I have experience with Ortlieb front and rear classic rollers as well as with Swift Industries panniers. I find that the Ortliebs are a great size for the front, and their mounting hardware is superior - mounting and removal can be done very easily and they hold firmly on the rack.
If you like a traditional waxed canvas look, the classic Ortlieb rollers are a polar opposite. They're shiny and look and function similar to a dry bag. They'll lose the touring fashion show every time. The waxed canvas Swift rollers, on the other hand, are an attractive and functional bag. They are weatherproof but not waterproof like the Ortliebs, and the mounting mechanism is a more traditional open set of hooks for the rail mount and a bungee to hold tension - this is a decent solution, but inferior IMHO to the Ortlieb mount. If the Ortliebs are cut or ripped, repair involves some process similar to patching an inner tube if I understand correctly, while the waxed canvas can be sewn or patched in a more standard way. Waxed canvas panniers appear generally more expensive than the classic Ortlieb rollers. In my non-scientific test, my Ortliebs appear lighter than similar-sized waxed canvas panniers. For full touring kit for more than a few days of consecutive riding, I really like Ortlieb stuff. For short trips or overnights, where a single set of front panniers and maybe a saddlebag will suffice, I like the waxed canvas options, just in case I run into any fashion police. If I could have just one set of panniers/bike luggage, I'd probably choose Ortlieb. I bought mine from Wayne at the touring store. That being said, if you're an REI member that have a nice sale going on right now and a 20% off coupon for regular priced items. It looks like they have the Ortliebs on sale on their web site. On Tuesday, May 24, 2016, kielsun <bobk...@gmail.com> wrote: > Thanks, Doug. I ordered a Tubus Tara and the mid-fork kit a few hours ago > from Bike24 in Germany--I wanted a silver version to match my rear rack and > I guess they can't be had stateside. Pretty great prices, too, even with > shipping. > > I'm still up on the air about which panniers (and openly soliciting > offers), although I'm leaning heavily toward some of the Ortlieb Front > Rollers. Any advice thereon is appreciated! > > Bob > > On Tuesday, May 24, 2016 at 7:26:32 PM UTC-4, dougP wrote: >> >> I have a Duo that shares the upper fork eyelets with a small Nitro bag >> rack. The lower rack mount is a p-clamp, and the rack isn't level. This >> gets the panniers up for ground clearance off-road. Functional but not >> elegant. >> >> If clearance isn't an issue, go with Tara & Tubus mid-fork kit. Another >> endorsement for Wayne at the Touring Store. Good guy with good stuff at >> good prices. >> >> Doug p >> >> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com > <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','rbw-owners-bunch%2bunsubscr...@googlegroups.com');> > . > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com > <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com');>. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
