riceowls

I am getting into a moderate (under a week) credit-card touring and would like to set another set of pannier (have nashbar touring set which is OK but not great). I am going to UK next month and over there it seem Ortlieb BACK-ROLLER CITY can be had for around less than $90 a pair. But looking at other choices I also see some options for half the price with some attractive features. I am specifically looking at a pair of Altura Cyclone 20 or Altura Ultralite Packable Pannier Bags. Are ortieb worth 2x+ in price? Are Alturas easy to attach?

pdlamb

I doubt many people have used both, so I'll chip in as an Ortlieb user.

Ortliebs are great.

Easy to attach, easy to remove, almost impossible to dislodge accidentally. Waterproof, meaning they keep water out of your dry stuff in the worst downpours. I've been using a pair daily for commuting for 10 years; the strap buckles wore out, but were easily replaced, and everything else just keeps working. Absolutely worth what I paid for them.

phughes

I will second that. I have had my Ortlieb Back Rollers since 2011, and they have been fantastic. They have seen a steady diet of touring and commuting and they are as good today as the day I bought them. No complaints. Well worth the investment.

jefnvk

I bought my Ortliebs for around $90 for the set, can't remember exactly. I too was a former Nashbar user. Just spend the money and buy it if you are thinking about upgrading. The first time I mounted and unmounted them, I completely forgot about my money.

If you really don't want to spend the cash, stick with the Nashbars, they are pretty decent for the price and you already own them.

fietsbob

A: Altura is only in the UK, (sewn in China?) * , not the US? Ortlieb is in , both..

*US market has bags sewn over there with other brand names over the years..






....

79pmooney

I bought the Ortleib front panniers in 1999. Bought new ones 10 years later and relegated the old to rear use only. (Farmer's market and very occasional larger loads.) Replaced the readware on the old panniers. All 4 are in perfect working order to this day. Only repair was from a very sharp and large kitchen knife not being properly stowed and puncturing the bag from the inside. Oops! Called a local rafting company and got the scoop for making repairs, bought the glue and made the patch. Visible but just as good as the rest.

The hardware works very well and getting replacements is easy. Setting them up for different racks or front and rear is easy. Any shop can order the parts and I bet you can also go on-line though I haven'[t tried that, The bags are made literally to full-on white water raft standards. Very road rash resistant. Fully waterproof. You can fill them and carry the water. (Got a Sahara ride planned?)

I know nothing of Altura. Ortleib has played out so well for me I see little reason to change. (For a start, my current bags will probably be just a little less immaculate in another 10 years and still working fine.)

Ben

alan s 

Doug64

We are an Ortlieb family. I highly recommend them. My wife and I have around 20,000 touring miles on our rear bags since switching to Ortiebs. I have the Back Roller Classics; they are durable, and trouble free.

Tourist in MSN

Your profile does not say where you are. I assume you are in USA.

The Altura ones might have less ability to adapt to different racks, but each model will vary. The Altura ones that I have looked at in the past had a lower hook similar to Carradry panniers and I found the Carradry were impossible to fit to my Tubus Logo rack. The Ortliebs (like I use) will last forever, but are heavy and might be much more over-built for someone that only occasionally uses them.

djb

The city versions are lighter than the regular rollers and don't have the middle clip up top, and the clip closure system is slightly different, but for the price, are excellent bags that will last a very long time and being waterproof, will be handy in the UK.

The mounting system is very robust and long lasting.

jefnvk

Umm, the Performance panniers that come out to a grand total of about $20 less a set than retail for Ortliebs: https://www.performancebike.com/shop...annier-40-4276

I like Performance Bike for a lot of stuff, but they are an awful place to get touring gear.

waddo

Ortlieb empty weigh the same as my panniers full.

fietsbob

I fill mine with grocery shopping year around.. there the QR locking hooks are perfect..

fietsbob

Comparing with PVC truck tarp, or the cordura nylon Plus fabric ?

jefnvk

You only tour with 4# of gear and panniers?

Probably should invest in a saddlebag. No need to hang panniers off a bike for less than 4# of gear.

CliffordK

I think the question should be how waterproof do you think you will need the bags to be?

Most of my touring type rides are mostly dry.

I do get drenched for my winter commuting and utility riding.

Anyway, your Nashbar bags may work just fine for summer touring. I still like the triangular shape of the older bags, and am a bit leery about the square bottom bags that most of the new bags are coming out with.

Buying New? I'm accustomed to pockets... so I proposed the question earlier.
https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/1...o-pockets.html

Vaude bags appear to be similar to the Ortlieb bags, but with pockets.

I can't say what my next set of bags will be. I've always done just rear bags, but am considering front/rear bags for the future.

Doug64

What kind of panniers do you have, and what do you carry in them?

waddo

Unfortunately they are now discontinued. Wife and I both have the same. They were black but now grey from years of use under the sun. Simple hooks and bunji cord hook to attach, which is what I prefer and adds little weight. They weigh about 600 grams each. We pack everything in supermarket plastic bags in case of rain and as a way of organising things. We take the normal stuff, tent, stove, sleeping gear and clothes but we choose carefully.

I have travel videos on youtube if you want to see them. Channel name is Waddo.

jefnvk

I don't, but you're suggesting them as an option. As one who is regularly in that store, every waterproof pannier they've carried in the past few year costs nearly as much as an Ortlieb. Its cool that you got a good deal when you bought yours, but rather irrelevant if they don't carry it anymore.

I started out with Nashbar waterproof panniers that were seemingly the same as Ortliebs, like you for about half the price (they still are). They work fine, and for someone planning on using them once or twice who really wanted to save cash, I'd still recommend them. For my money now, I'd easily pay the extra $60-70 for Ortliebs at RRP.

Which reminds me, I should really get the wife a pair of Ortliebs, cause I really don't want to have to trade her halfway through our next France trip when she sees how easy mine go on...

DanBell

Did someone do that in this thread?

jefnvk

And on that oddly convenient thought, I'm both putting my money where my mouth is (significant, being a known cheapass around here) and finally came up with a good birthday present for her, as Ortlieb is making her favorite color this year and a set is on the way. Thanks for encouraging me to respond @waddo

indyfabz

I like my stuff dry, not reasonably dry, whatever that means.

pdlamb

I think it's a cost-conscious way of saying, "wet."

indyfabz

LOLZ! You win Bikeforums for today.

jefnvk

Kept falling off my rack, the bungee wasn't strong enough to hold them on in any sort of rough terrain (went over a bunch of cobblestone roads last trip). Didn't like the attachment system either, just not very robust or quick to attach/take off. We ended up taking some cheap pistol cable locks and locking them together and to the rack to keep them at least on when they came unhooked.

The bags themselves were fine, volumnous and waterproof. I partially rectified the issue by putting a locking hook on each one, but that didn't help attachment speed. As I mentioned to someone who cost was their only concern, who was only using them once on good roads, I wouldn't have an issue suggesting them, but if anyone had plans of doing this regularly, I'd simply skip to suggesting a bit better. Carrying straps on the Ortliebs is a nice addon too

I was very skeptical about the Ortliebs and how much better they could really be. First time I used them, and the bag simply slid on and was in place, I was sold. As I mentioned, I ordered the wife a pair of teal (lagoon, I guess is the proper term) ones off Backcountry for $145 last night (https://www.backcountry.com/ortlieb-...-panniers-pair). For the $90 that the Nashbars I had cost now (https://www.bikenashbar.com/cycling/...s-na-wpr3-base), the extra $55 is well worth it IMO.