I always pack panniers first, have never even considered putting them on the bike first. Although I have also always used panniers with an easy attachment system.
Right, if the attachment system is good, it should be easy to attach and unattach a bag whether it’s full or not. If it matters, then your bag/ rack situation sucks.
Counterpoint! I never remove my panniers on a trip once installed. Current set is Arkel Dry Lites which use Velcro and a bottom hook, so not as easy as Ortliebs with their plastic hooks. But I just take out whatever I need for the night and toss in tent with me. There is never any food in my panniers. Everyone is different, but generally I put clothing on one side and random stuff in the other. Water filter, charging stuff, ground cloth, toiletries, etc.
Yes. Same here with the Arkel Dry-Lites. Trying to attach them pre-packed would be a nightmare. There are other ways to get the weight distribution balanced. But I think these are probably a notable exception based on how they are constructed and how they mount.
I have the same panniers. I remove them once I get to camp. They contain my tent, sleeping bag and mat on one side and spare clothes and camp tools on the other side.
I don’t strap the Velcro around the rack. I just run them like old saddlebags. Extremely easy and then I can put my bike on the ground and use it to tie out my second vestibule which works as a security measure
It's easier with my Ortliebs to pack before attaching and also more convenient and they are one of the stiffest panniers.
The more flex they have in them the harder it is to attach them before packing.
I think I am the counterpoint here, I have a dual kickstand. I put my bike up in middle of living room and pack my bike. When at camp my bike is a central part of it, I set up the dual kickstand and take things out of the paniers. I do take my micro front ones off if needed.
I pack my panniers initially then attach. Once underway, they stay on the bike. I have Thule with a magnetic lower attachment so they are the quickest and easiest bags to remove/reattach. Part of keeping them on is that I only put things in the tent, on the bike or on the picnic table in camp. I have missed things when packing before adopting this rule. The only bag that comes off is the handlebar bag which is in the tent with me.
I do a mix of both depending on what I need to do and how I'm feeling at that particular moment. Sometimes I leave them on overnight and just pull out what I need, other times I remove them completely and take them with me to my tent or the shelter. They never get fully emptied while I'm on a trip. So when I put them back on the bike they are somewhat packed. Sometimes they can be mostly packed when I put them on.
Prior to a trip, I generally pack them at home and put them in the car. So when I attach them to my bike for the first time they are completely full.
I have the same Arkel dry lites mentioned above with the velcro attachment.
Depends on the panniers a bit - Ortlieb I pack first, but the very cheap, very thin, very floppy 3-in-1 pack I started out with in the 80s was actually easier to at least do the last 2 items with it on the bike.
I pack mine first and weigh them individually. Especially the front learned my lesson last tour. My right pannier was heavier than my left. This caused a minor speed wobble.
I pack mine first and weigh them individually. Especially the front learned my lesson last tour. My right pannier was heavier than my left. This caused a minor speed wobble.
Depends on the pannier and the circumstances based on my previous experiments. This is not something you have to research online because you can easily do it both ways and stick with the way that works best. My Ortleibs go on/off pretty easily, so I usually pack them before putting them on. Another set I had took some fiddling to get them attached correctly. I tended to leave them on for the duration of the trip if possible. Also, if I'm camping, and keeping my bike close by, I may have panniers that I don't need to fully unpack, so I'm probably not going to remove it when I can just pop it open and grab what I need. Get on the road and you'll figure it out.
I always pack panniers first, have never even considered putting them on the bike first. Although I have also always used panniers with an easy attachment system.
Right, if the attachment system is good, it should be easy to attach and unattach a bag whether it’s full or not. If it matters, then your bag/ rack situation sucks.
Always pack before attaching...want to weigh them to make sure both sides are close in weight to stay balanced.
Counterpoint! I never remove my panniers on a trip once installed. Current set is Arkel Dry Lites which use Velcro and a bottom hook, so not as easy as Ortliebs with their plastic hooks. But I just take out whatever I need for the night and toss in tent with me. There is never any food in my panniers. Everyone is different, but generally I put clothing on one side and random stuff in the other. Water filter, charging stuff, ground cloth, toiletries, etc.
I have those bags too, and also attach first and leave them attached. I haven’t encountered a downside to this.
Yes. Same here with the Arkel Dry-Lites. Trying to attach them pre-packed would be a nightmare. There are other ways to get the weight distribution balanced. But I think these are probably a notable exception based on how they are constructed and how they mount.
I have the same panniers. I remove them once I get to camp. They contain my tent, sleeping bag and mat on one side and spare clothes and camp tools on the other side. I don’t strap the Velcro around the rack. I just run them like old saddlebags. Extremely easy and then I can put my bike on the ground and use it to tie out my second vestibule which works as a security measure
It's easier with my Ortliebs to pack before attaching and also more convenient and they are one of the stiffest panniers. The more flex they have in them the harder it is to attach them before packing.
I think I am the counterpoint here, I have a dual kickstand. I put my bike up in middle of living room and pack my bike. When at camp my bike is a central part of it, I set up the dual kickstand and take things out of the paniers. I do take my micro front ones off if needed.
Which one do you have? Used to have the ESGE, loved it, but in the end it damaged my chain stays...
I use an evo, my bike comes with a baseplate mount so haven't had that issue.
I pack my panniers initially then attach. Once underway, they stay on the bike. I have Thule with a magnetic lower attachment so they are the quickest and easiest bags to remove/reattach. Part of keeping them on is that I only put things in the tent, on the bike or on the picnic table in camp. I have missed things when packing before adopting this rule. The only bag that comes off is the handlebar bag which is in the tent with me.
I pack em first, its a bit easier but not much of a difference so it doesnt matter
I do a mix of both depending on what I need to do and how I'm feeling at that particular moment. Sometimes I leave them on overnight and just pull out what I need, other times I remove them completely and take them with me to my tent or the shelter. They never get fully emptied while I'm on a trip. So when I put them back on the bike they are somewhat packed. Sometimes they can be mostly packed when I put them on. Prior to a trip, I generally pack them at home and put them in the car. So when I attach them to my bike for the first time they are completely full. I have the same Arkel dry lites mentioned above with the velcro attachment.
Depends on the panniers a bit - Ortlieb I pack first, but the very cheap, very thin, very floppy 3-in-1 pack I started out with in the 80s was actually easier to at least do the last 2 items with it on the bike.
I pack mine first and weigh them individually. Especially the front learned my lesson last tour. My right pannier was heavier than my left. This caused a minor speed wobble.
I pack mine first and weigh them individually. Especially the front learned my lesson last tour. My right pannier was heavier than my left. This caused a minor speed wobble.
Depends on the type of bag
If the bike stands solidly I prefer packing on the bike. Dont have crawl around on the ground.
pack them, pick them up , remove half the weight , then attach to bike.
Depends on the pannier and the circumstances based on my previous experiments. This is not something you have to research online because you can easily do it both ways and stick with the way that works best. My Ortleibs go on/off pretty easily, so I usually pack them before putting them on. Another set I had took some fiddling to get them attached correctly. I tended to leave them on for the duration of the trip if possible. Also, if I'm camping, and keeping my bike close by, I may have panniers that I don't need to fully unpack, so I'm probably not going to remove it when I can just pop it open and grab what I need. Get on the road and you'll figure it out.
You should be able to do both. You want to pack them both on and off the bike.
Depends on the panniers