Altura Panniers

[frank9755]

The only thing I'm am not sure will last 10 years is the rubberised handle - but I've no proof of that yet - ask again in 10 years time.

Whenever I have something really heavy in them and lift them up by those handles, I do wonder if they will let me down one day. Mine haven't yet in 10 years!

[pq]

I've got 2 sets of Altura panniers, I set of Ortliebs and I've just bought some Carradice Super C.

The Alturas have been excellent - much better in my view than the Ortliebs which I rarely use.

The RK fittings work well, although it can be difficult to tighten the screw on the lower clamp enough to stop it sliding. Both pairs have had some serious abuse over the years and the fixings have never given any trouble (unlike my Ortliebs), although the older set (not drylines) are now badly torn.

An example of the absuse I've dished out to my drylines: http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/Occupiedterritories If they can cope with that, they can cope with anything.

They also get used daily for my commute.

[francovendee]

I got mine around 10 years ago and have used them a great deal, mostly off road and I've had no touble with them, I would certainly recommend them.

[angliatv]

I have the Orkney 56s on the back an Super Cs on the front.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v139/ ... rip02b.jpg

Great bags, loads of room and easy to remove from the bike (compared to the Super Cs). When I need to replace them I will go for the Ortliebs as they appear to be harder wearing.

Ed

[patricktaylor]

We have eight Altura Orkney 34s (two bikes) which we used for our first foreign tour recently. They're more expensive than the Dryline range, although I'm not clear how they might be better (or even different). As I haven't used any other panniers I can't compare, but they were fine, easy to lift on and off very quickly (as instructed by train guard - pic below), and withstood being bashed into bollards every now and then. The rubber handles seem pretty tough to me - we used them as loops for the bungee cord that held the tent, thermarests, etc. There's also some small plastic loops on the rail that are handy for cable ties to secure the panniers to the racks.

One comment I would add is that with four panniers one needs only one front pocket - not one per bag. It would be nice to have the option to buy a plain version of the pannier (with no front pocket).

[Ivor Tingting]

I have had a front and rear pair for the last 5 years. I have had no problems with them whatsoever. If ever i needed a new pair for whatever reason then i would buy altura.
As for the hook screw fixing i have had no problems with them.
I have had two racks break one front and one rear so the racks are breaking but the panniers stnd up to the bumps and alll else

Your racks wouldn't be Blackburn Ex-2 by any chance would they? I have had welds break on two of these racks.

Wrt to Altura panniers. I have the old Orkneys 34 litre in black circa 1996 which have been excellent until the zip on the main side pocket of one of the panniers failed about 3 years ago and one of the clips for the carry strap snapped. The material itself has hardly faded or worn at all despite alot of touring and commuting and general use as a bag. Very durable material indeed. The Rixen and Kaul fixings for mounting to the rack Blackburn Ex-2 Expedition have been fine. I can still adjust them without problems if I need to - changing from front to rear rack and vice versa. Only major draw back is that the panniers are not waterproof so you have to put silly yellow covers on them when the rain starts pouring down. The new Alura Orkneys didn't impress me much with the single large lid which doesn't cover the side pocket which can pop out if you are near to capacity allowing water to flow straight off the lid into the side pocket. A bit of a boo boo there Altura. So now I have a pair of Vaude Aqua Plus with side pockets which are simply brilliant even better than Ortliebs .

[Ivor Tingting]

One comment I would add is that with four panniers one needs only one front pocket - not one per bag. It would be nice to have the option to buy a plain version of the pannier (with no front pocket).

panniers-on-train.jpg

With panniers you really cannot have enough pockets IMHO. Nothing is more frustrating than not being able to access or store important stuff or odds and sods quickly.

[angliatv]

I have had a front and rear pair for the last 5 years. I have had no problems with them whatsoever. If ever i needed a new pair for whatever reason then i would buy altura.
As for the hook screw fixing i have had no problems with them.
I have had two racks break one front and one rear so the racks are breaking but the panniers stnd up to the bumps and alll else

Your racks wouldn't be Blackburn Ex-2 by any chance would they? I have had welds break on two of these racks.

Wrt to Altura panniers. I have the old Orkneys 34 litre in black circa 1996 which have been excellent until the zip on the main side pocket of one of the panniers failed about 3 years ago and one of the clips for the carry strap snapped. The material itself has hardly faded or worn at all despite alot of touring and commuting and general use as a bag. Very durable material indeed. The Rixen and Kaul fixings for mounting to the rack Blackburn Ex-2 Expedition have been fine. I can still adjust them without problems if I need to - changing from front to rear rack and vice versa. Only major draw back is that the panniers are not waterproof so you have to put silly yellow covers on them when the rain starts pouring down. The new Alura Orkneys didn't impress me much with the single large lid which doesn't cover the side pocket which can pop out if you are near to capacity allowing water to flow straight off the lid into the side pocket. A bit of a boo boo there Altura. So now I have a pair of Vaude Aqua Plus with side pockets which are simply brilliant even better than Ortliebs .

My 2 year old Orkneys have survived major wet weather without leaking. If the top of the side pocket is exposed even with the lid closed, the pannier is simply overloaded. Do you use front panniers to spread the load?

Ed

[Maurice8]

On the subject of the rubber handles, one of mine was the first bit of the pannier to 'go', and instead of buying a replacement handle for about £5 (for one!), I have used some 4-core mains lighting cable, with the separated cores twisted round the two pegs that each end of the rubber handle was pushed onto. It doesn't spring back to a regular shape, but it looks quite respectable and has withstood all the pull I can put on it. It is a little slimmer than the rubber, so 30 amp mains power cable might have been better, but I didn't have any!

[matt2matt2002]

I have a pair on my rear rack. Used them for 4 Scottish tours and everything stayed dry.
Apart from me.

[sjs]

I've had mine for maybe six years, used them quite heavily for commuting and some touring, and they're still waterproof and in good condition. Only problem was a broken hook resulting from a crash, but that was easily replaced.

My criticism would be that there are too few separate pockets, and the single one there is would be better if it had its own top closure rather than relying on the main flap. I'm always slightly dubious about putting valuables in it. On the other hand nothing's ever got wet or fallen out.

[sjs]

On the other hand nothing's ever got wet or fallen out.

Well, today the commute home coincided with 45 minutes of heavy rain, and the wallet and mobile phone in the pocket did get wet. It needs a proper cover, not shared with the main compartment.