Throwover panniers
RIDE tests 12 sets of soft saddlebags to see which pack the best features, and which are best left well alone
YOU’RE HEADING OFF on a biking holiday, but don’t want the cost, bulk, weight or commitment that comes from fitting hard luggage. You want a more temporary solution, something that gives a healthy haul of extra carrying capacity when the mood or the opportunity arises, but with the ability to be completely removed in a matter of moments. Something that can live in the hotel room while you’re out on a daytrip, or in the garage between tours. What you want is a set of throwover panniers.
Pick the right pair and they’ll swallow all the kit you need for a week or more on the road, mount snugly and securely to your bike’s tailpiece and last for years to come. But rush the decision and you could end up wrestling with bursting bungee cords, fretting about things falling off and struggling with a lack of space.
While throw-overs might be less expensive than hard panniers, it’s not worth taking a gamble on them when the typical price for a set is more than £100. So, where do you begin? Are all panniers just a couple of fabric bags and some Velcro straps? What do you get for your money, what features are worth seeking out – and what’s worth paying a little more for?
To find out, RIDE has brought together a dozen sets of throwover panniers representing a cross-section of the current market. We’ll cram them full of kit, fit them on a couple of diverse machines, check how they feel loaded up at motorway speeds and how they survive a simulated shower, to work out which ones you should take on your next two-wheeled trip.