Bicycle Touring Pro » Panniers http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog Plan, prepare for, and promote your bicycle touring adventures. Wed, 08 Sep 2010 10:58:10 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Pacific Outdoor Equipment – Front & Rear Fender Waterproof Bicycle Panniers http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/pacific-outdoor-equipment-waterproof-bicycle-panniers-review/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=pacific-outdoor-equipment-waterproof-bicycle-panniers-review http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/pacific-outdoor-equipment-waterproof-bicycle-panniers-review/#comments Thu, 01 Jul 2010 11:00:43 +0000 Darren Alff http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/?p=6816

For a very long time now, German-made Ortlieb panniers have remained “the product of choice” when it comes to high-quality, waterproof bicycle panniers. But now, there’s a new company jumping into the waterproof pannier market… and they’ve produced a product that could seriously compete with Ortlieb.

Pacific Outdoor Equipment is a Montana, USA-based company producing high-quality, environmentally conscious bicycle and outdoor products. I previously reviewed the company’s Peak Oyl Elite sleeping mat and gave it a super-high rating. Their panniers, I’m happy to report, have been rated just as highly.

The Basics: Color, Size & Weight

The panniers shown in this review are the new Front and Rear Fender panniers from Pacific Outdoor Equipment. The image above is the Front Fender, made to be used on the front rack of your fully-loaded touring bicycle.

The Front Fender pannier features a classic roll-top design (which along with the material used to make the bag, makes it 100% waterproof), internal pockets for organizing your gear, compression straps to keep your bags from flapping in the wind as you ride, and it comes in three different colors.

The colors currently available are:

  • Hi-Liter/Chrome (left)
  • Black/Chrome (center)
  • Raft/Chrome (right)

The Front Fender pannier measures 41cm x 25cm x 18cm, weights 760 grams (1 lbs 11 oz) and has a carrying capacity of approximately 18 Liters.

The Rear Fender pannier (made to go on the back of your bike) measures 43cm x 30cm x 18cm, weights 839 grams (1 lbs 14 oz) and has a carrying capacity of approximately 20 Liters. The Rear Fender also features a small external pocket and a left/right design so as to allow you extra heel clearance when mounted on your bicycle.

The Attachment System: How The Pannier Attaches To Your Rack

The photos below show the pannier’s rack attachment system. Like most bicycle panniers, the Pacific Outdoor Equipment Front and Rear Fender panniers have two clips at the top of the bag and a large sliding attachment near the bottom (very similar to the way Ortlieb panniers are designed).

The Pacific Outdoor Equipment attachment system is one of the best I’ve seen.

The two small clips at the top of the bag can each be mounted in one of four different positions, allowing you to move the clips forward or back depending on the type of rack you have and the position you wish to place the panniers on your bicycle.

Additionally, the clips come standard with both 8mm and 10mm attachment hooks.

This is one of my favorite features on this product! The panniers come ready to mount for racks with an 8mm diameter. But if you have a larger 10mm rack and you want to attach the panniers to your bike, all you have to do is insert an Allen wrench from your bicycle’s multi-tool into a small hole on the back of the attachment clip and pop out the blue 8mm insert (as shown in the photo below).

Once you’ve popped out the small insert, you’re ready to go! Simply mount the pannier to your bike… and you’re on your way! And if you ever need to mount the pannier to a smaller rack, simply reinstall the blue insert and you’ll have a perfect fit.

Many bicycle panniers do not come built to fit both 8mm and 10mm rack sizes, so this is one feature I really, really like.

Finally, on the bottom of the pannier is a long plastic hook that slides along a track so as to mount your pannier in the ideal position for your particular bicycle rack. Once you find the ideal position for this rear slider, you can lock it in place by tightening a small screw on the bottom of the clip.

The two images below show the Rear Fender panniers being mounted to the rear 8mm rack of my Fuji Touring bike.

Once on the rack, you simply slide the large blue tabs at the top of the clip attachments to the center of the bike so as to lock the panniers in place – thus ensuring that the bags can not bounce off of your bike as you travel about. Once again, not all bicycle panniers have an attachment system that actually locks the panniers into place. Being able to lock the panniers in place, however, is extremely important for the serious bicycle traveler.

Photos of the Panniers in Use:

The following six photos were taken while using the Front and Rear Fender panniers in both winter and summer conditions.

Positives & Negatives of these Particular Panniers:

Let’s start with the positives.

First of all, the panniers are incredibly well made. These are not cheap panniers and I do feel that they could last a very long time out on the road.

Secondly, the bags are 100% waterproof. Many bicycle panniers are waterproof in that they wick rainfall and snow away from the bag, but they are not 100% waterproof in that if they were held under water, items inside would actually get wet. The advantage of these panniers, however, is that because of their roll-top design, they are indeed 100% waterproof. You could drop these bags in a river and pull them out several minutes later and  find that the contents of the panniers are still 100% dry.

In addition, the attachment system is great. The clips at the top of the pannier fit both 8mm and 10mm bike racks. They lock into place, so the panniers won’t bounce off the racks as you’re pedaling, and they are made of hard, high-quality plastic (a material I believe would be difficult to break). The bottom of the attachment system on the back of the pannier is good as well (although not as good as I would like – but more on this in a minute).

The fact that the Rear Fender pannier has a small pocket on the exterior of the bag is also a nice additional feature. When traveling by bike, there are surely going to be a few items you want to access on a regular basis and that you’d like to reach without having to dig into your panniers each and every time you need that particular item. These small, flat side pockets certainly come in handy in this regards.

Finally, the color choices should be commended. I love the silver color used on all of the bags. Black is an obvious choice and I really like the Raft blue color that has been made available. However, I’m not a big fan of the Hi-Liter yellow. That said, I have to applaud Pacific Outdoor Equipment for choosing colors outside of the traditional black, royal blue and red that almost every bicycle pannier company in the world seems to use. I love the black and blue color choices they’ve made here, but the yellow needs more work.

As for the negatives, here are my thoughts:

First of all, I really don’t like the Hi-Light yellow color. I think some people will love this color and others will absolutely hate it. Obviously it’s a great color for attracting the attention of passing motorists, but it’s not a stylish, hip or attractive color. I’d likely name it “Piss Yellow” or “Vomit Green.” It’s a good attempt, but this particular color needs to be re-engineered. A darker, more neon based color would be nice.

Weight is another issue. These panniers, while they are really well-made and entirely waterproof, kind of weight a lot. At just over a pound each, they don’t really weight all that much in the grand scheme of things, but when compared to similar products, they do feel a bit heavy.

Finally, my only other negative comment has to do with the bottom of the attachment system on the rear of the bag. While very similar in design to that of Ortlieb pannier products, the thing that this pannier has against it is that the attachment slide 1) can only be mounted in one direction (parallel to the ground) and 2) can not be easily adjusted (something I find important when using a set of panniers on multiple bicycles with different types of racks). Ortlieb has Pacific Outdoor Equipment beat in this regards. The Ortlieb slide at the bottom of their panniers rotates in any direction and with just a quick adjustment can be made to fit on just about any rack in the world. So, while the attachment clips at the top of the Pacific Outdoor Equipment panniers have been excellently designed and superbly made, the slide attachment at the bottom could use some improvement.

Overall Rating: Would I Recommend These Panniers?

The fact of the matter here is this: The Front and Rear Fender panniers from Pacific Outdoor Equipment are excellent waterproof panniers and I would highly recommend them. I love the direction the company is going with their color choices, design, and environmentally conscious means of doing business.  If I had to rate these particular panniers…

My Rating: 9.5 out of 10

With just a few alterations, some slight changes in color and a couple marketing miracles, these Pacific Outdoor panniers might soon become the new standard in round-the-world, long-distance, waterproof panniers.

Highly recommended!

Review Status: The panniers shown here were sent to Bicycle Touring Pro for free for the purpose of this review.

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]]> http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/pacific-outdoor-equipment-waterproof-bicycle-panniers-review/feed/ 0 Katy Trail Packing List http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/katy-trail-packing-list/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=katy-trail-packing-list http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/katy-trail-packing-list/#comments Wed, 12 May 2010 12:57:07 +0000 Darren Alff http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/?p=6300

You don’t have to travel around the world or live on the road for months on end to call yourself a bicycle traveler. Conducting short trips by bike in your local area (or even in your home country) is a great way to get out and experience the joys of bicycle travel.

Yesterday I flew from my home in Park City, Utah (USA) to Kansas City, Missouri. Now that I’m in the great state of Missouri, the plan over the next 10 days is for my friend Josh and I to ride our bikes across the state on the famous Katy Trail.

I’ll be sure to share photos, video and stories from the trip in a future article, but for now, here is the packing list for my 11-day trip to Missouri.

Hopefully this article will help you in preparing your packing lists for shorter trips by bike.

Bike Gear

Electronics

Camping & Cooking Gear

Clothing & Toiletries

  • Eddie Bauer 3-in-1 Rain Jacket
  • 2 Pairs of Jeans
  • Baseball cap
  • 2 Pairs of shorts
  • Sweat pants
  • 3 T-shirts
  • Fox Racing jersey
  • Fox Racing shorts 2 Pairs of black anklet socks
  • 2 Pairs of long socks
  • Underwear
  • Nike tennis shoes
  • Toiletry Kit
  • Road ID wrist

Paperwork

  • Wallet
  • Business cards
  • 2 reading books
  • Journal
  • 3 Pens

You should note that 1) I only brought a rear rack and two panniers with me because I don’t plan to use front panniers on this particular trip. I won’t need them because I am carrying less clothes and gear than I would typically carry on a longer trip by bike. 2) I am also carrying a whole lot more camera gear than your typical bicycle traveler might carry.  I have all this camera gear because I plan to bring you back a ton of great photos from my travels… and I’ll be working while I’m out on the road. So, this gear is necessary for me to continue running this website.

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]]> http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/katy-trail-packing-list/feed/ 5 Are Lone Peak Bicycle Panniers Waterproof? http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/are-lone-peak-bicycle-panniers-waterproof/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=are-lone-peak-bicycle-panniers-waterproof http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/are-lone-peak-bicycle-panniers-waterproof/#comments Thu, 25 Mar 2010 11:16:43 +0000 Darren Alff http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/?p=5279 The short answer: No. Lone Peak panniers are not 100% waterproof.

However, they are water-resistant… and in the video below I test a set of Lone Peak P-500 Mountain Superior panniers to determine just how water-resistant they really are.

If you get a set of Lone Peak panniers, I highly recommend purchasing the additional rain covers or using some kind of waterproof bag to line the inside of the packs.

If you choose to use neither the rain covers or a set of waterproof liners, I think this video demonstrates exactly where you should place your most precious items – in the middle of the bag. Objects at the top and bottom of  the pannier are more likely to get wet, so items prone to water damage should be kept in the center of the bag if at all possible.

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]]> http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/are-lone-peak-bicycle-panniers-waterproof/feed/ 5 181 Free Articles About Bicycle Touring, World Travel And Lifestyle Design http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/every-article-from-bicycle-touring-pro-in-2009-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=every-article-from-bicycle-touring-pro-in-2009-2 http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/every-article-from-bicycle-touring-pro-in-2009-2/#comments Fri, 01 Jan 2010 09:22:03 +0000 Darren Alff http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/?p=4127 2009 was one hell of a year!

At this time last year I was emerging from my apartment in downtown Luzern, Switzerland and celebrating the first of what would become 254 days of bike travel in 16 different European countries.

Since that time, I have covered thousands of miles on my bicycle (and on foot); written nearly two-hundred different articles on the topics of world travel, bicycle touring and lifestyle design; and I’ve been able to support myself while traveling about (despite the so-called “recession”).

By my standards, 2009 has been one fantastic year… and I plan on making 2010 even better!

Before we get too far into the New Year, I thought I would take some time to share with you the 181 articles that were published this year FOR FREE on BicycleTouringPro.com. I’ve bolded the articles I believe you should check out first… so scroll on down and see if there is anything that strikes your fancy.

I hope you enjoy what you find… and please stay tuned, as there’s a lot more in store for Bicycle Touring Pro in the New Year!

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Featured home page photo by: jurvetson

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]]> http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/every-article-from-bicycle-touring-pro-in-2009-2/feed/ 6 How To Pack Bicycle Panniers – 7 Tips http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/how-to-pack-bicycle-panniers-7-tips/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-to-pack-bicycle-panniers-7-tips http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/how-to-pack-bicycle-panniers-7-tips/#comments Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:59:43 +0000 Darren Alff http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/?p=3992 howtopackbikepanniers

Pannier packing is an art. There are a million different ways to do it and no one was is correct, but there are a few commonly-held practices that, if you are aware of them, will help you out tremendously once you jump in the saddle and hit the streets.

I was recently asked write a guest post for the Adventure Cycling Association blog and thought it would be good opportunity to share my simple and down-to-earth pannier packing secrets. Click here to read the article and discover my “7 Secrets To Successfully Packing Your Panniers.”

One of the tips I give in the article is to leave some extra space inside your panniers before you leave home so that you can pick up additional items, if the need be, as you go along. However, the most important part of this tip was edited out (Maybe because Adventure Cycling disagrees with me on this particular point? Or maybe because the article simply needed to be shorter?)

Whatever the case, the part that was cut out stated that you should attempt to have at least half of a pannier empty when you leave home at the start of your tour. I personally shoot for having an entire pannier free if possible.

My point here is that if you leave home and you are already stuffed to the gills, you are simply carrying too much stuff. Having some free space (the more free space – the better), will really come in handy once you hit the road.

To read the full article and get some additional hints on how to pack your panniers for your next bicycle touring adventure, head on over to the Adventure Cycling blog and read my guest post titled, “7 Secrets To Successfully Packing Your Panniers.“

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