From Wikipedia – “A pannier (pronounced /ˈpæniər/) is a basket, bag, box, or similar container, carried in pairs either slung over the back of a beast of burden, or attached to the sides of a bicycle or motorcycle. The term derives from the Old French, from Classical Latin, word for bread basket.”
I have been looking for them as I need them to carry what I need for this solo trip but the ones available in Kuching though really affordable are of poor quality in materials and fixing method (cumbersome straps that’s hard to put on and remove) to the bicycle racks. Of even more concern is that they are not waterproof – I like to sleep in dry pyjamas ;-) The most popular brand that most cyclo tourists uses for their world wide adventures is ‘ortlieb’ which I could order from online but their prohibitive pricing meant that each time when it comes to the checkout; I think about my hard earned money and I hesistated!
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| Made-in-Thailand Vincita Rear Panniers on my hotel bed and soon on my bicycle rack! |
So I was quite thrilled today to come across them at a Thai trade products fair in the hall next to the property expo that I was attending at Mid-Valley Exhibition Centre in Kuala Lumpur. Vincita is a small Thai company specialising in making bicycle bags and accessories for the European export market and are trying to penetrate the Malaysian market after having established a dealership in Indonesia already. Anyway I bought their only pair of black (they are also available in red) waterproof rear pannier that they had on display at a very reasonable RM195/-. That’s one item I can tick off on my gear checklist for this trip! Great.
