Comments on: Panniers 101: Purchasing the Perfect Pannier

By: CT

CT — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:11:41 +0000

I’m not really able to say if the rack’s an older one or not–I’ve had it for about 17 months, but I have no idea how long the store had had it. I’ve also tried the rack on an acquaintance’s Journey rack (purchased about 8 months ago), and it has the same problem. It’s just as you describe, the support bar in the rack makes much of the center part of the rack unusable with the posi-lock system.

It’s not the end of the world. Both rack and bags are very sturdy and I like them a lot. It’s just a minor irritation when putting the bags on the rack.

By: Cadeyrn

Cadeyrn — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:53:40 +0000

Good advice for anyone looking for new panniers, trying them out as a package before you buy is always a great idea. As for your Stormfront bags not fitting well on your Axiom rack: is it an older Journey rack? I talked to our product manager about that problem and he said it has been fixed. The problem arose from the placement of one of the support bars, which has now been moved to offer a rack that is more compatible with different hardware spacing. I know that doesn’t help your current predicament but at least steps have been taken to fix it for the future.

By: CT

CT — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 18:54:01 +0000

One other thing to consider is the fit of the bag on the rack. Not every bag is a good fit with every rack, and not every pannier’s attachment system is flexible enough to overcome this.

Axiom’s ‘posi-lock’ system is really great in some ways: it’s simple, durable, and it’s low-tech enough to be replaced or repaired anywhere in the world using local materials. But since the hooks are a fixed distance apart, the bags just won’t fit right on some racks.

Oddly enough, my Axiom Stormfront bags are a pretty bad fit on my Axiom Journey rack. With that combination, if you want to *use* the posi-lock system, there is only one possible position to place the bag where the plastic part doesn’t interfere with the tubing of the rack. Unfortunately, that position places the rear hook on the pannier on that bit of tubing at the extreme rear of the rack where the tubing angles upwards.

My advice: test any bag you’re considering buying on the rack it will be used on.