Any Students?

[pooks]

Do you think that a laptop in a padded sleeve is protected enough against vibration in the wire panniers?

The zipties are a good tip. Thanks for that idea. I'd probably take them on and off a lot.

[farrellcollie]

I teach at a law school and I carry my laptop in a laptop backpack but I bungee it onto my bike rack (I also have grocery type open panniers - but I don't like to put laptop in them). I have an office - so it isn't quite the same - but I see several students who park bikes outside and they all have racks on their bikes and I have seen them put their backpacks on the rack rather than their backs. A cat litter container can be used as a pannier or basket to put on rack and if it gets stolen - no big deal.

[Grog]

No rattling for me (well of course except when I go over a big bump or something).

I have metal thingies to hold the pannier to the rack and it came with a tie wrap to attach it to the side of the rack. The problem is that when the rack is folded it can chop the tie wrap. (The thing is pretty tight.) So depending on your system I'd be careful as to where I use the plastic ties...

[pooks]

I think I'm going to get the wire panniers to use, and get waxed cotton when I need to upgrade for some reason, or have the extra money to burn.

For those of you who might be interested, there's some info here in rigging up your own waxed cotton panniers from ... well, some other kind of bag:

Never mind. When I find the post, I'll put it in "accessories."

[pll]

Just a suggestion for pooks: When you install the wire panniers, don't put them flush with the rack. Mine stick out more than 1 inch from the back of the rack. The first time I put them on, my heel would hit the basket while riding. I could avoid it but it was inconvenient.

I may not be explaining this clearly, so below is a picture of my bike:

[xeney]

That is good advice -- I have mine mounted even further back, thanks to bad experiences with grocery panniers. See here ... the light is where the rear of the rack is, and the baskets stick way out behind that.

[pll]

And one more silly tip: I have loaded those baskets so much (grocery shopping), I broke the bottom part of the rack, where the rack "stays" are welded and then attach to the frame. One of the people who works at the LBS suggested a hose clamp as a fix. You can see it, albeit not clearly, in the picture I posted, on the right side, in front of the seat stay. It has held together very well. Anyway, you'd think racks should be able to take the weight by design...

The baskets get warped with the weight, but the LBS straightened them the last time I took the bike in for some annual TLC.