To be honest the price set me back. I know it is very functional but I'm on a extremely tight budget. I know the saying is you get what you pay for. I guess I need to work through my own thoughts on high end items. Beyond that it looks very nice. Thanks for the review.. and look forward to seeing what comes next.
I love this bag. TWG bags are more regular bags that function as panniers. Off bike, the bag is really meant to be worn with the shoulder strap as it's not an actual backpack. They have plenty of pannier backpacks for that need. I'm not sure how much longer the mounting bracket could have been as it needs to be angled when mounted.
Thank you for sharing your experience with the bag! Glad to hear from someone else who uses it. Regarding your suggestion that this bag is meant to be worn with a shoulder strap. Not for me, I prefer it in the backpack mode, which is very comfortable as the bag is too big for me to carry with the shoulder strap, so while your comment is based on your own experience, please do not suggest how others should or should not wear it. A person's size may contribute to how people wear or carry this bag.
Sorry, I meant no offence by my comment. My preference is definitely the shoulder strap but it is a great feature that it can be worn as a backpack too.
@tunaleg Thank you for the apology, but it's not necessary. The point I'd like to make is thst the bag is very versatile and offers multiple ways of handling it, depending on what people find comfortable.
I got a commuter pannier from REI that due to discontinued sales and coupons, I got for less than half price ($100 -> $40). It was such a great deal and I liked the bag so much I got another one. Later, I got "last year's" Ortleib panniers for 1/2 off, and had coupons to get the current year's for 1/2 off. Very happy with all of them 🙂
Can you make a video of the nitty gritty of touring including mishaps, where you sleep, how and what you eat and where to find rest rooms and people you talk to along the way?
I guess there’s the option of putting everything in some sort of dry bag or plastic bag before you put them into the panniers. Or, maybe spraying the outside with some Scotch Guard. I definitely prefer the bucket style panniers, it seems a lot easier to pack stuff into them. I have seen the waterproof bucket style panniers. ✌️
Hi Agnieszka. While it looks cool and elegant, I don't see any reason to shift from my milk crate ziptied to my rack with a drybag plopped inside. Cheap, versatile and functional. Plus, when I have to do groceries, I can use 'outrigger' cloth bags by tying their handles to the 3 available sides of the crate and voila, more than a bushel's worth of capacity.
I think that if you've found a solution thst works for you, definitely keep it - no reason to fix something that isn't broken. Thanks for sharing your setup.
My sister got me the Pannier Backpack Plus for Christmas and I’m still trying to figure out how to best use it. Currently I just use it as a backpack for work and grocery shopping because, except for a very old mountain bike that will require figuring out what kind of rack to buy and use, the current wheels and tires are very heavy. Not ideal for commuting. My other bikes are aluminum (2009 CAAD9) and a carbon fiber (1990 specialized Allez). For some reason my mechanic changed the steel seat post on the carbon fiber bike to carbon fiber so it’s probably not even great for attaching my Travoy. The other issues are that I had asked for something without zippers because I’m really bad at estimating how much groceries to put in the cart that will actually fit in the bag. I will inevitably overpack and this ends up weakening the zippers until they fail. This is supposedly a 30 liter bag, so actually bigger than yours, but somehow I’m not sure it holds much more than an old Ogio swag bag she also picked up at an AstraZeneca conference. The Ogio backpack seems to be deeper than the Plus, which has a separate laptop compartment that I use for my bike lock and maybe one thin box of cereal. I’m just worried I’m going to stress the zippers again. As I mentioned, I’m not sure which holds more. The Ogio has a laptop compartment too, which you can stick stuff in, and zippered side pockets that can fit an umbrella and/or smaller jars. It seems deeper, as I said, but maybe not as tall. I can’t tell. The 2Wheel Gear has a beefier zipper on the main compartment, is supposedly waterproof (unless you put a wet lock in it I found today!) and seems to have more of a rigid form/shape. On the down side it’s heavier due to the mounting stuff these bags have and the more rigid part between compartments. If you have any suggestions for racks that would work on an old 1990’s ish Singletrack Trek 920 MTB that could also be used on other commuter frames in case I ever get one (I’m kinda poor and also want a gravel bike 🙄), please let me know. I hope you figure out the best ways to keep stuff dry in the Magnate (is that the correct name?)
Thanks for the thoughtful comment. Yes, zippers are often a point of failure on bags and this is why touring panniers don't typically have them. I think I'm familiar with the bag your sister gave you, it unfortunately didn't work out with the rack on my bike. Regarding your question about racks, I'm sorry, I won't be able to help as I'm not too knowledgeable about gear I don't have experience with. Maybe visit a bike community hub - if you have one where you are. The ones in my area have access to second hand parts and accessories that are very cost effective and can be repurposed.
I am in agreement with you in regard to the cover/ lack of over all water proofing, and the attachment/warping issue. I wonder, does the attachment rig stab into your back when used as back pack? The quilted cover unfolded does not look thick enough to mitigate that. Thanks for another well done review.
Thanks for asking about the comfort of the bag in backpack mode. It's surprisingly VERY comfortable to wear. I, like you, didn't think that the cover is thick enough, but between the cover and the side position of the mounting system, it's been great and I wear the bag in the backpack mode, often.
