Pannier longevity

[moonfroggy]

i have only one local shop i can try panniers out at. other bike shops are an hour or more away from me. when i go grocery shopping and stuff like that my son comes too, in a trailer. so i guess for me a rack trunk might be perfect but i can see how they would not work for grocery shopping ect.

[eofelis]

I have a set of Novara (REI) panniers I bought over 15 years ago. Fronts and rears. I don't know what model they are. I have used the rears pretty consistantly over the years for commuting and groceries, and the fronts moderately. Except for some fading of the colors from the sun, they are in perfect shape, not even a fray. I see these panniers come up on ebay sometimes and I'd get another set if I needed to. They last forever.

I have a full set of Jandd panniers. I've only had them 5 years or so and do one tour a year with them. I occasionally use them around town. They still look new.

[shootingstar]

I can only deduce because we haven't had a car and hence, rely on our bikes heavily, that's why I wear out my panniers every 6 yrs. or so.

For pannier shopping, it's a big deal in terms of pricing, etc. But I'm happy so far with what I've got ..even though they don't offer as much depth as my last model set.