I've been doing a fairly exhaustive search for panniers that fit on the racks that come standard with the Juiced Scorpion and HyperScorpion eBikes. Part of that search led me here, so I thought I'd post about the panniers I found that fit PERFECTLY: the
Ortlieb Front Roller City. They deal with everything that's tricky about putting panniers on a Scorpion or HyperScorpion. Specifically, mine is a HyperScorpion on which I put the optional passenger seat, making things even tricker because—while very similar to the standard rack—it has grab bars that extend outward on either side. Here's how these Ortlieb panniers deal with the challenges I had to overcome to get a set of panniers onto my HyperScorpion...
The first obstacle is the 15mm diameter rack bar. This is pretty big and stymies many clip-on panniers. The Ortlieb will accommodate up to 16mm bars, so no problem there. Next, the mounting point for the panniers (in my case, necessarily along the lower bar of the rack because of the passenger seat) presents a pretty narrow width. The upper clips that attach the Ortlieb panniers are on a sliding rail system that, at its narrowest point, is just the right width to fit onto the lower bar of the Scorpion rack (you can see this in the last picture I've attached). Because these are front panniers, the overall width of the pack is also relatively narrow (just under 10")—also just what my situation needs. Those grab bars present the next problem, requiring panniers that do not stick up above their mounting point. Again, because these are front panniers, the problem is solved. Front panniers are designed to ride as low as possible for stability purposes and that design allows these to cleanly fit under the grab bars. The final obstacle is finding some point at which the bottom of the panniers can be secured so that they don't flop around. What would normally be a seat stay on a standard bike is a spring/shock absorber on the Scorpion/HyperScorpion and where you'd normally have vertical rack supports, there is nothing—this rack attaches directly to the base of the seat and has no vertical bars holding it up. It does have a small bar holding the rear fender in place, but that only falls behind the pannier at the far, rear edge. Again, the Ortlieb comes to the rescue with another sliding rail on which the lower clip can be positioned as needed. And yes—it slides just far enough to fit perfectly.
Honestly, I don't think I could design a set of panniers to better fit the Juiced Scorpion/HyperScorpion if that was the only bike they had to fit (particularly, those on which the passenger seat is mounted). On top of that, these things are very well made, totally waterproof (a feature for which Ortlieb is well known), and go on and off as easy as you could ask for. The nylon webbing handles by which you carry the panniers are ingeniously attached to the lower part of the upper clips, which wrap around the bottom of the rack bars and hold the panniers VERY securely in place. Pulling up on the handles disengages these clips and the panniers come off in mere seconds. Putting them on is a bit tricker (you have to align the lower clip as you put the upper clips on the rack bar), but only just a bit.
In short, these are a perfect solution for my needs. They not cheap (I paid $135 for the pair on Amazon), but worth it given how precisely they fit, the high quality materials from which they're built, and how well they are designed. For those of you who don't have the passenger seat, other Ortlieb panniers have the same ingenious clip system (with the upper and lower sliding rails), so you probably have a larger array of options from which to choose. Happy riding!
