Recommend a commuting backpack

[Steve vRS]

The nature of my work means that I might be in the office for only a couple of days each week, the other days spent at customer sites.

At the moment, I plan my commutes so that I leave a stock of shirts and pants at work but the big problem is my laptop which I need both in and out of the office. At the moment, I drive in to work one day and leave the laptop locked in a drawer overnight for work the next day. I often even drive in the night before to drop it off or collect it.

So, I am going to bite the bullet and get a backpack so I can carry the laptop and some fresh pants. My commute is 11miles through the country on a road bike. What do you use?

Before anyone recommends panniers, my frame does not have mounting points for them.

Ta in advance!

Steve

[okgo]

I need a new one too. I'm tempted to buy another Jansport bag, my last one lasted 15 years and probably 8 of those years it saw daily use, the zips have finally gone

[Dowks]

I have one of these, relatively expensive but does the job of carrying my suit, shirts and shoes

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/accessories...

[Gizmoish]

okgo said:

I need a new one too. I'm tempted to buy another Jansport bag, my last one lasted 15 years and probably 8 of those years it saw daily use, the zips have finally gone

Do Jansport still come with a 10-year guarantee?

[MrTrilby]

I have a Deuter Speedlite 10 and a 20. The 10 is about as small and light a backpack that you can get. They're great, but if you're doing it regularly, unless you're carrying an ultralight laptop, 11 miles with a backpack gets tedious. That said, whilst panniers are much kinder to your back, they can be a bit tedious when it's windy.

[okgo]

Gizmoish said:

Do Jansport still come with a 10-year guarantee?

Its a 30 year one I think! I might get in touch with them. I've had it more than 10 years anyway

[ewenm]

Steve vRS said:

The nature of my work means that I might be in the office for only a couple of days each week, the other days spent at customer sites.

At the moment, I plan my commutes so that I leave a stock of shirts and pants at work but the big problem is my laptop which I need both in and out of the office. At the moment, I drive in to work one day and leave the laptop locked in a drawer overnight for work the next day. I often even drive in the night before to drop it off or collect it.

So, I am going to bite the bullet and get a backpack so I can carry the laptop and some fresh pants. My commute is 11miles through the country on a road bike. What do you use?

Before anyone recommends panniers, my frame does not have mounting points for them.

Ta in advance!

Steve

Your choices will be limited by the size of your laptop. I use an Inov8 RacePro22 which nicely fits the laptop and has space for kit and food too.

However, I've switched to panniers despite my bike not having rack mounts - you can mount then to the brake boss and the wheel skewer. Worth considering.

[Benrad]

Union 34 http://www.wiggle.co.uk/union-34/

I use this because my chainstays are too short for panniers so I hit them with my heels.

Pros:
Normal(ish) laptop rucksack
Great waterproof thing
Quick and easy

Cons:
Heavy, and high up makes for wierd handling but you get used to it
Mounts on seatpost so don't use a carbon post and you have to find somewhere else to mount you lights
Make sure you have mudguards to stop the bottom of the bag rubbing on the tyre too

[AyBee]

I use a Scafell Rock backpack that I picked up for £3 from Morrisons about 3 years ago - wish I'd bought more, it's awesome and is still going strong - about 25L which is perfect (for shirt shuttle, shoes, underwear, trousers, phones, wallet, bike tools and shower gel and then I leave a suit jacket and towel at work and change the towel when I'm not carrying the shoes) with chest and waist straps and a fluro waterproof cover fits nicely over the top