I was planning on making trash can panniers. 2 black in the rear, and 2 white in the front. What would be the issues with this setup? Thanks!
by InevitableFeature871
I was planning on making trash can panniers. 2 black in the rear, and 2 white in the front. What would be the issues with this setup? Thanks!
by InevitableFeature871
11 Comments
If you’re handy enough to make it work, then you’re handy enough to make it work, and if you aren’t you aren’t.
There’s nothing stopping you.
Some people may question your aesthetic choices.
The kitty litter containers actually strike me as more durable than those cheap mini trash cans, but that’s not an opinion formed by data.
I and seen lots of people use two plastic tubs that were originally kitty litter containers.
Third for kitty tub panniers. They’re pretty awesome for the price, albeit a bit clunky. Ran them for a few tours, happy with Ortlieb now.
If you do those trash can set-up, drill a drain hole
no rain protection and you look goofy
other than that i don’t see the problem
The only major issue I can think of is rain water drainage. If you drill too many drain holes it will compromise the strength of the bottom, but if you drill too few then they will fill up faster than the water can run out in any decent amount of rain.
Then there is the minor issue that you will literally have a “trash bike” lol. Prepare to be judged by the masses.
Sometimes all you need is a bike and a bucket. If it’s raining you can fill your buckets while cycling and then have drinking and cooking water.
Buckets have some great perks. Once you’re off the bike and camping, turn it upside down and it’s a seat. Turn it right side up and it’s a toilet. Lose your helmet? Bucket. Need to get supplies? Bucket.
Cause they’ll break in the middle of nowhere and then you’re stranded with a load of gear you can’t carry.
I would worry about them suffering fatigue at the attachment points.
Do some shakedown trips and inspect for cracks.
I ran some homemade kitty litter containers on a 3K mile tour. What I liked about them was that they were very waterproof, protective, and held up well.
A couple of issues I had with mine:
After a while the top cover would occasionally pop open. I would affix a strap (probably velcro) to secure the top better than the kitty litter top snapping down onto the container. I found making sure the tops opened facing backwards helped a little here.
When I went off road and things got very bumpy they had a tendency to pop off the hooks that connected to my rack. I think some heavy duty twist ties would have helped here but those would have made getting the panniers on and off the bike a bit more time consuming.
On most panniers they have special hooks which surround the racks bar.
​
The ones I used were like these, but I made a few minor modifications when I built them:
[https://youtu.be/noCNXUsmyYs](https://youtu.be/noCNXUsmyYs)
For a road trip I would have no issues with using them again. Unfortunately my next long trip is almost all gravel so I will be using traditional panniers.
Do it! After a little while, you’ll end up deciding to splurge on the good ones. Nothing wrong with a little scrappy DIY project to tide you over until you choose to upgrade.
old cat litter buckets with the lid with ubolts attached to your front forks work great as fork bags too haha.