As a new ebike owner, I’m in the market for panniers. I want to take home a large load of groceries. My bike has a rear rack and a front rack built into the frame. My current solution is a grocery tote box and cargo net. The whole setup is about $30, so you can’t beat the price.
But the rear rack is narrow and lacks good places for the cargo net hooks. So I got a rear basket and mounted it on top of the rear rack. This makes the tote box more stable. But some panniers would lower the gravity of the load, and theoretically make the bike more stable. So I went internet shopping.
I want panniers that are open on the top so I can just dump in a load of groceries. I don’t want to bother with rolling the top open, and I’m not going to be biking to the store in a storm, so I don’t care about waterproof.
My bike has the rear rack build into the frame, with thick tubing for the rack and a narrow slot for a bungee hook. It’s nice the rack is built in to the frame, but it also means there aren’t as many rails and attachment points as an add-on rack would have. There’s also a single vertical rail holding the rack up, so there’s less to keep a bag from rocking into the rear wheel. This just makes it more difficult to tell which panniers will mount securely to my bike.
Below are my contenders for grocery-store panniers. If you’re traveling elsewhere–if you’re going to work instead of the grocery store–there are lots of other bags that would serve you better. And I don’t even know for sure that all these fit well. The hook on the Banjo Brothers looks like it wouldn’t fit. The Arkel has enough info on their site to make me think it would fit. The rest that have hooks that attach to the bottom of the rack…who knows?
I’m going to try out the Inertia Designs Metro. I like the adjustable hooks, and it looks sturdier than most. It’s on the pricier side. If I don’t like it I’ll probably go for the Bushwhacker Omaha. Those look decent and are well-reviewed. I might just order the Omahas so that I can compare them to the Metros in person and return one.
| Name | Amazon | Quantity | Price (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arkel Shopper | N/A | 1 | $150 |
| Banjo Brothers | 4.4 (153) | 1 | $60 |
| Bike Mule | 4.1 (106) | 2 | $70 |
| Bushwhacker Omaha | 4.6 (905) | 2 | $70 |
| Inertia Designs Metro | 4.0 (17) | 1 | $80 |
| OutWurx | N/A | 2 | $70 |
| Vincita Jess | 4.6 (31) | 1 | $56 |
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Novel attachment clips. Clips to the top of the rack only, no bungee for lower rack. Collapsable, open-top, with sewn-in cinch top.
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The hook on the bungee is flat and wide, and is a poor fit for my bike. Collapsable, open-top.
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Asymmetric mounting hooks, for dedicated left/right bags. Theoretically keeps it out of the way of your feet as you pedal. Collapsable, open-top.
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Standard clips and bungee attachments. Collapsable, open-top.
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Rack clips are adjustable fore and aft. Has a metal frame that I can’t quite figure out from the pictures. Collapsable, open-top.
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No Amazon reviews. Hooks and bungee attachment. Bungee hook is rubberized (a nice touch). Collapsable, open-top, with insert bags.
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No attachment info on site. You can catch a glimpse of the hooks on YouTube. Is there a bungee hook? Insulated bags which fold closed on top.