Panniers
Pannier is a fancy French word for basket, but the high-tech and extremely well made panniers available today are a far cry from a simple basket.
It's a good thing well made panniers are available. Of course you can always find a cheaper brand and they might even suffice for the occasional short bike trip, but when tackling a large part of the world on a long-term expedition it is wise to get the best. After all, these simple bags hold your entire worldy posessions while on the road. They are your living room, kitchen, and storage shed.
As I am sharing my around the world adventure with the world via a blog my panniers have to be sturdy and waterproof enough to protect not just my clothing and camping supplies but also a very expensive notebook computer and a digital SLR camera with extra lenses! Definitely not the time to save a hundred dollars on less expensive models.
Bicycles for touring are generally outfitted with a set of panniers on the rear, one on each side, and also a set on the front. Additional bags may be attached behind the saddle or in front of the handlebars. After extensive research online, reading reviews, and picking the brain of biking friends I chose for the rear of my bicycle a pair of Bike Packer Plus panniers made by Ortleib. They have huge capacity, are waterproof, and extremely durable. Tim and Cindy Travis have toured on bicycles for the past seven years non-stop and Tim says "My Ortlieb panniers were the only set of bags that did not fail at some point. I am still using them years later and believe that they may last for many more years to come".
It's a good thing well made panniers are available. Of course you can always find a cheaper brand and they might even suffice for the occasional short bike trip, but when tackling a large part of the world on a long-term expedition it is wise to get the best. After all, these simple bags hold your entire worldy posessions while on the road. They are your living room, kitchen, and storage shed.
As I am sharing my around the world adventure with the world via a blog my panniers have to be sturdy and waterproof enough to protect not just my clothing and camping supplies but also a very expensive notebook computer and a digital SLR camera with extra lenses! Definitely not the time to save a hundred dollars on less expensive models.
Bicycles for touring are generally outfitted with a set of panniers on the rear, one on each side, and also a set on the front. Additional bags may be attached behind the saddle or in front of the handlebars. After extensive research online, reading reviews, and picking the brain of biking friends I chose for the rear of my bicycle a pair of Bike Packer Plus panniers made by Ortleib. They have huge capacity, are waterproof, and extremely durable. Tim and Cindy Travis have toured on bicycles for the past seven years non-stop and Tim says "My Ortlieb panniers were the only set of bags that did not fail at some point. I am still using them years later and believe that they may last for many more years to come".
Note that in addition to all of the above features they weigh only 4 Lbs., 9 Oz. and have an amazing capacity of 3,051 cubic inches per pair!
For the front wheel I have chosen Ortleibs Backroller Classic panniers made in a similar fashion to the Bike Packers. Wayne at The Touring Store says " If you are touring in the tropics in the rainy season, these are the panniers you want"! Wayne adds that they "may even keep your gear dry during stream crossings when properly closed".
These panniers provide an additional capacity of 2,441 cubic inches for a total of 5,492 cubic inches! Ortleib has these models available in a selection of colors and other sizes at REI!
My panniers are a bit larger than most folks would use. The Backrollers are indeed normally used on the back but I am attaching them on the front with the larger Bike Packer pair on the rear. Shorter trips would typically require less gear and I also intend to roll around the world at a slower pace than many bicyclists would like. I tend to not be too concerned with speed or daily distance as I am more about enjoying the scenery, squeezing the most pleasure out of the ride, and going at a leisurely enough pace to meet people and see the sights.
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