Suicidal pannier bags

[Pompey Princess]

Anyone else have theirs decide to jump off and scrape themselves along the tarmac and almost drag them off their bike???

Mine did this morning, went over the tiniest bump and not at speed and the bag FLEW off!!! Made a nice mess of it too

Oh well, at least it looks well worn in now and not too geeky new looking...

 

[Arch]

I've seen the odd one come loose if not properly hooked on... What sort are they, do they have a sprung hook that grips or clips on, or a bungy to hold them down?

Lesson is, I guess, always check they are properly seated and attached! Glad it's only the panniers that got scuffed...

 

[pinkkaz]

Mine was hanging dangerously and making a strange noise against my wheel on the canal path this weekend. It's because I hadn't clipped it on properly though.

And the stupid thing was that just before I was thinking that I hadn't clipped it in but then dismissed it as "thinking I'd left the oven on mentality". Moral, always go back and check the oven!

 

[Pompey Princess]

Nope, all hooked on and the bungee thing attached - when the bike bumped down the raised surface (not a kerb, just a poor road surface), the bag jumped and became unattached from the pannier rack - the only thing holding it on was the bungee hook and that's why it got scraped along the floor as it was still part attached to the bike!

I have a seat post pannier rack - maybe this hasn't helped as the v-shaped posts that drop down from the back don't go the whole way down and the bag can 'bang about' a bit.

Might need to look at bungeeing it all down a bit more...

 

[Graham O]

My panniers are just a cheap set from Halfords and clip over the top rail of the rack and bungee onto a hook. Within a week of having them, one had jumped off and jammed in the back wheel. Big hole in one of the pockets and scruffy appearance. But it didn't look unbalanced for long, as soon after the other one jumped off and bounced down the track. The big worry was that it had my laptop in it! But it survived.

I soon learnt not to go down a bumpy old railway track at full speed!

 

[User482]

My panniers are just a cheap set from Halfords and clip over the top rail of the rack and bungee onto a hook. Within a week of having them, one had jumped off and jammed in the back wheel. Big hole in one of the pockets and scruffy appearance. But it didn't look unbalanced for long, as soon after the other one jumped off and bounced down the track. The big worry was that it had my laptop in it! But it survived.

I soon learnt not to go down a bumpy old railway track at full speed!

I had those. I soon tired of retrieving my panniers from the road, so bought a set of Ortliebs instead. Problem solved.

 

[Molecule Man]

I've had several cheap panniers make a break for freedom, including a Lidl pannier containing my laptop, which amazingly survived intact.
Got Ortlieb's now.

On a similar note, has anyone else managed to get a loose bungee caught in their wheel? That was an interesting and rather scary experience. I was riding along quite fast, when suddenly I felt some resistance, then my back wheel locked, I just managed to control the skid, and then it suddenly started rolling again. The bungee had hooked itself on a spoke and wrapped itself around the gear block several times until it eventually snapped.

 

[Nigeyy]

If you have handles on your panniers, wrap your handles around the rack top tube, starting with passing the handle loop below the rack tube first. Wrap so there's a bit of the handle loop left showing. Simply use a little bungee cord (or even a piece a string tied in a bow, but bungee cords are more convenient) to tie to either the opposite pannier handle twisted around the rack tube in the same way, or to the opposite rack tube if you only have one pannier.

Result: even if you lose tension on your hooks, the tension of the handle wrapped around your rack will keep it in place. I use this when I'm touring as I don't want anything flying off the bike!

edit: forgot to say, the reason to start below the tube is so that the pannier has a harder time moving up; if you start wrapping over the top of the rack tube, the pannier can more easily be bumped up.

 

[Nigeyy]

For that reason I use compression straps when I tour (except one little bungee cord I use to keep my panniers in place, see my previous post). I'd recommend compression straps -obviously so long as they are the correct length!!! -as they are much less likely to come loose or fail.

On a similar note, has anyone else managed to get a loose bungee caught in their wheel?

 

[snorri]

My old Carradice bags used to jump off on the bumps, but I have not had a problem since fitting these hooks.
http://velokit.co.uk/cart_productdetails.asp?PRODUCTID=1618

 

[PBancroft]

Anyone else have theirs decide to jump off and scrape themselves along the tarmac and almost drag them off their bike???

Mine did this morning, went over the tiniest bump and not at speed and the bag FLEW off!!! Made a nice mess of it too

Oh well, at least it looks well worn in now and not too geeky new looking...

This is part of the reason why I like Topeak's system, which well and truly locks the bags to the rack.

 

[palinurus]

Is it a Topeak beam rack? they are designed to fit Topeak bags. I have used mine with other panniers and not had any problems but the side pieces are too short to clip the bottom pannier bags to them so it isn't ideal.

 

[Willow]

I have some dhb ones which are good my pretty girly basil is not so good however and I wouldn't trust it for a work commute just a lazy tour around the village.

 

[PBancroft]

Is it a Topeak beam rack? they are designed to fit Topeak bags. I have used mine with other panniers and not had any problems but the side pieces are too short to clip the bottom pannier bags to them so it isn't ideal.

It is a beam rack, however its the Quick Track system which allows the bag to slide and lock on. The only problem I have is that the pannier bags aren't really big enough for the long haul - they're fine for commutes (more than sufficient in fact) but not good enough for tours.

My buddy has a Quick Track pannier which he uses a small topside bag for small items on his commute, but can clip and lock much larger Topeak bags to the side... I am seriously considering updating.

 

[HLaB]

I've had mine spring off but that's because I hadn't attached them right. I think each time it was on the busy Lothian Road and somehow they escaped without a scratch.