Panniers for fully loaded touring

[wyno70]

I'm just kitting myself up for my first, fully loaded, solo, 10 day long tour. Probably be about 900 - 1000 miles.

As such, I need to take enough gear to keep myself going (mechanically), a tent and sleeping bag and a change of clothes for wandering round in.

Food wise, I'm going to get what i can along the way ((pubs, cafs, bakeries etc), not too interested in cooking as it'll get too messy and is too much aggro.

As such, can people, far more experienced than myself, come up with some suitable panniers please.

I'm going to need both front and rear, so fire away and I'll get ebaying!!!!

Thanks.

 

[summerdays]

What's your price range and how waterproof. Me I've got Ortleib ones - waterproof, easy to clip on, rugged etc.

 

[Crankarm]

Fully waterproof Ortliebs are good but the Vaude Aqua Plus have the edge IMHO. I have both side by side. I bought Ortlieb roller classics first then found some rear Vaude panniers which I prefer . The Vaude Aqua Plus roll tops are far easier to secure and open than the Ortlieb Classic roll tops, plus the Aqua Plus have waterproof side pockets. Both manufacturers make fully waterproof panniers with fixed lids. The Vaude range have hard plastic backs though which makes them more robust. They are a tad more expensive though and there aren't that many stockists. Ortliebs however are everywhere. These are good but not as good as Vaude.

http://www.vaude.com/epages/Vaude-de.sf/?ObjectPath=/Shops/Vaude/Categories/dein-sport/bike/radtaschen&Locale=en_IN&NavSignature=1,7&PageSize=99
http://www.vaude.com/epages/Vaude-d...hen&Locale=en_IN&NavSignature=1,7&PageSize=99

 

[andym]

I'm just kitting myself up for my first, fully loaded, solo, 10 day long tour. Probably be about 900 - 1000 miles.

As such, I need to take enough gear to keep myself going (mechanically), a tent and sleeping bag and a change of clothes for wandering round in.

Food wise, I'm going to get what i can along the way ((pubs, cafs, bakeries etc), not too interested in cooking as it'll get too messy and is too much aggro.

As such, can people, far more experienced than myself, come up with some suitable panniers please.

I'm going to need both front and rear, so fire away and I'll get ebaying!!!!

Thanks.

For what you're planning you don't need front and rear panniers. You could probably get away with a pair of 40L rear panniers with the tent bungeed to the rack.

Some people reckon the bike handles better with front panniers. But against that you need to factor in the fact that the rack and panniers will weigh 2 kilos or so before you put anything in them.

Some people also prefer front panniers to bar bags.

 

[wyno70]

Price isn't important and they need to be 100% waterproof!!

 

[Crankarm]

Do you have racks? If not then Tubus are the preferred choice for serious tourers. They are a little more expensive than their competitors but are very robust and last. Wiggle do them plus they do Ortlieb panniers as well. I never heard a story of a broken Tubus rack, other makes yes, but not Tubus.

 

[Cathryn]

Go Ortlieb - I love mine and they come in lovely colours, which is clearly crucial.

They're also waterproof. Totally.

 

[jags]

crankarm your the first person i heard say vaude are better than ortlieb.i have no reason to doubt you on that one,i have the ortlieb bikepacker plus and ultimate barbag great panniers,i just had a look at the vaude site those panniers look fantastic what about there line of cloths ,any advice on a good jacket,.

 

[samid]

It's not quite what you're asking but anyway: last summer I did my first (and only so far) solo tour, 850km, in the UK. I also did not prepare my own food, eating at pubs/cafes instead. I tried to go light and only had a large saddle bag (Carradice Nelson longflap - btw, proved totally waterproof even though it rained most of the time) and a separate bag with the tent bungee-corded on top of it, plus a small handlebar bag for the camera. It worked out pretty nice, I really liked that my bike was not loaded too much. What I'm driving at is, as someone else mentioned, I don't think you need both front and rear panniers. Try taking less/lighter equipment instead, you'll like your tour more.

 

[willem]

I am off this Easter long weekend for four days of touring with a tent. I will take two Ortlieb Classic Backrollers, and a bar bag with very little in it, but a map on top. I still think Ortlieb are the best there is (they are the first choice for most world travellers). We have quite a few of them in the family, and some of them have now seen more than ten years of daily heavy use, plus serious cycle touring. Vaude is not bad either, however.
The second part of my message is that for a not too extreme solo tour such as yours two rear panners should indeed be enough. You save the weight (2-2.5 kilo) and the expense of a front rack and front bags.The money you save is enough to buy, for example, a superb solo tent such as a Hilleberg Akto (the very best there is) instead of some crummy thing that will leak and collapse in bad weather, or a top sleeping bag from Western Mountaineering or PHD that is small, ultralight, and warm, rather than some bulky overweight bag that is still not very warm.
Enjoy the ride
Willem

 

[wyno70]

Thanks a lot, all very useful stuff. I do have a tendency to overpack, so am determined to scrap the front panniers and go with back only.

In terms of tent and sleeping bag, I have top notch gear already, that is suited to the job, so can spend my cash elsewhere. That'll be more bike gear then!!!!

 

[Cathryn]

The other thing I meant to say is that whilst it's nice to have foxy panniers, my husband has used cheap Halfords ones for years which have served him absolutely brilliantly - as long as he lines them with a bin bag or a bag-for-life etc. So you don't need loads of money to get panniers!!

If you're doing a BIG tour, it might be a wise investment..

 

[Crankarm]

i just had a look at the Vaude site those panniers look fantastic

I thought so too. Well I met an American guy in a bike shop in Cambridge who had some. I had just bought my Ortliebs (bright yellow). The fabrics are very similar almost the same but have I noticed over the last year the Vaude fabric doesn't seem to crease so easily or retain so many creases from rolling the top. But that's only a minor thing. My Vaude Aqua Plus are red.

what about there line of cloths ,any advice on a good jacket,.

I don't have any of their clothing. I do have their Taurus UL Mark 2 tent though which is quite good at 1.85kg. It has lasted 4 years with hardly any signs of wear. I like the look of the Vango Spirit and Nitro tents as well as the Terra Nova tents as well. There is such a lot of competition for this niche market that the major manufacturers all make half decent stuff. Everyone will have their preferences.

As regards jackets my only one is an Altura bright yellow one about 6 years old, not a Night Vision, it pre-dates these It's good, not mega expensive, but it is water and windproof with reflective piping. The fabric label says Sympatex. Never heard of it but it does the job. It was about £50 in a half price sale at Evans Waterloo in 2003/04.

As another poster has said it is best to travel as light as poss. So if you can get away with two rear panniers or even two front panniers then all the better or even just a credit card in your jersey back pocket so you can fly along without toiling.

 

[jags]

yeah im trying to keep clear of front pannier's,i can get everything i need into the rear bikepacker panniers and barbag (well near enough),
yeah the gear there making these days is something else first rate ,super light and super strong,well worth paying the extra few bob for the best last forever.

 

[samid]

Check out the "camping light" and "travelling light" threads on CTC forums - I think there's lots of good info there. Hopefully this link works but if not just go to forum.ctc.org.uk and search for those topic subjects.