Bags on the Bike?

[roddesu]

Hey all,

As with anything you make that is customizable and send out into the world, what people do with it is surprising! I'm thinking, of course, of the ADV1 as well as some open source software my other company makes and people adapt.

For the ADV1, so far, my #1 surprise is everyone is keeping the panniers on their bike. When Laura and I got the ADV1, the first thing I did was get rid of the Givi panniers on the bike. We kept the topbox, but got rid of the side panniers:



Because we're 2-up I wanted to get the weight off the bike and I wanted to get the panniers away from Laura's legs (because I'm not the most skilled in the world...)

MY QUESTION: So, I've been surprised to see that I think 100% of those of you with an ADV1 and are sharing pictures have kept the panniers on your bike. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Why have you kept the panniers on the bike? Have you considered removing them? Any thoughts you have on it would be appreciated!

 

[FirstR8]

I've kept my bike panniers because I have an empty case to stow my riding gear when I stop for any excursions or lunch, etc.
the helmet fits in the top case and the jacket and pants fit in the side cases.

 

[1As2Rsk]

I moved my big bags to the ADV1. I bought some smaller bags for the bike, for lighter gear, wet weather gear. My ADV1 now has the shelf, with a cooler, and rotopax . Only room for two bags on the trailer. It did remove a lot of weight from the bike. I kept the top hard case for my drone. I did remove some smaller saddle bag type bags from the bike, they were always in the way of my big boots.
And if I leave the trailer at a camp sight, I have some gear still on the bike.

 

[Jim R]

I don’t have my ADV1 yet, but I do intend to use it for with my wife as a passenger. I plan to remove the top box but keep the panniers on the bike and then use 4 soft panniers on the ADV1.

Reasons for this are:

Top Box - I’m tall and take up a lot of space and sit pretty far back. When she’s behind me, I remove the top box and add a back rest so she’s more comfortable. That also reduces my temptation to add weight up high (which I would probably do if I had the opportunity).

Panniers - They are big Bumot panniers which suit the bike well. They don’t bother my wife, I won’t need to buy more mounting hardware to move them to the ADV1, and they will just always be there, on the bike, even when I don’t have the ADV1 hooked up. I think it will be easier to have dedicated panniers that are always on the bike and other dedicated panniers that are always on the ADV1.