What to do with soft luggage when parked up?
 

Has anyone got any tips for what to do with soft luggage if you are on a touring trip and stop somewhere to visit somewhere/go shopping etc?

I have some soft Oxford panniers, and will be going off for a trip to Luxembourg, Germany and France in a weeks time, and will no doubt want to visit the odd chateau/shop/cave/museum etc. Don't fancy lugging all my gear around with me every where I stop.

Thanks,

Tim

You could get a rubbish, lightweight bike lock and chain the handles to something handy- grab rail or luggage rails? Not much protection, but it could deter an opportunist.

I remember seeing a wire net thing at a show that was supposed to secure soft luggage... Looked like it was purpose built to destroy paintwork though.

Re: What to do with soft luggage when parked up?
 

having just got back from france i too faced a simmillar sittuation, however i simply put all my valubles in the tank bag, whenever i stopped it came of the bike with me, this way if they nicked therest of it all they would have got was clothes and a wash kit, as my clothes were insured it makes little odds exept the inconveniance, but bare in mind unless your going out to very rural areas you will find somewhere that sells clothes.
other than that theres the obvious, leave it in populated areas etc etc. outside wher eyou are staying that sort of thing...

hpe that helps

Alex

If your staying in a hotel, leave it in a hotel?

I suppose you can leave it on the bike but take any expensive items.

I have a tailpack which turns into a nice rucksack...good that.

Go to a walking shop. They sell locks/cables, that you can secure rucksacks with etc. Then do a strap under the seat etc. Its not going to stop anyone slashing the panniers, but im sure that will be a rare occurance. The tank bag thing is a good idea, as in keep all your valuables in that.

There's a company called pacsafe that make wire mesh contraptions. They are designed for backpackers so they can lock there rucksacks up safely.

It's a wire mesh construction so even if some one tries to slash your bag open they can only steal what will fit through the 5cm squared holes in the mesh. It has a longish metal rope which acts as a drawstring to pull it tightly around the bag and then that can be locked around a lamp post or in the case of bike luggage around the frame of the bike.

Like i say not specifically designed for bike luggage although you can get various sizes, and they can be very expensive (for a large rucksack 80litres much larger tha pannier size) they are about £50. Worth a look tho if your worried about leaving stuff.

I put anything remotely valuable in the tank bag and carry that with me when I get off and the rest goes in tail pack/panniers. I don't even put padlocks on the zip. My logic being, if they unzip the panniers (quicker/easier than ripping them off, the way I bungee them down) and look inside, they'll see it's just my tatty old clothes and leave them. Obviously I'm selective about where I park, but I've left unlocked soft luggage on my bike in a busy street several times and no one has ever messed with it (to my knowledge).

Cheers for the advice, will probably go for the leave the zips unlocked and no valuables option, perhaps with a small cable lock to stop the hundred quids worth of throw overs being stolen (probably worth more than the contents).

Will go and invest in a few more bungees as well this weekend before heading off.

I've got a small Oxford Tailpack (one of the 'Humpback ones) that quite neatly unzips to give you a fairly comfortable small rucksack for valuables etc. All it leaves behind on the bike is a secured 'pad'. That's all I'm planning on taking on the Eurotour/Nurburgring run this year. Cripple onna race track - it's gonna be awsome!

If I end up having to take the panniers too (matching set) then I'll leave non essentials in there and simply leave them completely unsecured (other than on to the bike).

That way, chances are that if anything is going to get nicked it'll be by a swift opportunist - and they'll leave you panniers undamaged.

T shirts etc are easy to replace, but damaged panniers are a different matter in the middle of a tour.

I locked my valuables in the top box. :wink: :D

Otherwise when in France/Germany/Switzerland etc I left everything else on the bike in soft luggage unlocked, including my gear. No-one nicked anything - and tbh I would wonder why anyone would want to nick my clothes - for the whole two weeks. Not a chance Id do the same in the UK though. :?

But for your valuables - passport/documents etc probably a rucksack to carry with you? most tankbags have a rucksack zip on option so you get the advantage of both. Just a consideration. :D