Ortlieb bag colour and cleaning

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22camels
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Ortlieb bag colour and cleaning

Post by 22camels »

I think I've finally resigned myself to an Ortlieb bar bag (the non-compact one) - tried one out and despite all my reservations, it wins out based on sheer on-bike practicality.

I am thinking of going for one of the lighter colours in the Plus Cordura fabric - like green, or blue. Does anyone have one of these in these colours (or the Plus panniers) and can comment on whether it gets scruffy after a while and if it's easy to clean? I know black is more practical but I want a brighter tone. I know the Classics are better for cleaning as they are half covered by the shiny stuff but they all look black from above hence the Plus are the only choice it seems.

Thanks!
dandru
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Re: Ortlieb bag colour and cleaning

Post by dandru »

I think it's good to have something bright on the front, on the Super-C barbag that I used a few times, I had a safety triangle strapped on the front, the yellow Ortlieb should provide a good amount of illumination whereas the lighter colours, maybe not.

https://www.ortlieb.com/en/produkt-deta ... %20Touring

Just a question, do the Ortlieb bags squash down to fit into a pannier, I did that a few times with the small Topeak, it saves lugging the thing around when in transit.
22camels
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Re: Ortlieb bag colour and cleaning

Post by 22camels »

I don't think you can squash the Ortlieb bar bag down by much. It looks pretty rigid. At least you probably wouldn't want to. The compact one, you can.

I am more interested in the lighter colours because they look more agreeable to my eye sitting on the bike, not for high visibility from the front. But thinking it might get dirty easily and will be a pain to scrub clean again.
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foxyrider
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Re: Ortlieb bag colour and cleaning

Post by foxyrider »

The Plus material is a bugger to clean! It does look very nice but I've yet to find anything that effectively cleans it. I've got Ultimate 2 and Ultimate 3 barbags which are in 'Plus' material, dark green and dark grey, both look tired due to dirt. I've also got a Top Case in light grey, some kind individual managed to get used chain oil on it and I can't shift it. So whilst the 'Plus' bags look great when new, a darker colour is more likely to keep looking nice for longer.
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!
22camels
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Re: Ortlieb bag colour and cleaning

Post by 22camels »

Hmmm yes that's what I feared. Do you think the Ultimate 6 Plus in granite/black would be ok? If not I might have to go for the Classic - though I am not sure what the non-shiny material on the Classics is (looks v. similar to the Cordura on the Plus), that part is in black in all the Classics so should be fine.
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foxyrider
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Re: Ortlieb bag colour and cleaning

Post by foxyrider »

22camels wrote:Hmmm yes that's what I feared. Do you think the Ultimate 6 Plus in granite/black would be ok? If not I might have to go for the Classic - though I am not sure what the non-shiny material on the Classics is (looks v. similar to the Cordura on the Plus), that part is in black in all the Classics so should be fine.

the Granite (asphalt on the Ortlieb boxes!) looks quite nice and sensible.
The black on the Classics is a single sided version of the double coat colour panels, ie PU coated cordura. The Plus material is much lighter - in fact its pretty much the stuff rain coats used to use :D
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!
22camels
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Re: Ortlieb bag colour and cleaning

Post by 22camels »

I see, thanks. The Plus bar bags are 30g heavier than the Classic ones though - those extra pockets and internal divider must be heavier than the Plus material is lighter.
pwa
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Re: Ortlieb bag colour and cleaning

Post by pwa »

The Classic Ortlieb stuff is very long lasting, and my bright yellow panniers have survived years of commuting in all weathers, through winters, and are still looking almost new. And I never clean them. I also have a white bar bag, and it looks clean all the time. If you want something that will look good for years stick with the Classic.
iviehoff
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Re: Ortlieb bag colour and cleaning

Post by iviehoff »

pwa wrote:The Classic Ortlieb stuff is very long lasting, and my bright yellow panniers have survived years of commuting in all weathers, through winters, and are still looking almost new. And I never clean them. I also have a white bar bag, and it looks clean all the time. If you want something that will look good for years stick with the Classic.

This may be true if you aren't using them extremely heavily, but the lightweight material lasts longer in heavy use in my experience. When I first bought Ortlieb about 20 years ago, I bought some rear panniers in the shiny classic material, and some light-weight front panniers. They obtained very heavy use including a year-long tour mostly in places with intense light. The rear panniers I threw away shortly a couple of years after the long tour, as the material had weakened and they ripped. Looked like UV deterioration of the plastic component of the material. I'm still regularly using the lightweight panniers. They have some little punctures, but I stick tape over them on the inside. Also be careful where you store your panniers, as we have suffered rodent damage to an Ortlieb pannier.
pwa
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Re: Ortlieb bag colour and cleaning

Post by pwa »

Iviehoff, blimey! You must put some serious hours of use into your stuff. My apparently everlasting Ortlieb Classic panniers have lasted around seven years of year round use, five days a week, commuting 10 miles each way in rain, sunshine, frost and all the rest, and they look like new. But this is mainly Welsh conditions, and perhaps more extreme sunshine could produce the deterioration you describe. I can only claim to have given them a good Welsh testing. And no rodents were involved.
22camels
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Re: Ortlieb bag colour and cleaning

Post by 22camels »

Thanks for the help everyone. I took my new ortlieb plus red/black bag (£46 posted from bike inn) for its first proper ride yesterday and I have to say I am in love with it. I used to think they look clunky but it is quite amazingly useful and the magnetic closure works great. But the best thing about it has to be that it can fit not just one, but a whole three 500ml beer bottles:
MidWales-00281-2.JPG
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Sweep
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Re: Ortlieb bag colour and cleaning

Post by Sweep »

My black plus material rear bikepackers still look new after 15 years of use for all sorts including lots of heavy shopping with tins. I have sometimes wondered about visibility with them being black but hope my lights will be fine.

I do have some front classics. Only been used once. Very nice but the material does make them a bit tricky to manipulate. Been toying with the idea of plus material ones for the front but a casual search didn't turn any up. I trust they are still made/available?
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foxyrider
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Re: Ortlieb bag colour and cleaning

Post by foxyrider »

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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Sweep
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Re: Ortlieb bag colour and cleaning

Post by Sweep »

Ta foxy, but i meant bikepacker front plus.

Or did i imagine that they ever did them?
Sweep
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andrew_s
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Re: Ortlieb bag colour and cleaning

Post by andrew_s »

Sweep wrote:Ta foxy, but i meant bikepacker front plus.

Or did i imagine that they ever did them?


They are called sportpacker, not bikepacker, probably to indicate that they are useful on the back as well
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/ort ... r-ec105686
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