For #4, I know you say you've tried Carradice, but have you tried the Carradice Shopper? http://www.carradice.co.uk/products/type/shopper-pannier
I've been pretty happy with them dragging groceries around NYC. Fits a bag of groceries plus. Has a drawstring cinch top and then flaps you can fold over to hold extra. Sturdy. Mine have seen almost daily use and are going fine at 4 years plus. Just my 2 cents. Peter NYC On Wednesday, September 12, 2012 7:12:22 PM UTC-4, Patrick Moore wrote: > > 1. Cheapest *decent* hanging scale with capacity of at least 40 lb. I know > Park makes an electric one for $60, but I would be quite happy with a > mechanical model if cheaper. (I want to find out how heavy my Fargo is.) > (Seriously, I like to weigh my grocery loads -- just 'cause.) > > 2. Prest-cum-Schrader replacement pump chuck. In a fit of > brass-and-Silca-lust folly I cut the very decent one-chuck-for-both head > off my pump to replace with a nice (looking) brass screw on Schraeder chuck > that I thought might work better on my daughter's Schrader valves -- which > it does, but screwing on the chuck is a royal arse pain especially when I > have to use a Presta adaptor for my own bikes. > > 3. Bar tape. I've found my own current favorite but am curious what others > think. I like the Lizard Skins 2.5 (I think it is also made in 1.8 and a > thicker one whose measurement I don't have). > > 4. Grocery pannier. Here I have certain criteria to meet: > - Easy on and off the rack. > - Can be used singly or as a pair. > - Secure on the rack > - Holds a full-to-top paper grocery sack. > - Has either a cover that will accomodate overflow, or else has loops to > which one can attach a cargo net. > - It is easy to insert a bulging-ly full grocery sack. (This criterion > puts my otherwise wonderful Ortlieb Packers out of the running because of > the (for this use) fiddly and obstructive flap and drawstrings.) > - Universal fit on many different kinds of rack. > - Stiffener on back if not on sides (all-cloth panniers tend in my > experience to end up in the spokes with certain simpler racks). > > Of course, cost and durability are part of the equation. > > No Wald baskets! No saddlebags! Saddlebags, even the huge Hoss, don't hold > enough, so I prefer panniers which I can mix and match as required. I > realize that the easiest and capacious grocery carrier in the universe is a > huge Wald Newsboy, but I don't have a bike that I'd care to add one of > these to. > > I've used several different sorts of camping panniers, many different > commuting panniers, Avenir grocery panniers (currently in use), Gnashbar > grocery pannier, Axiom Dutch (style) boxy panniers, rear Wald baskets (too > damn' narrow!), Carradice panniers and just about all Brooks and many other > saddlebags out there. I want something that is pretty much designed for > full paper grocery sacks. > > For convenience, the Avenirs are good though they are not stiff enough to > be ideal. They are also too shallow and have no cover nor provision for a > cargo net. Good only for short trips and you have to make sure you don't > pack small, loose things on top. The folding arrangement is primitive, but > they do fold when not full, which is a plus. > > The Axioms, in stock form, sagged too much under any load and the lip of > the opening deformed under weight. I had to rivet a collar of aluminum > strip around the mouths to stiffen them. Thus modified they are much better > but the mouths are still a bit too narrow for easy insertion and removal of > very full bags. > > Frankly, when cost is a large factor, I've used nothing more convenient > than the drape-over-rack pair of Target kitchen trashcans that I joined > with pop rivets, dowels and nylon webbing. Wider at top, deep, so that it > is easy to insert and securely carry even an overflowing bag. Certainly > sturdy enough if you reinforce all weight-bearing points with big washers > or thin plywood or sheet metal. Easy on and off, since they drape, and a > single toe strap holds them securely fore-and-aft. And the total cost > (trashcans on sale) was no more than $12. IMO, these are better than milk > crates or used cat litter boxes. You can also plaster all sorts of > reflective material on the backs and even bolt blinkies permanently to them. > > Their big defect of course is that they look ineffably dorky. But I can > see a plastic (not kitchen white!) bin-type pannier optimally sized and > shaped, suitably reinforced at stress points, and with adjustable, QR > mounting system a la Carradice or Ortlieb, and cargo net top -- does anyone > make anything like this? > > Patrick "Riv + luggage" Moore > > -- > "Believe nothing until it has been officially denied." > -- Claude Cockburn > > ------------------------- > Patrick Moore, Albuquerque, NM, USA > For professional resumes, contact Patrick Moore, ACRW > http://resumespecialties.com/index.html > ------------------------- > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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