Review on 🚲 ArcEnCiel Bike Bag Panniers - Water-Resistant, Large Capacity Rack Trunks for Bicycle Rear Seat Carrier Pack - Includes Rain Cover by Eric Rios

My bike is my primary mode of transportation, so it should be able to take me anywhere and carry whatever I need. It's very difficult to find roomy baskets that are truly durable - most of them are designed for light loads, smaller capacity, or both, and it's just useless to me. Then I found this one. I have three of these baskets and will have a fourth soon. (I work really hard on my bike in all weather and terrain, so everything on it goes through the same ordeal by fire. I lost a pannier while moving, another to a knife, and a third came with my newest bike when I sold it .Up until now I've had no reason to replace them due to wear and tear and had a set on my last bike for almost three years.) I live in an area that has all four seasons and I bike through everything - rain, Snow, hail, temperatures near zero, temperatures over 100 - nothing stops me, and nothing stops these baskets. (No knife, but these baskets aren't designed to be knife-proof. I'd say they held up pretty well anyway.) I carry full-on groceries from the fridge in them. That is two liters of milk, often several liters of other drinks, plus frozen food and dry goods for one to two weeks. In other words, I fill a standard shopping cart about half full and everything goes in these bags. I've dragged junk, scrap wood, small furniture, medium furniture and two ducks on it without a single problem. (The ducks weren't intentional and weren't over the moon with the excursion.) I ride about 20 miles every day and these bags regularly carry about 20 pounds on each side. This is my bike chain on one side and a fully-packed, full-size commuter backpack on the other. I stay on the road whenever possible but it's quite bumpy in places and these bags handle bumps very well. Securing the side straps is a must, but they do the job. They rattle a little when empty, but not enough to be remotely annoying. Over time, under the influence of the elements, the color fades, and the rear corners begin to curve towards the wheels. I don't care about the color - frankly, I hate the color of these bags, but beggars don't have a choice - but the curves are annoying. At some point it gets to the point where the sacks begin to rub against the tires or spokes, which quickly leads to the sacks bursting. I fixed this with some custom hard plastic inserts and a custom metal frame, both used at different times but both worked great. Before using them I used the extra straps around the pockets to pull out the corners and that worked too. They're not easy to put on and take off, so I usually load and unload bags rather than take them off the bike entirely. Complete removal is usually for bike cleaning or maintenance. They are not waterproof, but they are water-repellent. We've weathered a couple of heavy rains together, and after about thirty to forty-five minutes of soaking through, it gets really damp inside. Make sure the velcro is closed and upside down this helps and putting the supplied rain cover over it completely solves the problem. These bags have been more reliable than almost anything in my life. I know these bags will be with me when I need them and I know they can handle whatever I need. If I ever have to travel to Hell, I know these bags will survive the journey and have enough supplies to get me there and back.