On Sun, Jan 4, 2009 at 10:25 PM, scott <clankbonesh...@gmail.com> wrote: > > That is a bummer as there aren't really any canvas panniers on the > market right now. The Berthouds are too expensive for me. The > Carradice panniers are available in England, but I'm not totally > excited by the Super C bags. Ostrich looks nice, but availability? > Minnihaha panniers look like they might not hold up on a tour or to > time for that matter. Frost River is gone. What else is there? Acorn > mentioned something on the horizon. Velo Orange plans on something. > But the market is pretty dead right now. There are a number of small > operations around the country sewing handmade messenger bags and > cycling caps that seem to do good business in that niche, so I wonder > why very few have turned to traditional bicycle luggage. Acorn has to > stop taking orders in under two days now the orders come so briskly, > and they manage to keep their prices very low and quality very high, > in my opinion, so I guess the whole point to my little pannier rant is > I hope some other options present themselves. Oh, and by the way, is > it obvious that I am in the market for a new set of panniers right > now?
I think for touring panniers, the market is probably about right. I haven't done any real long-distance touring, but i have worn holes in my Rivendell Pa panniers with semi-regular usage and some day tours. They patched up nicely, but if i were riding the GDR, for example, i'd probably get something with a better/more stable mounting system. The main problem (for me) is that they work best when fully and well-packed, and that rarely seems to be the case unless doing longer touring. I'm fairly familiar with the Minnehaha line, and their panniers are really meant for commuting and grocery runs, they'd likely last a few years in that usage. The canvas isn't as heavy as typical Carradice or Rivendell bags, but plenty strong. I like what Acorn is doing, and if production capacity weren't an issue (they're maxed out and don't seem interested in expanding) i'll bet they'd have a good pannier option. -- Bill Connell St. Paul, MN --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
