Currently using a 20 litre backpack and arriving with a completely soaked back, which is fine in December and grim in July. Panniers mean buying a rack and bags for something like 150, and my building has no lift so I'd be carrying the bags up three flights anyway. 11km each way, five days a week, laptop plus a change of clothes plus lunch. Is the rack worth it?
The other thing that kills the sweaty back is leaving clothes at work. I keep five shirts and a pair of shoes in a drawer and cycle in what I'd wear anyway. Suddenly the bag is a laptop and a sandwich, and at that point the backpack is fine.
Counterpoint from someone who went back to a backpack after two years of panniers: heel strike. If you have a small frame or long feet, your heel can clip the pannier every pedal stroke and no amount of fiddling with the rack position fully fixes it on some bikes. Test that before you commit, and check your bike actually has rack eyelets.
Good flag. Size 46 feet and a smallish frame, so I'll measure before ordering the rack.
A rack with a rearward mounting position or a longer bracket usually buys enough clearance. Worth asking a shop rather than guessing.
Worth saying that a rack also unlocks a top box or a crate for the days you need to bring something awkward. That flexibility is half the value and nobody mentions it in the pannier versus backpack debate.
@quiet_stacker · 10mo ago · 3 replies
Rack, without hesitation, at 11km five days a week. The sweaty back thing isn't a comfort detail, it's the reason people quit commuting in summer. Weight on the bike also means you stop feeling the ride as work, which sounds like marketing until you've done it.
On the stairs: get one good 20-25 litre pannier with a shoulder strap rather than a matched pair. It clips off in two seconds, carries like a bag, and one is plenty for a laptop, clothes and lunch. A pair is for shopping.
A rack and one decent waterproof pannier is closer to 100 than 150 if you're not fussy about the brand, and the rack will outlast the bike.
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@printbed_gremlin · 10mo ago
Single pannier with a strap solves the exact thing I was worried about. Ordered.
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@two_stroke_tess · 10mo ago
Make sure the hooks match your rack tube diameter before ordering. Most are fine but the cheap ones sometimes don't fit larger tubing and it's a miserable discovery in the car park.
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