My Ortlieb Back-roller Classics failed me

[cycletourer]

We have had our Ortlieb panniers for over 12 years and they have been brilliant. We had one fail after 6 years with a side seam splittting. I contacted Lyon Equipment who are the UK distributors and a replacement was sent out within the week with no quibbles with them being 6 years old.

As foxyrider says contact Lyon Equipment and they will interested to hear from you and I am sure they will sort you out.

Their contact details:

Email: outdoor@lyon.co.uk

Lyon EquipmentOffice Hours: Mon - Thu 09.00 to 17.00 : Fri 09.00 to 13.00

Lyon Equipment Limited
Unit 3-7
Tebay Business Park
Old Tebay
Cumbria
CA10 3SS
United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0)15396 24040
Fax: +44 (0)15396 26330

[pulseezar]

Sorry for dragging up this old thread, I thought I'd share the solution for anyone else that is interested.

Basically I went and bought a load of M4 allen bolts, some washers and some locking nuts and replaced all the original screws and bolts with these. I thought about getting original spare parts but doubted they would perform any better given this experience on two sets of bags. I've not had a chance to test long term but the fix seems to be holding up for the moment. The bolts are much sturdier than the originals.

[hamish]

We have had our Ortlieb panniers for over 12 years and they have been brilliant. We had one fail after 6 years with a side seam splittting. I contacted Lyon Equipment who are the UK distributors and a replacement was sent out within the week with no quibbles with them being 6 years old.

I have a pair of Frontroller Classics. I use them on the back of my bike for touring in combination with a frame bag. They are about 2 years old and they too split along the edge at the 90 degree junction between the side and the back. I contacted Lyon Equipment but they said it was wear and tear and charged me £25 odd for a repair.

I was a bit disappointed at that as I hadn't used the panniers much. While they were away for repair I needed panniers for a tour so I bought some Vaude front panniers. They are really similar to the ortliebs but the stiff backing may be an advantage as it covers the seam that broke on my other bags. The material does seem lighter though and they appear to wear my rack as fast as the Ortliebs. We'll see which last better and which I choose to use more often!

[pq]

I've long said the Ortliebs aren't all they're cracked up to be. I've got a set and while they're not bad panniers, I've had plenty better. Carradice have been the best.

They seem to have developed a kind of momentum. People buy them because they're recommended, they work OK so they recommend them to others and so it goes on, but at no point do many people compare them with other panniers, especially over the long term. It's amazing the grief I've had from Ortlieb users for saying this - and this is always from people who've never used anything else.

[foxyrider]

I've long said the Ortliebs aren't all they're cracked up to be. I've got a set and while they're not bad panniers, I've had plenty better. Carradice have been the best.

They seem to have developed a kind of momentum. People buy them because they're recommended, they work OK so they recommend them to others and so it goes on, but at no point do many people compare them with other panniers, especially over the long term. It's amazing the grief I've had from Ortlieb users for saying this - and this is always from people who've never used anything else.

I have used a variety of bags in different materials and styles over the years - the only ones to consistently retain Waterproofness, seam integrity and ease of fitting have been Ortlieb. So i'm a person who has used other stuff extoling Ortliebs!

[Heltor Chasca]

I've long said the Ortliebs aren't all they're cracked up to be. I've got a set and while they're not bad panniers, I've had plenty better. Carradice have been the best.

They seem to have developed a kind of momentum. People buy them because they're recommended, they work OK so they recommend them to others and so it goes on, but at no point do many people compare them with other panniers, especially over the long term. It's amazing the grief I've had from Ortlieb users for saying this - and this is always from people who've never used anything else.

I have used a variety of bags in different materials and styles over the years - the only ones to consistently retain Waterproofness, seam integrity and ease of fitting have been Ortlieb. So i'm a person who has used other stuff extoling Ortliebs!

+1 I have used Revelate and Alpkit. Ortlieb are streets ahead. I have had 2 minor issues with my 10+ year old rear Classics. One of those was user error [emoji849]. The other was maintenance. I forget how taxing all those thousands of micro-vibrations can be. Try putting an unprotected banana in your bar bag to see what I mean.

[pwa]

I've long said the Ortliebs aren't all they're cracked up to be. I've got a set and while they're not bad panniers, I've had plenty better. Carradice have been the best.

They seem to have developed a kind of momentum. People buy them because they're recommended, they work OK so they recommend them to others and so it goes on, but at no point do many people compare them with other panniers, especially over the long term. It's amazing the grief I've had from Ortlieb users for saying this - and this is always from people who've never used anything else.

I have used a variety of bags in different materials and styles over the years - the only ones to consistently retain Waterproofness, seam integrity and ease of fitting have been Ortlieb. So i'm a person who has used other stuff extoling Ortliebs!

+1 I have used Revelate and Alpkit. Ortlieb are streets ahead. I have had 2 minor issues with my 10+ year old rear Classics. One of those was user error [emoji849]. The other was maintenance. I forget how taxing all those thousands of micro-vibrations can be. Try putting an unprotected banana in your bar bag to see what I mean.

I've got several sets of Ortliebs, and one set of front Rollers is still in near perfect condition despite year-round commuting over a decade. But I also like Carradice Cotton Duck bags. It's comparing great stuff with great stuff. If there have been problems with Ortliebs splitting that is disappointing, and must mean a problem with production. I would hope that Ortlieb have been looking to fix the problem. Both Ortlieb and Carradice have made stuff that has served us well over the years.

[khain]

The fact that people have had Ortliebs that lasted for decades means nothing if Ortlieb are cashing in on that reputation by lowering quality to increase profits.

I'm not saying they are doing that, just that the durability of products sold 10 years ago may not be the same as products sold now.

[Heltor Chasca]

The fact that people have had Ortliebs that lasted for decades means nothing if Ortlieb are cashing in on that reputation by lowering quality to increase profits.

I'm not saying they are doing that, just that the durability of products sold 10 years ago may not be the same as products sold now.

The Toblerone effect?

I really hope not. I've recently added their new bikepacking seat pack to my German luggage option. Not cheap. But I can smell Ortlieb quality. Only 78 miles use. Let's hope huh?

[Ivor Tingting]

We have had our Ortlieb panniers for over 12 years and they have been brilliant. We had one fail after 6 years with a side seam splittting. I contacted Lyon Equipment who are the UK distributors and a replacement was sent out within the week with no quibbles with them being 6 years old.

I have a pair of Frontroller Classics. I use them on the back of my bike for touring in combination with a frame bag. They are about 2 years old and they too split along the edge at the 90 degree junction between the side and the back. I contacted Lyon Equipment but they said it was wear and tear and charged me £25 odd for a repair.

I was a bit disappointed at that as I hadn't used the panniers much. While they were away for repair I needed panniers for a tour so I bought some Vaude front panniers. They are really similar to the ortliebs but the stiff backing may be an advantage as it covers the seam that broke on my other bags. The material does seem lighter though and they appear to wear my rack as fast as the Ortliebs. We'll see which last better and which I choose to use more often!

i have a set of Ortlieb Roller Classics in yellow and a set of Vaude Aqua Plus panniers in red. The Vaude panniers are far more robust and far easier to get on with imho.

[Johnocyprus]

I apologise but I just can't stop myself from pointing out that my rear Carradice Overlander panniers bought new in 1982 are still in excellent condition. About ten years ago I bought a set of Ortliebs to replace them and they're still in the loft unused. I suspect I'll get 50 years use out of the Carradice the way they're going.

[pwa]

I apologise but I just can't stop myself from pointing out that my rear Carradice Overlander panniers bought new in 1982 are still in excellent condition. About ten years ago I bought a set of Ortliebs to replace them and they're still in the loft unused. I suspect I'll get 50 years use out of the Carradice the way they're going.

Are they made from the "cotton duck" material?

[hamish]

I have 4 sets of Ortlieb panniers- the oldest were bought for a trip from Izmir to Saint Malo in 1989! They are still in one piece having been used loads for years and were only replaced to get the newer fastening system.

I also have a pair of Bikepacker Plus panniers that have seen lots of use - they are faded and scruffy but still waterproof.

I was disappointed though when the new ones failed but I am not saying that Ortlieb are rubbish. Accepting any outdoor gear can have problems from time to time, I was more disappointed that they wouldnt repair them as a warranty claim.

The Vaude seem really good - and at the moment I use the, in preference. Time will tell.

[Johnocyprus]

I apologise but I just can't stop myself from pointing out that my rear Carradice Overlander panniers bought new in 1982 are still in excellent condition. About ten years ago I bought a set of Ortliebs to replace them and they're still in the loft unused. I suspect I'll get 50 years use out of the Carradice the way they're going.

Are they made from the "cotton duck" material?

Not cotton duck; difficult to describe the material essentially it's similar the Ortlieb material but thinner.

[marcus.sangster]

It isn't unknown for the hooks to break as well. I carry spares.

In this instance I agree with the 'send them back and/or tell the distributor' advice.