Subscribe
Basil bags now available at YOUR local bike shop
April 19th, 2008 by Fritz 
I and many of you have gone ga ga over the beautiful panniers and bags available from Basil Bags in the Netherlands. I loved them so much I bought for my wife last year from Clever Cycles of Portland, OR, which had arranged their own import deal.
I learned just today that the big bike parts distributor Seattle Bike Supply has been importing Basil Bags since last November! They carry the Blossom pannier, the Blossom messenger bbag, a handy handlebar b bag, the waterproof Forest p pannier, the Jasmin messenger bag, some beautiful canvas panniers, and panniers that also double as shopping bags.
To get these bags, visit your Local Bike Shop and ask them to order these bags for you from the SBS Catalog. SBS keeps these items stocked at their warehouse in Kent, WA for next day delivery to the bike shop.
April 20th, 2008 at 7:09 am
Basil Bags are incredible — my wife and I are quite fond of them.
There are a couple other sources, too — Niagara Cycle Works (complete range, from what I can tell), Velo Orange (baskets only, for now), and Wheelgirl in Berkeley (limited range, for now). Even Amazon.com offers some choices!!!
A pair of shiny red Basil panniers even made it into an episode of The Bicyclist recently (at least I think they are Basil bags): http://www.thebicyclist.tv/episode25.htm
April 21st, 2008 at 12:48 pm
…thumbs up to basil bags for some interesting features & designs…
May 10th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
what kind of rear rack system would you suggest? I have a Cannondale H300 yr 2000 that I wanted to setup, I’m not sure if it has mounting brackets. I was given the Basil rear pannier as a gift and am located in Florida. I’ll be using it for small grocery trips.
May 10th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
Leader, it looks like your Cannondale has rack eyelets on the seatstays. Just about any rack should work, e.g. from high end Tubus racks to workhouses from Blackburn to no name racks from the mail order outfits. I’d personally avoid racks that attach to the seatpost (e.g. Topeak beam racks) because of very low weight limits, but that just might be my conservative personality.
September 27th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
Fritz, do you think that this pannier would hold a 17″ laptop? I am looking at the white one from Basil and the dimensions say 36×15x33 (35L) if the width is 15″ that isn’t going to work now is it!
September 27th, 2008 at 11:11 pm
Hi Laura, you’ll need a bigger bag or a smaller laptop. 36 cm is about 14 inches.
September 27th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
Thanks Fritz. Guess the Dutch don’t need to lug gigantic laptops around. I don’t blame them, I wouldn’t…
November 28th, 2008 at 9:52 pm
I own a pair of green/white Mirte shopper bags by Basil that I love. I use them regularly for commuting & shopping. I’ve been so pleased, I even use them independent of my bike when I want to carry a shopping bag.
Panniers can be difficult to use because they tend to flop at the handles. The handles on these bags are sturdy & easy to use. The zip open top is also very easy for packing. If you want ease of use, I recommend the Basil Mirte Shopping bags for function as well as beauty.