How to Safely Carry Luggage When You’re Riding Your eBike

If you are considering an eBike or eBike conversion kit then one thing you might also want to think about is carrying luggage. There are several factors you should consider before and during riding with luggage.

Before you start out on your ride, consider what you will be carrying and how it will be carried. Here are a few things to think about in terms of carrying your luggage safely.

1. Don’t Hang It From the Handlebars!

You see this all the time. People leaving the supermarket with a bulging bag of shopping hanging from a handlebar. Or from both handlebars!

While they might be a convenient way to carry your shopping, the handlebars are there so you can control the bike. How do you plan on doing that properly if you’ve got six litres of milk hanging from one side of the bike and two kilograms of potatoes hanging from the other?

Never hang anything from your handlebars, or you might find yourself falling off your bike.

2. Consider Using Pannier Bags

Pannier Bags are an excellent way to carry luggage and can be quite roomy if you also fit a rack to the back of your bicycle. They sit over and to either side of the rear wheel, providing luggage space to suit a wide range of needs.

You can buy all sorts of pannier bags. Many of them are waterproof so can be used for extended rides. These are great if you plan to go on a long bike ride and camp out for the night before riding home.

3. Buy the Right Backpack

If you are going to carry a bag, the best place to do so is on your back. If you do plan to go camping after your bike ride, as mentioned above, then pannier bags are suggested, alongside a backpack that doesn’t occlude your vision.

Don’t forget, being able to see your surroundings, when you are on a bike ride, is very important, so a huge backpack that extends up past your line of sight is a bad idea. Go for something smaller and weatherproof. You can always put your shopping in this, too.

Safely Carry Luggage on Your Bike

Hopefully, the points above have given you something to think about when it comes to riding your bike with luggage. All of these tips will add to the safety of your ride, as well as providing you with some ideas of what to actually put your luggage in.

Steven Knight

Written by @alex on February 18, 2020