I think you can never protect against someone who is determined to be an arsehole, and I am sorry to hear lowlifes have done that to your bike. Would it have been that much more difficult though for such lowlifes merely out for a bit of vandalism, and wearing steel capped boots, to dent the crap out of metal boxes with a few well placed kicks, thus at the very least, taking away the waterproof seal?

Don't get me wrong, I think of all the arguments for hard luggage, security is the only one that (theoretically) holds any water. However, as mentioned above, I have (empirically) never had a problem, nor have the other people I know that ride with soft bags had a problem, and that's quite a lot of people. Of course that doesn't mean it never happens, (of course it happens, everything CAN happen) but it does mean (barring an enormous statistical anomaly) that at best (or should that be worst), it must be a very rare and unlikely occurrence.

That's also not to say I dont take precautions. I think when overnighting in "dodgy" or even risky areas, you have to minimise the risks. Sometimes involving spending 5 minutes longer to find a secure place to park the bike, or following an inn-keepers recommendations as to where to park the bike. Or in the case of no secure parking, spending an extra 3 minutes to take the side bags off the bike and bring them inside to be safer overnight. Twice in urban areas in Russia, I parked the bike in guarded parking lots, even if they were half a mile from the hotel we were staying in. This was a precaution deemed appropriate not only by myself, but by the guy with the hard boxes with whom I was travelling. He also didn't park his bike on the street, so the hard boxes didn't actually deliver any more convenience and "utility" in those situations either.

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you could try kicking my boxes with steel toe capped boots but i bet you would damage your foot more than the pannier! i think people are too used to rubbish panniers made from cheese!Honestly i think you are basing your contempt for alloy panniers mainly on the rubbish boxes like zega etc.
a well made pannier should not bend so easily and break the waterproof seal, my strom is a pretty heavy old girl and iv dropped her a couple of times on the boxes and so far im yet to have made a mark on them.

dont get me wrong mind... i can see where the attraction for soft luggage comes from, and depending on the trip i would seriously consider it, but i would also be using a more off road suited bike than a strom.

cheers
chris

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www.mainlyduesouth.com in support of the Colin McRae Vision

My thoughts exactly! It's a shame that there are very expensive paniers for sale that are in fact rubbish. But there's no denying that there are very good alu paniers out there, that will nog break when you fall down. We could all see Mr.McGregor fall down quite a few time on LWR and even being hit by a car from behind, and they made it.
I think it just a matter of personal preference and how much you're willing to shell out for a decent set. Prepare to pay a lot for aluminium.

And for security: nothing is really safe on a bike. And since I've succesfully sabotaged an alarm system, I don't trust them either. Just keep your stuff where you can see it. There are not theft-proof bike luggage systems. Thieves are way too clever and have tools to pry open anything.

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Short Way Down 2009

Hi guys,

I am facing this dilemma also: soft versus hard. To buy alu boxes is too expensive for me so I've been considering making my own, but that will be a lot of trouble and I risk ending up with some shitty looking, hard to use, piece of crap on the back of my bike. I've used soft luggage until now (but never done long trips, max was 9 days). I am planning a 3 week Morokko trip now so I don't know what to do yet. The problem is that I can't find Cortech here in RO , but I have to admin they look good and are very reasonably priced!

Cortech :: Luggage :: TriBag Saddlebag

Do you of a shop in UK/EU that would ship to RO?

I saw that some blokes here said that soft luggage is not waterproof. Check out the waterproof bags from alpkit and I would say: problem solved:

Airlock Drybags - Alpkit Outdoor Gear Shop

Trekking equipment - living the journey - Alpkit Outdoor Gear Shop


Gday!

I have those Cortect Tribags !! I got them brought to me by an American friend. They are NOT available anywhere but the USA.

They are great bags. Very durable with great zips etc !! Worked great through South America.

You could get them sent over to you, im sure !! Lot's of US dealers will ship overseas.

And no, mine arn't for sale

I have recently bought some ex military panniers for £30 which im using for Africa. I think they are brilliant. Available from a place called SILVERMANS in the U.K.

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

Has no one here looked at the SW-Motech Trax panniers?
The lightest alu panniers I have found, good price and very tough...
Homepage - EN
If hard panniers are as bad as some of you argue why are so many experienced trotters using them, like in Globe Rider Movies.

Now that I would like to see! :confused1: are you serious? I have dropped my bike on to my alloy boxes (home brew) more times than I would care to admit and they are still water tight. I have filled them with water and tipped them upside down with the lids on to check. that empirical enough?

I can see some plus points to soft luggage but my alloy boxes:
-stop my bike from falling as far
-do a good job of protecting it - empirically tested
-make the bike sit higher on its side making it easier to pick up
-don't scatter my belongings down the road when i part company from the bike on ice
-make it difficult for Jakey robbing bastards

Just my thoughts
Jim

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www.mainlyduesouth.com

Wish I could agree.... £1200 Metal Mules.. Classed as many to be the toughest, most waterproof boxes available.








Another gripe was that EVERYTIME the bike was dropped at walking pace.. The boxes would break away from the frame !!

Having to unpack the bike, open the boxes and reattach them with every sand tumble was a bloody nightmare. I spent more time putting the boxes back on that riding ! SEE BELOW



After this, I swapped to Cortech Softbags for the rest of the jouney and it was BLISS !!! Lightweight, easy to pack, totally waterproof, easy to load/unload and worked as a great buffer when the bike toppled !


You will never hear a stronger soft bag advocate than me lol

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

Thats exactly why I made my own! They are considerably stronger than any metal mule, TT crap, they are welded together not rivited and are gusseted where appropriate to add strength. They also have a proper rim to stop the opening at the top distorting on impact - this is the weakest part of any box. they also only cost £350 to! Like I say, they have slid down the road and are still fine. I suspect that soft luggage would have ended up looking like my leathers!

Another weak area are the racks used, had some givi ones (they look similar to the ones in the pictures) which were utter shit so again I made my own, these will not break!

Its only my empirical evidence but hard luggage suites my needs. Think its very much a case of each to their own though... what ever works.

It seems that the crap some companies turn out for vast amounts of money is giving alloy luggage a bad rep though...

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www.mainlyduesouth.com

Sorry, I just cant believe that people are paying 1000 for two boxes - it's just crazy.

As long as it is hasslefree for more then 100kkm it’s okay for me.
I wouldn’t have bought TT, MM Zega etc…

I use these. Couldn't be happier:
Super Deluxe SaddlePacks

I have never used MM's so cant really comment, BUT, the frame and mountings looks puny to me. The boxes are not welded, (looks like its just folded round and riveted), so a combination of these two things looks like you just chose the wrong kit

I got side-swiped by a pick-up truck in Pakistan while doing about 80kph. The side he hit just had scrapes and the other side that the bike landed on was bent a bit out of square and the lid popped open. Pushed it back into alignment and used a web strap on it for the rest of the trip. Rack system undamaged.
I also got high-sided on a packed desert road doing about 50kph and nothing happened to the box that was landed on.

I love my Tesch boxes and rack

John

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Nostradamus Ate My Hamster

It depends on what type of metal boxes you have , you'd have to try extremely hard to put a ding in mine .Most crooks and vandals are lazy and take the path of least resistance .Why bother to expand energy when a slash with a knife is easy ?You could cut soft bags off a bike in an instant throw 'em over your shoulder and be gone .

Another incident was when I left my soft canvas backed pickup in a pub carpark .When I came out , some lowlife had slashed that .
It was replaced with sheet metal , end of problem .

Although I always try to avoid rough neighbourhoods ,statistically I must be unlucky ,but I am a bit wiser with regard to human nature.

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Blessed are the cracked, for they let in the light. - Spike Milligan
"When you come to a fork in the road ,take it ! When you come to a spoon in the road ,take that also ."

You might think I am trying to bore the arse off everybody , but take a look at Alibaba's boxes and then take a look at Ted's .

What I see as a welder and fabricator when I look at the Jesse boxes is "strength" both in terms of a multi angle design and in the case of Alibaba's bike a secure mounting system .
The multi angle design also avoids sharp edges that will snag and catch if the bike should go down ,also there are fewer sharp edges to hurt the rider .
He's done a lot of miles with that bike and it's proven to be good, you can't argue with that .

When I look at Ted's Metal Mules , I don't see much strength , I see sharp angles, a minimum of welding ,poor mounts and a poor mounting system .
If I'd paid that much money ,I'd be as pissed off as he is .

So ,you've got to do your own research and look very carefully at what you're buying .

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Blessed are the cracked, for they let in the light. - Spike Milligan
"When you come to a fork in the road ,take it ! When you come to a spoon in the road ,take that also ."