ridged panniers ?

[stuee147]

iv been looking at panniers i would like a new set as the ones i have although good they just arnt as waterproof as they used to be so i thought i would treat myself. and iv seen some nice looking ridged plastic ones that look nice and can even lock and i do like the idea of that. i like to use my panniers a lot, but i hate having to take them off all the time as they dont lock apart from a mini padlock on the zips but they are useless,
so has anyone had experience using ridged panniers and how did they find them ??

stuee

 

[betty swollocks]

Not sure about rigid panniers - if there are any. My reasons:-

• almost certainly they would rattle
• the stuff in them would rattle too

And that may be acceptable for you on a small journey, but on a longer one like a tour, the rattling would drive you insane.
At least it would me.

 

[stuee147]

Not sure about rigid panniers - if there are any. My reasons:-

• almost certainly they would rattle
• the stuff in them would rattle too

And that may be acceptable for you on a small journey, but on a longer one like a tour, the rattling would drive you insane.
At least it would me.

im not so sure iv had ridged panniers on a motorbike and they never rattled, but i do know what you mean about the stuff in them. i remember on my motorbike i glued in some foam if i remember rightly it was an old cheap foam yoga mat thinggy that i cut up and glued in.

 

[steveindenmark]

Stuee.. I have got hard plastic panniers on my motorbike and you are right they don't rattle. That's because a lot of research and development went into how they were attached to the bike. They usually click on on three points and are then locked firmly in position.

I then made a set of plastic panniers out of tool boxes for a bike. My research and development section was not given much money by my girlfriend, and when you ride the bike you can tell. They are not nice thick boxes like on my motorbike, but thin plastic that is very difficult to attach to the bike without rattling.

They are now toolboxes in the shed and my Ortleib panniers don't rattle at all.

Steve

 

[MontyVeda]

I've got a pair of BikeBins for the back and Ortleib for the front. The BikeBins have lockable lids, and I've adapted them so they can also lock to the pannier rack. One is packed with the tent, the other with sleeping bag, liner & downmat, and thre's enough space left for cake, and more cake. They are waterproof and lockable, not heavy, they look OK, the fixings are quality, so BikeBins tick all those boxes, but...

1. The plastic isn't quite tough enough for me to comfortably sit on them (I'm about 12st), and they are about the right size for a very tempting seat, especially when one is camping
2. If I have a crash the plastic panniers don't withstand the impact (which they probably wouldn't)... they're buggered.

Number 2 is my main issue with them, so i keep a good length of gaffer/duck tape around an old debit card in one so I'll be able to bodge them back together before i bin them and buy a pair of ortleibs instead.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

There was a thread on here a while back about fitting a motorbike pannier to a bicycle: link.

There is also a rigid pannier available for bikes, but I haven't tried them to know what they're like: Bikebins

 

[stuee147]

I've got a pair of BikeBins for the back and Ortleib for the front. The BikeBins have lockable lids, and I've adapted them so they can also lock to the pannier rack. One is packed with the tent, the other with sleeping bag, liner & downmat, and thre's enough space left for cake, and more cake. They are waterproof and lockable, not heavy, they look OK, the fixings are quality, so BikeBins tick all those boxes, but...

1. The plastic isn't quite tough enough for me to comfortably sit on them (I'm about 12st), and they are about the right size for a very tempting seat, especially when one is camping
2. If I have a crash the plastic panniers don't withstand the impact (which they probably wouldn't)... they're buggered.

Number 2 is my main issue with them, so i keep a good length of gaffer/duck tape around an old debit card in one so I'll be able to bodge them back together before i bin them and buy a pair of ortleibs instead.

iv not seen them bike bins before they look quite good but i know what you mean about the plastic i have seen a couple of plastic boxes for bikes on ebay but only topboxes rather than side panniers and the ones made for bikes look a lot thinner material than a motorcycle box,

i always have some gaffer/duck tape handy its the worlds best quick fix when im camping or touring i like to carry some tape wraped around a bit of card folded in half and i pop a few needles and thread in between the card so its held secure and the needles dont stick out its a kit to repair anything lol

i have been looking at crosso dry bags they look good

stuee

 

[Maxants33]

Hey, good thread.

I'm thinking of getting some ridged panniers. I'm a podiatrist and i need to to home visits and I'm going to start using my bike. I need a ridged pannier that can hold A4 paper for notes but locks. Also one that locks to the bike.

Anyone know of any models I can look at? Not seeing much online. Bike bins look good, but they are probably not strong enough. There are strict security rules when carrying patient notes out of hospitals, Bike bins look like they could be smashed easy.

 

[stuee147]

Hey, good thread.

I'm thinking of getting some ridged panniers. I'm a podiatrist and i need to to home visits and I'm going to start using my bike. I need a ridged pannier that can hold A4 paper for notes but locks. Also one that locks to the bike.

Anyone know of any models I can look at? Not seeing much online. Bike bins look good, but they are probably not strong enough. There are strict security rules when carrying patient notes out of hospitals, Bike bins look like they could be smashed easy.

iv now got 2 ridged lockerbal panniers and i must say for me at least they are a lot better than the normal type pannier. i ended up going for motorcycle panniers and to be honest they are about the same weight as a decent set of waterproof canvas panniers. i did look at fancy fitting kits that would lock the pannier onto the bike but still be quick and easy to remove. but i decided to go for a bracket welded to my rear rack and then the panniers are bolted direct to the brackets, as i dont need to take them off much if at all, i also have lined the panniers with and old foam yoga mat so anything small inside wont rattle about in the plastic box.
heres some pics

the set of panniers with the fitting brackets (that could of been bolted to the bike rack but i went for welding) came to about £50 incl delivery and the locks are ok there not super secure but there good enough for me.
i would suggest you look at motorcycle panniers rather than cycle ones if your looking for security there are some very good ones with fitting kits and they arnt as heavy as you might think, at least there no where near as heavy as the old style ones i had on motorbikes in my younger days they weighed almost as much as the bikes back then lol
the only criticism i have with ridged panniers is that when i load them up with shopping or something you cant sort of squeeze bits in like you can with the fabric panniers but to be honest it dont bother me that much and it stops me from squashing the bread lol