Here they are, I have completed my rear panniers! Bright orange bags of plenty to carry my possessions across the Earth upon an Iron Horse.
I decided to make my own bags after talking to Richie at The Hub Bike Coop (This is a cyclist dream store). He had made his own bags before and toured in Columbia. After his encouragement, I couldn't help but roll my own.
The bags are made from a rubberized nylon camping bag that I found with Eric at Unique Thrift store in Columbia Heights, MN. They are a roll-top design, a simple pinch, roll and buckle and the bag is sealed. I learned this design from a dry-sack I bought to travel on the Hudson River with the Swimming Cities.
The Bags each have to clips which lock around the top tube of the rack, and a bungee cord which hooks to the bottom of the rack holding the bag in place. This is a pretty common design amongst panniers that I have seen. So far it works great, the bags stay right in place and can carry a fully packed load.
Before I began building the bags I looked at everything I could find on the Internet. Velo Apocalypse has a great list of links to other peoples designs. I particularly liked Ken Kifer's site, he first made his own panniers in the 60's. Also these instructables are very helpful with the hardware aspect: How to Make Panniers Out of Recycled Materials, Alternative Homemade Panniers.
