Panniers
 
Pretty essential bits of equipment, seeing as they're going to be carrying all our gear. We spent AAAAGES trying to work out which pannier system to get. Matt's bike already had the Touratech racks fitted, so he was heading down that route to start with.
 
We'll be travelling fairly light so we're not going for the full panniers and top-box outfit. Our rule of thumb was the amount of storage space we'd take when hiking, which would be two 65 litre rucsacs, i.e. 130 litres altogether. Based on that, we reckon that two 38 litre panniers each (=152 litres), plus a soft waterproof bag tied across the top (about 50 litres capacity per bag) should be more than enough for our gear. The waterproof bags are easily un-tie-able so we can haul them off the bikes when we stop for the night, leaving the panniers locked to the bikes if we need to.
 

The waterproof bags were (after a LOT of searching on the web by Matt) eventually bought from Wiggle. Matt decided on Ortlieb rack-pack bags as they're solid, waterproof, are the right size and also come with a "handy" shoulder strap, ideal for hauling the bags around if needs be. We'll strap these down, across the bike, to the tie-down loops on each pannier.

They're mildly weird in that they don't have a zip or clip to fasten the bag- instead the top is rolled over and clipped down. We'll see how these perform when we get soaked in the first tropical storm!!

 
Anyway - back to panniers...
 

We looked at:

  • TouraTech Zega panniers - made in Switzerland and distributed by TouraTech. As used by Ewan McG and Charlie Boorman in LongWayRound (which doesn't necessarily mean they're the best)
  • Metal Mule panniers - made in the UK and recommended by David Lambert (the guru of overland bike travel!)
  • Overland Solutions panniers - very very high quality but waaaaaaay out of our price range - definitely the Rolls-Royce option!!
  • Other systems including Hepco-Becker (only very briefly though, mainly due to cost and lack of evidence of them being durable, though I'm sure they are)
 
And the winner is...
Metal Mule panniers showing mouning brackets

Well - Matt was all set for getting the TouraTech panniers, mainly on the basis of cost, as the racks for the TouraTech panniers are about £200 and he'd already got them fitted. Will went down to see the Metal Mule guys and bought racks and panniers. Having seen them "in the metal", Matt immediately changed his mind and spoke to the guys at Metal Mule, who were only too happy to modify the panniers to fit TouraTech racks (the racks are only very slightly different) - superb service!

The Metal Mule panniers have a number of things that really set them apart from the TouraTech kit and make them well worth the extra cash.

  • The construction is rock solid - rivetted joins and smooth welds with solid hinges and thick rubber-lined aluminium mounting blocks.
  • The pannier bases are inverted, meaning the base of the pannier is inset by about an inch inside the pannier sides so the double thickness of aluminium takes the brunt of any hits on rocks (etc.) rather than the base of the pannier.
  • The locking mechanism is ingenious and simple, securing the panniers to the racks quickly and easily. In comparison the TouraTech panniers are fiddly to get on and off the racks. A lot of people seem to want to leave the panniers on the bike - but there's ALWAYS going to be a time when you need to take them off!
  • The finish to the extra bits on the panniers is excellent - the carrying handles are sprung (so they don't rattle) and the panniers can be secured shut without being locked - neat things that really make the difference! <gushing ends>
Touratech rear rack as fitted to Matt's bike...adds a bit more stability to the rear "fairing" even if carrying just a light roll-bag over the back.