Review on 🚲 Thule Shield Bike Pannier Bag: The Ultimate Companion for Cyclists by Stephen Pendergrass

It's great to have a bag with an outside pocket. Arkel makes some that can beat these, but I think the price is too. Also, while largely stormproof, they have a smaller structure. These Shield bags require larger wheels and a frame as the back of the bag will stretch and roll on the axle of an English bike, Nantucket bike etc. These Thule bags have a laptop compartment, a tablet compartment, a large mesh pocket and two small mesh pockets. The outer zip is good for nothing but your phone, maybe your face mask, your nylon tote bag, your flashlights: this is an item you usually throw in a roll just to make a mess and mess up your packaging. It comes with some sort of hook for hanging, but what are you going to leave on that hook? It can't be a bike lock key, it's most likely not your work ID. Bracket is ok. To be honest, any mounting system that people have trouble with is understandable and probably trustworthy as long as you mount your bags the way you should. But there are some remarks about this bag. First, it's a glaringly missed opportunity to roll up the top more securely or adjust the buckles, use the edge of the material to stuff it properly, or compress the items inside. If you look closely at the side buckles instead, they are non-adjustable and fine. 5 inches below the opening they tangle with the strap if you patiently fold the bag and you don't make much more than 1.5 turns before you get to the buckle and things snap into place. So your "trunk clearance" is actually about 5 inches below the edge of the bag. Coupled with the fact that getting a clean roll isn't easy, it's not very enjoyable. Much wiser would be to bring that buckle closer to the top of the bag and make that strap adjustable to both accommodate heavier loads and tighten. Descent. Not to mention that if you decide to ride with the bag open, it doesn't drape well, offering some weather resistance. Better yet, go back to the single adjustable front buckle. No, it's not amazing. This is an incremental improvement with an external pocket and added volume. But still not 10.