Transfering weight from your back to your bike, panniers allow you to carry far more than you might with a backpack. Ideal for arriving fresher at work, or for hauling your camping gear around on holiday, they can be used on their own or as a pair.
Still, if you’re carrying serious weight you’re best spreading it between two (or even four) for the sake of balance.
How do panniers work?
Most panniers work on a basic and near-universal method of attachment. You bolt a rack to the back of your bike, the panniers then hang off the rack’s rails via a series of hooks.
Mounting can be either on the frame of the bike above the back wheel or on the front fork. Most riders prefer to start at the back before loading up the front.
Bags tend to come labelled as either front or rear, the main difference being that smaller front mounts won’t risk dragging on the ground when fitted beside the front wheel.
However, they can normally be used on the back if required, simply being smaller than their larger brothers.
How much should I spend?
Panniers range in cost from around £50 a pair to several hundred pounds. As you spend more you’ll get tougher materials, waterproofing, and replaceable fixings.
Racks themselves vary in cost from around £20 to £100, with specific models for disk brake bikes, or to fit with very wide tyres.
Nine of the best bicycle panniers
1. Ortlieb Back-Roller Classic
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Price: £120
Website: lyon.co.uk
Capacity per pair: 40L
Tough, waterproof, and easily repairable, Ortlieb Roller Classic bags are as popular with round-the-world tourists as they are with practical German commuters.
Made of tough nylon-reinforced material, the bags take their name from the way they close. A simple roll of the top renders them impermeable to water, while also making it easy to adjust their 20-litre capacity.
Backed by a five-year guarantee, all the fixings are both easily replaceable and widely available. With internal pockets and shoulder straps included as standard, the Classics are the most popular of Ortlieb's extensive range.
2. Altura Dryline 2 56L
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Price: £130
Website: zyrofisher.co.uk
Capacity per pair: 56L
Altura makes a huge range of panniers, but I’ve gone with these tried and tested Dryline models. Padded in construction, their robust fabric is both tough and totally waterproof.
Using KlickFix fixings from Rixen and Kaul these are streets ahead of the flimsy attachments employed by some brands.
Ensuring easy drop-on-drop-off fitting, they’re also replaceable should you somehow manage to damage them, or more likely, they rattle loose.
With a huge 56 litre capacity split between multiple pockets, their lid type closure provides excellent security.
3. Carradice Super C
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Price: £120
Website: carradice.co.uk
Capacity per pair: 54L
These British made panniers arrive with the name of the person who made them stitched into the label. Retro, but not obnoxiously so, the Super C panniers have been a staple choice among practical tourists for decades.
Their large main compartment is supplemented by an extra unit with a separate lid, making for easy organising. Hanging off a robust aluminium rail, the Quick-Clip system allows secure and fast fixing to the bike.
Off the rack, both panniers can be clipped together for easy carrying, while the adjustable straps also make for easy portage. Look even better with age.
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4. Blackburn Wayside Backpack Pannier
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Price: £75
Website: zyrofisher.co.uk
Capacity single: 19L
Terribly urbane, this 19 litre, waxed cotton pannier converts to a backpack in seconds. With the shoulder straps deploying from an integrated zip pouch, velcro lined tabs attach the bag to the rack at the top and bottom.
A little fiddly to fit, the plus side is comfort indistinguishable from a regular backpack. With an interior mesh pocket, two compartments, and padded laptop sleeve.
Showerproof and good looking, it’s possibly better as a backpack than a pannier, still having the ability to use it as both will be a load off your back.
5. Brooks Brick Lane Roll-Up
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Price: £163
Website: extrauk.co.uk
Capacity per pair: 30L
These conjoined, over-the-top style panniers are made of traditional waxed cotton. I’m not sure this has many advantages over using something more modern, but it certainly looks good, a trait boosted by their leather fixings.
Able to be rolled up and strapped in place when not needed, they first appeared in Brooks’s catalogue way back in the 1890s.
The Ortlieb manufactured Land’s End panniers might be a more practical, if pricey, alternative, but these cloth hold-alls look too good to leave out.
6. Axiom Monsoon
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Price: £95
Webste: axiomgear.com
Capacity per pair: 32L
These tough panniers represent excellent value for money. Their dry-bag style construction uses tough 600D polyester with a waterproof Hydracore inner.
With multiple webbing tie-downs it’s easy to lash extra items to the exterior of the bags, should you fill their 45-litre capacity.
Considering the price it’s great to see Rixen and Kaul supplying the fixings. Its Vario spring-loaded hooks immediately adjust from 6mm-16mm, without the need for any tools.
Fastening via a roll-down type system, this clips into place with robust buckles. Sporting reflective 3M triangle logos, the exterior is decorated with an attractive contour-line style design.
SEE RELATED: Best bikepacking bags
7. Swift Industries Hinterland Jr Ranger
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Price: £240
Website: pannier.cc
Capacity per pair: 20L
Boutique panniers for boutique dirtbags, these are Swift Industries’ lightest, lowest profile adventure panniers.
Small enough to be used on either front or rear racks, each bag has a petite 10-litre capacity. Made of waterproof fabrics, but without taped seams, they're designed to be as minimalist as possible.
Weighing just 1.5kg per pair, they’re light enough to appeal to riders who’d usually lust after bike-packing style bags.
Similarly, for bumpy off-road adventures, their hooks and clips can be upgraded with Arkel’s Cam-Lock hardware to rigidly lock panniers in place.
Expensive, but specialist and well thought-out.
8. Thule Sheild L
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Price: £120
Website: thule.com
Capacity per pair: 28L
Available in bright colours and covered in reflective elements, these panniers are designed to keep both you and your stuff safe when out on the roads.
Using an easy to mount clip system twinned with a unique magnet lower fixing, they’re both fast to fit and secure in use.
With welded construction and a roll-top closure, the panniers themselves are waterproof and each weighs a scant 1.1kg despite a sizeable 24-litre capacity.
9. Arkel Dolphin 32L
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Price: £155
Website: bikefix.co.uk
Capacity per pair: 64L
Wildly desired by SPD sandal wearers, Arkel panniers are some of the very best. Waterproof and robust, their standout feature is the brand’s Cam-Lock system.
Pull up the handle to open the cams and remove the bag. Release the handle and the cams firmly lock on the rack.
Automatically adjusting to fit racks with beams between 8mm to 15mm in diameter, these solid aluminium fixings are about the most secure used anywhere.
With two separate accessible pockets, these huge Dolphin models make organising your things easy, helping divide clean and dirty kit, or just keeping your house keys readily to hand.
