Midland Supreme panniers/How to Mount?

harry880

New Forum User
Non-VOC Member
By some quirk of chance I found a NOS pair of Midland Supreme "Centurian" panniers for my '51 Comet. However, I cannot find any information on Midland as a company--or directions as to how best to mount the panniers. Can anyone help me out on this one??? Thanks all.
 

harry880

New Forum User
Non-VOC Member
Good Idea! Pannier2.jpgPannier3.jpg
 

Tom Gaynor

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
I made my own pannier frame, since most Craven pannier set-ups looked to me like a Vincent bolted to the Forth Bridge. Or protruding from a scrap dealer's yard... Tubes and brackets everywhere...
I imagine your panniers could easily be adapted to the system used by Craven to fix panniers to frame, of rubber bushes hooked on to pins with a Dzus fastener to allow easy removal. I made most of the bits myself, and have had the panniers in almost constant use for 10,000 miles. I have drawings and pictures.
By some quirk of chance I found a NOS pair of Midland Supreme "Centurian" panniers for my '51 Comet. However, I cannot find any information on Midland as a company--or directions as to how best to mount the panniers. Can anyone help me out on this one??? Thanks all.
 

bmetcalf

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Do you have a sprung saddle? I would be interested in the design if it is articulated for the standard setup. Either way, actually I would be interested. Maybe post them in the Photos section?
 

Tom Gaynor

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Pix in Miscellaneous:2010:Series C. The rack is fully sprung and the seat half-sprung. You can see where the fixings are, one on each footrest plate, one at the saddle nose. The ally plates are structurally redundant, and could be dispensed with, but doing it that way meant that the rack didn't have to be welded to two decimal places to take the pannier "pegs and sockets". You can see the pegs at the top, and the Dzus fastener at the bottom of the plates.
If the fixings for the plates were approximately correct, I could fix the panniers accurately to the plates, then the plates accurately to the rack. I didn't want to fit a tail rack, or a hideous top-box (ALL top boxes are hideous), which made things simpler. The "lifting handle" at the back needs to be higher to let the mudguard flap lift up further, but it isn't a show-stopper. I've made many trips over four years, fully laden, had no problems, and it makes no difference to the handling, possibly because it isn't cantilevered out far astern. A side benefit of the plates is that they keep muck off the panniers themselves, so I don't have to hose them down on arrival to keep tents or hotel rooms clean.
The whole shebang is readily removed, but in fact I've never removed it. I occasionally leave the panniers behind which is how I know there's no difference laden or unladen, except that the suspension bottoms more easily laden. As it would do.

Do you have a sprung saddle? I would be interested in the design if it is articulated for the standard setup. Either way, actually I would be interested. Maybe post them in the Photos section?
 

Tom Gaynor

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Yes. They're "black chrome".
What I thought were "original" ones, but chrome replicas, turned out to be about 1 1/2" longer than the new black ones. Measurement confirms that the short ones are correct. Can't say I've noticed any difference.
The rack will move given a traverse shake, which causes me to think that a bit of freedom in the traverse plane saves a great deal of complication, and makes no noticeable difference.

Looks very stable.

Are your handlebars standard length?
 
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