Cycling UK Forum

The pockets appeared to only ever be shown in isolation - never attached.

My "Packer Classic" panniers have completely smooth sides and I cannot see how anything could possibly be attached to them.
( Although on Wiggle I look at the current model of same and appear to see some sort of protrusion which may be the desired attachment point ? )

I have a vague recollection of reading about the necessity of actually puncturing ortlieb panniers to get some sort of modification. ?? Or was it all just a fantasy ? . . . as usual ?

Can anyone enlighten me. Better still - some pictures?

did you not a assembly instruction with yours......

You need to punch a hole in the pannier to attached the pocket. I believe the fittings have some kind of seal.

Graham - I've done it and I've posted somewhere about how. If I can't find it, I'll rewrite it, if nobody else explains first.

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It's here

viewtopic.php?f=16&t=33419&p=264834&hilit=ortleib#p264834

Others seem to have found it easier than I did: I was worried about ruining an expensive bit of kit. (Thinks: - is messing one of these up the origin of unipannierism?)

Thanks, Mechanic & TC.

I have not actually bought anything yet, just planning what to do.

The panniers themselves are nicely balanced without extra pockets. I can imagine that adding the pockets will move their centre of gravity backwards.
[ In the context that I'm trying to replace a large capacity Carradice Carradry barbag - probably with a smaller Ortlieb. I need a bit of easy-access capacity elsewhere. ]

I suppose I could put some sort of bag between the panniers.

As a bit of an update, mine has been fitted now for some years and has been 100% OK. I just have mine permanently packed with the stuff that might be needed during a ride without unpacking the main compartment, such as puncture repair stuff.

It's a mystery to me why a company like Ortleib would think up something that needs a customer to take a spike to an expensive pannier for a bit of DIY. One false move and an item of excellent equipment would be wrecked. Read their technical info and they are meticulous over things like degrees of impermeability, to the extent that they include footnotes saing that mesh fabrics are not waterporoof. Then they come up with something like this.

I'm a bit surprised that this thread has not attracted somebody to say that I am a softy, or that they managed to spoil a perfectly good pannier.

I know it seems a bit off to have to poke a hole in your waterproof pannier, but if you look, you'll see that that's how most of the other fittings (hook rails etc) are attached, so it must be a waterproof method.

I don't doubt it's waterproof when done properly; my mentioning that was probably a distraction. I'm not criticising the method, rather their putting the responsibility on the purchaser. The fittings which are part of the manufacturing process are not put on by some timid, fumbling novice but by a precision machine. If they made the internal fittings for a side pocket a standard part of each pannier, it would add little to the weight or cost and I suspect they'd sell many more of the outer pockets. I can't remember if I mentioned it in my original post on the subject, linked above, but a little biry told me that for long enough the UK importers resisted dealing with these add-ons because they anticipated too much aggro from people who had wrecked their precious panniers.

I bought it some days ago. It includes a card with four holes:
http://img846.imageshack.us/i/21477122.jpg
which helps you to make the holes at the exact distance in the bag.
It is very simple.
In the picture above you can see the awl included. You cannot go wrong.
http://img220.imageshack.us/i/53379078.jpg
the pocket can be easly removed and can be fixed to your belt.
http://img62.imageshack.us/i/68157557.jpg

If you have "Back Roller" and "Back Roller Plus" you can put the "Rack Pack" between the panniers:
http://img696.imageshack.us/i/71110344.jpg/
it can be fixed at the Roller. At least (cheaper) you can put a waterproof bag fixed with a rope as I do.

massimo

I didn't get a proper look at your pics because the anti virus software began getting hoity-toity.

I presume you fixed the pocket yourself, using the spike and template supplied by Ortleib. If so, well done! You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din. I'm a lot more cautious, which is a euphemism for saying I'm a coward. As I explained in my linked post, I fitted mine successfully but I took a lot of precautions.

I glad that nobody has reported having wrecked a pannier trying to fit one of these - it would be a heartbreaker.

massimo, thanks for those photos. They are extremely helpful in evaluating the situation.

In fact they are so important I'm very surprised that they are not easily available via Ortlieb.

Thanks too for the bag-on-rack suggestion. I have been looking at various drybags trying to workout the best dimensions and volume to fit between the panniers - i.e. much smaller than the one in the last photo, so that it can lie lengthwise between the two pannier tops.
( Maybe an Alpkit 8-litre or 13-litre . . . . A convenient extra bag for transporting food and other miscellaneous bits when the need arises. )

Hello Graham
I am happy to help you.
you have my same problems ahah! find a handy bag where put things. Last year in Russia I used a plastic bag (ones used for trash! eheh).

Hello Thirdcrank. You are right!! Before punturing the bag I studied the situation for half an hour! ahah
I made four very little (microscopic) holes -terrified of ruining the bag- and so I had great troubles introducing the screws into the holes!
ciao ciao

I guess you could always use some silicone sealantto ressure yourself that waterproofness is maintained

If the Outer Pocket is fitted correctly the pannier itself should be as watrtight as ever, because it's pretty much the same method as the rest of the fittings AFAIK.

For me at least, the worry was that I'd make a complete muck up of getting the holes the right size and in the right place. It has to be absolutely right first time.