The Minnehaha Canvas Utility Panniers I ordered arrived Friday afternoon, just in time for the Bike Friendly Arlington ride. I took one with me on the ride and had it loaded with essentials and as usual, stuff that I didn't need. I attached it as far back as possible on the rack for maximum heel clearance and took off. I completely forgot it was there which is probably the most complementary thing you can say about a pannier. There was no swaying or sagging despite the excessive gear (for a casual ride). Unfortunately the panniers are sold out at Restoration Hardware. At $27.99 I knew they wouldn't last long. They still have some saddlebags in stock although you might want to hurry.
The quality of these panniers was much better than I expected. I had read people's complaints about problems with heel clearance when using these panniers. I think the longer chainstays kept me from experiencing any problems.
Facebook: To my new Facebook friends, it's pretty obvious that I'm new to this stuff. I haven't picked up on all the do's and don'ts yet so please be patient with me.
Tour of Flanders this Sunday: Even if you're not a pro-cycling fan you're bound to enjoy the Tour of Flanders. The steep climbs up cobbled roads are legendary. The race is even better if the weather gets nasty. As far as I'm concerned this race and the following weekends Paris-Roubaix are the high points of the pro-racing calender.
My favorite place for links to live coverage of most professional races is Steephill.Tv (which is where these images were borrowed. I hope they don't get angry).
Stijn Devolder, former Belgian national champ. This guy is awesome!
This is about the only race where you'll see pros running their bikes uphill.
Just as long as you don't hotlink the images I doubt they'd mind.
ReplyDeleteThe pannier looks good on your bike. I've got a pannier on my bike now since I got back from the grocery. I'm using it for my commute tomorrow and I've got to be careful not to put too much stuff in it (that's one reason I took off my rack trunk - packed full of stuff I don't need).
ReplyDeleteIs that a shoulder strap hanging around the bottom of the pannier? That would make it doubly handy!
twister-Thanks. Don't need any problems with my favorite procycling site.
ReplyDeleteBig Oak-That is a shoulder strap. The pannier works pretty well as a shoulder bag. I'm going to pick up a longer, wider strap from the Army surplus store.
Myles,
ReplyDeleteThat pannier looks really nice. Is that duck water resistant? Is the shoulder strap not wide enough? Is that why you are planning to buy one from the Military Surplus store?
Peace :)
BTW, thanks for the heads-up on the Minnehaha sale at Resto Hardware. I grabbed a Medium Saddlebag for $38.00 ppd. Pretty cool bag at a really reasonable price.
ReplyDeleteman, thanks for the heads up on the spring classics! that's awesome they're streaming on the internets machine.
ReplyDelete