for a long trip what kind of side boxes are good to get?

what is convenient?

someone mentioned that since you have all your things in there - it's good to get ones that you can take off and bring to your room where you are staying

else in some places you will be worried it might all get stolen .. and etc ..

what are the available options?

from my understanding / observation I see few choices:
* aluminum boxes and .. sometimes detachable?
* plastic like suitcase like .. sometimes detachable?
* material side bags
* cages to put in boxes

* what else?

what is good?

thank you ..

Love those Apple panniers. I should have kept my old G4 and used it as a top box. You just can't get anything into laptops

Re the options, apart from a van driving along behind with all your luggage you've just about covered all the bases. Asking which one is best is fraught with danger though; ten people will probably give you twenty opinions.

> You just can't get anything into laptops

ahahahahah

I've been through all of them (except the Apples ...).

The Givis survived a crash at 70kph with nothing but a scratch, but they bounced terribly on bumpy roads. The 3rd box was almost empty and was a great place to store the jacket when exploring on feet.


The Zega cases are toploading, once you've had that, you won't accept anything else. But in the dirt, it really hurts if your legs are trapped underneath. I've had one come off at 150kph due to stupidity. Almost empty, except for a SLR - nothing was damaged.



These are lockable soft bags. The straps are a bit unconvenient, but no complains other than that.


For me: soft on gravel, alloy on the road.

By the way, if you have hard boxes on a tough rack, all the stress of a crash will be directed to the bike's frame. Stronger is not necessarily better ...

spip

Soft bags.

Unless you want to be as aerodynamic as a house and drag 20KG more weight than you need to. They're good to sit on though.

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

Soft all the way for gravel or dirt, I just found out what happens if you wreak on dirt with big heavy frames and boxes attached to your frame - it bends.

After some experience on a 250 around South America, in the future I´ll be looking closely how cyclists pack for RTW gigs. Less really is more.

If you can fit GIVI V35 panniers on your bike, then get them....they are almost INDESTRUCTIBLE. I dropped my bike many times and everytime thought thats it they must be smashed...but no, only scratched, they protected the bike and my legs.....gorgeous product.

+1 for V35 s
What ever you choose , beware the girth . Whilst this is nice in porno s it aint good if you have to split traffic on your trip . An example being in Germany ( where of course its totally legit ) i could get my lumpy old Pan thru gaps that some tenere s with side cases couldnt , likewise a blackbird with cases on too got stuck . Just something to think about ..........................

> beware the girth .

gooood point

but I'd still go for safety first

I'm rarely in a rush to get anyplace

when on a bike I'm zoned out .. I'm in the groove ..

Zoned out? Are you American?


Hard boxes don't mean safety. Sure, sometimes when you fall, they may protect you ... BUT ... as often as not, a leg or foot gets caught under a box. Not a pretty picture. Many many riders have broke legs and ankles this way.

What you haven't brought up is the bike your riding and the sort of riding you intend. There is now a STRONG consensus that if you're doing a lot of riding OFF ROAD on smaller, lighter bike then soft panniers are The Way.

If you never intend to explore off road ... or very rarely ... then Hard Boxes are just fine. They give the illusion of security and ARE convenient in some ways.

Hard bag users tend to Over load their bikes ... as hard boxes allow that. Also, consider the added weight that Ted brought up. Not only the weight of the empty boxes, but the weight of racks and all the hardware. It's substantial.

On a R1200GS, not a big deal. On a 400cc to 650cc bike, more of an issue.
Off road too much weight is a disaster waiting to happen.

In your first post you asked about detachable boxes. They ALL detach. You thought it would be convenient for carrying into your room. Yes, it is.
But do what the Pros do ... use bag liners, fit them in your boxes. All contents goes into liners.

When you arrive, simply open box, grab liner straps and walk away. After a long, hard day, this is a MUCH better way.
Boxes are heavy and sometimes a PITA to detach/reattach. Leave empty boxes on bike. In the AM simply slip liner bags back into boxes. Done, ready to ride.

ohh wow GIVI V35 panniers
https://www.google.com/search?q=GIVI...d=ssl&tbm=isch

sure do look nice

will try to get them

> soft on dirt

yes excellent point .. but I think hard cases properly attached to frame/chassis would be OK