Luggage ... ?

[pooh]

Ideas on the best type/combination of luggage/pannier?

I'm not doing a big tour anytime soon as I'm fairly new to Adventure riding, but having done many long term adventures round the globe of varying types including a 4x4 Trans-Africa top to bottom, the amount of gear required was phenominal! (however I'm the sort that takes the kitchen sink with me

I currently have plastic Givi topbox and panniers. I want a practical set I can live with for the odd day-trip, but also for doing a proper tour as & when.

I could just stay with the Givi, but the metal cases (touratech etc..) seem to be popular.

Noticed in some photos on here that some of you just have the panniers with no topbox?

[twinadventurer]

Hi Pooh (what a name hey!)

Welcome to the wonderful world of adventure biking, it gives a great feeling of freedom!

I have only had the Touratech metal panniers and can say that they are great.

- They're easy to fit and use,
- They're secure and lockable,
- They don't break when bike is dropped. If they bend a little, they are easy to work on,
- They're easy to remove and take with you, if needed,
- As they are square, they tend to be easier to fit more into than rounded panniers,
- The mountings are replaceable and relatively cheap,
- Weight is low down near centre of gravity so bike is well balanced.
- They double up as other things such as being able to carry water, a chair to sit on, the lids can be used as a tray or big bowl (for a pannier salad! )

So in my experience, I have had nothing but pleasure from them. A good Ortlieb 90 L roll bag is a good accessory to go with them as it fits snugly over the top of them. This gives plenty of space for packing even the kitchen sink! If you have the rollbag, there is not really a need for a topbox, though you could substitute the roll bag for a topbox and lose some capacity.

Good luck with your purchase!

[willb]

Hi Pooh.

Welcome to the forum and stuff.

I have Touratech panniers, which the previous owner had. The bike had seen a fairly major tour and he'd had a couple of offs, so my panniers have the gnarly look of serious use. They seem to have battered back into shape quite well though.

I also have a topbox, but I am planning in keeping this empty on any trips I go on, with the aim of keeping it free for putting my helmet/jacket un whilst parked up.

If you want to have a look at them let me know. I may be heading off to the suffolk/norfolk coast in a couple of weeks to test out the whole biking+camping combo.

Will

[xrv_jim]

Given the fact that you're not planning a massive trip and you've already got the Givi boxes, I'd use them instead of laying out £500 plus on TT Zega boxes/rack.

[willb]

Sorry, somehow managed to miss the fact you had Givi boxes! Shows how good my observational skills are.

If you've already got Givi boxes you should be fine, although you are still welcome to see the TT ones if you want.

A mate of mine has been away to Europe with Givi boxes on his AT, he had no probs.

[mladen]

Hi Pooh (what a name hey!)

Welcome to the wonderful world of adventure biking, it gives a great feeling of freedom!

I have only had the Touratech metal panniers and can say that they are great.

- They're easy to fit and use,
- They're secure and lockable,
- They don't break when bike is dropped. If they bend a little, they are easy to work on,
- They're easy to remove and take with you, if needed,
- As they are square, they tend to be easier to fit more into than rounded panniers,
- The mountings are replaceable and relatively cheap,
- Weight is low down near centre of gravity so bike is well balanced.
- They double up as other things such as being able to carry water, a chair to sit on, the lids can be used as a tray or big bowl (for a pannier salad! )

So in my experience, I have had nothing but pleasure from them. A good Ortlieb 90 L roll bag is a good accessory to go with them as it fits snugly over the top of them. This gives plenty of space for packing even the kitchen sink! If you have the rollbag, there is not really a need for a topbox, though you could substitute the roll bag for a topbox and lose some capacity.

Good luck with your purchase!

I have a question about the TT panniers. I have their chatalogue, but it is in german, as you can see, my english is not good, my german don't even exist.
There are two wideness of the AT with panniers mentioned in the catalogue, I think one is 97cm and one is 103cm or something like that. Do you know why?

[Maverick]

There are two wideness of the AT with panniers mentioned in the catalogue, I think one is 97cm and one is 103cm or something like that. Do you know why?

Yes the 97 cm = 36 liters of space and the 103cm = 41 liters of space.

The general idea was to have a 36 liter box on the exhaust side and the 41 liter on the other side so from the rear it will be equally spaced away from the bike making it easier supposedly to manouvre through traffic. It is not a hard or fast rule as you can buy which ever sizes you want to.

I have the above setup and very happy with it



If I was travelling alone would just buy the two 36 liter boxes

[mladen]

Thanks for the answer!

So, if I understand correctly, if you have one box 41l and one 36l then the wideness is 97cm?

[pooh]

Thanks WillB. Much appreciated. If you do end up down my neck of the woods I'll gladly meet up for a natter. I've just bought some camping gear and gonna head out this weekend for a trip.

Hey twinadventurer

Pooh's an unfortunate nickname I've been stuck with for a long time

Your'e a star. Think You answered everything there. I've started to plan a few bike trips now. Holland next month, Morocco again after Xmas and then Greece so the advice is very handy.

My dilema was whether to have a topbox with the panniers or as you've suggested a rollbag? Have you found this a better option? I guess with a roll bag you can take personal gear with you when you have to leave the bike.

Cheers

[twinadventurer]

Tigger, sorry, Pooh

Whether you have a roll bag or topbox is a personal choice I think. Top boxes can, I suppose, double up as backrest, helmet/jacket storage.

But, depending on the purpose of their use, it's a choice you'll have to make. Personally, I was buying my AT for a particular trip and had to think of practicallity. Carrying a tent, sleeping bag, etc is not so easy in a top box! Also the centre of gravity of a topbox vs a rollbag is quite different.

Rollbags can also be 90 litre capacity, compared with a 40 litre topbox. When you are carrying your "entire household" it might just give you the extra capacity you need.

Here is Australia top boxes are popular, as are the Ventura Rack, which seems to be an almost standard feature! But if you load it up a bit too much, I am sure it can't do much for your rear framework, let alone the handling of the bike.

Perhaps try to work out what you'd like to take on a given trip, then work out how it fits (backpacks usually have a Litre capacity you can measure against). If you need say 150 litres, then do the maths!