VAUDE Rear Pannier Bike Bag PLUS - Set of 2 - PVC-Free Tarpaulin Bike Panniers - Waterproof Pannier Bags with Front…

I've been looking for a decent set of panniers for a long time. It's always annoyed me how much they cost, but I have to say, I really think these panniers are worth the money. They're incredibly well built and and nearly incredibly well designed. It's as if everything has been thought of. I love how easy they are to lift on and off your bike, and how you can secure them onto your bike. They're really lightweight and incredibly strong. There are just 3 things that annoy me: 1. The shape... obviously when you load them up you want to put the heaviest things at the bottom. However, these taper so much that if your heaviest thing also happens to be your biggest thing, they're really difficult to load. I appreciate that there needs to be a certain amount of tapering so as to not to inhibit the rider, but it would be much better if they were more of a rhomboid shape and covering the rear wheel a bit more at the bottom. 2. The hard backing and the sharp connectors on the back of the bag... When carrying the bag using the shoulder strap, the hard backing of the bag and the attachments used to secure the bag to your bike, really dig into you, to the point of being painful. I appreciate that you can just turn the bag round and carry it with the opening nearest your body, but psychologically that annoys me for some reason. Every time I lift the bag off my bike to carry, I have to remind myself that I need to turn it round the other way. 3. The shoulder protector on the strap... It has such sharp corners that if you're only wearing a thin top or the plastic is sitting against bare skin, it really digs in and is incredibly painful. A simple thing like having rounded corners would make it much more comfortable to carry heavy loads. Normally I take star off for each of the things that annoys me, but these do seem to be good quality so that seemed a little unfair.

Without a doubt, Vaude maintains its reputation with this durable and well made pannier bag. I used them for almost a month touring Western Europe and they were able to keep my gear dry; they even survived a minor crash with little to no damage.I give the panniers 4 stars however for a couple reasons. Firstly, while the extra bags on the outside were very handy, it also made the touring setup rather wide. I found myself maneuvering my bike rather tediously around the old towns of Spain in addition having a very small clearance when going through most doorways.Secondly, I felt that my ride was slightly less stable in comparison to the standard Aquas, perhaps because of the width. (My friend who has the standard Aqua pannier swapped panniers with me to test it out for a couple rides). I toured using 30mm tyres, perhaps thicker tyres would have no problem whatsoever.Don't get me wrong, these are excellent well made panniers. I just query whether the 2 pockets offering only 3 extra litres in the "Plus" are worth it.

These panniers are awesome. I had the previous Vaude pannier model, without the additional pockets, for eight years before they finally gave up the ghost. They were amazing: compact, tough and 100% waterproof (I usually rinse them off in the shower after a wet ride - with not a single leak). The side clip finally cracked after eight years of hard use (including two international tours and regular large shopping trips), so I got these to replace them.This model is definitely superior. All of the clips have been updated, the design streamlined and they’ve even added an extra feature of padlock holes on the rack clips, to prevent theft. Still to work out which locks will fit the (rather small) holes, but that can wait for now.The additional pockets are a significant improvement over the single-bag model. My lights and cold weather gear neatly pack into the external pockets for easy access, leaving far more space for heavy loads to be spread across both panniers. About to take them on their first big shopping trip and I’m looking forward to being able to fit more fruit into all this extra space!They do have a few cons: the shoulder straps are still pretty basic and uncomfortable with heavy loads. That said, the clips have been improved so that the bag no longer has to be rolled and clipped on the sides for the shoulder-straps to be attached. This is a major bonus - and the straps do pack down very small, which is probably what they’re going for. Additionally, it took me a little bit to work out how this model was meant to be rolled; there were no pictures on the box that seemed to be possible. A simple roll at the top seems to work great, though. It wasn’t complicated in the end. This model still retains the problematic carry design, too. With the hook on one side and the plastic, they definitely need to be carried with their soft side towards the body, to prevent bruises. This doesn’t bother me much, though, because I rarely carry them when they’re full. Whenever possible, I wheel them to the bike in a trolley or keep them on the rack while filling them.The design has really been improved since the last model, though. My old panniers used to rattle a bit and make noise over bumps. These are entirely silent and they stay firm and in place even over light off-road and potholes. They're also pretty aesthetically pleasing, which is a small but not insignificant bonus. Add that to their existing product features and I don’t think I could face buying another kind of pannier.All in all, these are excellent panniers. with really useful model updates. Highly recommended!

Good quality waterproof panniers. The fixings to the frame are excellent - a range of clips provided for different size tube on many circular tube, pannier racks. Three point fixing means the panniers are going nowhere with two of the three points latching to provide really stable mount. Bottom fixing point adjustable for virtually any pannier rack size. To release the pannier, just pull the carry strap to unclip the two top fixings. Solid plastic back plate means the panniers are rigid and not flapping into the wheel. Very pleased that I invested in these panniers. Useful shoulder strap means you can carry it around as a carry bag - although you have to find a comfy position so the clips on the back don't dig into you.