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This past Thursday I managed to get a great deal on some Ortleib Back Roller Classic panniers for my bike. I’d wanted some for a while, and the ~$120 sale price for them at REI couldn’t really be beat. Sure, I could have picked up cheaper ones, but these seem like they’ll be quite nice, will keep things dry, and will have a good resale value if I decide that I no longer want them.
Here they are fitted to my bike, along with a small Topeak trunk bag. I intend the trunk bag to hold bike tools, phone, and wallet while the panniers hold whatever else I need, be it work clothes, groceries, packages going to the post office, or whatever. The bike also has a NiteRider MiNewt USB light on the bar and two rear blinky lights and I’ve got a roll of black Scotchlite tape which I’ll be adding to the bike, along with a pack of firefighter’s reflective helmet strips which will be applied later. Between these I should have no difficulty being seen from multiple angles while riding at night.
I’ll probably also fit the bike with some smooth tires (Continental TravelContact?) to make for smoother rolling. However, the nicely worn Specialized The Captain Control tires aren’t terrible, and leaving them on keeps the bike multi-purpose, better for riding both paths and trails with a variety of surfaces.