Karen Voyer-Caravona is an admitted bicycle dilettante in Flagstaff, Arizona, who blogs about her adventures on two wheels, vélo envy, her husband’s cooking, and cross country skiing at www.sheridesabike.com. Visit her website for her endless opinions on the most stylish shoes for pedaling, critiques of bike parking, and the best bike date dining destinations.
My seemingly endless obsession with bike bags and panniers is due to my deeply-held belief that there exists a single perfect bag for all my biking needs. I want to be able to carry it comfortably once I arrive at my destination and attach it to my rear bike rack as I would a traditional but sometimes awkward-to-carry pannier.
My personal preference is not to pedal with a backpack or messenger bag strapped across my back because it makes me feel physically weighed down. I already have a Timbuk2 messenger bag that I like very well and use for out-of-town trips but it doesn't have clips so I don't usually carry it with me when I'm traveling by bike. The Shift Pannier Messenger, as the name implies, is a happy combination of both carrying methods.
As a messenger bag, the Shift is slightly smaller than my Timbuk2 Classic Messenger. The Shift measures 14.17 (w) x 10.24 (h) x 5.12 (d) inches, and the accompanying marketing material indicates that most 15-inch laptop computers will fit inside the internal stretch pocket.
Five pockets are located beneath the exterior flap, three of which are zipped. Like other Timbuk2 bags the Shift secures shut with a abundance of Velcro and two buckles, and is constructed to be waterproof with the same ballistic nylon and rubberized material.
The Shift adds small weather flaps, also sealed down with Velcro to the inside of bag where it opens into the main compartment, protecting the contents further from rain and snow.
The detachable shoulder strap can be easily retracted for a close fit and extended with an unlocking buckle so that the wearer can quickly remove the Shift without having to remove a bike helmet.
In order to convert the Shift to a pannier, Timbuk2 resolved an issue that always frustrates my husband and me when we have to carry our traditional panniers after removing them from our bicycles. The hooks on the panniers always, always, always snag clothing (especially sweaters) or catch things they brush up against–a potentially costly problem when we're shopping.
The hooks on the Shift Pannier Messenger, on the other hand, collapse and tuck neatly under Velcro straps. (Why didn't my dad think of Velcro?) So catching fabric, becoming ensnared on a shopping cart, or delivering a nasty scratch to a stranger's arm are never a problem.
The Shift can then be worn like a messenger bag or carried briefcase-style using the nylon handle since the rigid interior construction of the back of the bag maintains its shape. I found myself carrying the Shift in this manner on the day I tested it, rather than stopping to reattach the shoulder strap. Finally, the sides of the pannier each have a loop for attaching a blinky light.
And test the Shift, I did.
I carried it on my bike for several hours one day for numerous shopping errands I needed to knock out. As mentioned previously, the interior stretch pocket is designed to fit most 15-inch laptop computers so I tried to slide in my Dell Studio laptop. My computer fit into the main compartment of the Shift but the stretch pocket was too tight to accommodate my laptop. This possibly could be due to the laptop’s thickness. New, slimmer laptops might certainly be able to fit inside.
The stretch pocket was a perfect fit for my husband's 10.5 x 9 inch laptop, so obviously e-readers or iPads would be fine, as well. Along with my husband's laptop, I also carried with me an overstuffed wallet, a small makeup bag, my eyeglass case, a set of keys, a small digital camera, my u-lock and mobile phone.
In the course of the trip, I added a box of overpriced, perfumed soap; some prescription medicine; a medium-sized tin can of dark roast coffee beans; and a brownie.
Another reviewer on the Timbuk2 Website mentioned that he found the zip pockets a bit too tight, but I wasn't particularly troubled by this. They aren't any tighter or smaller than the pockets of my Classic Messenger, and I used them to store the small stuff I'd otherwise lose in the main compartment area–keys, camera and brownie.
As alluded to earlier, I am occasionally prone to irrational thoughts. Among those pertaining to panniers are that (a) the pannier will take 20 minutes to attach or remove while impatient cyclists wait around the bike rack for their turn to lock up, and (b) that the pannier will detach from my bike as I pedal over a rut in the pavement spilling all the contents on to the road during busy traffic.
Worry wort or not, it did take me two or three times to elegantly attach and remove the pannier because I kept folding the Velcro back over the clips after they were attached to the carrying rack.
Later, trying to squeeze my fingers between the pannier and the rack to unfold the Velcro was a bear. Eventually, it dawned on me that the Shift's pannier clips are much deeper than those on any of my other pannier. Coupled with the Shift’s bungee cord hook, this made for a just snug enough fit.
Short of flipping my bike, I don't see how the clips could pop off. In fact, I didn't hear the Shift rattle or move during any part of my trip. That lesson learned, I also had to train myself to remember to both remove the shoulder strap and fold down the Velcro against the back of the bag before reattaching it on my bike so they wouldn't get caught in the spokes or anything that I rode past.
I don't yet know if the Shift Pannier Messenger is the bag to meet all my biking needs but it certainly covers a lot of ground. It won't replace larger, boxy panniers that we use for heavy duty grocery shopping trips but for $100 it doubles, no triples, as a fairly room pannier, a messenger bag and a briefcase. The Shift is the same high quality that I've come to expect in Timbuk2 products so I am pretty confident we'll be using this bag for a long time. It only comes in two colors, black and red/black. Currently, the Shift is only available in medium size.
The Timbuk2 Shift Messenger sells retail for $100.
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