Shopping bags

[Rhysito]

Hi All, I do most of my shopping on my bike using panniers. I know want to lose my pannier racks and I am wondering how big a rucksack I can sensible ride with 50 litres? 100 litres? Anyone have any experience cycling with large rucksacks or can recommend a good product?
Best Steve

 

[Randomnerd]

Gather you want to lose your panniers...
Bad move imho. More gear on the bike will help with a safe distribution of weight and keep down your centre of gravity.
A small backpack for a short journey isn’t too bad, but 50 or 100 kg potentially would be excruciating- unless you are Chuck Norris.
ive a dedicated shopping bike - a Gazelle city bike - with plenty of rack space and a weighty frame and wheels to carry two weeks shopping, or a sack of spuds, or whatever.
N+1 applies

 

[Fergs]

^^ this
I rode a commute with a full 45l rucksack having cleared out my office desk a couple of months ago. Horrible. As well as the weight/balance issue, it pushed my head downwards and I had to push back against it in order to see where I was going. My neck was sore for days.
By contrast, the daily-use 12l one was very comfortable.

 

[PeteXXX]

It would depend on what you're shopping for.. Knitting wool and candyfloss should be manageable up to 100l

4 x 4 pints of milk and a sack of spuds would be a different matter!

 

[ianrauk]

Stick with the panniers. An overly heavy rucksack will have you suffering in no time. Let the bike take the weight.

 

[classic33]

Having used a 75 litre rucksack more than once, I'd say stick with the panniers.

I've another option now, cargo quad.

 

[Rhysito]

Gather you want to lose your panniers...
Bad move imho. More gear on the bike will help with a safe distribution of weight and keep down your centre of gravity.
A small backpack for a short journey isn’t too bad, but 50 or 100 kg potentially would be excruciating- unless you are Chuck Norris.
ive a dedicated shopping bike - a Gazelle city bike - with plenty of rack space and a weighty frame and wheels to carry two weeks shopping, or a sack of spuds, or whatever.
N+1 applies

N+1 forever! Maybe the solution

 

[andrew_s]

it pushed my head downwards and I had to push back against it in order to see where I was going.

Just what I was going to say

It will vary a bit depending on the design of the rucksack, your back length, whether there's anything in the lid pocket or not, and whether you wear a helmet or not (adds 2 - 3" to the back of hour head), but I'd call a limit of about 35 litres, unless you sit pretty upright on the bike.
(based on very occasional use of an OMM Jirishanca 35, at 6'1")

 

[ColinJ]

I'd call a limit of about 35 litres, unless you sit pretty upright on the bike.

I use a 35 L rucksack for my 3 km round trips to Lidl. I often put 10-11 kg of shopping in the bag and my D-lock weighs over 1.5 kg and I tie that onto the back of the bag. That is as much as I would want to carry any distance. It isn't too bad on the flat but very quickly becomes tiring uphill.

 

[cougie uk]

Rucksacks are fine for walking when you're upright and the hips and shoulders are spreading the weight.

On a bike the weight will all be on your back. Nasty and sweaty too.

There's a very good reason nobody cycles with a rucksack.

 

[MichaelW2]

Or get a trailer.
The Waitrose free loan trailers look OK for shopping trips. I put a big green recycling crate onto my flatbed for big grocery shops.

 

[vickster]

Rucksacks are fine for walking when you're upright and the hips and shoulders are spreading the weight.

On a bike the weight will all be on your back. Nasty and sweaty too.

There's a very good reason nobody cycles with a rucksack.

Lots of people do...

 

[Notafettler]

I use a Santos travelmaster with 4 panniers. Carradice super c rears at the front and carradice super c shoppers at the back. Full of firewood for food I use Tescos delivery. Anytime I use a rucksack it has to be extremely light doubt I would exceed 10 kilos. Wouldn't help your balance

 

[MontyVeda]

I've cycle-toured with a 60L rucksack for a week... it was awful; sweaty back, too much weight on my shoulders, back and hips. Putting the same sort of weight in panniers is far more comfortable and much less noticeable... until you try to pick the bike up.

 

[ColinJ]

On a bike the weight will all be on your back. Nasty and sweaty too.

I have a small rucksack which does make my back sweat. The 35 L rucksack that I mentioned earlier has a metal frame with a tensioned mesh cover and that allows enough airflow to dramatically reduce the problem.

I don't find ~12-13 kgs a problem on my back when on the bike to the shops and back. I did do one holiday with the rucksack and found it a bit much after 3 or 4 hours of riding though.

One problem I had was the bag moving about when pedalling but that problem was fixed by using the waist strap, which I hadn't bothered with until then. (There is also a chest strap, but I still don't use that.)