Electric bikes, particularly those with the battery between the seat tube and the back wheel, ought to be able to carry bigger panniers than normal bikes. Big panniers seem to be expensive, so I thought I would have a go at adapting a cheap bag to make a pannier.
The bag came from Leicester market and was sold as a foldable shopping trolley at £5. It has a plastic tray that forms the base and houses the wheels. As-sold the bag is folded down into the base. See the photos.
Flickr: sector2008's Photostream
A piece of 6mm outdoor plywood was cut to fit into the bag. The bottom end of the ply was bolted to the plastic base.
6 mm shackles (Eliza Tinsley) were obtained from B&Q to serve as pannier hooks. 6mm bolts were passed through the 6mm ply, through the fabric of the bag, and screwed into the threaded part of the shackle. The excess length on the bolts was cut off with a hacksaw and the end of the bolt was damaged with a centre punch to stop the bolt coming out.
The bugee cord hook loop was also Eliza Tinsley from B&Q.
The bugee cord attachment uses repair washers fitted under the pannier hooks, with old bike spokes threaded through holes drilled in the washers. The spokes were coiled around a screwdriver after threading through the washer, and excess length was then cut off.
The end result doesn't look too bad. I've yet to try it out with a big load of shopping. I think it will be necessary to add a strap to stop the bag flying outwards on corners, but we'll see.
The shackle/hook arrangement, and the bungee hook loop arrangement have been in service for some months on other DIY panniers without any problems, so I'm fairly happy with these.
The strength of the £5 bag worries me a little. I'll strengthen it with webbing in key places if it shows signs of coming apart.
The bag came from Leicester market and was sold as a foldable shopping trolley at £5. It has a plastic tray that forms the base and houses the wheels. As-sold the bag is folded down into the base. See the photos.
Flickr: sector2008's Photostream
A piece of 6mm outdoor plywood was cut to fit into the bag. The bottom end of the ply was bolted to the plastic base.
6 mm shackles (Eliza Tinsley) were obtained from B&Q to serve as pannier hooks. 6mm bolts were passed through the 6mm ply, through the fabric of the bag, and screwed into the threaded part of the shackle. The excess length on the bolts was cut off with a hacksaw and the end of the bolt was damaged with a centre punch to stop the bolt coming out.
The bugee cord hook loop was also Eliza Tinsley from B&Q.
The bugee cord attachment uses repair washers fitted under the pannier hooks, with old bike spokes threaded through holes drilled in the washers. The spokes were coiled around a screwdriver after threading through the washer, and excess length was then cut off.
The end result doesn't look too bad. I've yet to try it out with a big load of shopping. I think it will be necessary to add a strap to stop the bag flying outwards on corners, but we'll see.
The shackle/hook arrangement, and the bungee hook loop arrangement have been in service for some months on other DIY panniers without any problems, so I'm fairly happy with these.
The strength of the £5 bag worries me a little. I'll strengthen it with webbing in key places if it shows signs of coming apart.
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