How do you protect your stuff in panniers

[ElyDave]

One of the reasons I was looking at new panniers was the old ones wearing through the interior fabric at the attachment points due to the sharp edged rivet heads, which then ripped a hole in my fabric laptop case.

Whilst superbly capable and copious, the newly arrived Carradices look like they will do the same, and I know that Ortleibs would as well.  I've taken to using a sacrificial pad of paper, but that's not a real long-term solution. 

I could gaffer tape over the rivet heads and edges of the metal plates, for example, or buy a hard laptop case - what do other folks do?

[mrcharly-YHT]

I used a cheap laptop case/sleeve, basically something sacrificial.

After 3 years of commuting, it hasn't worn out, just looks a bit shabby around the edges.

[Kim]

I don't carry delicate items very often, but my Alturas have an inner layer between the contents and the back of the fixings, which seems to do a reasonable job of preventing damage by whatever's going on on the back of the fixings.  The Brompton C bag, which I'm most likely to use for this sort of thing, avoids this problem by attaching to the frame with a pocket, rather than screws or rivets.  With the Ortliebs, the plastic dome nuts aren't very sharp or hard to begin with - my concern there is that they stick out quite a lot and could concentrate pressure if the bag is very tightly packed - I generally try to pack them so that things with crackable screens, solar cells, etc aren't up against the nuts.

Not sure what a Carradice rivet head is like, but this might be a job for Sugru?  I used that to give the nuts on the inside of my trailer box (where the feet and refelectors attach) a soft rounded surface.

[seasider]

After getting damp contents in my new Altura panniers whilst touring the Hebrides I line the panniers with a suitable liner, usually an old M&S bag. Mrs Seasider has a endless supply obtained over years of trying to buy the total stock of North West branches.

[Paul H]

I don't think tape to canvas is likely to stick for long. Not gaffa type tape anyway, maybe tenacious tape would be better, even then because of the weave you're never going to get full contact.
Carradice's repair kit is a patch of cotton duck and a tube of Copydex! I'd go with the same idea, though the canvas dosen't have to be cotton duck, Copydex and a patch from old jeans or the like will be fine.

[Polar Bear]

I disagree re: Ortliebs.  There are no exposed rivet heads or other abrasive surfaces in any of our Ortliebs that I can see.

[Wowbagger]

I've been carrying my decent Lumix camera and my binoculars in an Ortlieb pannier. I wrap them up in a fleece.

[andrewc]

If they are the same construction as my older ones there is a Correx(?) back panel & base plate.   


The back panel has an aluminium strip at the top, with rivet or bolt heads through it.  The base plate has 4  rivets.    I've never been worried about these & none of my camping kit has ever suffered. 


A laptop in a case might be a little more delicate & susceptible to abrasion.    I'd just cover the relevant bits with Gorilla tape or similar & see how that holds up. If the metal bits wear through then add a 2nd layer.

[Polar Bear]

I cannot recall any strips of aluminium or exposed rivets in my Ortliebs. 

Coincidentally, I am about to fish them out to lend to a friend who is doing a mini tour with her partner mirroring a mini tour we did from Glasgow to Inverness nearly 20 years ago.

I shall inspect their innards closely ...

[Kim]

As I said upthread, Ortlieb fixings are attached internally with plastic dome nuts.  These are admirably non-abrasive, but stick out quite a bit, ruining the usefully flat surface of the back wall of the pannier.

[ElyDave]

I cannot recall any strips of aluminium or exposed rivets in my Ortliebs. 

Coincidentally, I am about to fish them out to lend to a friend who is doing a mini tour with her partner mirroring a mini tour we did from Glasgow to Inverness nearly 20 years ago.

I shall inspect their innards closely ...

As I said upthread, Ortlieb fixings are attached internally with plastic dome nuts.  These are admirably non-abrasive, but stick out quite a bit, ruining the usefully flat surface of the back wall of the pannier.

My Ortlieb gravel packs definitely have these domed heads visible, my Halti's have similar, covered by an internal fabric layer similar to Kim's Altura's which is wot has worn thru and is abrading my laptop case.

I don't think tape to canvas is likely to stick for long. Not gaffa type tape anyway, maybe tenacious tape would be better, even then because of the weave you're never going to get full contact.
Carradice's repair kit is a patch of cotton duck and a tube of Copydex! I'd go with the same idea, though the canvas dosen't have to be cotton duck, Copydex and a patch from old jeans or the like will be fine.

I'm not proposing tape to canvas, more a very careful, even surgical application of tape to aluminium

my particular problem is not cycle touring, but my once per week or so commute from Ely to Cambridge via bike/rail/bike

[L CC]

I don't put my (work) laptop in a case in my panniers. Its aluminium housing is undamaged by the plastic heads of the Ortleib rivets. I buffer it against liquid damage from the other pannier contents (by putting the potential leakers in a carrier bag) but otherwise I just drop it in there. I have chargers/mice/cables at work and home so all I'm carrying is the laptop. It sits against the bike-side wall and my clothes are between it and any ground contact.

[perpetual dan]

I put clothes in a bag against the nuts in my Ortliebs, then my laptop in a soft sleeve.

[Polar Bear]

I got the Ortliebs out after more than five years of lack of use.  Checking everything over and as reported by Kim and others, the plastic domed nuts on the inside appear to be smooth and without snaggy bits.

I cannot help but admire the quality of these beasts.

I have also found the lone yellow classic of which Mrs Pingu has the companion.  I am thinking that it might be time to start disposing of "stuff" that we are never going to use again.  Perhaps my friend and her partner would appreciate them...

[ElyDave]

Too many options and I'm dithering, the Carradice panniers are a thing of capacious beauty.

But,
Will I ever go cycle camping, or stick to credit-card touring?
Is my current set up of ortlieb gravel packs, fork cages, bar bag and tailfin bag sufficient? They were for the KAW last year
I have a single Halti in good condition, with extra capacity
What about the carradice office pannier? Or plain othe panniers?

[Paul H]

The smooth round nuts on my Ortliebs have rubbed holes in the inner pocket, OK that's tens of thousands of miles of always rubbing in the same places, even so it isn't a question of if something rubbing will cause wear, it's how much and how quickly.

P1110531 by Paul, on Flickr

[Paul H]

Will I ever go cycle camping, or stick to credit-card touring?

I don't need panniers that big for my camping. I decide what I'm taking, then how I'm carrying it, the answer isn't usually huge rear panniers, they're certainly never the start point. 
If the question is how to best carry a laptop, I'd suggest a good backpack.

[ElyDave]

Will I ever go cycle camping, or stick to credit-card touring?

I don't need panniers that big for my camping. I decide what I'm taking, then how I'm carrying it, the answer isn't usually huge rear panniers, they're certainly never the start point. 
If the question is how to best carry a laptop, I'd suggest a good backpack.

I detest backpack on the commute, what better way to up the sweatiness to 11?

[Ham]

My main commute pannier for years was the Carradice Bike Bureau https://carradice.co.uk/shop/panniers/bike-bureau-pannier/?v=79cba1185463

Spendy, but unbeatable for clothes and laptop.

[Polar Bear]

The smooth round nuts on my Ortliebs have rubbed holes in the inner pocket, OK that's tens of thousands of miles of always rubbing in the same places, even so it isn't a question of if something rubbing will cause wear, it's how much and how quickly.

P1110531 by Paul, on Flickr

My ghast is flabbered.

We racked up 18 years of trips both short and long and regularly used a pannier on those long, cold winter day rides to carry waterproofs and extra dry layers.  Yes, we've racked up thousands of miles of pannier use but I can honestly say I have never seen anything like that.

Impressive.

The only bit of wear that I can find on our Ortliebs is covered by a patch which I applied after a meeting of asphalt and pannier when the rear tyre lost traction on a greasy surface and the bike skipped sideways unexpectedly resulting in an interface between road surface and pannier bag (and me!!!). 

[ElyDave]

My main commute pannier for years was the Carradice Bike Bureau https://carradice.co.uk/shop/panniers/bike-bureau-pannier/?v=79cba1185463

Spendy, but unbeatable for clothes and laptop.

Yes, that was the other option, so you would rate it highly?

[andrew_s]

The dome nuts in an Ortlieb broke the vent slots in the underside of my last laptop, so some form of padding to hold the laptop clear of the nuts would be required. I found a paperback to be suitable.

[Paul H]

Will I ever go cycle camping, or stick to credit-card touring?

If the question is how to best carry a laptop, I'd suggest a good backpack.

I detest backpack on the commute, what better way to up the sweatiness to 11?

You could get a Rapha one and look too cool to sweat.
Though if you haven't tried a decent one in the last ten years or so you might consider doing so before being so quickly dismissive. 

[Paul H]

The dome nuts in an Ortlieb broke the vent slots in the underside of my last laptop, so some form of padding to hold the laptop clear of the nuts would be required. I found a paperback to be suitable.

Is it a version with an inner pocket?  I assumed they were there to form some sort of barrier, not just for wear, also to protects knuckles when grabbing something quickly.  If I were carrying delicates in mine, I'd probably add a thin sheet of foam in the pocket.

[ElyDave]

Will I ever go cycle camping, or stick to credit-card touring?

If the question is how to best carry a laptop, I'd suggest a good backpack.

I detest backpack on the commute, what better way to up the sweatiness to 11?

You could get a Rapha one and look too cool to sweat.
Though if you haven't tried a decent one in the last ten years or so you might consider doing so before being so quickly dismissive.

I've tried several backpacks, including a somewhat expensive Wenger one, that is perfectly good as a laptop bag, but I do not like it on the bike. My personal preference, not dismissiveness.