KC8QVO

I am looking at putting an Ultimate 6 handlebar bag on my bikes but I am looking at the cable and it looks like the routing of the cable in the mount goes through 1-way clamps.

How does one remove the mount once it has been installed to swap it between 2 bikes? Or does the cable need to be cut and replaced to remove the mount?

djb

been there, done that.

I assume you dont have one yet right?

This is the important bit---Do not overtighten the last bolt that tightens down (unseen) on the cable inside the mount. I f you overtighten, you end up sqwershing the cable covered with plastic and distorting it, making it a real pain the a to pull out of the mount if you want ot mount it on another bike.

I made this mistake with my first mount.
I was able to reuse it once, but wouldnt want to use it again, as its hard as heck to feed a sqwershed, widened cable through the holes of the mount, and two, it probably weakens it.

if you dont overtighten, its very doable to remount

BUUUT now we get to the crux of it, that to replace just the cable, costs not a lot less than buying a whole replacement mount, that comes with a new cable, so thats the route i went, and just ended up buying a new mount to put on another bike, to avoid taking on and taking off

if you havent mounted one yet, all of this will not make sense, but just remember, FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS AND DONT OVERTIGHTEN IT EITHER. (be safe and undertighten if not sure, its easy to tighten a smidge, impossible to unsqwersh a flattened cable....)

they are great bags, and a good solid mount and mounting system---even when not tightened too much, my mounts and bags never slid or moved downwards, but I had a moderate amount of weight in it, never over the top

but no, they just are not great for removing and putting back on if you squish the cable and distort it.

KC8QVO

Hmm. Thanks for the post.

I was actually just coming back over here to mention I figured it out... I was looking at the mount wrong and there are screw clamps - as you state.

I probably over-tightened the clamp screws already. We'll find out. I have it set up on the bike I will be running through July, aside from a ride or two, so it isn't going to move for a while. Though, I will loosen the cable to rotate the mount (folding bike and the mount is blocking the latch for the handlebar positioning).

Maybe it wouldn't hurt just to buy another mount set and install that on my other bike. Then I won't have to swap as many components. Although, I have to reset the pannier mounts between the bikes anyway so there is still some work to do.

djb

You can try switching it, perhaps the cable is ok, just don't leave it last minute in case you need to source a cable.
In any case, they are well made and really are waterproof in any and all rain, and the map case really is the best map case out there, if you use maps at all.

mrveloman

you could just buy a second mount... https://ortliebusa.com/product/ultim...-bracket-e185/

David in Maine

You can probably use a brake cable to remount if you squished the original. I went with the second mount idea. You can use a Rixen and Kaul KwikFix mount with your Ortlieb bag so you don't have the useless lock that comes on the Ortlieb mount. It is a perfect fit with Ortlieb handlebar bags.

David

pdlamb

This is what I did. Then I bought another one, so the bag fits on all three of my bikes. Takes zero time to switch bikes, and zero worries about overtightening the mounting cable.

djb

re using a brake cable, remember the Ortlieb cable has that threaded part at the end, so as far as I know and what Ive read, its not an easy bodge to just use any old cable. I did read of someone a long time ago getting a cable jury rigged in South America somewhere, but Ive never really looked closely at how that would be done.

re the Rixen and Kaul mount--when I was looking at what to do for a second bike, I tried to find one here, but no go, none in stores, and I was hestitant to purchase one online in case it didnt fit. Apparently it does , according to a few here on the forum, but I was still wary of if things had changed, and so not being able to have one in hand to make sure, I just went the buying another complete Ortlieb mount route.

fietsbob

NB now Klick fix and Ortlieb 6 bar mounts are cross compatible ..

Rixen & Kaul .. KF, bar bag mounts have long been able take Ortlieb bags

buy more bag mounts .. so you don't have to undo the cables,,

FWIW, KF bag mounts are easier to remove and re install ..






....

fietsbob

Velo Fred has US/NA KF distributor , appears they sell to Amazon and direct not thru dealers.

Although Thor usa seems to have KF parts .. ...

Tourist in MSN

Shipping from Europe is often quite expensive, but sometimes SJS shipping can be quite affordable.
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/luggage/...-e167/?geoc=US

Tourist in MSN

Varies by brand. My Louis Guarneau bag mounts use just a cable, no fittings attached to it. I use brake cables quite often, but Ortieb cables are more likely to be a single use item.

fietsbob

Ortlieb has a special brass threaded piece , on the cable end.. It pulls it all tight...

KlickFix uses a plastic coated piece of cable .. That can just be a piece of brake cable..

djb

thanks fiets for making that more clear about the Ortlieb cable, that special brass end really is specific to them.

again, in months of riding, even with just moderate tightening of the two hex bolts on the wire, my mount never did sag downwards---but I didnt overload the bag--now I dont think I ever weighed it, but I use a point and shoot camera, had my cell, money, papers, sunscreen, lipbalm, toothbrush, pen, toilet paper, reading glasses, waterproof seat cover, and map case on top etc --so not having a heavy camera meant it was never particularly heavy, so this probably helped a lot.

Tourist in MSN

Not an Ortlieb bag, but you get the idea, ... ...



It helps to reduce sag if you put the densest stuff close to the mounting bracket, lighter low density stuff farther forward away from the mounting bracket.

For example, I have my sunglasses case as far forward in the bag as practical, a couple small guidebooks upright against the back against the mounting bracket. But after a while everything gets mixed up.

My next trip, I bought a powerbank that also functions as a pass through cache battery that weights 300 grams, that will be upright against the mount to keep the weight farther back.

phughes

I would simply buy multiple mounts. I have removed the mount from my bike numerous times, without replacing the cable, so it can be done, and you do not need to remove the cable completely from the mount. If you want to remove it, and replace it without replacing the cable, only disconnect the end of the cable that has the finished end, the end the bolt screws into. Loosen the screw that holds tension on the cable, but not the screw that secures the cut end of the cable, leave that secure. Remove the bolt on the finished end of the cable, the one that tightens the cable, and pull the end of the cable out. You can then get enough slack in the cable to unthread the cable from the bar, but leave the last loop, then you can slip that off the stem after you remove the bars. That way you never remove the cut end of the cable, and you don't have to try to thread the cable back into the mount. This can be done quickly and repeatedly without having to replace the cable.

djb

mine with its normal placement of stuff.
I bought that divider thing, which is very handy, and while it can move upwards a bit sometimes, and therefore my lipsil or whatever can sometimes end up going below , it generally works well and I'm really glad I got it, because the four seperate "compartments" is great for everything having its place, and easy to put things back in their place and get out fast.

I had forgotten that my tablet lives in there also, up against the side right next to the mount, and my point and shoot Nikon is not heavy, and fairly compact.
Having my reading glasses where they are, and paper and pen is nice, cuz I often take notes on thoughts and such, and being an old git, I need the glasses to see details on maps etc.
A plastic bag with a flattened 1/4 or 1/3 roll of TP is probably understuff, maybe under my camera, for a little "cushion".

I really like the divider thing, so I can open the lid and grab my camera quickly, I usually try to limit the time taking photos, as it adds up over a day if you get too much into it.

I really like this size of tablet, fitting into my handlebar bag is a pretty important feature. And tablets are a great thing to use, mine is nothing special, but still very handy and I can do my photo editing on it reasonably well, although it is kinda slow as it is a nothing special model.

Really handy and important to have small sunscreen nearby, same with toothpaste and toothbrush, and hand sanitizer.

KC8QVO

Well I got lucky and my cable isn't "squished" from the locking screws.

I have the bag set up on my folding bike for now. I need to reset the cable every time I collapse/set up the bike, though, because the mount blocks the latch for rotating the handlebar.

It is a bit more time for the set up of the bike with the handlebar bag in use, but it works.

I do have another mount and spare cables on order, though so I can have 2 dedicated mounts on each of my bikes. I will not be riding my Disk Trucker until July I'd say so no real rush...

spinnaker

I have my bag mounted to a second stem. I used to swap from bike to bike by just moving stem and all. Now I have a dedicated touring bike it stays in place but still use the extra stem.

Tourist in MSN

I bought a Louis Guarneau bag years ago, I think it uses a proprietary mount for only that brand. I did buy some extra bags to get more brackets, but I still needed one bracket that I could move from bike to bike.

A year ago bought a Thorn Accessory Tee Bar (functions like a second stem mount) and I attached it to one of those brackets so I could easily move it from bike to bike. The road bike had 25mm of spacers when I bought the bike new. Thus, I could only fit a bracket on the steerer tube that was 25mm or less, the Thorn bar met that criteria where a second stem does not. I can move that bar bag bracket to my folding bike or my road bike in only a few minutes. Faster than I could do it with a cable.

fietsbob

yea, that means you just put the mount on once .. Steerer tube space needed - 27mm...
a 2nd stem would occupy more steerer tube space.. more like 40mm ..

fietsbob

another 2nd stem user..


T bar on the top came with the handlebars, which had no other bag mount option, otherwise..