Panniers as Checked Luggage

[dombrosk]

There are many strategies for using duffel bags or boxes for taking panniers on flights.  This is a different question.

On an upcoming trip I'll have enough baggage allowance to send both rear panniers through separately.  (I link my front panniers and take them as my 'carry-on', with my handlebar bag as my  'personal item')

BUT, I'm concerned about damage to the exposed mounting hooks/hardware in baggage handling. 

Has anybody sent panniers through as luggage? 

What have you done to protect the mounting hardware?

[Pat Lamb]

I've flown with the panniers emptied into a cheap duffle, with the panniers loaded in the bottom.  No problems there.  I took one pannier as a carry on; got a few strange looks (where are the wheels? kind of looks), but had no problems checking, carrying, stowing, or getting through security.

[staehpj1]

I've flown with the panniers emptied into a cheap duffle, with the panniers loaded in the bottom.  No problems there.  I took one pannier as a carry on; got a few strange looks (where are the wheels? kind of looks), but had no problems checking, carrying, stowing, or getting through security.

I have gone the cheap duffle route a bunch of times and the cardboard box route a few times.  Both worked well.  If you really don't like one of those you could put cardboard over the hooks and put plastic shrink wrap around them if you want/need a bit of protection from them snagging.  I have not actually gone that route myself, but have seen it done.

With cardboard boxes we were always told they would not be responsible for damage, only loss.  They made us sign something to that effect.

[John Nelson]

I have gone the cheap duffle route a bunch of times and the cardboard box route a few times.  Both worked well.  If you really don't like one of those you could put cardboard over the gooks and put plastic shrink wrap around them if you want/need a bit of protection from them snagging.  I have not actually gone that route myself, but have seen it done.

Same here. I would not want to take the risk of sending the panniers through by themselves without protection for the mounting hardware. Pets's idea sounds reasonable to me. Or maybe even something as simple as duct tape would be enough. If you remove the duct tape upon arrival, you should probably avoid undesirable residue.

But the cardboard box is such a simple and effective idea, I see no reason not to do it that way.

I use a cardboard box at the beginning of the trip, and then have my duffle sent to me general delivery at the end (to avoid the hassle of trying to find a cardboard box and packing tape in some strange city).

[BobG]

I just lash the two rear panniers together to make them one checked bag and mounting apparatus is no longer exposed. I'll carry on the front panniers as you do, tied together to count as one bag. Unless you are trying to reduce all four panniers to one item, bringing a duffle bag to contain them seems redundant. Kind of like buying a bag of apples at the grocery and you are given a bag to carry your bag of apples!

[paddleboy17]

I shipped my panniers from Detroit to Portland (Oregon) last summer on Southwest Airlines.  I just put them in some trashed suitcases that I already had.  My panniers have all sorts of mesh attachments and straps that I am sure some conveyor could make confetti out of.  Putting the bags inside luggage just worked well.  I also had bike parts that would not fit anywhere else (like my rack) in there too.

[staehpj1]

I shipped my panniers from Detroit to Portland (Oregon) last summer on Southwest Airlines.  I just put them in some trashed suitcases that I already had.  My panniers have all sorts of mesh attachments and straps that I am sure some conveyor could make confetti out of.  Putting the bags inside luggage just worked well.  I also had bike parts that would not fit anywhere else (like my rack) in there too.

That reminds me.  I too have taken a similar approach.  I bought suitcases from Goodwill for $6-7 and discarded them at the airport.  It worked fine and was almost as cheap as the cardboard box by the time you buy packing tape.

[Wirelizard]

What I'm planning on doing is getting a very large stuff sack - 60 litres or so - and putting both panniers and probably helmet in together back to back and rolling the top of the big stuff sack down tight. I'll probably put a webbing strap around both panniers to hold them together so the whole thing doesn't become an unwieldy floppy mess and get destroyed by a luggage monkey.

Mountain Equipment Co-op here in Canada makes a "pack liner" stuff sack that should fit everything and will pack down into the bottom of one pannier during the trip. I'm going to get both panniers - Ortlieb Classic rolltops - up to roughly their fully loaded state for the Europe trip and then go into the local MEC with them early next week to check that the idea works; I don't see why it wouldn't.

The other option I'm considering is one of those ultralight duffel bags of silicon-impregnated nylon, but the largest one I can find is 40 L and I'm not sure that will hold a pair of fully loaded 20-25 L Ortlieb panniers. They do pack down to a little bundle about half the size of your fist, though. Going to try one of those out as well this coming week.