I return with questions..!

[Dan]

Hi guys!

Long story short, I am back!
I fell into the seat of a brand new Fireblade, but it now has a Tiger as a stable mate! The missus won't ride on the back of the Blade, so bless her, has bought a tiger  for me to pilot her about on... At 4'8" she won't be riding it herself!!
Anyways, it needs farkling, and at this point I am investigating pannier racks. I refuse to pay the money people want for these things, so intend to make my own .. the question is

Steel tube or box steel?
To construct the racking out of course ..!!

[metalguru]

Made these for my first Girly, even sustained a very big off and survived!(The bike didn't)
The frames are made from 6mm round bar and the bags are backed with aluminium sheet. The bags are second hand Oxfords found on the net for about £15.

[Dan]

Thank you for that Metalguru!

Is the 6mm bar reasonable sturdy then?

[metalguru]

As far as I remember it was quite malleable steel, something similar to shopping trolleys.............

[Dan]

Fair enough!
Certainly an option to consider. I was considering secondhand ally panniers, if I can get them cheap enough. The cheapest racking system I found was £190, and then with boxes you can easily kiss goodbye to nearly a grand.
Hence the 'Heath Robinson' approach.
I did suggest cut off Jerry cans to the missus.. but she didn't like that idea much....
Ammo boxes I like, but once again, she not keen....

So, I resolve to construct my own strong racking system, and hope to stumble across some decent panniers between now and March time..

Fleabay appears to have wholly optimistic pricing at the minute, so I am putting it down to the season. Hopefully the prices will become more realistic as the colder weather approaches.

As a side note, I have only been without a Tiger for 2 years or so, but I cannot believe how the accessory market has shrunk! (For the 955 I mean) There is a plethora of stuff to be had for all the newer bikes.....

[metalguru]

She who will be obeyed will be happy to hear that the Oxford panniers are expandable for all 'essentials'.