grocery bikes

[mary9761]

Thanks Ladies,
I have figured out a few things I might do differently if I make another set. I'll likely cut notches in the lid as well where the rope cleats can be seated and help the lid sit better. I will also try to figure out a way to make the handles useable. Right now I can't get them up over the cleats to be able to carry the pannier when off the bike. I may put the handle above the cleats, but then will need to secure the handle so it doesn't bounce or catch when on the bike. The paint does scuff, but I may try using a sharpy. They also make a black duct tape so the next pair may be covered in duct tape LOL. Get black and international orange and make them striped

[PscyclePath]

I invested in a pair of the Jandd grocery panniers a month or so back that have been giving good service. They hold a paper bag's worth of groceries or other stuff with ease. I don't have a picture of the bike with them mounted yet, but may have to get out and play with the camera soon...

I did approach the problem of packing a 20-lb sack of dog food home from Petsmart... mounted the grocery panniers, strapped the bag over the rear rack, and tucked the ends of the bag into the pannier on either side. A little wobbly at first, but it worked (at least out on the flats, where I live )

I really liked Mary's rig... I've got a couple of empty detergent buckets hanging around, so may have to hit the hardware store and build a set of those, too...

[Blueberry]

I did approach the problem of packing a 20-lb sack of dog food home from Petsmart... mounted the grocery panniers, strapped the bag over the rear rack, and tucked the ends of the bag into the pannier on either side. A little wobbly at first, but it worked (at least out on the flats, where I live )

I've done this too - with cat food. And with extra large pizzas.

CA

[PinkBike]

love that picture of raleighdon's bike with a trailer AND aero-bars!

[mimitabby]

love that picture of raleighdon's bike with a trailer AND aero-bars!

he's ready for ANYTHING!

[Irulan]

I use a retired kid trailer with no modifications. It's a Bell two-seater, with lots of pockets that hold things like loaves of bread perfectly. I have hauled a regular load ( think two adults, two large teen boys) many times, complete with gallons of milk, sacks of potatoes and eggs.

One time I rode to the specialty butcher and got a very nice prime rib roast and picked up a cake from the baker's - the seat belts work great for holding things in.
My usual run is grocery, video store, library which about 2 miles each way. If I add in the post office, bank and lbs it turns into a modertely hilly 7 mile loop. I use either my geared commuter (converted old mtb) or my singlespeed.

Funniesst moment. OK, I get "the look" as in "omg she's got kids in traffic" look a LOT but one time I lost my hitch in the middle of a somewhat busy interserction. Potatoes were rolling everywhere. Several latte-suv moms stopped completely freaking out that somehow my kid was careening through the intersection and I am having to calm people down... it's only groceries, folks... move along now....

[wildhawk]

Oh I can relate to that! The first time DH and I rolled our trailer through the park to get a feel for towing it, I had lots of people giving us wide berth and when they looked into the trailer and saw no babies they gave us a real puzzled look like - what did you do with your kids? We are going to decorate the trailer up for Christmas with LED battery pack lights and decorate our bikes as well - I will post a pic. Thought it would be a fun way to spread Christmas cheer in the park. I have a HUGE teddy bear who will wear a Santa hat and ride along in the “sleigh”.

[lph]

I have hauled a regular load ( think two adults, two large teen boys) many times, complete with gallons of milk, sacks of potatoes and eggs.

For a minute there I thought you'd actually hauled two adults and two large teen boys and I was going WHOA!

The story of potatoes everywhere reminded me of the first time I used a pulk, a sled to pull behind you when cross-country skiing if you have a lot to haul or a small child with you. We were camping high up on a glacier for the Easter holidays and we'd borrowed this elderly insanely heavy wooden pulk the size, shape and weight of a small boat to haul our camping stuff in. Skiing down again we got so sick of it dragging us off our feet that we finally "cut it loose" and just let it go the way we were heading. Friends of ours up on a peak nearby said it looked just like somebody had got really sick of hearing their kid complain

[ms pepperpot]

I do virtually all my grocery shopping these days by bike. I do it on my commute home as my favourite super market is around the half way point. I just use normal touring panniers - Altura ones - and then sometimes strap bulkier non-perishable items to the top of the rack.

It helps that my supermarket has hand held self-scanners so I can pack into the panniers as I go around. Before they introduced these I'd often buy more than I could fit in the panniers comfortably.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I ordered the Novara panniers:
http://www.rei.com/product/733820
and this rack:
http://www.jandd.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=FREXP

We also ordered new 9 speed short reach brifters like the ones on my Luna that I like so much, so I can reach the brake lever way better. That's been a longtime problem for me with the Shimano regular brake levers. They'll be replacing the bar end shifters on it now. It'll be nice to have both bikes with the same shifting system, and it'll make the Rambouillet generally more comfortable and enjoyable for me to ride.
I'll need to buy a heavy duty U-lock/cable combo as well if I'm going to be leaving it outside the supermarket where I can't see it. No more medium weight "latte cable" like I use outside Ralph's cafe. It's not a bike I'd want to lose.
Once we get the new brifters, rack, and panniers on and retape the bars, I will post a before and after photo of my Rambouillet's new incarnation as errand/grocery bike. It might take a week or two though.
(now where'd I put that bell?...)

It's just started snowing, the first of the season!

[malkin]

I have one of these:

http://www.leggero.com/leggero/shop/...IDProdukte=420

I saw them online last fall, but couldn't find a US distributor. We were headed abroad last winter (because I was going to die if I didn't see the RSC performance of King Lear...but that's another story). My husband ordered from the co. in Switzerland and had them ship to our hotel in Munich.

It was kind of a PITA to get home, and US Customs in Cincinati was all kinds of suspicious, but it was worth it.

Maybe TE could be their US distributor?

[malkin]

Hey, there's a Croozer Cargo right now on ReturnsForSale!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

My panniers arrived
grocery panniers
I had thought, since most of the other panniers I saw for sale were priced PER PANNIER, that these were $55 EACH, so I ordered two. Turns out the $55 was for a PAIR (they didn't really make this clear on the site), so I wound up with two sets! No problem....my husband can try my set out in a couple of weeks when he puts his rack on, and if he likes them he can keep the second set. If not, we'll just return one set. The great thing is that REI lets you take all the time you want to return stuff, especially if it's still new. I called them to be sure.
My rack should arrive any day.
But I really can't wait to have the new brifters installed, as that will make my Rambouillet more comfortable for me to handle. I'm bringing it to a good LBS for 48 hours for that procedure, and I'll pick up a heavy new lock then too. If I'm lucky it might all be ready within a week to 10 days.

Incidentally, today I took my car to the supermarket and loaded up on the really heavy or bulky non-perishable stuff like cat sand, detergent, TP and paper towels, sugar, etc.

[tulip]

My experience with grocery panniers is that they work a whole lot better if they have a strap that goes over the top of the pannier to stabilize the side away from the bike. Mine did not have such a strap, and my groceries spilled out all over the street because the weight shifted to the outside when I went around a corner (centrifugal force). A bungie cord would work well. I got rid of mine after that because I was so disappointed with them, and my food coop was only three blocks away, so I walked.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

My experience with grocery panniers is that they work a whole lot better if they have a strap that goes over the top of the pannier to stabilize the side away from the bike. Mine did not have such a strap, and my groceries spilled out all over the street because the weight shifted to the outside when I went around a corner (centrifugal force). A bungie cord would work well. I got rid of mine after that because I was so disappointed with them, and my food coop was only three blocks away, so I walked.

Wow! Can you say what brand and type your panniers were?
Did you put the bungee cords across the middle of the top of your pannier parallel to the bike, or cross-wise?