Racktime Buy-It Tote Pannier Bike Bag

I use this to commute to work--I can't fit all my clothes, esp in the winter time, in my backpack. I appreciate the stylishness and easy on/off as I need to carry the bag into the office.

I use this bag mostly for commuting, and it's very roomy: I can fit a change of clothes, some books, a pair of shoes, and lunch in it. I can't say anything about the durability of this bag since I haven't had it for very long, but I know I will be using it until it falls apart. I'm very happy with it. The only downside so far: I got one of the adapters (a little plastic piece so you can use this bag on different sizes of racks) stuck in the mounting hardware, and it took a long time to get it out again. But once I got that sorted out, it worked wonderfully!

Goes on & off easily. Nice constuction should last decades.

The big plus with this bag is the Ortleib mounting system. After initial adjustment (insert adapters for rack tube diameter and use a 3 mm hex to move the mounts around) it's fast and secure. The bags are made of reasonably heavy fabric and the built-in handles are actually pretty functional and don't flag in the wind like straps. These are not like most shopping panniers that are flimsy and have pathetic mounts that let the bag shift forward into one's heels and even bounce off (I know I have used three different brands). Those makers seem to think that shopping panniers are not serious pieces of equipment. Not so. I load them up, sometimes with far more weight than touring bags. I took a bad spill when a flimsy shopping pannier loaded with groceries swung into the spokes during a hard acceleration. But these Racktime bags have secure mounts and sufficient bag rigidity to keep everything in place (once you insert the plastic bottom sheet into the velcroed interior pocket). I would prefer an inch more depth - don't expect to drop a paper grocery bag into these - but with the handles and quick on/off it's just as easy to bring them into the store. And I expect the light color to show wear. But I am very happy to have some truly functional shopping panniers. With an email deal, the price was fantastic.

Oddly, these ruggedly built panniers are assymetrical, so if you buy a pair one will seem to be facing "backwards" compared to the other. It's a slight difference, but if you look at the photo, the top slants upward. That means on one side of your bike it will slant up from front to back and on the other it will slant the other direction. It also means that when you adjust the fantastic mounting system for the best fit, they will be adjusted for a single side - the right pannier will always go on the right, the left on the left. The panniers come with a rigid plastic insert that is quite tricky to get in the bottom of the pannier (it is not in to make shipping easier.) You'll need to feel for a thin velcro-closed opening across the narrow part of the pannier and open it up. You then slide the rigid insert in. The catch is it is a VERY tight fit and you have to really bend and jam it to get it in.