As soon as Blake Johnson (the new designer I started working with) was done completing the design specs for our backrests, I had him start working on designs and specs for the pannier hooks I had prototyped back in October of last year. Besides a backrest, the number one thing our customers have asked us for to date is the ability to hang their panniers on their bike seat.
The design is relatively simple: "hooks" that hang on the side of the stash-box that pannier hooks can hang onto. My first prototype pannier hooks ultimately left scratches on the side of the bike seat, so we decided to add a small, thin piece of foam material to protect against this scratching.
The design is relatively simple: "hooks" that hang on the side of the stash-box that pannier hooks can hang onto. My first prototype pannier hooks ultimately left scratches on the side of the bike seat, so we decided to add a small, thin piece of foam material to protect against this scratching.
Here is the latest iteration of the design that Blake is working on. The challenge we're facing is making the pannier hooks compatible with the backrest, such that both can be installed on a bike seat at the same time. This latest version seems to have overcome this challenge, with the pannier hooks extended enough past the support arm of the backrest to provide enough clearance for the pannier clip to hang onto without bumping into the backrest frame.
Next steps for Blake and I are to come up with a way to make a quick mock-up of this new design, and make sure that the pannier hooks don't extend too far off the side of the stash-box such that it's awkward or cumbersome. More news to come as we make more progress!
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