I've got an opportunity to get some nice sale prices on some Ortlieb panniers, and I think I'm going to take up this offer. I don't do any touring yet, but I intend to start next year when my LHT is done. I'm thinking at first I'll do a one-nighter to test the waters and move on from there.

Anyhoo, I'd like some advice on Ortliebs. I've been thinking of getting a set of both front-rollers and back-rollers, but I can't decide whether I should get the classics or the new plus's? The plus's are more expensive but are they really better?

In favor of the classics, they at least come in blue, which would match my LHT (ordered the blue), but now I'm thinking maybe I should go with a neutral color instead, maybe brown or black... which I would have to do if I went with the plusses.

Any advice?

Thanks!

Blue ones......Get

I got the gray ones. They work well too.

https://arkbybike.blogspot.com/

I got the red roller plus front and red packer plus rear . Looks good with the blue frame. Have not toured with them yet the the quaility is great.

I use mine for Grocery shopping, put one on the checker's conveyor ,
so they load that pannier first, then the others in the cart..
to load the others when they run out of volume.
$.05 for a credit for each time I don't use one of the store's carrier bags.


Have an older set of Black sport packers on my Bike Friday front rack.

used a strip of webbing inserted under the top hook rail to pair them up.
rather than have 2 loose bags .. that is my day to day bag set.

The roller closure bags, the not being able to clip them in pairs ,
is partially compensated for by each having a shoulder strap,
but they still are 4 loose bags to cope with, off the bike.
May have to do a clip and D ring modification to the set of roller classics..

the ability to snap the Rack Pack sideways using the same fittings as used
on the roll closure center strap, is useful , if you can keep the load
on top of the rack to fit in that..
but a wet tent in it, with dry sleeping bag .. may not be the best thing..



Mine are Orange , FWIW, i live in a maritime town.
common color for PFD's aids to navigation, and stripes on the Coastie Ships.

Plus fabric is a custom specified Cordura with a thick Thermoplastic
polyurethane liner coating

and the Hook set is their type 2, a tool less adjustment.

Classic is truck tarp, PVC impregnated material already made for other uses
so It costs less.
Type 1 top hooks are relocated with an allen wrench.

Mine are red front, yellow rear, both plus. I like that the plus had outside pockets already on them (at least when I bought them). Plus closure is a bit more intuitive than classic, but neither is difficult.

As for color, get something bright. You never know if/when the ass in the jacked-up dually will only notice that bright patch of color up ahead. (And the blue probably won't match the bike, and it sure won't after it fades in the sun on tour!)

Regardless of what style you choose, they are worth it. I use the Rollers and my wife likes the Packers. There are pros and cons to each. We also prefer yellow because they are visible. We did a tour this summer that included 35 days of rain, and were we glad we had them!


I was lucky enough to find this dark cherry red LHT frame a couple of years ago.




The classic roller material is really tough. This was due to a major run in with a high curb. I tried to grind down several feet of it with the right front pannier. It is still waterproof as the interior coating is still intact.

+1 for bright and visible colors. I once read while doing marketing research that yellow and black colors in combo (as in post #7) are the color combos that catch the human eye most in different situations, hence why quite a few traffic signs are in thoise colors.

It can't hurt while riding on the road with telephoning/texting teenagers and grandmas!

I agree on getting them in a bright rather than a neutral color. The safety aspect is the main reason, but there's also an aesthetic advantage. If you look at pictures taken by touring cyclists you'll usually see lots that include the bike and panniers. I find that the bright panniers add to the impact of the photos.

Packer vs. Classic amounts to a personal choice issue. Either style works fine.

1. determine your total load. I can't imagine needing the full sized back packer/rollers for touring but I could for grocery shopping. The front packers/rollers are barely big enough for grocery shopping. I've got Orange pvc classic front rollers, gray plus front rollers and packers. I prefer the Plus fabric for the Rollers because it's easier to roll.

2. the more expensive model is only worth it if you want it and have the money. If you don't have a preference it's irrelevant.

3. you can't overstuff Rollers and get waterproofness but you can fill them up and clip the top leaving it open, with packers you can fill them up and then some more and still have the top covered for rain.

4. brown doesn't sound good but I'm no judge of fashion.

5. I regularly use some kind of cloth grocery bag liner for carrying tools so the interior doesn't get worn by sharp objects (or corners of six-packs of beer) or foam pad/inflatable seat pad for carrying laptop. I've had dry bags made of similar materials as the Ortliebs used for kayaking and it's possible to puncture them through misuse/abuse so I'd just as soon make sure they last awhile.

I'm thinking of going with the yellow sport packer and bike packer versions now. I think the zippers would be more accessible and I don't need submersibility with the bags. The "yellow is more visible" argument is very persuasive, and I don't think it would provide a bad contrast with the blue of the bike. In theory.

Back rollers get a bit stiff in the freezing cold, external pockets would be nice. Otherwise they are win.

They're the same colour from behind and front, which is black with a reflective triangle.

I have the yellow classic back rollers. I like 'em and they seem more visible, at least from the sides. Yellow and blue - are you a Michigan fan?

I like the Rollers more than the Packers, the Plus more than Classic, but it's not a big deal one way or the other. Just get the color you want.

I've used classic rollers front and rear for about five years and been very happy with them. Haven't any experience on the more expensive options.

Totally waterproof. Don't put a tent in them, wet or otherwise. It's a total waste of space. Tents should be carried outside, strapped to the rear rack.

G'day

I have a pair of front roller classics (older model) and in the past couple of weeks brought a pair of Bike Pack Plus rear panniers. I really like the look/feel of the Bike Pack Plus panniers and will be going with this material for the one more set of rear panniers for my forthcoming Extrawheel.



For information on the materials that the panniers are made of, this article at Crazy Guy On A Bike is worth a read.

BTW I would consider getting them from Bike24.net or the UK retailers as their prices seem much better than out of the US. I paid $150 delivered for Bike Pack Plus panniers from Evan Cycles.

If you don't mind, could you link me to the sale? The rubber handle on my Detours panniers broke this morning on me and I'm tired of continually buying and replacing cheaper panniers.

That was well worth the read. Thx.

The only zippers are inside. I have a Bike Packer Plus right here. There is a small, mesh compartment inside with a zipper. I think the same is true for the Sport Packer, which I have at home.

The Plus model has the better mounting system.

The combination you are considering should give you way more space than you need for a tour unless you are carrying the kitchen sink. What I don't like about them is that they are sort of "floppy" unless they are packed full. The Bike Packer especially. I cannot imagine filling a set of Bike Packers unless I were not using front panniers. I also think the bottom mount is a little too flexible.

This photo shows the floppy aspect I am talking about. There is a good deal of gear in those bags, including rain pants, rain jacket, a size 12 pair of sandals, stove, fuel bottle, 2L pot, tent foot print, long sleeve jersey, 2 tees, one long tee, and a second set of riding clothes. While the front panniers are pretty full, you can see that the rears have a lot of space left. Even when groceries were added, I still had room.

I use a long bungie that loops from the bottom strut of the rack over the pannier then the clips attach on the other side of the top of the rack. This holds the panniers somewhat flat when empty and helps reduce independent movement of items within the panniers. As good as Ortliebs are this is one area most panniers need a little help.

FWIW, Kludge sharing >>
My older sport packer has a strap on/off lid.
empty, it let a bit of water in, between the straps on the back..

So I added a piece of old Coroplast campaign sign, put inside..
that held up the inside edge, higher.

so the cap / lid goes over it, it no longer folds down. even empty..

I definitely need to experiment with making them more stable. My only other set of panniers were made by Robert Beckman. They are stiff in the right places, have multiple compression straps and attached to the racks in such a way that they simply could not move. Sadly, someone came into my house last December (while we were home) and stole my racks along with the LHT attached to them. Absent possibly substantial modifications, his panniers only work with his racks. Trying deal with him on getting replacements was too frustrating so I went a different direction. I may see if I can get Engin https://engincycles.com/about-us to build me racks that can accomodate the panniers. This summer I saw a woman riding one of their bikes with a custom rear rack. But seeing that their bike wait list is about 1 yr., that might take a while.

That's where I carry my sleeping bag. Where do you put yours? (Assuming of course that you use one.) I put my tent in one small compression sack, my rainfly in another, and then squash them each down to the size of, say, a kid's Nerf basketball. The balls go in the panniers. I've never been entirely happy with that solution, though.

To remain on topic : I have the roller classics in red, and like them very much -- simple, light, durable. I put the small front panniers on the rear rack for commuting. I don't know how much the bright color actually helps in terms of safety, since from the rear all Ortliebs (well, all the classics, anyway) are black (with reflective patches.) Agree with the poster who said bright panniers look better in photos.

somewhere along the line I started making my own bungies with 3/16" shock cord and these clips with the plastic retaining clip cut out. 1/4" compresses things too much and getting the length right allows for compressing across different portions of the bags. Compression straps of some sort make sense. Shame about your loss.

https://www.rwo-marine.com/products/p...php?code=R8404

Heck! you know how to take the wind out of a guy's sail. I thought I finally had an original idea I have also been doing the same thing to fabricate my own bungees. They do work really well. I use two to hold my rackpack and other important material in place, especially when touring in July. I carry a couple of spares just in case.