Dry bags - a lightweight alternative to panniers

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Kernal Corn
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Dry bags - a lightweight alternative to panniers

Post by Kernal Corn »

It struck me that it's pretty easy to strap a regular roll top dry bag to a bike rack. I'm sure I'm not the first to have this idea but having a look online it seems like it is not a popular one. However, there are advantages...

+A Lot lighter - 190g (+a little for strap and bungee) compared to 875g for one of my Ortlieb Back Rollers. Across two panniers that's nearly a kilo and a half of weight saved.
+A Lot cheaper - less than a tenner for this one compared to £90 for a pair of Ortliebs
+No pannier rattle
+In-built compression straps!

-Less durable. The weight on those Ortliebs is not for nothing. If you were to wipe out with dry bags on the rack you'd better hope you have a roll of duct tape handy.
-Less convenient to attach/dettach. Takes a little longer to get on and off. However, while touring I only put my panniers on at the start of the day and take them off at the end so an extra minute of inconvenience is neglibile.
-Less easy to get inside and dig around in. A more real inconvenience I reckon but anything I need to regularly access in up front in my handelbar bag anyway.

What are your thoughts?

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Last edited by Kernal Corn on 10 Oct 2014, 6:10pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Si
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Re: Dry bags instead of panniers

Post by Si »

I tried using one as a saddle bag: my experience, good and bad, was similar to yours. The main bugbear with it for me was the extra awkwardness when I wanted to get inside and find things quickly.
daddig
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Re: Dry bags - a lightweight alternative to panniers

Post by daddig »

It has started to work for me , though I've stopped using a rack , rather now I use a roll top waterproof bag(13ltr) strapped to my seat pin / saddle and another strapped to my bars. A lot less weight to carry makes my life a lot easier .
I'm considering using items from the likes of Alpkit to make the bags more stable and make the fitting and removal easier !
It has to be said though I aim to carry as little as possible !
Mike G
Sooper8
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Re: Dry bags - a lightweight alternative to panniers

Post by Sooper8 »

daddig wrote:I'm considering using items from the likes of Alpkit to make the bags more stable and make the fitting and removal easier !


I'd be interested in this idea. I am going down this route too and any pointers would be appreciated.

By the way - You know on Alpkit site at moment, in clearance, they have a few dry bags with slight faults at discount price?
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foxyrider
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Re: Dry bags - a lightweight alternative to panniers

Post by foxyrider »

Sooper8 wrote:
daddig wrote:I'm considering using items from the likes of Alpkit to make the bags more stable and make the fitting and removal easier !


I'd be interested in this idea. I am going down this route too and any pointers would be appreciated.

By the way - You know on Alpkit site at moment, in clearance, they have a few dry bags with slight faults at discount price?


The fault being they leak? :lol:

There is a thread on here about the drybag panniers i made - viewtopic.php?f=42&t=83886
Convention? what's that then?
Airnimal Chameleon touring, Orbit Pro hack, Orbit Photon audax, Focus Mares AX tour, Peugeot Carbon sportive, Owen Blower vintage race - all running Tulio's finest!
Sooper8
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Re: Dry bags - a lightweight alternative to panniers

Post by Sooper8 »

foxyrider wrote:
Sooper8 wrote:
daddig wrote:I'm considering using items from the likes of Alpkit to make the bags more stable and make the fitting and removal easier !


I'd be interested in this idea. I am going down this route too and any pointers would be appreciated.

By the way - You know on Alpkit site at moment, in clearance, they have a few dry bags with slight faults at discount price?


The fault being they leak? :lol:

There is a thread on here about the drybag panniers i made - viewtopic.php?f=42&t=83886


Thanks for that link. That is a very neat way of doing it. I was just thinking of ways of preventing it swinging too much when strapped under the saddle- but short of using a Carradice bag support, I can't really think of another way
BTW The 'fault' on those Alpkit seconds is that the buckles are Chinese copies and not up to standard.
gplhl
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Re: Dry bags - a lightweight alternative to panniers

Post by gplhl »

Good for short trips :-) definitely need panniers for big trips. My dry bags also eventually let water in if it's very heavy rain for extended times (rainy season).

Gary
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simonineaston
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Re: Dry bags - a lightweight alternative to panniers

Post by simonineaston »

Sooper8 wrote:...on Alpkit site at moment, in clearance, they have a few dry bags with slight faults at discount price?

Good for trying a few ideas, AKA prototypes, but given their prices are so low anyway...
S
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simonhill
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Re: Dry bags - a lightweight alternative to panniers

Post by simonhill »

I tour a lot in Asia and have seen all sorts of ways of carrying stuff on a bike. Yours is quite sophisticated in comparison and should work well. I do have one problem and one suggestion.

The straps holding the bags on are presumably tightened around the stuff in the bag. This is fine if it is something !like a sleeping bag, but could be problem if it was tensioning around something more fragile, easily damaged or bent.

Regardless, I can see the bags slowly slipping down, particularly on rough roads. Obviously you could keep tightening the straps, but as I said above, I would be wary of damaging my stuff. My suggestion therefore is to put a strap running all round the bag but from top to bottom . This could be fixed to the pannier rack to stop downward slippage. To make it even more secure you could put a sort of platform, like shoulder pad that shoulder baag straps have.

I don't think this is really an option for long haul rough touring. My panniers take a real hammering, particularly on rough roads. I don't think your attachments would ever be really adequate.
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Cunobelin
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Re: Dry bags - a lightweight alternative to panniers

Post by Cunobelin »

Depends on the Drybag

The lightweight ones are not robust enough and often designed to waterproof items rather than an outright bag

The more durable Ortlieb and similar will do the job
simonhill
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Re: Dry bags - a lightweight alternative to panniers

Post by simonhill »

Just had another thought. Wear points.

There will be small points of contact between bike and bag. Make sure they are well protected. Pipe insulator or something similar will probably do. Check and replace frequently to avoid holes in the bags.
Kernal Corn
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Re: Dry bags - a lightweight alternative to panniers

Post by Kernal Corn »

simonineaston wrote:
Sooper8 wrote:...on Alpkit site at moment, in clearance, they have a few dry bags with slight faults at discount price?

Good for trying a few ideas, AKA prototypes, but given their prices are so low anyway...


Yup - exactly my thinking. This was one of those cheap factory seconds.

simonhill wrote: The straps holding the bags on are presumably tightened around the stuff in the bag. This is fine if it is something !like a sleeping bag, but could be problem if it was tensioning around something more fragile, easily damaged or bent.


What delicate items would you take on tour? The only thing I ever have to avoid squashing are pastries and that's only an issue to this fat b****** if I've treated myself to so many they won't fit in my handlebar bag!

simonhill wrote: Just had another thought. Wear points.


That's a good point. Continuous rubbing would probably eat holes through that thin material quite quickly
simonhill
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Re: Dry bags - a lightweight alternative to panniers

Post by simonhill »

Just lying in my hotel room, waiting for the typhoon to pass. So I can think what I wouldn't want squashed in my panniers.

Food, shampoo, tubes eg toothpaste, packets of pills/medicines, computer tablet, etc. Plus all sorts of things that could get bent or broken by being put under pressure from a strap. (I am assuming the straps have to be pulled very tight.)
beardy
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Re: Dry bags - a lightweight alternative to panniers

Post by beardy »

These particular Alpkit bags have reinforced strap "mounts" on the side that you thread the straps through.
So in theory you do not even need the strap around the bag. I have hung one of the single strap Airlocks off the back of my seat as a lightweight saddlebag before. Lightweight but not worth it normally because of the slight hassle of getting things in and out being more influential than the weight loss.
No nice little sidepockets either.
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foxyrider
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Re: Dry bags - a lightweight alternative to panniers

Post by foxyrider »

on the compression issue the thing that springs to mind is tent poles but i also often buy stuff on my trips - books, mugs etc and carry maps and so on - fine in a pannier - even my ultra lights but i'd be very wary if i was strapping in the way mentioned.

I'm a bit OCD about how the bike looks too so the messy look upsets me :lol:
Convention? what's that then?
Airnimal Chameleon touring, Orbit Pro hack, Orbit Photon audax, Focus Mares AX tour, Peugeot Carbon sportive, Owen Blower vintage race - all running Tulio's finest!
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