Hi. I'm not currently doing any touring yet, but am looking to get some big rear panniers. I've had Carrdice (the Carradry model?) before and they were okay but I did have my heel touching a little at times from memory. That may have been due to use on a road bike that probably did not have the chainstay length/wheelbase of the tourer/hybrid I plan to get. I wear a size 47 trainer shoe.
I want something with combined 60L at least for grocery shopping to begin with. And have noted the Polish brand Crosso seem to be both cheap and highly regarded....and also noted for their focus on providing heaps of heel clearance.
What I'm really tempted to get is the biggest panniers I've seen so far, which is the Roswheel (also known as ArcEnciel ?) 100L panniers. These do have a big angle on the front of the bags for heel clearance, and it mostly looks like it's behind the seat stay, but some photos show it creeping forward just in front of the seat stay. That could become extremely annoying, to say the least on any serious length of ride, if it was even brushing your heel on every pedal stroke.
What are your experiences and thoughts on panniers when it comes to a person with largish (not huge imo) feet who wants to avoid heel strike?
big panniers & avoiding heel strike
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- il padrone
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Re: big panniers & avoiding heel strike
Postby il padrone » Tue Dec 22, 2015 8:08 pm
Going by this photo, I'd say you are not going to get around the fact that you will need a bike with a 45+cm chainstay.
Putting big bags way back on a rack to get heel clearance on a shorter frame is a very bad idea - will lead to a more whippy, unstable ride..... the 'tail-wagging-the-dog' effect. These bags do appear to be very long in profile to get the larger capacity, thus placement becomes critical.
My Thorn Nomad has 47cm chainstays and rides very nicely giving me good heel clearance and allowing me to place the pannier hooks right forwards on the rack. I wear size 44 shoes though.
Putting big bags way back on a rack to get heel clearance on a shorter frame is a very bad idea - will lead to a more whippy, unstable ride..... the 'tail-wagging-the-dog' effect. These bags do appear to be very long in profile to get the larger capacity, thus placement becomes critical.
My Thorn Nomad has 47cm chainstays and rides very nicely giving me good heel clearance and allowing me to place the pannier hooks right forwards on the rack. I wear size 44 shoes though.
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Re: big panniers & avoiding heel strike
Postby TheShadow » Tue Dec 22, 2015 10:20 pm
Thanks for the advice il Padrone. You're right, they are long. I was trying to kid myself that they weren't. I kind of suspected that when the description said "not for women's bikes". I thought then that it must be because a woman's bike is a tad shorter in the seat stays.
The bikes I've been looking at have chain stays of 445mm. I thought that must be std for tourers and all-rounders. I'm probably not going to be getting a Thorn, especially if I can largely deal with the issue of heel strike with narrower panniers like the Crossers. I think they also mount higher too, which I realise is not great for stability, but I'll pay that price if necessary to avoid heel-strike.
I had thought to begin with that the smaller panniers would be more useful overall, particularly if I wanted to start doing some small trips with them and build up to a decent ride. The appeal of the big ones was mainly for grocery shopping.
The bikes I've been looking at have chain stays of 445mm. I thought that must be std for tourers and all-rounders. I'm probably not going to be getting a Thorn, especially if I can largely deal with the issue of heel strike with narrower panniers like the Crossers. I think they also mount higher too, which I realise is not great for stability, but I'll pay that price if necessary to avoid heel-strike.
I had thought to begin with that the smaller panniers would be more useful overall, particularly if I wanted to start doing some small trips with them and build up to a decent ride. The appeal of the big ones was mainly for grocery shopping.
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Re: big panniers & avoiding heel strike
Postby il padrone » Tue Dec 22, 2015 11:19 pm
44.5cm chainstays are fairly long really - generally good for touring. A high mount for the rear panniers is not necessarily a bad thing, if they are still forward in the wheelbase. Height actually can make for better stability (eg. balancing a broom handle on your palm compared to a tennis racket). Mainly it is the front end that needs a lower mount, but even then it really just needs to be central on the steerer axis.
Mandatory helmet law?
"An unjustified and unethical imposition on a healthy activity."
"An unjustified and unethical imposition on a healthy activity."
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