Pedal fever...

[jferg]

Well, it's only about 2 months later than I'd hoped, but I finally got /dev/bike cleaned up and ready to be ridden to work tomorrow.  I finally made it to the bike shop and got a trunk bag to use to put clothes and toiletries in, rather than trying to strap an old laptop bag onto my bike rack.  The laptop will still have to ride in my backpack,

Comments

[doc_quixote]

and would throw me off balance in a pannier

Actually, panniers are usually close enough to the center of gravity to not be as unbalancing as they seem at first flinch. For instance, a 12-pack of soda doesn't really throw off my balance much (it's noticeable, but not bad).

[anneb]

I think that depends a lot on the bike. IIRC, Jferg's got the leg length DH does, and DH rides on a pretty tall frame. Mine's smaller, and it's got a proportionally tighter wheel base- so I have an easier time of it with loads, period. Of course, if I'm carrying a 12-pack, I'm on my beater, which only has baskets, and they've each already got a half gallon of milk in 'em. I got a bungee-net-thingy for soccer balls, which holds the "newer" narrow fridge 12-packs on the back rack perfectly.

[jferg]

I'm sure the pair of panniers I was looking at would have worked for the laptop, but a.) they were almost twice as expensive as the trunk bag, and b.) I honestly trust the laptop to have a better chance of surviving a wipeout attached to my back (in a padded laptop bag) than in a pannier bag. I think I'll be happy with what I've got for the work commute, and perhaps the occasional grocery run. *grumbles something about living exactly uphill from the closest grocery store*

[anneb]

Those are nice, heavy duty ones in your link there- I have one that's lightweight nylon, collapsible, and would rip up easily if I wiped out (-; I'll keep those in mind if and when we ever tackle the C&O for real.

[jferg]

The really nice thing is that it mates to the rack I have, and thus has a rail on the bottom that slides in and out of the rail on the rack, so I can take it off very easily and carry it in to the office. I'm pretty happy with it - I got everything I needed in it this morning, which was a bigger load than I'll be carrying most of the time (towel and toiletries will live in the locker at work most of the time).