Archive-URL: http://search.bikelist.org/getmsg.asp?Filename=touring.10008.1278.eml
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2000 14:01:10 -0700 (PDT)
From: alex wetmore <alex(AT)phred.org>
Subject: equipment review: Ortlieb Bike-packer Deluxe panniers

Before my trip I bought some of these panniers from OlyBikes (thanks
Larry).  I've been using Ortlieb products for a couple of years,
but mostly their back-roller panniers.  My backroller panniers are
fairly worn (4 years of commuting will do that) and I wanted to
get some dedicated touring panniers, relegating my Back-roller
panniers to commuting use.  I also own some older Mini-biker panniers
which are the small version of the Bike-packers.  However the newer
Bike-packer has some much nicer design features than the Mini-biker.

What attracted me to the Bike-Packers is their mesh pockets, which
I thought would be useful for putting wet towels into.  I got the 
Deluxe model because I think that Ortlieb's "light" fabric looks
nicer than the regular fabric, and I wanted to play with the new
mounting system.  Here is what I think of them after using them for
a week.

Mounting system: The new QL2 mounting system is great.  It really
is easy to change the hooks around, and the hooks can be customized
to work with 8mm (Blackburn) or 10mm (Jandd and Tubus) racks.  I
was able to quickly reconfigure the panniers to work on my underseat
(recumbent) or rear rack.

Closure: The new Bike-packer uses a lid with compression straps to
hold it in place.  The lid is secured to the back of the pannier,
unlike the Mini-biker panniers which have floating lids.  This is
good and bad -- the lid is a lot more secure on the newer panniers,
but you can't overload the panniers as nicely.  My Mini-biker
panniers work best when overloaded, becuase the lid doesn't snug
down enough for normal sized loads.  

Compression: These panniers have a lot of compression straps.  This
is great for compressing the panniers down, but it also makes it
very easy to tie things onto the panniers.  For most of the trips
I had my Tevas mounted under the compression straps running over
the lid on one pannier, and drying clothes were mounted under the
compression straps on the other lid.  I used the outside compression
straps to hold my spare tire in place.
http://www.phred.org/~alex/pictures/bikes/rocket/loaded-2.jpg has
a pretty good picture of the setup.  You can see how the older
Mini-biker panniers (under my seat) have a kind of floppy lid,
while the Bike-packer panniers (in the rear) are much more
snug.

Pockets: The panniers have three pockets.  The main pocket is huge
and what I used.  There is a small outer pocket which is good for
thin things (maps maybe?) and rolls down to remain waterproof.  I
used it for carrying toilet paper.  On the very outside is a mesh
pocket which is good for towels, but is not quite big enough.  If
I were redesigning these panniers I'd ditch the rolldown pocket
and just make a huge mesh pocket.  You can also get accessory
pockets which lash on through the compression straps.  I used two
of these on tour, but did not find them to be very stable, and I
used up packing them inside my panniers.  The newer accessory pocket
mount might be better -- I have some pretty old ones that I bought
on closeout.

Packing: I am a stuffsack person, and sort my items using stuffsacks.
Inside my rear panniers I had 3 or 4 stuffsacks.  For instance my left
pannier had:
* sleeping bag (on bottom)
* kite (I carry a small sparless stunt kite which is a nice distraction
when you find a grass field, but I didn't end up getting to fly it on
this trip)
* pillow (Cascade designs backpacking pillow, stuffs down really small)
* two clothing stuffsacks - one for clean bike clothing and one for 
dirty.

Summary: Great touring pannier!  They keep the waterproof design of 
the rolltop ones, and I like all of the compression straps for keeping
everything organized and being able to strap out other stuff.  For
commuting I'll keep using the rolltop models which are a little simpler
and don't cost as much.

alex


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