Best cargo bags (panniers?) for groceries?

Wes Turner

Member
Region
USA
City
Silicon Valley, CA
I would appreciate recommendations for cargo bags, or what I understand are called panniers. On the one hand, I want something that is sturdy enough that I can carry some groceries, including some that are somewhat heavy (gallon of milk or OJ). On the other hand, I want something that will accommodate my tennis gear.

I want two bags -- one for each side. I went to the grocery store on the loaner bike that had just one bag on the left side. When I put several heavy items in it, on the way home I felt a little off balance.

Do I need two different sets of bags?

Maybe I just need some bungee cords or straps that I can use to tie my tennis bag to the rack.

Thanks
 
Wes, it all depends on the type of the rear rack on your future e-bike, and its weight limit. As long as the rear rack is sturdy enough, you cannot go wrong with Ortlieb. They have everything. Some Ortlieb panniers are sold in pairs.

Whenever you want to push your rear rack to its weight limits, it is good to spread the load over two panniers. And... neither the rack nor panniers like being overloaded.
 
North Street makes some good ones. You also have some options on the mounting hardware so you should be able to fit most any rear rack:



I've got one of these open top panniers from Axiom that has done the job well on multiple bikes over the years:


All of the above are sold singly. So if you want one for each side you need to order that. For myself, 99 percent of the time I'm only grabbing one bag of groceries so I'll just bring one and put it on the drive side.

I have carried gallon jugs of cider and a half rack of Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale in the Axiom bag. The Axiom bag is nice because it folds flat when empty and also you can easily drop a reusable grocery bag/tote right into it. The downside is that your rack should have fairly skinny rails (less than 12mm) for the attachment hardware to work.

The North Street bags are very well made (likely to outlast your bike) and are made in America if you care about that.
 
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I had the Banjo Brothers grocery bag carriers. Those were very nice quality for a fair price. I gifted them to a friend who uses them regularly. WALD also makes those fold flat side baskets but quality can be suspect sometimes. I ordered some and the bottoms were installed upside down! The WALD fold flat side baskets on my old pedal start moped went thru a war and never wavered!
 
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