Is it practical to ride with just one pannier on the rear of your bike? The short answer is absolutely yes!! maybe you a looking to do some commuting to work and only need to use the space one pannier provides. Using a single pannier generally on the left side of your bikes rear rack is the most popular way to carry those extra items on the commute.
Putting the pannier on the opposite site of your drivetrain, or on the side you put your leg down when stopping and only storing a minimal amount of gear gives commuters the best results and avoids the pannier from unbalancing the bike dramatically.
It is good advice especially for those who commute using clip in pedals. If you unclip your left foot first to put your foot down when stopping a the lights, that is the same side your single pannier should be mounted.
Single Vs Double Pannier
Why would you consider riding with just one pannier? And not two? Typically two panniers at the rear of your bike is best suited for bike touring. When you need to carry more than just what is typically required for the daily commute.
The single pannier setup it more suited for the commuter. if you only need to carry say, a laptop, spare change of clothing and a packed lunch. You can get away easily with running just the one pannier. You barely notice the weight and there is no unbalance. But if you are packing that one pannier to the brim all the weight on one side of the bike is going to put it off balance.
One of the great advantages for running a single pannier when city commuting is the ease of taking only one pannier off the bike and carrying it around when walking. Giving you that peace of mind carrying your valuables with you into shops, while you lock your bike outside.
And you can even get these awesome backpack panniers which make the perfect panniers for single pannier commuting. They act as pannier on the bike and when it comes time to get off the bike you can wear it on your back like a backpack for ease of use! Also if you have Ortlieb panniers you can run this on the pannier to turn it into a backpack.
From my own personal experience the only time I noticed some difficulty using a single pannier setup was when carrying or walking with my bike. That slightly uneven weight distribution is noticed while doing these two activities, making it a little harder. But when you get on the bike and start pedalling you almost forget there is anything on the back of your bike. It does take a few times to get used to.
It is funny, I am so use to riding heavier bikes, from all my touring I have done around the world. That now when I hop on a lightweight road bike it feels really weird.
It seems if your pannier has some amount of weight to it. It will put a slight imbalance on the bike. This is mostly noticed while riding inn crosswinds, cornering and when stopping. Just a word of warning to take care and learn to adjust to the riding feel if you plan to ride with a single pannier. It may feel weird at the start but you should get used to it.
Some other issues I ran into while commuting was hill starts with a single pannier over 6 kg or so in weight. With a light road bike it seemed to want to cause the bike to do an inadvertent wheely at times.
In conclusion running a single pannier for urban commuting works really well. And there is no doubt why it is a popular way to carry gear to work. It will at times make for an awkward bike to walk inside builds and holding doors one handed as the bike wants to fall over. but when you get pedalling it is barely noticeable.
About The Author
