Honest if you’re doing a big trip, use low-riders, so much better than flappy saddle bag
There’s a 7 days of food jammed in that Viscacha, swift pelican is huuugely roomy
Also aren’t BNA on an anti Ortlieb rant at the moment?
ftfy
Oh, and btw, the swift rear pockets will also carry a beer or the excellent zojirushi thermos.
I have a 16oz, it’s stellar. you may need a 12oz if your bars are crowding up on the back of the bag.
Second thoughts I might just buy some Sport Packer PLus’s’s. At $160 a set they are less than half the equivalent swift bags, due to our exchange rate atm.
Look better, sure, but not $240 bucks better.
love mine. really good. mine are an older model with an external mesh pocket which is excellent for carrying a trowel and tp / d lock / wet stuff to air dry…
I’ve noticed a few online stores have the older ones still (however at pre-lower-distro pricing). Might be worth my while asking if they’ll match the new price.
I do this daily on my Tachyon with a Tubus Tara. No probs whatsoever.
Thanks Blakey and Zach, this is great, photos are excellent to figure things out. I Will definitely talk to Keith about low-rider braze-ons. As for the saddle bag, I’ll see what I do. I love the idea of going matchy-matchy and getting Swift Ind front and back, but the viscacha style is appealing because lighter + I can use it with my MTB. The zeitgeist will need a supporting rack which will add weight + cost.
Droz: I’ve got sport packers too and they are great. Really a no-brainer at that price.
Edit: a few more people have asked me if they can join an order to Swift Ind if I make one, to split postage. If anyone else is interested I’m more than happy yo organise this, just MP me (bear in mind I’m in Canberra though)
What rack are you running up front?
Below are my Ortlieb front rollers on a Pass & Stow rack. I imagine with the absense of a flat bed, you’d easily fit the taller rollers.
Can’t go wrong. Mine have been a big win for the daily grind.
I’m actually just running a cheap Soma Mini Rack up front, which isn’t ideal as it sits high but it is wide enough to take them. I’m tempted to upgrade to a Tubus Tara but I do like having a flat bed of some sort to strap stuff to.
This little thing?
Please don’t put panniers on that, not even little ones.
If you have lowrider mounts (or get the clamp on mounts), get a tara.
Do you have canti posts? get a “nashbar” rack. If you have double eyelets on the fork you might be able to mount the soma to the front/upper eyelet and the tara to the lower/rear eyelet. Mine uses the rear one.
Alright, not Alapproved. Tubus reckoning.
My first real panniers were Ortleib Back/Front Rollers. They’re waterproof, easy to fit/remove and tough. Boring as though. The only problem really was getting the lower hook on the front rollers in the right spot to not pop off over bumps (this happened on the back too, but was more easily solved).
When a rodent chewed through a front roller I replaced them with Carradice Super C front panniers. I love them. They’re not strictly waterproof, but we got properly rained on in NZ and all inside was dry. Take a look at my instagram/#2ndgreatindulgence for the setup. The Super C’s aren’t quite as easy to fit/remove, but they absolutely will not pop off, or rattle, and they don’t need those stupid plastic inserts that the Orleibs have. I believe the fittings are made by Rixen & Kaul or something, so not specific to Carradice. The outside pocket was handy.
My frame bag was a Revelateion too. I carried a 2L bladder in it with the hose poking out the front and over the bars. I bought some stiffer poles in Queenstown and didn’t have anything to fit them in, but they went perfectly along the top tube, strapped on with the frame bag’s velcro.
Lauren ran a Viscacha and it was excellent. It held the tent, 2 mats and 2 pillows, plus a few other bits and pieces. Done up tight, it was easy to forget about. I’ve run a Caradice Camper Long Flap for years. I love it, but it does alter bike handling. On a bike loaded with other stuff I don’t notice it all that much, but on it’s own the difference is significant. It’s massive though. I’ve loaded it with all sorts of crap and it’s handled it excellently.
Thread Dig…
Looking at a handlebar bag for my cross bike so I can stash a camera, some food and spares and came across the Swift stuff. I know we’re talking panniers here, however I’m hoping for some thoughts on the Swift Glacier Ozette Rando or similar.
I’d look at the burrito bag/equivalent if all you want is something lightweight to carry a few supplies
Not going to fuck with handling as much/require a rack/etc
you’ll need a rack for the Ozette. If you’ve got no rack, I’d go for the Paloma (attaches to bar with Klick-Fix system), which is smaller.
Burrito is tiny, and not easily opened/closed while riding. You’d only be able to carry a small camera and you wouldn’t have room for much else.
Bar mounting bags sucks atmo
^ Works for heaps of people I know… easy to install/remove and fine as long as you dont fill your bag with bricks