SEVEN DAY CYCLIST
CYCLING, BUT NOT USUALLY RACING

I was surprised to learn the seams weren’t taped. Seems Lorry tarps aren’t suited to this. Nonetheless, stitching is uniform and dependable. This coupled with a roll top cover continues the bombproof theme and spells water-resistant in the all but submersible sense. 

 

Sure, I wouldn’t attempt river riding and lining them with bin bags is another simple, though effective addition. Mind you, this goes for any pannier. Suffice to say, torrential tip downs or persistent day long drizzle has made no impression. 

 

Bags also bring order, since there are no internal pockets. Again, we come back to weatherproofing, more stitching provides a potential entry-point for wet stuff. It’s a great packhorse for everyday riding, whether I’ve been loading it up with laptops and other delicates; or bunging in my supermarket haul - remembering to keep the weight low.

 

Mounting kit

 

This is an adjustable system that caters for most diameters of rack tubing-between 8 and 13mm to be precise. This might be a non-starter for some bespoke, oversized Cro-moly models. You’ll need to use their “reducer” shims on rods at 11mm and 8mm.  

 

The centrally located, single “Quickclip” quick release lever raised a few doubts initially, probably irrational. They proved completely unfounded. Everything remained rock steady, over varying terrain and at increasing speeds. In fact, I found it more user friendly than the older system on my venerable Carradry panniers. 

 

 A suitably substantial shoulder strap for porting stuff around sans bike is built to the same standards and does the job very capably.