If you use two wheels for transport, we suggest carrying your everyday gear not on your body, but on your bike.
The best option for most people is usually a pannier, a bag that attaches to your bike’s rear rack and won’t make your bike hard to steer.
After spending nearly a decade testing dozens of panniers, we’ve chosen five that’ll be great for daily duty no matter what you’re toting.
You’ll need a rack to hang your pannier on—if your bike doesn’t already have one, check out our guide to rear bike racks. And if you’re just learning about panniers and carrying stuff on your bike in general, check out the How we picked and tested section for a brief intro to the topic.
Why you should trust us
We have been testing ways for commuters to carry gear on their bicycles since 2015. For this guide, Wirecutter’s Eve O’Neill did the following over the years:
To find the best models for commuters, she researched 82 panniers and chose 26 to test in person. Then she spent a total of nine months commuting with them, examining the overall durability, the quality and effectiveness of the mounting hardware, and how well specific features improved (or hindered) portability and access to her cargo.
She spoke to Mia Kohout, then the CEO and editor in chief of Momentum Magazine, a commuter resource dedicated to functionality and style. She consulted Eric McKeegan, then the tech editor at Dirt Rag and Bicycle Times. To get a heavy-user perspective, she interviewed Andrew Blash, a Yosemite National Park host who commutes 170 miles by bike two to three times a year. And no one knows bike carry better than touring cyclists and commuters, so she referenced a wide variety of forums and blogs.
Like all Wirecutter journalists, she reviewed and tested products with complete editorial independence. She was never made aware of any business implications of her editorial recommendations. Read more about our editorial standards.
This around-town pannier, which you can also carry on your shoulder, provides easy access to your phone and wallet, but it can’t hold much more than a decent-sized purse or sling pack.
Get this if: You’re meeting friends for lunch or exploring town by bike. This bag won’t hold a full-size laptop, but it would be a good replacement for a purse, fanny pack, or sling.
Why it’s great: As panniers get smaller in size, the experience of using them becomes more streamlined, and that’s why we love the Ortlieb Twin-City Urban pannier. It handles more easily and attaches more easily than any of its bigger cousins.
