Velogear Blog

What is a pannier rack?

A bike pannier rack is a alloy or steel frame that you can attach to the back of your bike frame. It hangs over the rear wheels and you can then attach panniers to the side and trunk bags on top of the bike rear rack. Tourers also use a front pannier rack for extra storage.

A quality pannier rack and panniers is very important and sometimes it is well worth spending a bit more to get the best gear.

Bicycle pannier racks need to be seriously strong. If you are bouncing down a rough track the last thing you want is a disaster with your gear. At Velogear we stock high quality pannier racks to suit your budget and to suit all types of bikes.

Fitting issues
Most modern general style bikes come standard with two pairs of rack mounting holes on the frame. One pair is on the frame just above the rear axle – the legs of the rack screw in there. The other pair are on the frame about 80-120mm below the seat – you attach the arms of the rack to these points.

 Some bikes however lack a set or both sets of mounting points. It is still easy to fit a rack – see below

Q. I do not have any mounting holes on my bike for the rack arms, what can I do?
A. a) If you have a quick release seat clamp you could try attaching the rack arms to either side of the seat post clamp.
      b) Otherwise you will need to buy a pair of small U brackets from your local bike store or hardware. The U must be the same diameter as the frame where you wish to fit the arms to. The bottom part of the U is coated in plastic to prevent scratching, the top part of the U has a hole in each side – through which you pass a bolt and to which you then attach the rack arms! As you tighten up the bolt the U bracket squeezes shut and will not slide on the bike frame – thus becoming the anchor point for the rack arms.

Q. I do not have any rack mounting holes, what can I do?
A. You can still fit a rack to a bike with no rack mount points – simply follow answer b) above for both the rack arms and legs – buy attaching the U brackets for the rack legs to each side of the frame, just above the axle.

Packing your panniers can be complicated, especially when you do it for the first time.

Once you start touring you will quickly discover what works for you and what doesn’t. But until then here are some tips to help.

1. Organise & Categorise – Panniers have a natural tendecy to ast like bottomless pits, where the most important items always get stuck down the bottom of the pannier. That is the last thing you want during a storm, when you are trying to find your wet weather gear.

Start by organising your things into categories. Put all the food, cooking gear and tools & spare parts into one bag. Your clothes and sleeping gear into another bag. Fixing a tyre for example will take far less time if your spare tubes, puncture kits and tyre levers are all in the same section.

2. Balance The Weight – Your bicycle should be well balanced, from side to side and from front to back. A lopsided bike will be difficult to steer, and thus dangerous to ride. Uneven weight also puts unnecessary pressure on the racks and frame of the bike.

3. Pack Important Items On Top – Think about what you are likely to need during the day and then put these things near the top of the pannier, where they can be easily accessed. Rain gear, snakcs, and tool kits generally fall under this category. We strongly recommend a handlebar bag for storing items such as your phone, wallet, camera and maps.

4. Bulky Items Go Outside The Bike Panniers – Not everything has to go inside your bicycle panniers. Bulky items such as tents can be strapepd on top of the rear pannier bags. To make this waterproof store inside a garbage bag.

5. Leave Extra Space – There is always something you will pick up along the way, whether it’s a souvenir you pick up or extra food and water for particularly remote stretches. If your bags are bursting before you leave, they are too full!

6. Protect Sensitive Things – Some things don’t do well with the bumpy nature of bike travel. Anything liquid like cooking oils, honey and shampoo should all go in the strongest container you can find, and stand it upright in your pannier. Place any electronics in a soft padded case, and place between clothes for extra protection.

At Velogear we sell a wide range of panniers. To help choose the perfect pannier for you we have come up with some handy tips to help your decision making process.

What is the sole purpose of your bicycle panniers?

Shopping – We stock a few stylish shopping panniers.

Commuting or Day Tours – You will find anything from a size 14L pannier to 50L will be extremely sufficinet for these needs. These bags will fit things like computers, folders and items suitable for day trips.

Touring – Anything from a size 32L to our largest size 68L will suffice. If you need more room you can always purchase handlbar bags for easy access items, trunk bags and a saddle bag to store your tools and spare tubes. The more expensive bike panniers have more positive systems to hold them securely on the rack and are made from heavier duty material.

Things to consider when purchasing a touring bike pannier:

• Lightweight materials – At Velogear we stock a range of pannier bags from lightweight to the slightly more heavier duty pannier bags to cover all your needs.
• Reflection – Majority of our panniers have some sort of reflection strip or safely riding at night.
• Sturdiness – As with most products, the more you pay the better the quality is. So our more expensive bike panniers are super sturdy as the are held in place by pannier hooks AND a locking device for maximum safety.
• Waterproof – If you want this extra featuer then you will have to pay that little bit more. However, if you want to save some bucks, line your bicycle pannier with garbage bags or shopping bags to keep everything dry.

More quick tips:

• On longer trips, use front and rear panniers to distribute the weight evenly over both wheels.
• Avoid overloading handlebar bags, which can impair sterring. You can distribute the weight with a set of trunk bags or small pannier bags.
• When packing your pannier remember to leave items such as maps, snacks, water and waterproof items at the top for easy access.

There’s a wide variety of pannier and bag products to suit your own individual cycling need.

Pannier Racks : these are alloy or steel frames that are attached to the back of the bike frame and hang over the rear wheel. Tourers may also use front pannier racks.

Panniers – 30-50L capacity : pannier bags hang onto pannier racks, over the sides of the rear and/or front wheels. They come in various designs and generally have a big capacity and are perfect for shopping,commutting to work and multi-day touring.

Trunk Bags – 6-12L capacity : rear rack bags sit on top of a rear pannier rack. Moderate capacity with low wind resistance. Some models have small panniers on the side to expand storage room. Ideal for day tours they keep your gloves, rain jacket, lunch, phone, wallet and spare drinks on hand.

Handlebar Bags – 2-4L capacity : attach directly to your handlebars. They keep your map, snacks, phone, rainjacket and wallet within reach. Ideal for day tours.

Saddle Bags – 0.2 to 0.8L capacity : are small capacity bags that fit under your bike seat. Smaller road bike versions can be wedge shaped to fit under a narrow race bike seat (reducing risk of chafing),whilst larger mountain and hybrid bike bags can come with an expandable pocket to increase storage. Great for storing your key,phone, spare tube and change.

Tool Bottles – 0.3 to 0.6L capacity : provide the same function as a small saddle bag, but fit into a bottle cage holder.

Waist Packs – 1-3L capacity : also known as bum bags are worn around the waist and useful for day trips when you are on and off the bike a lot.

Hydration Packs – 1 to 6L capacity : worn like backpacks and their main function is to store water so you can drink without taking your hands off the handlebars-generally offer limited storage capacity.

Backpacks – 15-30L capacity : most small backpacks offer good storage capacity and are suitable for cycling. Some models are cycle specific and offer features such as inbuilt hydration packs and helmet storage.

Bike Baskets – 8 to 16L capacity : exist basically in two types. Front baskets & Rear baskets. The front basket attaches to your handlebar, whilst the rear basket requires a rear pannier rack. Both types have versions that have Q/R (or Quick Release) brackets so that you can readily remove the basket for shopping. Bicycle baskets ar generally made from wire, plastic coated wire or natural cane wicker.

In  future articles we shall discuss the pros and cons of each of these products groups.