Ok, I feel a bit like a geek for posting this. I commute everyday about 30 miles. I beat into a headwind every afternoon on my way home (near the Columbia river gorge). I even put aerobars on my fixie. So. . .I feel a bit weird riding on my aerobars while I am dragging panniers. Talk about “aero as a brick”!
I see some mentions here and there about aero panniers, but they are all old. Does anyone make them? I am thinking of something like a hard shell case in a traditional teardrop shape. There must be some touring people out there who hate the thought of massive wind resistance.
I figure if we are always talking about saving 20 second here and there in races, I could be saving TONS of time on my commute. Say one minute of saving per commute would equal almost 9 hours of extra time with my family every year! I am not about to commute on my race bike with disc and aero helmet, but the panniers seem to be a big drag.
Any thoughts? Are they made? Or do I make my own?
t
i say make them LESS aero so you get a better workout on your commute
.
I saw some of those, it seems a lot are made for bents.
The angletech techwind seem to be the best option.
What do you think about the claim that they make your bike 7% faster than with no panniers at all? Maybe I should mount these on my plasma, I would be faster than a P4!
t
7% faster and imagine how many gels, bars etc you could cram into those for that Ironman bike. Replace the high vis yellow with carbon fiber cloth, double the price and market them to triathletes, you could make a fortune!
Kevin
OH that is good. Just think of the transition times I could have. I come out of the water and just jump on my bike. I will remove my wetsuit while riding, don my jersey and shoes and gloves, then before T2 I can reach back and get my running shoes and hat and change before I even get off my bike. Its just like rubberbanding shoes on pedals, but better.
no more subsisting on gels, I am bringing a catered dinner along with me.
As for doubling the price, they are already $220. Ouch.
t
Another possibility is a trailer… Of course it has its own trade-offs like parking hassle, but aero-wise a BOB for instance will ride in your slipstream quite well compared to panniers. I routinely coasted away from people on big descents who were touring with me using conventional bags even as they were trying to draft (of course they couldn’t draft as closely as usual due to my trailer being in the way).