Source of pannier clips? Anyone make their own

[Cataboo]

I was in home depot earlier today and while going through the tool aisle, I noticed some 11" workforce tote bags on clearance for $4. They're basically tool bags, the upper rim is reinforced with metal, and I think they'd make great cheap panniers for my commute. They fold up, and the top closes up with a zipper.

I can just fold over the webbing straps & sew them and then use carabiners to attach 'em to my rack, or maybe sew on some velcro...

Has anyone made their own panniers and have any suggestions as to what kind of things I can use to attach it? I was looking at some belt clip things.

[DebW]

I posted about my homemade panniers on this thread:

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=29827

I've still got another set of those hooks that I've had for 20+ years and don't expect to use. Let me know if you might want them.

[Tri Girl]

Surely you can find those somewhere... I just don't know where.
Makes me want to go to home depot to see if my store has any of those bags. They sound rugged and tough (things a good pannier should be).
If you pick them up and make them panniers, I would love to see them all finished!

[Grog]

Mountain Equipment Co-Op (MEC, the Canadian REI-equivalent) sells replacement pannier clips and J-hooks. You can look it up here:
http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_l...=1238943682600

I'm pretty sure you could install them in a bag. You'd just need to drill the metal a bit.

[Cataboo]

Thanks everyone. I'll definitely take pictures when I have something rigged up.

Debw - that yours have lasted 20 years is an excellent endorsement of your clips. I could pay/paypal you for them.

Grog - those look great, thanks.

[Cataboo]

Alright, I just used a document clip to attach one of the tool bags to the bike to see how it'd work.

These aren't huge, but they're more than enough for the ride to work or a quick trip downtown or to the grocery if I don't buy so much.

I may make velcro cover flaps for if I want to use them with the zipper open or just a net that I can stretch over them.

I've got a ton of dry bags for kayaking, so I'm not to worried about whether these are waterproof - I'll just put my stuff in a drybag if rain's an issue and pop that bag into these. And I'll probably put in thin plywood or plastic sheeting to stiffen the back (or maybe aluminum stiffeners like Debw had on hers)

closed up bag:

[Tri Girl]

Those bags are AWESOME!!!!!!!! Now I want to head to home depot to see if they have any (not likely).
Great find!!!! I think they'll make fantastic (and economical) panniers!

[Cataboo]

Even if they don't have the $4 ones, they did have a ton of tool bags and as far as I can tell, you can't convince men to pay as much for tool bags as you do for panniers.

Here's the label if you want to look for them:

[Tri Girl]

Thanks for the close up- catriona. I'll head there tomorrow after work. You're right about men and tool bags.

[DebW]

I've actually got 8 pannier hooks. These fit perfectly on older Blackburn racks with 8.5 mm diameter tubing. They don't fit so well on my new Tubus rack with 10 mm tubing - they actually work but don't sit all the way onto the hook. I've also got some of the D-rings that I used to attach the bungy cords on the bottom of my panniers. Catriona, you can PM me with your address, and whether you want the D-rings also, and I send them along.

[Cataboo]

Debw kindly sent me the pannier clips last week (Thanks!). I finally found my kevlar thread last night, got out the sewing machine and started the panniers.

It needs a bit more handstitching where I can't get the sewing machine to reach, and I need to put in some either plastic sheeting or light plywood on the inside to give it some structure. I might see if I can get a plastic container that fits the bottom - from what I could tell my shimano bike shoe box fits the bottom perfectly. I'll sew velcro straps at the bottom, so I can attach one corner to the seatstay, and the other edge of the bag to the rack supports.

I stuck the pannier clips on an aluminum strip, and then sewed a sleeve for the strip using the handles already on the bag. This way, I can remove the strip & clips and use them for another bag if I decide I need bigger panniers. I also thought if I drilled through the bag, even using grommets, eventually the bag would tear. I'm hoping that the sewing with kevlar thread & webbing reinforcing the front & back of it will hold. But I bought a couple extra tool bags for if my prototype doesn't work out.

[Tri Girl]

Lookin' good!!!!
I went to my Home Depot and they had the bags, but I didn't buy them. They weren't on clearance for as cheap (I think they were $7) and since I already have 2 sets of panniers I thought I better not impulse buy and get two more bags. I really like them, tho. They are functional and cute!

[Cataboo]

They're a nice size for me, I think. It's a 43 cm frame, so putting something too big on it, my foot bumps into the pannier.

I'd bought some panniers, but they got sucked into the wheel & tore up. They obviously weren't very expensive ones, but mostly right now I just want things that I can toss my stuff into on the way to work & back, and to stop by the grocery store & pick up a few things on the way home.

[Jones]

Very clever and they look great.

[Cataboo]

Well, I've been lazy for a while and hadn't really made a bottom /side support to my tool bag panniers. I had found a shoe box that was about the right foot print and covered it with a plastic bag and stuck it in - it worked, but it wasn't ideal. I was waiting for a rain storm to ruin my box. But I've carried groceries, a ton of library books, etc. using it with the cardboard box.

I really like the tool bags 'cause they're not so long and I don't hit them with my foot/pedal on the backstroke like I do with the other panniers I've tried.

I was going to eventually cut a piece of wood to do it... and had been debating maybe a metal support...

But the other night I was cleaning and looked at the wooden clementine box that I had on the table and had a eureka moment... I went and checked, and yeah. The clementine box was the same size as the bottom of the tool bag.

So I had to dismantle two sides of the box to get it to fit into the bottom of the bag, but now my panniers have a hard support for the back side & bottom...

Just 'cause I like posting pics of my bike, here it is on my way back from the library (tool bag was open on the way there with 8books in it, I closed it on the way back 'cause I only picked up 2 & it only had the cardboard box in it for support at that time.)