Panniers

[Mad cyclist]

I am in the Market for new panniers.
The one's I have now I bought from Lidl and they have been great but the only thing is they have the Velcro fastening and is a pain to put on or remove.
I am after roll top panniers, which brand would you recommend   

[Kim]

Ortlieb, no question.

Which isn't to say that there won't be competent roll-top offerings from other manufacturers.  Altura, and so on.

Pay attention to the rack fittings - Rixen & Kaul fittings are used by the major manufacturers, for good reason.  Infinitely superior to the sort of thing that you get on Lidl panniers.

[Otto]

Can't go wrong with Ortlieb, mine have taken touring and commuting abuse for almost 10 years are are still going strong

[mcshroom]

I've used these for touring since 2011 and they have stood up to touring very well and don't seem to have worn much at all. 've just bought some Ortlieb City Front Rollers to go with them.

[numbnuts]

Just to be different I bought these it's a roll back with a cover over the top as they say so far so good
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/351173732155?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&var=620366933088&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[JBB]

I'm very happy with Edinburgh Cycle Coop's offering. see http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/products/revolution-adventure-welded-panniers? I know they only have altura fittings but they work for me. bct=browse%2faccessories%2fbags  The carradice one's I have for the front are good but a couple of the rivets need redoing..

[Canardly]

Ortleibs are good, ( I have a set)  but others are worthy of consideration not least Carradice or Vaude.

[nikki]

Ortlieb, no question.

Unless the question is "how am I supposed to afford/justify that?!"


Ortliebs weren't an option for me because of budget limitations, but I've been a happy user of these for touring and commuting for the last couple of years:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/RCP-WP100-carrier-bags-2015/dp/B00OT3AR52/ref=pd_sim_sbs_sg_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=06T30P2GRGCV5KZ3ZSRM

Roll-top under the flap, no inner pockets, but you can apparently buy mini-bags to attach to the outside.
For the one that I use the most I've swapped in some of the Ortlieb quick-release clips instead of the originals.

[Pedal Castro]

Not roll top but I love my Arkel GT54s. I also have a pair or Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op’s own brand Revolution Adventure Rear Panniers (2x20l) (made by Vaude) which have served me well.

[Deano]

I'm sure you can retrofit Rixen&Kaul thingies to Lidl panniers. In themselves, they're decent panniers, it's just the hooks that let them down (I lost one on a commute, complete with tools, waterproof trousers and 2 kg d-lock). 

[Deano]

Someone did it here:

http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=24220#p192267

[Aushiker]

Ortlieb, no question.

Another vote for Ortlieb.

Andrew

[Butterfly]

I use ortliebs most of the time and enormous alturas for camping if we need more capacity.

[clarion]

Carradice.

[loadsabikes]

Carradice.

don't listen to him!

[Polar Bear]

Carradice.

The forum idiot is awake!   

[Ivo]

I hate Ortlieb panniers. I've been leading group tours a lot and I've seen lot's of problems with them. First of all they're waterproof. Yest, that's a problem. Anything moist will stay so when you transport it in your Ortliebs. That leads to people transporting a lot of gunk on top of their panniers/racks to avoid this. Gunk which constantly has to be re-fastened.
Secondly, they tend to hop off, I allways carry a few spare straps and bungees when I'm leading a tour. THere's allways someone whose Ortliebs jump off and endanger other riders (and the owner himself).
Thirdly, they have no compartments, endless rumagging annoying other riders.

I use a combination of old Carradice panniers at the front and adapted Bach panniers at the back. If having to buy a new set, I probably would go for Vaude or check if one of the lesser known firms has a good offer.

This is the set-up I prefer for full blown touring:

[andrewc]

Carradice.

My Carradice panniers are 15 years old & have been totally reliable.  They didn't fall off on Icelandic dirt roads or Scottish rough stuff  & they've kept my kit dry in the Pacific North West,  Norway and even Wales !

They grow old gracefully as well,  mine are now a nice faded & battle scarred silver grey....

If you don't like cotton duck they do the Carradry range in welded PVC.

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

Carradice.

The forum idiot is awake!   

+1 Carradice!




Ortlieb are all 'orrible and plastickkyyeuchhhh!

[Cudzoziemiec]

^This. Or not. It's up to you. Make your mind up about the plasticky smell of Ortlieb and the distinctive smell of cotton duck, and the way they feel.

[mcshroom]

Looking at the 'bought any camping stuff today' thread, it looks like the OP has decided on the Revolution ones.

[fruitcake]

I've been using roll top panniers from Lidl for two years on a near daily basis. I'm happy with the design which has two clip fastenings on the front, however the waterproof backing on the fabric has now begun flaking off. I'm using them with a waterproof inner bag until I buy replacements. Unfortunately, I haven't seen that design of bag in Lidl since. One of the most convenient features is the ability to attach a shoulder strap and carry them off the bike either open or closed.

Those Lidl bags are an Ortleib copy. Knowing this, I recommended Ortleib to my partner who chose the Ortleib Roller City.
http://www.ortlieb.co.uk/back-roller-city.html

However, she reckons she chose the wrong model. The issue is with the position of the fastenings which are on the sides of the pannier not the front. This makes the bag fiddly to close; she has to roll the top to the correct position so that the clips on the roll align with the clips on the bag sides. I guess that side facing fastenings are of benefit to some people, but in future we'll look for conventional front fastenings.

[LEE]

Ortlieb, no question.

Well there are some questions but they relate to which colour Ortlieb and which type of Ortlieb.

Total waterproofness has never struck me as a disadvantage.

I use Bikepacker Plus at the rear and Classic rollers (low rider) at the front.  I'm very pleased with this combination sat on Tubus racks.

I love the looks of Carradice black cotton duck (and it was a close call when I chose panniers) especially on a classic tourer but Ortleibs are dry after a quick wipe down so you can throw them in your tent.

Cotton Duck works by absorbing some water (I have a Super-C saddlebag) so I wouldn't want them in my tent after a downpour.

[Polar Bear]

I cannot understand how a pannier being waterproof can be an issue.   I can understand how a spillage being contained will result in wet pannier contents but this is surely far better than wet contents and a sopping pannier which needs washing / drying out too?

The easy way to avoid spillages is to pack properly. 

[tiermat]

Back to the original question, I tried several different makes before settling on Ortliebs.  The ones I tried went from cheapo Halfords own right up to some CreektoPeak ones that cost about the same as Ortliebs.

They all have merits and dis-merits.  The Ortliebs, to my mind, though have the greater number of the former and least of the latter.

And they come in BRIGHT yellow.

I now use front rollers when I don't need a lot of stuff and back rollers when I do.

Having said that, when I get to Catalonia, this year, I am planning on just using a Frost River 25L seat pack for all my stuff.