Which Panniers on Your HP Velo SMGT(e)?

Hi, All:

What panniers do you use for the SMGT(e)?

If both back and underseat rack options are available, but only one
needs to be utilized, which should it be? I think I read somewhere
that underseat is preferrable in such a case, owing to lower center of
gravity or some such reason....

I'm thinking about commuting on this if the route(s) are feasible! But
I'll need to lug around each day's office attire, minus shoes (which I
keep on a shelf under the computer desk); hence the panniers....

Also, are HP's "Moonbiker" bags EXACTLY Radical Designs' own
large-sized 'bent bags? Or are they, as per HP's site, specially
designed to fit on HP's back rack...?

And what's this talk about waterproof fabrics still necessitating a
waterproof cover or liner since the bags are stitched and hence may
"leak" all the same???

Etc.

(No, never used panniers in my cycling life before!)


TIA!

NYC XYZ wrote:
Hi, All:

The punctuation in the salutation is odd indeed.

What panniers do you use for the SMGT(e)?

Ask Peter Clinch, Medical Physics IT Officer
University of Dundee Ninewells Hospital
Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK

Or you could just look at his website and read the following:

"I use a pair of Ortlieb lightweight roll-top panniers on the rear and
Altura Orkney universals on the lowriders. The Alturas have lots of
handy pockets for tools and snacks etc, while the Ortliebs are
completely waterproof for major luggage which needs to stay dry, so the
combination of the two works well." -
http://www.personal.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/tourdunord.htm.

If both back and underseat rack options are available, but only one
needs to be utilized, which should it be? I think I read somewhere
that underseat is preferrable in such a case, owing to lower center of
gravity or some such reason....

There is more physical space on the back of the bicycle, so these
panniers could be larger. However, it is generally desirable to keep
the combined rider/bicycle/cargo center of gravity near the midpoint
between the two (2) tire contact patches on a SWB bicycle, so heavier
items are best carried in the underseat panniers.

TIA!

As J. Brandt points out in his inimitable style [2], this should simply
be written as "Thanks".

[1] http://www.ortliebusa.com/.
[2]
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.bicycles.tech/msg/ddcec2c5c2cee388?dmode=source.

--
Tom Sherman

Johnny Sunset aka Tom Sherman wrote:

The punctuation in the salutation is odd indeed.

Standard business format, I thought. Hell, the Germans use exclamation
points!

Ask Peter Clinch, Medical Physics IT Officer
University of Dundee Ninewells Hospital
Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK

Or you could just look at his website and read the following:

"I use a pair of Ortlieb lightweight roll-top panniers on the rear and
Altura Orkney universals on the lowriders. The Alturas have lots of
handy pockets for tools and snacks etc, while the Ortliebs are
completely waterproof for major luggage which needs to stay dry, so the
combination of the two works well." -
http://www.personal.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/tourdunord.htm.

Hehehe...thanks! Now I'll pay more attention to sig lines....

There is more physical space on the back of the bicycle, so these
panniers could be larger. However, it is generally desirable to keep
the combined rider/bicycle/cargo center of gravity near the midpoint
between the two (2) tire contact patches on a SWB bicycle, so heavier
items are best carried in the underseat panniers.

OK!

As J. Brandt points out in his inimitable style [2], this should simply
be written as "Thanks".

OIC!

[1] http://www.ortliebusa.com/.
[2]
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.bicycles.tech/msg/ddcec2c5c2cee388?dmode=source.

LOL!

--
Tom Sherman

THX, CYA L8R!

NYC XYZ wrote:
Johnny Sunset aka Tom Sherman wrote:

The punctuation in the salutation is odd indeed.

Standard business format, I thought. Hell, the Germans use exclamation
points!...

"Hi, All:" is standard business format?

When sending a deliverable to a client, I would not use "Hi, [name]:"
as a salutation in the cover letter - maybe things are done differently
in NYC?

--
Tom Sherman ]

On 2/18/06 10:49 PM, in article
, "NYC XYZ"
wrote:


Hi, All:

What panniers do you use for the SMGT(e)?

If both back and underseat rack options are available, but only one
needs to be utilized, which should it be? I think I read somewhere
that underseat is preferrable in such a case, owing to lower center of
gravity or some such reason....

I'm thinking about commuting on this if the route(s) are feasible! But
I'll need to lug around each day's office attire, minus shoes (which I
keep on a shelf under the computer desk); hence the panniers....

Also, are HP's "Moonbiker" bags EXACTLY Radical Designs' own
large-sized 'bent bags? Or are they, as per HP's site, specially
designed to fit on HP's back rack...?

And what's this talk about waterproof fabrics still necessitating a
waterproof cover or liner since the bags are stitched and hence may
"leak" all the same???

Etc.

(No, never used panniers in my cycling life before!)


TIA!


Recumbent??

BARF!!!!!!!

ST (who?) anonymously snipes:

Recumbent??

BARF!!!!!!!

Recumbent bike/trike riders do not wish to be associated with your
type.

--
Tom Sherman

Johnny Sunset aka Tom Sherman wrote:


"Hi, All:" is standard business format?

You mentioned orthography, so yes, the colon is standard business
format.

When sending a deliverable to a client, I would not use "Hi, [name]:"
as a salutation in the cover letter

Now you're talking content -- in which case, yes, actually, that's
often done too.

- maybe things are done differently
in NYC?

Indeed, you'd wonder how anything ever gets done!

--
Tom Sherman ]

ST wrote:


Recumbent??

BARF!!!!!!!


?

I don't understand. What's so bad about comfort?

Johnny Sunset aka Tom Sherman wrote:

Or you could just look at his website and read the following:

"I use a pair of Ortlieb lightweight roll-top panniers on the rear and
Altura Orkney universals on the lowriders. The Alturas have lots of
handy pockets for tools and snacks etc, while the Ortliebs are
completely waterproof for major luggage which needs to stay dry, so the
combination of the two works well." -
http://www.personal.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/tourdunord.htm.

I think that's a good combo, but not the only thing to look at. One
thing to be sure of is that any panniers you choose will fit on 12mm
racks, as that's what the SMGT uses. I had to replace my old Carradice
panniers as they only go up to 11mm which is fine for most bikes, but
not mine :-(

The Ortliebs are the most user-friendly for fitting and dismounting I've
found, and are at least as good as anything else in terms of quality.
But if you like lots of easy access pockets, not so good. You can get
retrofit detachable pockets for them, but IMHO those aren't as easy to
use as integral zip fastened pockets on the likes of the Alturas.

If both back and underseat rack options are available, but only one
needs to be utilized, which should it be? I think I read somewhere
that underseat is preferrable in such a case, owing to lower center of
gravity or some such reason....

There is more physical space on the back of the bicycle, so these
panniers could be larger. However, it is generally desirable to keep
the combined rider/bicycle/cargo center of gravity near the midpoint
between the two (2) tire contact patches on a SWB bicycle, so heavier
items are best carried in the underseat panniers.

The SMGT will take full size panniers on the lowrdier racks, but of
course "full size" means different things... 20 litre Ortlieb "rear
rollers" will fit, at any rate.

What Tom says above is true but note the "heavier items" bit. Heavy
loads make more sense on the lowriders as they affect handling less
(basically, not at all IME), but if it doesn't weigh too much then
mounting them behind means the seat tends to keep them out of the wind
so your aerodynamics suffer less.

Another option for full-on luggage is a recumbent specific pannier like
the Radicals, or HPVel's Moonbiker bags (actually made for them by
Radical IIRC, though only in Humungous size). Roos uses these on her
Fiero for tours and if you've got a big load they work very well,
allowing the weight to be set under the rider forward of the rear wheel
and being far more aerodynamic than standard panniers. Gotchas are that
you need to use them as a pair and they're a PITA to take on and off.
For the tour described at
http://www.personal.dundee.ac.uk/~pj...tourdunord.htm she just left
them on the bike the whole time and unloaded them into the tent for the
night, rather than remove the panniers. Fortunately the very long zip
access makes this easy to do. You can see pictures of them in action on
those tour pages, where you can see that unlike the twin sets on my SMGT
the Radicals actually make the bike look cooler when they're mounted!

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Thanks again for the advice. Hmm, I wonder why HP's bags cost so much
more than the same ones, really, direct from the manufacturer?

I'll really only be taking along the day's office attire...I suppose
having rear rack bags on either side isn't too much, even for that.
I'm still a bit nervous about just how low the underseat rack hangs! I
don't expect to do any touring for years yet, so I'll probably wind up
removing that underseat rack for now.



Peter Clinch wrote:
Johnny Sunset aka Tom Sherman wrote:

Or you could just look at his website and read the following:

"I use a pair of Ortlieb lightweight roll-top panniers on the rear and
Altura Orkney universals on the lowriders. The Alturas have lots of
handy pockets for tools and snacks etc, while the Ortliebs are
completely waterproof for major luggage which needs to stay dry, so the
combination of the two works well." -
http://www.personal.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/tourdunord.htm.

I think that's a good combo, but not the only thing to look at. One
thing to be sure of is that any panniers you choose will fit on 12mm
racks, as that's what the SMGT uses. I had to replace my old Carradice
panniers as they only go up to 11mm which is fine for most bikes, but
not mine :-(

The Ortliebs are the most user-friendly for fitting and dismounting I've
found, and are at least as good as anything else in terms of quality.
But if you like lots of easy access pockets, not so good. You can get
retrofit detachable pockets for them, but IMHO those aren't as easy to
use as integral zip fastened pockets on the likes of the Alturas.

If both back and underseat rack options are available, but only one
needs to be utilized, which should it be? I think I read somewhere
that underseat is preferrable in such a case, owing to lower center of
gravity or some such reason....

There is more physical space on the back of the bicycle, so these
panniers could be larger. However, it is generally desirable to keep
the combined rider/bicycle/cargo center of gravity near the midpoint
between the two (2) tire contact patches on a SWB bicycle, so heavier
items are best carried in the underseat panniers.

The SMGT will take full size panniers on the lowrdier racks, but of
course "full size" means different things... 20 litre Ortlieb "rear
rollers" will fit, at any rate.

What Tom says above is true but note the "heavier items" bit. Heavy
loads make more sense on the lowriders as they affect handling less
(basically, not at all IME), but if it doesn't weigh too much then
mounting them behind means the seat tends to keep them out of the wind
so your aerodynamics suffer less.

Another option for full-on luggage is a recumbent specific pannier like
the Radicals, or HPVel's Moonbiker bags (actually made for them by
Radical IIRC, though only in Humungous size). Roos uses these on her
Fiero for tours and if you've got a big load they work very well,
allowing the weight to be set under the rider forward of the rear wheel
and being far more aerodynamic than standard panniers. Gotchas are that
you need to use them as a pair and they're a PITA to take on and off.
For the tour described at
http://www.personal.dundee.ac.uk/~pj...tourdunord.htm she just left
them on the bike the whole time and unloaded them into the tent for the
night, rather than remove the panniers. Fortunately the very long zip
access makes this easy to do. You can see pictures of them in action on
those tour pages, where you can see that unlike the twin sets on my SMGT
the Radicals actually make the bike look cooler when they're mounted!

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/