I bought a set of panniers for my new bike a few weeks ago. Got a good deal from Supergo. Attempted to install them on my Blackburn rack without success. It seems that the bottom hook that helps attach the pannier to the rack isn’t long enough- for a Blackburn rack, I need a couple of extra long replacement hooks. (This is according to the directions which came with the panniers, although they don’t specifically mention Blackburn.)
So I got on the pannier manufacturer’s website to order the replacement hooks. I couldn’t find them anywhere. Arrggghh. I sent them an e-mail requesting assistance, with a mini rant about how lame it is to knowingly produce an attachment system that doesn’t work with the 800 lb gorilla of bike racks. Waited for four days, and didnt’ get any response. (Still haven’t got a response to the e-mail, in fact.) So I called, explained what I needed, and they said they’d mail a set to me. No charge. Great. They showed up yesterday, and guess what? They didn’t send “extra long” replacement hooks. They sent me the exact same, too short hooks I already have.
I just got off the phone with them, and apparently they’re out of stock, and there’s a waiting list for them. No idea when they’ll be available. Wonderful. Now I’ve either got to jimmy rig some half-baked fix to attach the panniers to my bike, or just wait indefinitely before I can use them.
The panniers themselves seem like a quality product, but this company has now lost any business I might have done with them in the future. All because of a stupid detail like a cheap metal hook.
Home Depot has hooks of many kinds. <> You can fix those pannier man.
These are kind of a unique hook. (They’re not the hooks that the panniers hang from- they’re for securing the bottom of the panniers.) Definitely not going to be available at Home Depot. But yeah, I can jury rig something easily enough. I was thinking a couple of S hooks should do just fine to add some extra length, in fact. But the point is, should I really have to do that? I mean come on- the attachment system won’t work for a Blackburn rack? Add to that the fact that the hooks aren’t listed on the website, even though they’re mentioned in the company’s instructions, and the fact that they didn’t respond to my e-mail, and the fact that when I did contact them they sent the wrong hooks, and then on top of all that, now they don’t have the right hooks at all, and they have no idea when they will. Good grief. Lousy way to conduct business, imo.
vitus979,
as a diehard (albeit short distance) commuter, I am still having trouble visualizing your dilemna. I reguarly “gundeck” (lets see if big kahuna is awake) parts and stuff on my commuter. I remeber you posting buying the new bike. Please post a pic so that A: I might drool, and B: I have a better idea of your delimna.
** I remeber you posting buying the new bike. Please post a pic so that A: I might drool, and B: I have a better idea of your delimna.**
I’ll see if I can lay my hands on a digital camera.
The bike is quite nice, for what it is, which is a smartly designed commuter/errand type bike. Not flashy, but sensible. The only minor misstep in the design, I think, is the pedals that came included. They’re road-only, and won’t work with mountain shoes. I think it would be nice to have pedals that would work with shoes that you can walk in, just to simplify things like a trip to the grocery store or whatever. (If anyone needs a set of double sided spd type pedals, let me know.)
In the meantime: The panniers I bought attach to the rack at three points- two hooks on top, and one hook on the bottom. The hook on the bottom is not long enough to reach the bottom of the rack, so if I were to attach the panniers right now, they’d be hanging pretty much unsecured by the top two hooks. It’s not a huge deal, and as Larry points out, it’s fixable. I’ll post a pic when I can.