Who does their shopping on a bike?

[confusedcyclist]

How are you doing it?

Rack and panniers, front baskets, trailers? Care to share any good resources on this topic?

 

[numbnuts]

Panniers or trailer, panniers 46 L, Bobyak single wheel trailer the latter is not the best for carrying heavy loads, I'd go for a twin wheeled trailer if I were to buy again

 

[fossyant]

Car. Dare not leave the bike outside a shop.

 

[Spinney]

Top up shopping between main shops done on bike, mainly as a way of digging me out of my pit mid-week if the weather is gloomy and I don't feel like going out. Main shops are done in car or get delivered. The top-up shops can sometimes be two pannier-fulls.

 

[Drago]

I used to do my shopping on a bike but the manager at Tesco now insists I simply push the trolley like normal people.

 

[mjr]

How are you doing it?

Rack and panniers, front baskets, trailers? Care to share any good resources on this topic?

Yes, front basket and rear rack and panniers for the main shop(s), bag on top of the rear rack for top-ups. Trailer if needed (rare). Best rollable panniers are my Basil Mara which but I think they're only 26L and tedious to attach/detach. I'm still using a set of semi-rigid crivit 56L panniers a lot, but they're showing their age now and catch an awful lot of wind. Basils are on the left, crivits on the right (but there's a cool bag instead of the top bag on the crivit, plus a Basil Sport single pannier bungeed on top of the Mara - this was holiday shopping).

Panniers or trailer, panniers 46 L, Bobyak single wheel trailer the latter is not the best for carrying heavy loads, I'd go for a twin wheeled trailer if I were to buy again

Interesting. Why? I've a two-wheeled high-hitch trailer (a Veelers, I think), which has the advantage that I can use it as a shopping trolley or wheelbarrow when detached, but the drawback that it shoves me around a bit when cycling along and is prone to weaving/wagging at speed. I'd been thinking of going single-wheel if I ever get another.

I used to do my shopping on a bike but the manager at Tesco now insists I simply push the trolley like normal people.

You have a Brompton?

By the way, returning deposit-paid trollies to a trolley park after loading the panniers was annoying until I started using a large carabiner to hook the loop end of the pay-chain to the top handle of the pannier and tow the trolley along backwards behind the bike

 

[ColinJ]

I only live about 1 km from my local shops so I usually walk there and back but there are times when I need to nip out and buy a few things in a hurry. I decided that it would be nice to be able to whiz to the shops and back by bike but I never felt happy leaving one of my more expensive bikes unattended. Then things changed - I built myself a singlespeed bike at low cost. I would not be very happy if it got pinched but the project only cost me about £60 (I was given the frame/fork/bottom bracket and had most of the other parts lying around in boxes in my cellar) so it would not be a disaster if someone did take it. So, when my sister asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I got a really strong u-lock. It would not deter a really determined thief but I will be locking the bike right in front of the front door to the supermarket in a brightly lit area. The lock is probably too chunky for bolt cutters so they would have to use an angle grinder. I think they would be crazy to risk it. We'll see ...

I will be carrying the shopping (and lock!) in a rucksack.

 

[Leaway2]

Yes. I use a rucksack. I did have panniers for a while but the zip broke. I have just bought some more, but not sure if I will use them yet, as the rucksac works well.

 

[vickster]

Yep, quite often, I use a rack and the topeak trunk bag with the fold out panniers, can fit a fair amount in, say a full supermarket carrier bag each side. Tend not to cycle back more than a mile (I have full size Tesco, Sainsburys, Asda, Morrisons, all within a mile or so...and a baby Waitrose)

The Abus D lock goes in the trunk part, no concerns leaving bike outside any of the local supermarkets with one of those

Very very rarely use a rucksack, don't like carrying stuff on my back

Bigger shops = car, but even then I'm shopping for one, just bulkier/heavier things like cans of pop, loo paper, washing stuff etc, that's not common in the summer

 

[mustang1]

Top up shopping between main shops done on bike, mainly as a way of digging me out of my pit mid-week if the weather is gloomy and I don't feel like going out. Main shops are done in car or get delivered. The top-up shops can sometimes be two pannier-fulls.

Good idea.

 

[mjr]

Tend not to cycle back more than a mile (I have full size Tesco, Sainsburys, Asda, Morrisons, all within a mile or so...and a baby Waitrose)

Any butchers, greengrocers, etc? To me, one of the best things about shopping by bike is that it makes visiting the specialists easier as I pedal between them and park easily outside each one.

 

[PK99]

Car. Dare not leave the bike outside a shop.

Me too.

Too many people I know have had bikes nicked while out shopping.

 

[confusedcyclist]

Any butchers, greengrocers, etc? To me, one of the best things about shopping by bike is that it makes visiting the specialists easier as I pedal between them and park easily outside each one.

An excellent point, I hadn't considered that!

 

[vickster]

Any butchers, greengrocers, etc? To me, one of the best things about shopping by bike is that it makes visiting the specialists easier as I pedal between them and park easily outside each one.

Not really, no. Occasionally use a greengrocer or a stall, but they, like the butcher, are only open 9-5. Supermarkets are open when I'm not working / commuting. I also live in a built up area with few small food retailers, even fewer with bike parking right outside like the supermarkets. I don't tend to shop in 'specialist' retailers, takes more time and is inconvenient as stated

 

[mjr]

Not really, no. Occasionally use a greengrocer or a stall, but they, like the butcher, are only open 9-5. Supermarkets are open when I'm not working / commuting. I also live in a built up area with few small food retailers, even fewer with bike parking right outside like the supermarkets

And I thought that places near that London would be better with opening times than our backwaters...