Aaaaargh!

[daedala]

When you get panniers? Remember to wrangle some kind of secondary attachment, in case the built-in hooks fail. Carabiners are good for this.

This post brought to you by my missing pannier, which disappeared on my first ride with it! Fortunately, the only thing in there was my bike lock, which isn't has hard to replace as the stuff in the other pannier. Grr.

Comments

[darkemeralds]

Well that's just...sucky!

The panniers that I've used have either a hook or a ring at the lower end, which attaches by an elastic cord to the wheel hub. The stretchiness of the cord creates enough tension, presumably, to help hold the pannier on. But I have to admit, it never felt very trustworthy to me.

[daedala]

Yeah, that's how these were hooked on. The bike shop added the hook at the bottom, so I am going to go back, look at them sadly, and maybe they will replace the lock or something; if nothing else, they will know to warn future customers and/or be more careful attaching things.

[darkemeralds]

Along with the sad eyes, you might try something along the lines of, "I shudder to think about what would have happened if my laptop had been in there."

Because really, while you have to be reasonable about loading your panniers, they ARE supposed to safely carry some stuff.

[daedala]

The backpack with my laptop, library books, wallet, keys, and niece's birthday present were all in the other side. :)

I actually think the reason it bounced off was that there was so little in it. Certainly that would be the reason I didn't notice it! The other pannier is a slightly different model of the same brand (I got one covered, one not).

I'm just lucky I was going downtown, where I have a bike locker, instead of somewhere I would have actually needed the lock....

[beachlass]

And also get something easily washable, for the time your kid explodes food in your pannier, doesn't tell you about it, and leaves it to rot on the porch.

[woldy]

Oh dear! I have a fancy Ortlieb office bag that is more securely fastened. I strongly recommend it, especially for carrying a laptop.

[woldy]

Also, I have a bungee net thing on my rack that is literally the best $8 I've ever spent. It's invaluable for when there's something too big to go in my pannier, or when I didn't bring a pannier, and I've carried everything from groceries to a food processor home with it.

[daedala]

I have one of those! They are fantastic!

[dragonfly]

And I am so glad to know about that!

[dragonfly]

And now I have one, too. Thanks for the rec!

[woldy]

I'm glad the suggestion proved useful :-D

[damerell]

Yeah, Ortliebs (and most decent panniers) have a mechanism in the hook that locks down under the rail of the pannier rack, so it can't come off no matter what happens.

[woldy]

The locking thing is very useful, especially if you live in a place with terrible roads and carry your laptop around in the pannier, as I do.

[jld]

I had a pannier part company with the bike the other week because I, uh, hadn't attached the actual hook. It was being a huge pain to get around the axlestuff, and I figured the payload was heavy enough to keep it in place (and I was maybe confusing it with the other one, which is fancier and has a mechanism that goes entirely around the rack rod thing instead of just hanging on top). And then I hit an unusually large bump and it went off with a noticeable clattering noise.

Fortunately, I noticed this immediately and braked hard.

There was another bicyclist behind me, who sounded like they'd learned a lesson in why it's a bad idea to tailgate, although not in either of the obvious dramatically bad ways from what I could tell (i.e., did not hit me, nor was hit by flying pannier / lock / box of socks).

[daedala]

If they were tailgating, they at least deserved to get hit by the socks!

I am glad I am not the only one with pannier disasters. :)

[foxfirefey]

Oh man. I have a set of panniers I love and I DID attach the hook but the hook ended up getting caught on the wheel or something and got wrenched off around around the axle? IT IS STILL THERE. And I need to figure out how to get a new one. The manufacturer's site doesn't look like it sells those as replacement parts. Or maybe figure out something else to attach it?

[daedala]

If you go to a bike store, I am sure they will know what to do! I love bike stores. They're so nice. Even when they screw up and attach your pannier wrong and it escapes.... :)

[vlion]

Yikes! Mine are elastic and pretty securely fastened. I would reckon... 10lb of force is needed. NONETHELESS. I will be very sure to secure them for my next big bouncy & long bike ride.

[daedala]

It was 6 miles on city streets and trails, not long and bouncy. So, so sad. However, the pannier has been replaced, carabiners attached, and all is now well.