Source of pannier clips? Anyone make their own

[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.)