Commuting Panniers

[colorisnt]

Rogue,

I like those bags a lot and they ship to the U.S. The only problem is they only seem to be messenger bags? I'm still not sure how I feel about commuting with messengers. I like panniers because they aren't on my person. I commute by road bike and messengers/backpacks have never really worked for me. I don't like things on my back. Is there a way they convert to a pannier?

[Sylvia]

There's a person on ebay who makes panniers out of Swiss Army Ammo bags. And from the pictures they are beautiful and seem reasonably priced for panniers

He sells them as singles and doubles. You can see them here.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/shmattson/m....&_trksid=p3686

That said, you could also just search for "swiss ammo bag" on ebay and do the conversion yourself for cheaper. Although I'm not sure how difficult it would be to get a "matched" set if you purchase them and do it yourself.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from...Swiss+ammo+bag

Oops, I just read about the 14.5" laptop. This might not work.

[shootingstar]

Ortilieb and Arkel are really your high end, nice commuter bike bags.

Just make sure you buy a pannier set that offers either an inner or outer small zipper pocket to put in your wallet, cellphone, etc. so that things don't get lost in the depths of your pannier bag.

I have only 1 set of rear pannier bags which I use for every purpose --commuting, touring, etc. It's a mid sized.I use plastic bags to protect my gear...it has some water repellancy without those plastic bags. I use Axiom bags.

For computer you will want to protect it with at least another thin padded sleeve/bag.

[malkin]

+1 for little pockets.

My panniers don't have them, but I use a trunk bag too so all the little stuff goes in there.

[indysteel]

+1 for little pockets.

My panniers don't have them, but I use a trunk bag too so all the little stuff goes in there.

+1. I'm having flashbacks ot our Katy Tour last fall. We had Nashbar waterproof panniers, which for $50, isn't a bad way to go. But everything small gets lost at the bottom of them. I can't tell you how many times we had to remove nearly everything to find the one thing we were looking for.

[Becky]

I bought a thin flat purse with a top zipper that fits well in my panniers. It solves the issue of losing small stuff to the depths and I don't have to collect all that stuff when I'm away from my bike.

I nabbed a set of Racktime TravelIt panniers on Ebay for ~$50 last year, and they've been fantastic. Good size, plenty of pockets, integrated rain cover, and the Ortlieb rack attachment system.

[roguedog]

looks like the 17" is a pannier and the smaller one, 13", is just a bag.

btw, the inside of bag has an image that some folks found offensive. i think it added whimsy to an otherwise black bag. i liked the bag since it also had an easy off the bike carry option - a wide, comfortable strap that makes the bag look messenger bag-like.

that said, as folks have said, people love their arkel bugs. i too considered this but since i wasn't sure of what i might actually carry i was afraid it might be too small.

oh.. another thing, i do notice, even on my short ride, the difference between a grocery pannier and the knog. when i have my laptop and gear in the knog, the bike feels more balanced than it does with the grocery pannier. it's likely two things.. 1. the grocery pannier isn't really aero. it is just a square box 2. the knog has the laptop compartment close to the rack and the way the bag is shaped it sorted forces the cargo to be as close and tightly secured to the rack as you pack it.

pros n cons as always.

[roguedog]

here's some pix for you so you get a sense of what i'm talking about and maybe to help you decide between grocery vs something more pannier-like.

for size reference that's a 47 atlantis w/ 26" wheels.

though since you seem to be in college/university the arkel bug might work out better for you since it becomes a backpack. i can say that while it's nice to have the ability to carry the knog around, it's so big it's not really something i'd do for long distances.

i think.. from the back, i sorta look like a giant messenger bag with a head and stubby legs...

[colorisnt]

Thanks for all the suggestions/pictures Lots to think about.

I'm a PhD student, so I need to have the ability to carry a bag with me off the bike. Even if I could just toss my normal bag in one of the panniers and make sure it was waterproof, that would be fine. I just have to be able to take my work bag with me.

ETA: Thanks for putting the CM's on that bike. It looked small. I've had a 48, a 50, and a 47 (current bike), so my bikes will never be much bigger than that. Good to know what it looks like!