I waffled. I vacillated. I just didn't know which way to go. Do I go with the 4" tall model and have the super slim profile? Or do I go with the 7" tall model and enjoy a much more practical storage experience?
Well, MONTHS ago when I made the call, I opted for the 7" tall model, figuring it'd be handy to have more room for gear, food and water while camping. The HT panniers can pretty much carry everything I need, but adding food and water required strapping bags to the bike. Having lockable storage for that stuff, and maybe for the cooking gear would be nice. And now I have it!
Now, after mounting it to my AltRider rear rack, I have to say, I like the overall height. Not too tall, but ads a useful amount of storage space.
I will say, unlike the panniers which are literally ROCK solid, the top box when bolted to the AltRider rear rack is more like a sapling. Still solid, but a slight amount of flex due to all the weight being funneled through the AltRider mounting points. Might need to examine other options after a few rides. What is obvious is that you should not overload the top box. My plans for the top box kind of mirror my plans for the bike overall - built it for more than I'll need.
Came with new, matching, locks so I updated the locks on the panniers to match - one key works all three boxes.
Not entirely impressed with HT this time, however. They nailed their planned ship date, but told me the entire order shipped. My pannier-top bags, however, did not arrive with the order. An email to HT (yesterday) got a response the today that the bags would be shipped tomorrow. Obviously they had them in stock, but they failed to ship them. Not what I expect after they took my money. Still, it's a minor issue and wouldn't stop me from buying from them again.
I'll do a full video review soon and you'll be able to see how the boxes are all designed to work together to maximize space and still function as intended when mounted.
My top box arrives without mounting holes drilled, so I did some simple measuring, plotted 4 holes based on options already in place on the AltRider rack, drilled and bolted everything together. Only took a couple hours front to back, taking my time to triple check measurements and locations prior to actually drilling.
The box is powder coated aluminum and weighs in as advertised at just under 11 pounds. Decent weight for the storage offered.
Well, MONTHS ago when I made the call, I opted for the 7" tall model, figuring it'd be handy to have more room for gear, food and water while camping. The HT panniers can pretty much carry everything I need, but adding food and water required strapping bags to the bike. Having lockable storage for that stuff, and maybe for the cooking gear would be nice. And now I have it!
Now, after mounting it to my AltRider rear rack, I have to say, I like the overall height. Not too tall, but ads a useful amount of storage space.
I will say, unlike the panniers which are literally ROCK solid, the top box when bolted to the AltRider rear rack is more like a sapling. Still solid, but a slight amount of flex due to all the weight being funneled through the AltRider mounting points. Might need to examine other options after a few rides. What is obvious is that you should not overload the top box. My plans for the top box kind of mirror my plans for the bike overall - built it for more than I'll need.
Came with new, matching, locks so I updated the locks on the panniers to match - one key works all three boxes.
Not entirely impressed with HT this time, however. They nailed their planned ship date, but told me the entire order shipped. My pannier-top bags, however, did not arrive with the order. An email to HT (yesterday) got a response the today that the bags would be shipped tomorrow. Obviously they had them in stock, but they failed to ship them. Not what I expect after they took my money. Still, it's a minor issue and wouldn't stop me from buying from them again.
I'll do a full video review soon and you'll be able to see how the boxes are all designed to work together to maximize space and still function as intended when mounted.
My top box arrives without mounting holes drilled, so I did some simple measuring, plotted 4 holes based on options already in place on the AltRider rack, drilled and bolted everything together. Only took a couple hours front to back, taking my time to triple check measurements and locations prior to actually drilling.
The box is powder coated aluminum and weighs in as advertised at just under 11 pounds. Decent weight for the storage offered.
