Axiom racks/panniers

[shudson16]

Got my eye on a couple of their products. Anyone use this brand of racks and panniers? Haven't seen their name mentioned a lot on this forum. Looks like pretty decent stuff. I especially like the aero road racks. Makes sense to me to have a narrower platform for those who carry a lighter load. Any comments? Thanks.

[ryball]

I have their streamliner road DLX rack. I love it. Not only does it move my panniers back about 4mm (IIRC) to increase heal clearance, it also cant's them inward giving me a tiny bit of extra side clearance. They are supposed to be able to hold 110lbs., though I will likely never carry that much.

I am running them with Ortlieb's.

[zriggle]

I have their streamliner road DLX rack. I love it. Not only does it move my panniers back about 4mm (IIRC) to increase heal clearance, it also cant's them inward giving me a tiny bit of extra side clearance. They are supposed to be able to hold 110lbs., though I will likely never carry that much.

This.

I also have one, it’s great. Not sure I would trust it with 110lbs, but with what I haul it works just fine. For the price, it’s especially nice. I use it with Banjo Bros waterproof bags.

[undies]

My LBS carries Axiom stuff so I have a variety of their things:

* Journey rack
* MacKenzie 18L panniers
* Champlain 65L panniers

The build quality of the Axiom gear seems pretty good, but the design is lacking IMHO. My main complaint is that the panniers don't mount perfectly on the Journey rack. The cross-members sort of foul the mounting system. It works, but definitely not as if they were all designed together to work "as one."

Axiom stuff is serviceable. Not great, not horrible, just serviceable.

[Eisentraut]

I have the Typhoon panniers and rear rack and while the price point is ok, they don't fit eachother very well. The rack has a diagonal brace that doesn't allow the rubber wedgie to be rotated to lock the panniers on. I've mentioned this many times on this forum and others. Whoever came up with this design needs to go back to the drawing board. They were both bought as a gift for me so I kept them but if it were my money I'd have returned them. You get what you pay for I guess.

[shudson16]

Sounds like the biggest complaint w/their product is the mounting of pannier to rack. Is it the rack or the pannier? Do they use the same mounting system on all of their panniers? I assume so. Their website does not show details of the mounting sys, hard to judge how the mounting is setup. I'm looking at the Cartier panniers to use for commuting /light touring. Also considering Lone Peak. Wonder if I'd have the same issues w/LP panniers. I also have a pair of Kirkland TourPaks that must be at least thirty yrs old. They were great bags in their day and have served me well. They're still in one piece although the waterproof membrane that was on the inside is all but gone. Are they still in business? Any takes? Thanks again.

[rayhead00]

I like my Champlain panniers. Mine ride on a Jaand Expidition rack. Yeah, the lock bar is a bit finicky. They have a bunch of pockets that make getting organized either confusing or easy. The bags have held up well through one year of commuting and touring. I'll be getting the matching front bags this spring.

[undies]

I have the Typhoon panniers and rear rack and while the price point is ok, they don't fit eachother very well. The rack has a diagonal brace that doesn't allow the rubber wedgie to be rotated to lock the panniers on.

That's exactly the problem that I have. The people who design Axiom's panniers don't seem to ever talk to the people who design their racks.

[aking legs]

I have the Cartier panniers with an unknown rack. Decent bags that have held up for one year so far. No problems so far.

[shudson16]

Decided to take a chance on the Axiom brand. Ordered the DLX Streamline rack and a pair of Cartier panniers. Received the goods today and have them installed on my bike already. No issues at all. Contrary to a few other post the panniers hooked up to the rack just fine. Maybe Axiom racks go better with Axiom panniers? Anyway, can't wait to put them to use. If they last half as long as my Kirklands did I'll be happy. Now go away snow! BTW, Niagara Cycle Works had the best prices, substantial savings over MSRP.

[|3iker]

I believe Axiom is a subsidiary of Norco Bikes.

[Amanda.78]

I love my rack. It gets lots of compliments.

Oh yeah, and it's an axiom :-)

I'm not sure of the model name, but it's the disc brake version. My panniers are homebuilt, so there's no fit issue at all. I use my rack a lot... whether it's haulin' groceries, toting its new trunk, or just a cargo net with a backpack. Love it. Sturdy and Substantial.

[shudson16]

Never thought about using kitty litter containers for panniers. Don't know why, I use them for storage for other items. Good idea.

[Amanda.78]

Never thought about using kitty litter containers for panniers. Don't know why, I use them for storage for other items. Good idea.

I can't take credit for the idea, but they do work really well.

The hardest part in building them was the Saturday afternoon spent with a bottle of Brasso and a six-pack of Bell's Best Brown, polishing the screen-printed labels off of the buckets.

Yeah, it's obvious that they're litter buckets, but I didn't really want to be advertising for Tidy Cat.

[Pscyclepath]

I have a Delta rack, but at least two or three sets of Axiom panniers...a large set for touring and general cargo-hauling, a pair of the Hunter grocery panniers, and a rack trunk that has fold-down pockets that convert to panniers. Have used them now for about three years. They're not the fanciest gear in the world, but they're very serviceable, durable, and they didn't cost an arm and a leg...

[undies]

Maybe Axiom racks go better with Axiom panniers?

If you re-read the previous posts, you'll see that we are upset because we have Axiom racks AND Axiom panniers that do not work well together.

Perhaps your positive findings suggest that they have addressed these problems with newer designs.