# Pannier or Backpack?



## sunawang (Oct 10, 2012)

Pannier or Backpack?. This might a trivial question for experienced cyclists. In fact, a numbers of people still ask the question. It's obviously depend on the loads and distance. But, anyone know how the ideal loads and distance to use a backpack and pannier?

In my assumption, for less than 9lbs loads it's better to use a backpack. And if your ride take more than 1 hour it's great choice to use a pannier as if you stand on your pedal for longer it can cause a backache.

Everyone please tell your experiences here. Thanks


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## PBike (Jul 6, 2007)

sunawang said:


> Pannier or Backpack?. This might a trivial question for experienced cyclists. In fact, a numbers of people still ask the question. It's obviously depend on the loads and distance. But, anyone know how the ideal loads and distance to use a backpack and pannier?
> 
> In my assumption, for less than 9lbs loads it's better to use a backpack. And if your ride take more than 1 hour it's great choice to use a pannier as if you stand on your pedal for longer it can cause a backache.
> 
> Everyone please tell your experiences here. Thanks


Pannier. I would rather have my load in a pannier even if I ride only 15 minutes with 9 pounds. I hate using a backpack.


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## Chris_T (May 7, 2007)

I prefer a backpack for commuting. I use a big Camelbak that can hold tools, tube, rain jacket, and water along with my laptop. Whenever possible I stage clothes ahead of time.

I like the backpack better than panniers because the bike handles better in traffic and on rough roads.


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## wooglin (Feb 22, 2002)

9 pounds is a 12-pack. Messenger bag FTW.


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## InfiniteLoop (Mar 20, 2010)

I have a small leather bag w/ a shoulder strap for my laptop and papers and I'll often throw it over my head, hop on my bike, and go. Like this (though she does it better than me). Photo courtesy Cycle Chic®

View attachment 273036


For heavier loads or more than a 30 or 40 minute ride I'll use my front or rear carrier though on more than a few occasions I've forgotten and ridden an hour or so with my bag over my shoulder.


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## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

Panniers.

Backpacks are for walking.


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## PBike (Jul 6, 2007)

I stand corrected.

View attachment 273082


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## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

PBike said:


> I stand corrected.
> 
> View attachment 273082


I don't know, from the look on her face I'd say that she'd be happier with that big mammer-jammer in a pannier.


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## crank1979 (Sep 9, 2007)

Mine is a 52-60km commute each way taking between 1:20 and 2 hours depending on which way I go. I tried panniers but could never get used to them on the bike. A well adjusted, comfortable back pack isn't a problem at all.


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## brucew (Jun 3, 2006)

I prefer panniers. If it's a choice between the me or the machinery being the mule, I'll stay unencumbered and put the load on the machine, thanks.

The thing to keep in mind about panniers and bike handling is that if a bike isn't made for a rack and panniers, then chances are that adding them will make the bike handle poorly. But it's not the rack and panniers that's at fault, it's the bike's geometry.

I have racks on two bikes. One is an entry-level roadie, with typical roadie angles and 410mm chainstays. Although it came from the factory with eyelets, it's not really happy with panniers, especially when there's more than 10 or 15 pounds on the back. The tail wags the dog.

My other bike was designed as a high-speed drop-bar commuter. It has heavy doses of CX and tourer in its DNA. The more weight I load on the back, the happier and more stable it rides. Handling is unaffected. It doesn't even care if there's 30 pounds on one side and nothing at all on the other. Slacker angles, longer wheelbase, and slightly longer chainstays (420mm) make all the difference. FWIW, this bike is just as fast as my roadies, corners like it's on rails, but it's not quite as quick off the line.

In the end, I think the choice is more personal preference than anything else. If you prefer a backpack, just say so. 

Justifying your choices by making a blanket statement that panniers cause bicycles to handle poorly isn't correct. Yes, they can cause some bicycles to handle poorly--maybe even yours--but some bikes just laugh it off, like that one of mine.


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## brucew (Jun 3, 2006)

velodog said:


> I don't know, from the look on her face I'd say that she'd be happier with that big mammer-jammer in a pannier.


No, I think it's because her coffee cup has no lid and that last bump stained her pants.


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## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

brucew said:


> No, I think it's because her coffee cup has no lid and that last bump stained her pants.


Man, I hate when that happens.


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## InfiniteLoop (Mar 20, 2010)

brucew said:


> The thing to keep in mind about panniers and bike handling is that if a bike isn't made for a rack and panniers, then chances are that adding them will make the bike handle poorly. But it's not the rack and panniers that's at fault, it's the bike's geometry.


Yep +1

Even some bikes supposedly made for carrying stuff don't handle so well. Load an Electra Amsterdam down with 50lbs of stuff and then do the same with any Workcycles or a Trek Cocoa. One of them quickly rises to the top, another comes in a respectable second, and one will scare the beejeebers out of you.


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## Peter P. (Dec 30, 2006)

I can't put a weight number on the tipping point with regard to panniers vs. backpack.

Laptops and other electronics probably wouldn't survive pannier loading as the road bumps may shock the equipment. Backpacks might make you feel hotter in summer months. Panniers require more thought in load balancing.

I preferred panniers for commuting but my backpack came in handy when I carried larger items.


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## InfiniteLoop (Mar 20, 2010)

Peter P. said:


> Laptops and other electronics probably wouldn't survive pannier loading as the road bumps may shock the equipment.


I've carried two laptops all over London, Amsterdam, Brussels, and Minneapolis in the front rack of share bikes without any problems. Might be the lower air pressure in the fatter tires compared to the rock hard pressure some people run though. Even so, I wouldn't strap a cello to a bike - it'd be on my back.


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## Chris_T (May 7, 2007)

brucew said:


> In the end, I think the choice is more personal preference than anything else. If you prefer a backpack, just say so.
> 
> Justifying your choices by making a blanket statement that panniers cause bicycles to handle poorly isn't correct. Yes, they can cause some bicycles to handle poorly--maybe even yours--but some bikes just laugh it off, like that one of mine.


If you are referring to me, I made no such blanket statement. I said "the bike" and by that I meant MY bike. The one I have. Not yours. Not all bikes.

And I did in fact say "I prefer a backpack for commuting."


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## brucew (Jun 3, 2006)

Chris_T said:


> If you are referring to me, I made no such blanket statement. I said "the bike" and by that I meant MY bike. The one I have. Not yours. Not all bikes.
> 
> And I did in fact say "I prefer a backpack for commuting."


Nope. You were clear about that the first time.


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## kennethsross (Jan 12, 2013)

Panniers +1 - Generally because I'll often do grocery shopping on my way home


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## wassler (Oct 25, 2009)

+1 for panniers. Overall i find pannier more convenient. Even for short trip I prefer them over a backpack. Especially when it's warm the panniers are convenient as you can sweat like hell under a backpack. (at least i do)


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## PBike (Jul 6, 2007)

brucew said:


> No, I think it's because her coffee cup has no lid and that last bump stained her pants.


Lol I just got back from a trip and have been reading these posts.


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## sunawang (Oct 10, 2012)

kennethsross said:


> Panniers +1 - Generally because I'll often do grocery shopping on my way home


This is why everyone prefer to a panniers. Especially for a mom. Lol )


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## Keeshimself (Jan 13, 2013)

Backpacks. I prefer the weight on my back.


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## brucew (Jun 3, 2006)

sunawang said:


> This is why everyone prefer to a panniers. Especially for a mom. Lol )


Not everyone. This thread shows there are lots of people who like backpacks or messenger bags.

When you mean to say that you prefer something, don't use the word "everyone".

Although I prefer panniers, I have a backpack that can hold a heluva lot of groceries. Good messenger bags can swallow up a whole case of beer.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

There's no rule. It's individual preference. I hate having any weight on my upper back or shoulders when cycling, especially on a road bike. I use a large lumbar bag (fanny pack) sometimes. Any load more than 2 or 3 pounds, I want it on the rack, whether in panniers or strapped on top.


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## Scott B (Dec 1, 2004)

I like backpacks for errands when I'm on and off of the bike a fair bit. I'll go to the grocery store and regularly carry 25+ pounds home in a packback, but that's only 1-4 miles. I regularly make my 8 mile commute with 8-15 pounds in my backpack.

I like panniers for bigger loads and longer trips. It just depends on the day and the trip. I use both, I like both.

Also, some of my bikes have racks and others don't. Sometimes the pack vs. pannier is decided by which bike I feel like riding.


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## F45 (Nov 25, 2010)

brucew said:


> Nope. You were clear about that the first time.


Look at you, getting all short that the man doesn't like how a bicycle handles with panniers. How do you know what he defines as "poorly"? 

I prefer a backpack. My bicycle handles much better without wind sails or extra pounds being thrown back and forth when out of the saddle. Maybe if I was an old man who plodded along at ten mph I wouldn't notice any of that.


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## Chris_T (May 7, 2007)

F45 said:


> Look at you, getting all short that the man doesn't like how a bicycle handles with panniers. How do you know what he defines as "poorly"?


Thanks for the help but I think Bruce and I have moved on now 

agree with you on panniers v backpack but to each their own.


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## Dfish (Mar 6, 2009)

I've got both but only use my panniers for touring. The backpack is easy to take into the office and I don't have to worry about taking them on/off if I want to go on group ride or something. Comes down to personal preference, I do hate messenger bags though, they never fit me right on or off the bike. 

I ride with the ortlieb velocity and it's been pretty bombproof.


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## kathy20052012 (Jan 9, 2013)

I was firmly in the backpack camp for years. Now I use a trunk bag most days, and add panniers as needed.


_________________

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</tbody>Vietnam tour operators-Halong cruise-Paradise junk Halong bay


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## TomBrooklyn (Mar 15, 2008)

I leave panniers on my bike, and carry my backpack in them. When I arrive I take the backpack with me. If I have the panniers stuffed to capacity, I wear the backpack.

I use a pair of fairly small panniers I got from Nashbar. I put a thin cable affixed with a very small padlock to secure them through a nylon loop on the panniers to the rack. Anybody who wanted to steal the panniers could simply cut the nylon loop; but nobody has been so crass as to do that yet, and I've had them on bike over a year now. That's in Brooklyn and occasionally in Manhattan, with a fair amount of on sidewalk parking.


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## dir-t (Oct 14, 2005)

I live in a smallish town so ALL of my commutes are around 10 miles round trip or less. I prefer a backpack most of the time primarily because,

1) it and all of my tools etc come inside with me when I park the bike

2) during the 90% of the time when I'm not carrying groceries I hate having the extra weight of a rack/panniers on my bike

3) I have a BOB trailer for big grocery buying trips and my backpack works well enough for the smaller trips.


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## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

sunawang said:


> Pannier or Backpack?


Neither, they ain't pro.

Everything goes in my jersey pockets. Gotta keep the bicycle clean.

I can't believe it's been three weeks and no one figured it out. It's one of the rules but I don't have time to look it up.


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