Product Description

A great idea if you don't want full bulky panniers. This quality Avenir bag is designed to be fitted along the top of a pannier rack. The clever drop down mini pannier pockets allow the carrying capacity to be doubled. Easily detachable, this rack pack comes complete with a shoulder strap & rain cover for the inevitable downpoors.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12712 in Sports & Outdoors
• Brand: Avenir

Features

• 600 dernier Nylon fabric. Ultra reliable velcro fitting system.
• Reflective piping. Additional top storage webbing. Expandable 10 Litres to 20 Litres.
• Drop down mini panniers. Handy shoulder strap.
• Totally waterproof zips. Branded zips.
• Reflective LED loop. Supplied with rain cover.

Customer Reviews

Surprisingly roomy multi-purpose rack bag
This pannier rack bag is two great things in one!
It's an ideal 10L bag to sit atop your pannier rack. This makes it perfect for a seat post pannier rack as it is an unobtrusive storage facility that just sits on top. For the first trip we took it on (a night away) the 10L bag held two hard back books and a large sandwich box (A4ish size) with a couple of bags of crisps and nuts too. This part of the bag has a zip top which is nicely covered by a fold over seam.
It's also an ideal 20L bag when you unzip the sides to create two mini panniers, effectively doubling the storage capacity. It's still unobtrusive as the bags are nice and short, so they can't interfere with your wheels and, if you do have a pannier rack for a full suspension bike, then this is useful as the side supports on these tend to be quite short. In the side panniers we manage to fit: in one side a fully loaded toiletry bag for two adults, a hairbrush, underwear and socks. In the other side a t-shirt, pair of jeans, and some snacks.
So, to sum up. This bag is great for full suspension bikes that are hard to fit 'proper' panniers to. It is roomy enough to take the 'luggage' for a night away. It fits securely and comes off easily. It comes with a flourescent yellow waterproof cover (looses one star because, although this cover is good quality it only completely cover the bag in its 10L guise - but this just makes it look funny, rather than effecting it's functionality) and a strap. It's cheap!

Great main compartment - mini panniers for light loads only.
I've fixed this to my bike and never take it off, a few cable ties or thin cable lock would stop the casual thief.
A year on with a fair bit of heavy shopping trips the main compartment is fine, slightly padded, the fold out panniers are great for light weight bulky objects but because the material is fairly thin on those pockets it does come apart, I've stitched mine together a few times.

Anyway, bottom line great for those emergency moments when you get caught out and you don't expect to regularly carry heavy objects in the side panniers, I've maybe over abused it with carrying litre bottles in them too often.

Tardis-tastic!
I own traditional side panniers which are really easy to get on and off my panier rack. However I find that their handle straps tend to cut the circulation off in my fingers if I have to carry them around for any length of time. Carrying them on my hip can leave dirt on my clothes.

So I was looking for a decent sized day bag with a shoulder strap and I took a chance on ordering the Avenir Pannier Rack Bag.

I do not like to the velcro fastenings which secure the bag to the pannier rack. Way too time-consuming and fiddly, hence 4* not 5*. I've resorted to using a bungee which is much simpler and quicker. Since doing this I really can't fault this bike bag, it is exactly what I wanted.

I use it on my ride to and from work (6 mile round trip), and for day rides (30-40 miles). I've even used it as a holiday bag! The internal pannier pockets within a pocket are a really safe way of carrying important documents like a passport, and the main storage area is great for waterproofs, camera, tourist books and all the usual tourist paraphernalia.

I often pop into the supermarket on my way home from work and have found that the fold-away side panniers have proved adequate to carry the extra load. I wouldn't recommend using this bag specifically for shopping though as the material used for the panniers is quite thin (cagoul-like). The main body of the bag uses a more robust material, although it's worth noting that with with wear and tear some of the waterproofing material is now flaking off.

In wet weather I use the cover provided and haven't had any problems with water getting in.

I've been using the bag regularly for over a year and it's by far the best one for my needs.