -- about 20 pounds, so light compared to most hybrids or townies -- and the baskets make it really back-heavy, especially loaded down. (I am considering adding a front basket just to even things out, except yesterday I had to carry that bike up three flights of stairs!)

With the Nashbar bags, I could pick up a few things at a time, like veggies and maybe a few canned goods. With the baskets, there is very little I can't carry. I buy 24-packs of canned cat food, beer and wine, potatoes, bags of flour. Toilet paper is a little hard but you can bungee it in between.

And other than the weight, I like having the baskets permanently attached to the bike but folded away, so they are there when I need them and out of the way when I don't. If they weighed half as much as they do, they would be perfect.

Also, I think they are adorable:

[HipGnosis6]

I keep a cargo net attached to my rack. I've stretched it over two smaller bags of groceries or one bag and a gallon of milk a couple times!

And in the spirit of those DIY panniers, you can also always bungee or bolt a milk crate to your rack.