Single pannier

[Domus]

On the very rare occasions I tour I use two panniers, not full by any means but the engineer in me sees it as balanced. However to cut down on weight I am thinking of taking just one, I see many riders with just one and I wonder does it make enough difference to balance to notice?
I mount and dismount on the nearside and so propose having the pannier on this side too. Am I overthinking this?

 

[roubaixtuesday]

I often cycle with a heavy single laptop rear pannier. No noticeable difference to two.

 

[ianrauk]

Makes no difference what so ever.

 

[Moodyman]

Makes a difference for about 10 mins. Actually, as well psychologically. Then it wears off and becomes normal.

Until that is, you look at it and it seems…well, just wrong. As wrong as Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones.

One of the beauties of a bicycle is that it’s a perfect visual balance due to the rule of two. Two wheels, two pedals, two brakes, two seat stays, two legs. Single pannierism upsets this perfect harmony.

 

[Julia9054]

That's what I cycle to work with. It's fine.

 

[StuAff]

Have often done this. Somehow managed 175 miles the other week with an 'unbalanced' bike…

 

[Domus]

To balance you Stuart you can carry mine in France. 👍👍

 

[ColinJ]

I was testing that yesterday...

I reckon that the total extra weight on the LHS of the bike was about 6.5 kg. It didn't feel too bad when riding but I could feel it pulling the bike over when dismounting. I think any more weight than that and I would use 2 panniers and split the load.

 

[slowmotion]

Even with up to five kilos in a single Ortlieb, I've noticed no problems when riding. ( I've never tried more BTW ). The bike leans a bit when being dismounted and stashed, but nothing to write home about.

 

[I like Skol]

Tens of thousands of miles cycled with a pannier on one side and it is a non-issue. I choose to have it on the R/H side as it makes the bike wider on that side so hopefully passing cars will leave a little more room even if they are still too close.
I discovered it also offers valuable protection for the drive train if you fall off the bike that side. I suppose if you are the kind of person who lets their bike fall over it would also protect the rear mech/drivetrain in that situation too?

The only downside I have ever noticed from the unbalance is tyre wear which occurs more on the left due to the bike having to lean to the left to allow for the extra weight on the right. You would think this might be cancelled by the typical road camber but apparently not.

Another view is, why would you take two panniers when one will do?

 

[annedonnelly]

Tens of thousands of miles cycled with a pannier on one side and it is a non-issue. I choose to have it on the R/H side as it makes the bike wider on that side so hopefully passing cars will leave a little more room even if they are still too close.

I do the same as I'm sure I read some research that drivers do see the bike as wider on that side and give a bit more space. I only use the second pannier if I know/suspect that I'm going to need it. Otherwise it's just something else to get in the way when I'm locking the bike up.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Same here: not only the panniers but on my longtail bike I've carried all kinds of heavy stuff on one side. Pushing is sometimes hard because you have to balance the bike, but once moving you don't notice it.

The only real danger is that you then forget and park the bike, only to see it fall over...

 

[HobbesOnTour]

On the very rare occasions I tour I use two panniers, not full by any means but the engineer in me sees it as balanced. However to cut down on weight I am thinking of taking just one, I see many riders with just one and I wonder does it make enough difference to balance to notice?
I mount and dismount on the nearside and so propose having the pannier on this side too. Am I overthinking this?

Can't really argue with the most of the points raised and I did a 40km commute with one pannier.
One pannier to lug about at the end of the day is easier than two, although go abroad and the pannier on the outside no longer protects the drivetrain.
However, it's Touring we're talking about and, for me, there's always a certain mystery to Touring and that can well include road surfaces. Or sometimes just surfaces. If you're prone to going onto some rough stuff that's when you might notice some handling issues. Steep, loose gravel on an unknown road? I'd appreciate the balance.

Setting weight aside there's another aspect to consider - dryness. With two or four Panniers I always have dedicated "Dry" ones - the ones that do not need to be opened during the day.

As always, a lot depends on what kind of Touring you enjoy. Someone on a camping trip might appreciate the "dryness", someone staying in a hotel with twisty, steep stairs might appreciate one pannier over two.

Then there's always the Bikepacking setup to consider.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Any suggestion as to the best make/model to use - I need something that can be attached to the rack easily

Also - you need to think about which side to put it on
Someone commented about having it on the right in case the bike falls over - which I have heard they do sometimes on slippy roads or in crashed - not just due to carelessness

but also - I have a side stand on mine - I would have to experiment on whether the extra weight on the left (same as the stand) put too much weight on the left - or if having it on the right makes the bike more likely to blow over that way in a wind - which happened one and knackered the gears!!!

 

[Andy in Germany]

I use Ortlieb classics, although they're expensive the are definitely watertight. They aren't great for "office" situations though because they're top loaders and don't look particularly smart. If you're going for the all weather hardcore cyclist vibe though, they're great.

Our local Lidl is selling very similar bags at the moment. If Lidl UK sells the same, they may be worth a look.

When using one pannier I tend to put it on the opposite side to the stand. oddly I find this more stable, in contract to my longtail where the heavy stuff should go on the stand side of the bike. I'm sure someone smarter than me can esplain why this is with reference to engineering principles and possibly quantum physics.