Design of this bike centered around low maintenance and durability so it could reliably serve as car replacement, but it will take more than that to replace the utility of my car. It needs the ability to haul stuff ... besides my keister. Lunch, a gym bag and some roadside tools will be frequent hitchhikers on my commute and other errands, perhaps all at the same time,
With a car I occasionally stop at the store to pick up a few essentials on my way home from work, often without advanced notice, and will also want that ability once on two wheels. I won't be doing the weekly grocery runs on a bike but the ability to stuff a couple filled plastic grocery bags in with whatever I'm already carrying would be a plus.
In short, the bag or bags I ultimately choose will need to meet all my hauling needs, like this ...
As mentioned previously, it doesn't rain often where I live but it does rain and I won't have the luxury of leaving the bike in the garage on those few wet days. I have to prepare for the worst case scenario, so at least one waterproof bag or one with a waterproof cover will be a requirement.
I'm leaning toward Vaude's Discover Pro front panniers (to mount on the rear rack) for commuting and errand running, and a smaller bag to carry my wallet, cell phone, glasses and a few roadside tools during recreational rides. At 34L per pair the waterproof Vaude bags meet both the dryness and capacity needs of my commutes/errands, but trend a bit pricey despite BikeBagShop.com's current 30% off sale.
I prefer to use my rear rack to haul stuff as its purposed to do, but a seat bag or handlebar bag would meet the recreational ride storage needs as well. I'll have to think more on that secondary smaller bag, but need to decide on the panniers before the sale ends.
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