Panniers for school books?

[I did a search of the rec.bicycles.misc archives w/o finding quite the
answer I'm
looking for -- if I used the wrong search terms (panniers, books,
school) then I may have overlooked a commonly-discussed thread. If so,
please point me to it.]

I have a beater bike with an aluminum rear rack. The weather is getting
nice and I'd like to use it to commute to school. What's a nice setup
for carrying school books, etc., on a bike? Something that can detach
easily and pass as a backpack or messenger bag?

OTOH, how about that milk-crate-strapped-to-the-rack "system"? -- is there
a consensus about whether it's a good all-round solution?

--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
VW 71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
VW 84 Westphalia: "Mellow Yellow (The Electrical Banana)"
KG6RCR

Michael Elliott wrote:
[I did a search of the rec.bicycles.misc archives w/o finding quite
the
answer I'm
looking for -- if I used the wrong search terms (panniers, books,
school) then I may have overlooked a commonly-discussed thread. If
so,
please point me to it.]

I have a beater bike with an aluminum rear rack. The weather is
getting
nice and I'd like to use it to commute to school. What's a nice setup
for carrying school books, etc., on a bike? Something that can detach
easily and pass as a backpack or messenger bag?

OTOH, how about that milk-crate-strapped-to-the-rack "system"? -- is
there
a consensus about whether it's a good all-round solution?

--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
VW 71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
VW 84 Westphalia: "Mellow Yellow (The Electrical Banana)"
KG6RCR


You could try those smaller panniers that are attached to a carry
hook that straps on top of the rack and you can use velcro to snap it
on or off. and you can carry it like a plastic bag with straps.

Kevin

On Mon, 14 Mar 2005 13:05:34 -0800 in rec.bicycles.misc, Michael
Elliott wrote:

I have a beater bike with an aluminum rear rack. The weather is getting
nice and I'd like to use it to commute to school. What's a nice setup
for carrying school books, etc., on a bike? Something that can detach
easily and pass as a backpack or messenger bag?

your want a rear rack duffle that can expand. i used to carry a
day's worth of textbooks and sometimes a laptop in one, along
with lunch.

take a look at
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...eid=&pagename=

OTOH, how about that milk-crate-strapped-to-the-rack "system"? -- is there
a consensus about whether it's a good all-round solution?

if you need to haul serious groceries or laundry, get some "town
bags" like
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...eid=&pagename=

you can ride with them collapsed when they're empty. they work
best on front racks IMHO.

unless it's strictly a training ride, the rack duffle goes with
me everywhere i ride, schlepping cameras, pocket stuff, mail,
books, lunches, even file folders. the outside pockets carry
headlights, tire guage, some clif bars, hand lotion...

it's big enough i can stuff the helmet inside when empty, and my
short pump fits in the top. it comes with a shoulder strap with
rudimentary cushion, but i borrowed a leather one with swivels
off an old briefcase that works better for me.

i used it quite a bit in france during last summer's tour. this
is my second one; the first one lasted 9 years of almost daily
use.

"Michael Elliott" wrote in message
...
[I did a search of the rec.bicycles.misc archives w/o finding quite the
answer I'm
looking for -- if I used the wrong search terms (panniers, books,
school) then I may have overlooked a commonly-discussed thread. If so,
please point me to it.]

I have a beater bike with an aluminum rear rack. The weather is getting
nice and I'd like to use it to commute to school. What's a nice setup
for carrying school books, etc., on a bike? Something that can detach
easily and pass as a backpack or messenger bag?



My son regularly commutes the 13 miles to college on his bike. He uses a
tourer with rear rack. He uses bungee cords to strap his bag full of
books/change of clothes etc to the rack. He uses one of these...

http://www.fieldandtrek.com/product.asp?pf_id=13552&sfile=1&filter_cat=EQUITRA VLUGG&manufacturer_id=LGT&cid=KWUL2GR3LIDET6968KQF 3QPPEE2LOHRO&cid=KWUL2GR3LIDET6968KQF3QPPEE2LOHRO

He won't use panniers.

Having weighed the bag fully loaded with his stuff, it's about 20lbs, so
pretty good resistance training over the winter months ;-) On the plus side,
the rear handle can take a LED light, so it's helpful with visibility in the
dark.

Cheers, helen s




OTOH, how about that milk-crate-strapped-to-the-rack "system"? -- is there
a consensus about whether it's a good all-round solution?

--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
VW 71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
VW 84 Westphalia: "Mellow Yellow (The Electrical Banana)"
KG6RCR

Michael Elliott wrote:
[I did a search of the rec.bicycles.misc archives w/o finding quite
the
answer I'm
looking for -- if I used the wrong search terms (panniers, books,
school) then I may have overlooked a commonly-discussed thread. If
so,
please point me to it.]

I have a beater bike with an aluminum rear rack. The weather is
getting
nice and I'd like to use it to commute to school. What's a nice setup
for carrying school books, etc., on a bike? Something that can detach
easily and pass as a backpack or messenger bag?

OTOH, how about that milk-crate-strapped-to-the-rack "system"? -- is
there
a consensus about whether it's a good all-round solution?

I think the milk-crate-strapped(bolted)-to-rack is the best overall
solution. You need to put some sort of cross member underneath to
support the bottom.

I put my stuff in my backpack, throw my backpack in the milk crate;
when I get to where I'm going, lock the bike (keep lock in crate, too),
& put the backpack on. Simple. The milk crate is also much easier to
toss stuff in for errands than fussing with strapping to a rack.

Fold-out "shopping bag" panniers work pretty well, too. They're
basically canvas/cordura bags with a folding frame that hooks to the
rack. You can fold them flat when empty and carry them off the bike
when full with their loop handles. OK for shopping, probably not that
great for books-to-school.

wafflycat wrote:
"Michael Elliott" wrote in message
...
[I did a search of the rec.bicycles.misc archives w/o finding quite
the
answer I'm
looking for -- if I used the wrong search terms (panniers, books,
school) then I may have overlooked a commonly-discussed thread. If
so,
please point me to it.]

I have a beater bike with an aluminum rear rack. The weather is
getting
nice and I'd like to use it to commute to school. What's a nice
setup
for carrying school books, etc., on a bike? Something that can
detach
easily and pass as a backpack or messenger bag?



My son regularly commutes the 13 miles to college on his bike. He
uses a
tourer with rear rack. He uses bungee cords to strap his bag full of
books/change of clothes etc to the rack. He uses one of these...


http://www.fieldandtrek.com/product.asp?pf_id=13552&sfile=1&filter_cat=EQUITRA VLUGG&manufacturer_id=LGT&cid=KWUL2GR3LIDET6968KQF 3QPPEE2LOHRO&cid=KWUL2GR3LIDET6968KQF3QPPEE2LOHRO

He won't use panniers.

Having weighed the bag fully loaded with his stuff, it's about 20lbs,
so
pretty good resistance training over the winter months ;-) On the
plus side,
the rear handle can take a LED light, so it's helpful with visibility
in the
dark.

Cheers, helen s


This has been something I have been thinking about as well. I take
courses during the summer and I think this year I will ride my bicycle
on campus. They hand out parking tickets like crazy and there is not
enough parking. Plus I hate to spend money on a yearly basis parking
permit when I only take classes during the summer. Don't ask why a 50
year old is back in school either. It was a brainstorm I had a few
summers ago. I have an associates degree, but not my Bachelors. I
wanted to finish what I started. If I do take my bike this year I
definately need to lug alot of junk with me. I know I did a bad thing
when I threw my shopping bag over my handlebars, so I have to figure
out what to do before the summer session starts. Sounds like the
pannier might be the way to go. First I have to figure out what a
pannier is. ;-)
All Good Things,
Maggie

I commuted by bike for most of my Jr.High (secondary school) and all of
my high school days, and any tech/trade school I took. Unless you have a
lot of books (do they still use those in school these days?), a simple
knapsack strapped to the rack is usually sufficient. When you get to
school, just unstrap it and throw it on your back and off you go.

If you have to carry more, than a cardboard box ("milk crate") strapped
to the rack will work fine. For a LOT of stuff, use panniers. Too much
weight on the rack could destabilize the bike.

- -

"May you have the winds at your back,
And a really low gear for the hills!"

Chris Zacho ~ "Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"

Chris'Z Corner
http://www.geocities.com/czcorner

On Mon, 14 Mar 2005 13:05:34 -0800, Michael Elliott wrote:

OTOH, how about that milk-crate-strapped-to-the-rack "system"? -- is
there a consensus about whether it's a good all-round solution?

The milk crates solution rocks!

Well it does in the sense that it's virtually theft proof and sturdy. The
center of gravity is a bit high.

I've got a set of those open top cordura shopping baskets that hang from
your rack (nashbar has 'em for under a twenty) and they work great.

If I'm going to be on and off my bike a lot with an under 20lb. load in
the city, I usually just grab my ginormous timbuk2 messenger bag--a little
uncomfortable, but efficient.

On Tue, 15 Mar 2005 00:17:50 -0800, Kev wrote:

You could try those smaller panniers that are attached to a carry
hook that straps on top of the rack and you can use velcro to snap it on
or off. and you can carry it like a plastic bag with straps.

Yeah those are great--similar to what everybody in Amsterdam uses which is
basically just old fashioned saddle bags of nylon or canvas that hang over
the top of the rack with a handle in the middle instead of having to be
"clipped" on.

I wouldn't mind a set of those myself...

In article . com,
"Maggie" writes:

First I have to figure out what a
pannier is. ;-)

It's a cargo-carrying thing that attaches to either a
rear or front rack on a bike. Sometimes they're single
units, but panniers often come as pairs.

The next thing is to figure out how to pronounce it.
I go along with 'PAN-year'.

For pronouncing 'coyote' I opt for the British Columbia
interior's colloquial 'KY-oot'.

Getting back on topic, I think the Original Poster of this
thread would be best served by either the milk crate and
backpack combination suggested by Peter Cole, or perhaps
by one of those removable rack trunks that converts into a
backpack. Panniers can be a hassle with the attaching and
removing that would be necessary with parking bike at a school.

One advantage of milk crates over panniers or rack trunks is,
you can pack a small or large (but not medium) take-out pizza.


cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca