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Ortlieb make fully waterproof front & rear pannier bags for touring, commuting and bikepacking. We stock the complete range of Ortlieb’s pannier bags in our Richmond bicycle repair shop, as well las online.
What is the difference between Back-Roller Classic & Back-Roller Plus?
Ortlieb panniers come in Classic & Plus, the difference between these is in the type of material the panniers are made from, but both types are equally waterproof. The Classic is a tarpaulin type fabric, most easily identified as a shiny material with large colour panels & black sides. The Plus is Cordura which is an extremely durable, textured fabric that is commonly used in bikepacking gear & other outdoor & camping gear. It’s also lighter than the standard ‘Classic’ fabric.
What is the difference between Back-Roller Classic & Back-Roller Free?
Ortlieb offer their famous waterproof panniers in a PVC-free material, which they refer to as ‘Free’. The Free material is just as waterproof as the Classic or Plus, and is for those who support less fossil fuel derived products. The Free panniers look very similar to the Classic panniers. Sporting a coloured front panel & black sides, they come in their own separate colourways like Rust & Lagoon.
How do you attach Back-Rollers to your bike?
Ortlieb Back-Rollers come with what Ortlieb call a Quick Lock system. You mount the bag to your rack by simply holding the bag by the handle and dropping it on to your rack’s rail. Lifting the bag by the carry handle releases the lock so that it is easily removed from the bike. Releasing the carry handle closes the lock, securing the pannier to your rack instantly.
The lower portion of the pannier also has an anchoring hook on a rail. Meaning it can be adjusted & pivoted to clip-in to the vertical stays of your rack. This prevents your pannier from swinging outwards when you make a turn. And keeps it from from sliding along the rack rail.
Attaching a Back-Roller to your bike is incredibly easy & intuitive once you have the bag in hand. And Ortlieb provide hook inserts with each pannier so that you can ensure a perfect fit to your carrier rack.
Not to worry, Ortlieb has thought of everything & there will always be a hook insert or securing hook which will fit your bike rack, whether it is an ebike or a touring bike.
Do you need to carry panniers on both sides of your rack?
You can run a single pannier on your rack with no trouble at all. There’s no point to carrying two panniers if one is empty! A single pannier won’t effect your balance on your bike, as you will naturally compensate for the weight difference when cycling.
Ortlieb also sell single panniers with the commuter cyclist in mind – because not everyone needs 40L of carrying capacity! The Back-Roller Free & The Back-Roller Urban are sold as a single pannier for this exact reason.
The benefits to carrying a single pannier are many – you can easily carry it off the bike in to the shops or the office and you can more easily lock up your bike when the bike is loaded on one side only.
Ortlieb offer a single pannier in High Visibility too, and this is great to carry on the right hand side of your bike to increase your visibility to motorists.
Are all Ortlieb panniers waterproof? Yes!
The original design intent of Ortlieb bike bags were to be fully waterproof. Ortlieb in fact are the pioneers of high-frequency welded seams in fabrics to ensure total water-tight seams. This is a style of waterproofing you can find commonly in bike bags now – especially bikepacking bags – but it all started with Ortlieb.
Ortlieb panniers bags are absolutely waterproof, whether they use a lid closure or a roll-top closure. Because of the durability of the fabric used in their construction, Ortlieb bags will stay waterproof for decades. We say this because we often see customers come in with panniers that are 20 & 30 years old & still going strong!
