Solid-quality and plenty durable. A one-year-on review.
First, the background: I have been bike commuting for 26 years, pretty much. My first panniers were JANDD’s basic commuter panniers. These, from 1988, are still in regular rotation on the fiancée’s bike. Since then I have bought very few non-JANDD bike bags. (You may ask in the comments for an inventory.)
So, the Velo Transit Metro 20 pannier . . . I bought a black one in January 2013. It has been in regular use, twice a week, since. I use it exclusively for work clothes. Today was the first time I crammed-in a sizable book and a towel for the ride home. All fit.
The review: It works. It works great, actually. I bring shoes, sometimes boots, pants, sweaters, socks, belt, etc., for a day’s work with no thought of a space limit nor worry of rain. I have been wetter commuting this year than any in memory but the work clothes are dry . . . always.
The bag, that is, has been unremarkable, which is a good thing. I do not really have many better things to think about (OK, sometimes I do), but I do not have to think about this bag at all. Clothes go in. Top rolls down. Clip, clip. And off I go. Same for on the bike. Side hook naturally catches the rack strut. The two top clips slip easily onto the top. Then, clip, clip, and off I go.
One real test was the day last spring where I forgot to snap-down the little red clippy-things that hold the bag on, as above. On that dark morning commute I bounced on a pothole and the bag flew off, thumped, then skittered onto the road behind me. I quickly retrieved it and rode to work, expecting to find a gouge or tear in the light of my office. Nope. Nothing. Just a bit of road dirt I brushed off. (I just checked the bag because I couldn’t exactly remember how it landed, and was annoyed to find I couldn’t figure out where it hit the ground. Damned bag and its ability to take a pounding.)
I have never filled the bag to capacity and do not think I ever will. It’s big inside, but I use a bike trailer or grocery panniers expressly for large-capacity trips.
The only niggle is that the included reflective straps on the bag’s bottom (which are smartly not fully sewed-down and are flappy) are set for left-side use only. I need right-side use, so the straps remain unhelpful. Small potatoes.
Will it hold-up as well as the JANDD bags I own?
I’ll check back in 2038 with a long-term review. Heh.