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Which Pannier Is Right?

At Inertia Designs, we make two distinct suspensions to meet the needs of any rider under any conditions.  For paved commuting, or quick runs to the market, the Bungee System is fine.  When Venturing The Open Road, Field, Backcountry, Encountering pot-holes, or unexpected terrain challenges, the Cam Suspension will keep your bags from spontaneously ejecting off the rack!

An additional consideration, in making for a safe ride, is packing the load properly.  Most panniers will be mounted on a rear rack.  Inertia Designs' adjustable top hooks, make for easy placement to prevent excessive heel impacts. For longer trips, the addition of a front rack-and-panniers makes for added capacity, better control and more comfortable ride.  Pack heavy gear low and close to the bike. Layer out from the bike by weight and try to put soft items (clothes etc.) toward the outside of the bag to help cushion any potential impacts. Note on racks: Make sure to purchase a quality rack to mount your panniers on. Take care to check that it has a bottom attachment point to secure the anchor hook of the pannier. (Most good racks have a small piece of the rod stock that extends beyond the bottom weld, and/or a horizontal cross bar). Some lesser quality racks have no bottom anchor point (to save on cost, we think), they are fine for rack trunks and basket balls, but not for panniers. PANNIER ADJUSTMENT Step A: The first step in adjusting Inertia panniers (excluding fixed hook models) is fitting the top hooks to your rack. 1) Position the bags for your desired heel clearance, back pedal with your foot at the approximate angle it would be in a true forward stroke, your heel should just miss the bag. 2) If needed, loosen the top “J” hooks (see A in Fig. 1) and reposition them on the cross bar. The objective is to have your hooks as far apart as possible for stability (try to butt them to the rack’s cross members, this helps as an index for getting the bag on quickly and also adds to the stability of the system). 3) Retighten hooks at new positions. Note: With the Inertia crossbar system the bag can be positioned off the back of the rack yet still remain solidly mounted due to the added rigidity provided by the cross bar. This allows for less frame sheet thickness and a lighter bag. Step B: If the rear hook is moved forward you will most likely need to shift the “S” hook to the front pocket of the stabilizing webbing (B). The goal is to have the “S” hook roughly centered between the top hooks.