Just received the Back Rollers in the mail. Although I worked in a shop for close to 40 years I had never physically seen or touched an Ortleib pannier. They were on sale this past weekend at REI and I ordered a set. I am surprised they cost so much for what they are. Will not be keeping them.

What did you expect?

That is unfortunate. I am quite happy with mine. I am not sure how many weeks of use I have on mine, I am guessing between 18 and 20. But they look like they would handle many more months of use, or maybe years. I did one tour with Carradry panniers (five weeks) instead of the Ortliebs, I bought the Carradry for a specific trip because they were much larger than the Backrollers, but otherwise the Ortliebs are my go to panniers.

What are your issues with them? If you say weight, yeah, that is accurate. The strap over the top is a weak point, I use different material on part of that strap now. That said, mine are over 15 years old, so they might not be the same as current construction on the latest ones.

I recall reading that someone on this forum filled one of his with water so that he could look for the bubbles to tell him where his inner tube leak was.

I don't have a problem with them per se, however it appears that they are simply a roll top dry bag with a mount for a rack on them. Dunno what I was expecting, I guess, as that is pretty much what the pictures depict now that I look at them with scrutiny. I am certain they are quality as their are plenty of positive testimonials out there.

Mine have been excellent companions over the years. I only wish I had purchased them sooner and not spent money on other panniers that didn't hold up over time. But to each his own..

Well, they are, except the fact they work very well, and last a very long time. I bought mine in 2011, and they are as good today as they were the day I bought them. They are always on my bike, and always have junk in them. 100 percent waterproof, and have never failed, in any way. One of my best purchases ever. I have the original type rollers. Love them, and will buy more from Ortlieb, and have. I have their handlebar bag, the newer type fabric. I've had it since around 2013, and I bought two duffles made from the same material as my back rollers. I use them on my motorcycle.

I’m not sure what you were expecting but the simplicity is a positive in my opinion. I’ve had panniers with lots of pockets and I use bikepacking bags off-road that are a bunch of different, odd shapes. The pockets in the panniers were often empty because nothing really fit there all that well.

As to the quality, in 20 years of using 2 different sets, I have yet to have wear a hole in them and both sets have endured biblical rainfalls without any water infiltration.

I haven't toured for eons (long before the Ortleibs) but I've been using the small rollers for 25 years for commuting and farmers market trips. SO they've been put on many times when I was half awake. Didn't always hear that click of the hooks fully engaging, Sent them sliding down the road a number of times. They simply don't care. One bag has a standard raft repair after I stuck a very sharp kitchen knife through it. (I called a rafting outfit in their off-season and they were happy to walk me through the repair.)

Yes, they are fully waterproof. You could carry water in them across the Sahara - but you might need to need to make special hardware to carry the bags.

You say you’ve worked in a bike shop for 40+ years and have never encountered Ortlieb panniers? The question must ask yourself is what are you planning on using these panniers for? It’s unlikely you are about to begin long distance multiple day, touring in adverse weather conditions so they may not be ideal for your use case. There are virtually countless brands of panniers available perhaps share what your use case is going to be and you may get some valuable input. From a touring cyclists perspective, there are none better.

Yup, that is what they are.

I do not know if the mounting hardware has changed much since I bought mine, but I think they are great, a strap that you can use to lift them opens the clamps. You secure the hooks on the rack and the hooks have closures that secure them from below so they do not fall off. They easily adjust for hook position on a rail, use a simple 3mm allen wrench to tighten them in place.

I do not know what rack you are using, I usually use a Tubus Logo EVO, but on my light touring bike instead I use a Racktime Addit rack. I can easily adjust the hooks to fit just right to have exactly the amount of heel clearance I want, no more and no less.. The lower hook also can be easily fit to a good position on the rack.



I use some clear plastic hose from the hardware store, slit lengthwise over the tubing and keep it in place with zip ties and electrical tape to prevent chafing on the rack. I do not use the hook inserts, the 1/2 inch OD / 3/8 inch ID hose fits nicely inside the hooks without the hook inserts.

That said, maybe they have changed the hook design in the past decade and a half.



Photos above, the Logo EVO, the Addit below.






If after the warranty period is up a part of the pannier breaks (unlikely), you can buy spare parts too. I think the part most likely to break is the lower hook.

The weak point on Ortliebs is the plastic rails the hooks attach to, which eventually deform. Arkel uses a metal rail. However, Ortlieb's fabric is more durable than Arkel's, especially the Classic line with the old PVC coated fabric.

I prefer pocketed panniers to single bucket panniers. Lack of any external compartments is inconvenient.

Oh ok I get that - it's so simple and you could buy something equally simple for a fraction of the cost. And you probably can. But you can also be out in the middle of nowhere and watch that simple, budget option fail where an Ortlieb wouldn't. Or even if something went wrong with the Ortlieb hardware, you can source repair parts. The budget option? Not so much.

I understand where you're coming from now.

I like a couple of exterior mesh pockets to dry out wet gear during the day.

There are two kinds of bag people:

A) People who like just a single compartment and the rainproof qualities of the Ortliebs.

B) People who like multiple compartments even if it means using cannier covers for ex. Arkels.

Ortliebs are like a big dump truck. Arkels have 72,493 zippers.

The red Arkels in this photo have one exterior zipper for an exterior slash pocket and one interior zipper for another slash pocket.
The black Arkels in this photos have zero zippers.

Back in 2010 I went with their Packers front and rear. The rear ones have external pockets. Both the front and rears have small zippered pockets inside and full sized sleeves that are handy for stowing relatively flat things like my Kindle, external battery and cue sheets. I also like that I don’t have to unroll the tops to access them.

I was poking around on their site and it seems they don’t offer them anymore.

The front pannier has 4 zippers, the back pannier has 72,493.

Having read similar comments in the past, I've installed an extra hook on all my panniers from the idea two hooks have less chance of breaking than one, and if one does break, I still have one left.
I've had to move, or flip, the rail piece in which the hooks ride to better fit the racks I've used. Not hard to do.
I've also put some self-stick rubber discs under the hooks for a snug fit and to prevent chattering on the rack.
I find the hooks a bit of a pain to tighten and loosen, but it's only twice a day so not the end of the world.

I’ve never broken a lower hook, but I did have one fall off and go missing after riding most of the day on rough roads. And yes, they can rattle sometimes. Installing a cushion is a good idea. I don’t have to loosen them to get the panniers off and on.

External pockets are not needed, thus I did not mention them. Looking at the bags I can see the fabric is good quality, and realize it is the mounting system that has caught me off-guard. The use of plastic hooks didn't bother me when looking at them online, however in my hands they don't present themselves as durable, even though there are few reported issues. The panniers I currently use have no external pockets, have metal hooks and have survived 20 years of continuous use, plenty of crashes without even a tear in the fabric let alone broken hardware. I'm guessing the plastic hardware of the Ortleibs get brittle over time and break when stressed, and this is likely what is going on with reported failures.

Add to that when fitting to the rack the bottom hook can only be fit all the way forward, and even then it only just catches the forward rack strut. The other struts have a fender support near them and the hook won't clear the hooks. This fit issue is not an issue with the bags, it is an issue of working with the set up on the bike. No fault of the bags.

Ortlieb panniers are the best out there! Simple, and non fussy, and they work! My first pair are now over 30 years old, still simple and reliable.

We've had ortlieb panniers and bags for more than a decade now. Some of them are and have been in daily commuting use. We haven't noticed any embrittlement on the plastic clamps. We've broken exactly zero of the many QL2.1 clamps we have. And we haven't been exactly gentle with them either. Those bags have seen some abuse. My front panniers have patched holes in them after I collided with mountain. No damage to the clamps though.

I tried looking for info on what the clamps are made out of since back in the day I remember reading that Ortlieb used fiber flass impregnated plastic for the clamps. But currently any info on what the clamps are made of is fairly difficult to find.

Things to keep in mind however. The clamps strip paint off racks like anybody's business. They're hard and abrasive. Neither of those qualities are typically associated with plastics.

The old QL1.1 clamps were also shatter prone if you over tightened the adjustment locking screws. I shattered some clamps by over tightening said screws. Learned from that mistake. But shattering isn't something plastic usually does. Plastic likes to plastically deform before it breaks and then it usually rips or cleaves. That doesn't seem to happen with Ortlieb clamps.

Don't go making assumptions on a material by just how they feel in your hand. Ortlieb wouldn't be considered the gold standard if their clamps were prone the brittling and breaking.

I put the hooks facing backwards even with the fender struts. Hasn't been an issue for me.

I remember reading that too. In bright sun you can see what looks like some reflection of the sunlight off the fibers.

Upper hooks can warp a small amount from use, but I have never heard of the upper hooks or rails failing. But the warping has allowed the small inserts for smaller sized rack tubes to fall out.

That is another reason that I like my plastic hose over the rack to prevent chaffing, I use the hooks without inserts and do not have to worry about the inserts from falling out.

Lower hook I believe is not fiber reinforced, can break.

It is my understanding that the upper hooks are fiber reinforced plastic, same with the upper rails. I have never heard of the upper hooks failing.

Lower hooks have occasionally failed, but that is not tour ending failure like an upper hook failure.

I personally have bought some panniers on line that once I got them and saw how they were made, I donated them to a charity without even trying them on a tour. I have a pair of Axiom nylon panniers that leaked like a sieve on the one tour I used them on. And have a pair of Nashbar panniers I used on one tour, that was so long ago I can't remember why I stopped using them.

The Ortliebs and the Carradry panniers are the only ones I have used on a tour that I expect to use again.

That said, if you are happy with some other panniers you have had for a couple decades, keep using those.

Arkel hooks are low-tech, indestructible metal locking mechanisms.
Never had a pannier come off, never had any breakage.
20+ years.