Novara 'Round Town Single Bike Pannier

Comments about Novara 'Round Town Single Bike Pannier:

These are far better quality than all the other "grocery bag" panniers out there; they're almost overbuilt. The fastening system is great, although it's fussy enough that my gf couldn't figure it out at first. However, the flexibility and adjustability of these bags is unbelievable. They're on the heavy side and a bit pricey, but totally worth it if you need to haul a lot of stuff around. Bonus: they snap down very compactly when not in use or for storage.

Comments about Novara 'Round Town Single Bike Pannier:

Use for picking up items from the grocery store and farmer's market. Easy to install and carry to/from home and the store/market.

Comments about Novara 'Round Town Single Bike Pannier:

I used the previous incarnation of this pannier for years, so I'm very familiar with the model and the brand. How familiar? I ride daily, year round. I feed a family of five (including 2 teenagers) by shopping by bike. I lead two weekly kids' bike rides where I'm always totting stuff for little riders.

So, after abusive use--including frequently riding with my youngest child or her friends on the bike rack with their feet in these panniers--I decided to upgrade to a newer (nicer?) model and pass the old panniers down to my bike-commuting teens.

The few complaints that I had about the previous model have been completely resolved with this model. Thank you Novara!

This bag is *awesome* for grocery shopping, but I love it for carrying my purse, coffee mug and bike locks as well. When you get off your bike, you can just toss your helmet and gloves into the back. Need to bring a laptop to the meeting? No problem, just toss it in. Decide to remove that jacket on the ride? Poof, in the bag. In the winter months, my balaclava, gloves and shoe gaiters live here when I'm not riding. It's just soooo handy.

There is plenty of volume to support a large load of groceries. I can carry 2 gallon milk jugs in one bag and still have room for some stuff on top. It's designed to hold a standard grocery store paper bag (but I rarely use bags anymore since I have these handy panniers). Tip: Bring the bags into the store with you and load them yourself in the checkout line.

The Round Towns pop on and off *very* easily. If the hooks don't fit your heavy duty rack (like mine), you just pop the little blue insert out using a pen and a screwdriver to wedge it out. There is also an adjustable hook that catches on your rack lower down, to keep the bag from sliding into your heels when pedaling. It's easier to adjust than the old model, but be aware that you'll need to tighten it down hard to keep it from sliding off once adjusted.

The new bags are slightly deeper than the old ones. Best yet, they sit flush with your rack, allowing you to bungee stuff on top (large packages of toilet paper or paper towels, cases of beer, etc.). This is a huge improvement over the old model which sat about 1 inch above the rack. Despite sitting lower, I have noticed no problems with my heels hitting the panniers ( a problem I have had with other brands).

Handy arm straps are long enough to sling over your arm, but short enough to not be a worry if they aren't tucked in while riding. They are about 1 inch wide, so they are surprisingly comfortable when schlepping loaded bags around.

There is a reflective stripe that runs around 3 sides to aid visibility. Additionally, there is a strap on either end for clipping on your red blinkie (so you can ride with the bag on either side of your rack and still have a visible light). This attachment site has been moved up farther on the bag so that vertical lights (like the excellent Planet Bike Superflash) sit better.

Additional upgrades include a handy stabilizer strap that can extend several inches, to help hold in large loads.

_Nice features:_
-hard sided bottom
-easy fold up and snap feature (so the bag is out of your way when not in use)
-heavy duty stabilizer bars on sides of bags
-super easy to use (and FAST) clip on/clip off
-red accents are fun
-reflective trim
-attachment points for blinkies
-comfortable carrying straps for off the bike
-durable, heavy duty nylon fabric
-stabilizer strap
-bags sit flush with the bike rack

_Things I can still wish for..._
-I would love a rain fly for this bag--even if it's a separate option/upgrade
-A couple of D-rings on the outsideof the bag to act as attachment points for a shoulder strap or for bungees.

Comments about Novara 'Round Town Single Bike Pannier:

this is a great product i was looking for a totally different product when i found this. I have been looking for another way to transport my small dog on my bike and since i have a mountain bike i didn't want a front basket. since the dog is used to riding in a basket on the front of my beach cruiser i thought i could just put a crate on my rack of my mountain bike and she would ride in it wrong she could'nt see my face and would jump out so with this pannier that mounts on the side of the rack she can see me and she's loves it!! she's small enough that i can still fit my beach towel and surf gear in it at the same time. its a pefect small pet carrier and grocercy getter!! and it clips on and off so quik and easy just a great product.

Comments about Novara 'Round Town Single Bike Pannier:

bought two of these to use for bike trips to the grocery store. It saves money on gas, gives me a little exercise, and is a lot more fun and stress free compared to driving.

These bags are simple, easy to use. After making a couple easy adjustments, they slip right on my bike and cinch down nicely on the rack with the blue hold down tabs. I also like the way you can carry the bags with the two gray straps which give excellent, balanced, carrying stability.

These can hold a lot. With careful packing, I can fit the equivalent of 4-5 regular grocery store bags in them. The red compression straps also allow you to over pack a little too if needed. Usually this is unnecessary though.

Here's a sample of what I got on yesterday's grocery list: a gallon of milk, 1 lb. chicken breasts, 3 bottles of wine, a dozen eggs, a box of frozen waffles, a box of strawberry toaster streudels, a quart of half and half, 2-12oz. bags of coffee, 3 cans of soup, frozen pie crusts, Lindt Chocolate Truffles (my weakness), and 2 heads of fresh broccoli. These items easily fit into the Novaras. Oh, I also got a 12-pack of soda, which I bungeed on top of the rack.

I'm careful about how much I buy (compared to when I drive), and I bring the panniers into the store with me. That way I can eyeball how much I'm getting and whether it will fit or not. When checking out, if there's a long line of people, to be considerate of others' time, I use regular plastic grocery bags, then repack the groceries into the panniers when I get to the bike. Most times however, I take a little extra time and just pack the panniers. Heavy stuff on the bottom, light or crushable stuff on the top.

These were a fantastic purchase. You won't go wrong with these great Novara 'Round Towns from REI.

Addendum: after owning these bags for several months, there are a couple of improvements I'd recommend:
1. Even though it probably would increase the cost, it would be nice to have some sort of attached expansion cover with a drawstring (like on a top loading backpack) that you could pull up over the groceries in case of rain, etc.
2. The red hold down/compression straps could also be another 6-12 inches longer which would help with bulky items that stick up out of the panniers.

Still a great product!

Comments about Novara 'Round Town Single Bike Pannier:

Great pannier. Has pop-out spacers to fit different sizes of rack. Clip positions (two top and one bottom) are adjustable. Just make sure the screws are really tight, and then check them again periodically. My bottom clip came off and got lost after a few uses because I hadn't tightened it enough. Luckily, REI helped me track down a replacement from the manufacturer for a reasonable price. I plan to buy a second pannier to make a pair.

Comments about Novara 'Round Town Single Bike Pannier:

I have been commuting for YEARS and wearing a backpack this whole time. I am now kicking myself for waiting so long to get one of these. REI fitted the cheapest planet bike rear racks for me, and with a little bit of force, this fits on perfectly to it.

I would say it makes my commute 50% easier because of low center of gravity and because I am only propelling my bags weight, not carrying it. Especially noticeable on hills.

This one is great because it's cheap, and it folds up to be almost flat, and I can jsut stick my backpack in it and go.

The price is so good, I could buy a second and still be cheaper than some of the other saddblebags. If it's raining, I'll just store a heavy duty garbage bag in the bottom of one of them.

Comments about Novara 'Round Town Single Bike Pannier:

Excellent for taking into grocery store as a substitute for "paper or plastic". I am most impressed with how ruggedly well-made this product is. Multiple adjustments make it adaptable to any bike rack. My rack is thicker and I just removed the click-out inserts (as the instructions advise) and it fits perfectly. This is a very well thought-out, elegantly designed product! I couldn't be happier.

Comments about Novara 'Round Town Single Bike Pannier:

Very well designed bicycle market bag. Heavy loads carried with ease, top straps to secure contents of bag. Carry straps for off bike use. Easy to attach to rear bike rack securely with adjustable clips and bottom bracket. Great quality.

Comments about Novara 'Round Town Single Bike Pannier:

This has been perfect for taking my laptop to and from the office and going to the farmer's market in town. Highly recommend this pannier.