Chrome Industries Urban Ex Pannier 2.0 review

Stylish, robust pannier for modest loads, with a not-so-modest price tag

Main photo
(Image credit: Emma Silversides)
Cycling Weekly Verdict

The Chrome Industries Urban Ex Pannier 2.0 is a classy looking bit of baggage, perfect for city and town commuters. It's seriously well made and shouldn't worry its lifetime warranty. Internally padded pockets and 100% waterproofing offer superior protection for contents, though you may feel a bit short changed where capacity is concerned. Off the bike, functionality is excellent, which may go some way to justifying the very hefty price tag.

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Robust

  • +

    Stylish

  • +

    100% Waterproof

  • +

    Lifetime warranty

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    Pricey

  • -

    Limited capacity

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Chrome has a reputation for functional, durable, stylish kit. Much of it is designed with urban riding in mind. While the Urban Ex 2.0 certainly ticks all these boxes, it falls a little short in terms of capacity. Having had my hands on it for over a month, I’d say it’s a buy-once, buy to last piece of kit.  

Chrome Industries Urban Ex Pannier 2.0: construction

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Emma’s first encounters with a bike were in between swimming and running. Soon after competing for GB in the World Age Group Triathlon Championships in Edmonton in 2001 she saw the light and decided to focus on cycling. 

With a couple of half decent UK road seasons under her belt, she went out to Belgium to sample the racing there, spending two years with Lotto-Belisol Ladies team, racing alongside the likes of Sara Carrigan, Grace Verbeke, Rochelle Gilmore and Lizzie Deignan. Emma moved from Lotto-Belisol to Dutch team Redsun, working primarily as a domestique for Emma Johansson. When Redsun folded, Emma was offered the opportunity to ride with a newly formed Belgian team and home to the first year senior and budding rider Anna Van Der Breggen.

After retiring, Emma returned to teaching, setting up her own tutoring business. When not coercing kids to do maths, she is invariably out on two wheels. While the road bike remains her true passion, she has also developed an addiction to touring, with destinations including Iceland, Georgia and Albania, to mention just a few. There have also been sightings of Emma off-road, on mountain and gravel bikes… As if all of this isn't enough, she's been working as a freelancer since 2005, testing and reviewing the latest kit and sharing her insight into the sport.