On 2017-09-18 08:19, sms wrote:
On 9/17/2017 7:54 AM, Joerg wrote:
Thinking about doing rides farther away without carting the bike there
in my car. Or riding out farther and using a bus for some of the way
back. Buses out here have racks for two bikes up front, like this:

http://www.sacbike.dreamhosters.com/...us_No_2395.jpg


Unfortunately the top-holding bar goes over the front wheel where the
emergency dynamo is on my road bike instead of over the seat. Ok, I
can remove that dynamo. However, both my road bike and my MTB are
"rear-heavy" with panniers that contain lots of water, tools and such.
Are they still safe in those racks?

The other question is, El Dorado Transit and others state to "remove
panniers and other baggage to allow safe operation of the bus". My
panniers look detachable but they are not, there is a lot of stuff
underneath that bolts and cinches them in place.

While panniers that attach with stretch cord or springs will routinely
bounce off on rough roads or trails, there are panniers that don't have
that problem. I use the defunct Kangaroo Baggs which have never fallen
off on rough terrain. They're more of a pain to put on and take off but
not terribly difficult.

Arkel has a camlock system that is secure, and they sell a retrofit kit
for other panniers, see
https://www.arkel-od.com/en/cam-lock-hook-kit-pair.html.


That only works if the cam has good spring action and holds with a lot
of force. Else it'll jump and rattle, and eventually fail. A whole lot
of force. The other problem is the bungee which will allow a loaded
pannier to flop and bang sideways during rough rides. On my MTB 80-90%
of miles are rough.

My panniers have four hooks and I slid in a thick Perspex plate above.
It is nicely rounded so won't chafe. Has two big M6 bolts to a home-made
rack "undercarriage". That way it cannot jump or rattle up an down. The
hooks have thick bicycle tubing over them for nice cushioning. The
bungees are not used but the panniers are solidly affixed to the
vertical struts of the racks.

On the MTB it would take tools and half an hour to assemble and
re-assemble. Not gonna happen, then I keep using my car instead of
changing to public transit.


But if you want panniers that thieves can't easily steal, bolt-on is a
good idea I guess.


They can still easily open them or slit them with a knife. This is why I
never leave the bike unattended. If a store doesn't allow me to carry
the bike inside I will shop elsewhere. This is one reason why I only buy
online at Walmart, not in stores. And only when they free-ship to the
house, no ship-to-store because they made me park the bike outside even
there.

On the road bike the battery for lights and stuff rides in the right
pannier so I'd also have to disconnect that. I was also thinking about
carrying a large drinking water container in the left pannier when I
find one with a fitting shape, with the hose tied to the top tube. That
way I wouldn't have to stop for transfers into the bottle.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/