First Look: Ortlieb Gravel Pannier (Bikepacking Panniers) 

Just got a pair at REI during the Memorial Day sale. Will be using them for my daily commute, and hopefully I first weekend tour. Took them for a test run. So far so good. Thanks for the review.

Wow, totally a piece of gear I was really looking for, Thanks

Good review, Russ, thanks. I already own the Ortlieb seat pack and handlebar pack, thanks to your reviews of them. When I buy panniers, I will definitely consider Ortliebs - love that they are water-proof and made with sturdy, high grade components.

One thing I do like about my older Ortlieb panniers is that after you roll the top the ends clip together creating a convenient handle. Do like the newer ones.

Do the D rings rattle against the buckles of the roll top?

I run Jandd mountain panniers. Big volume. No plastic hooks to break. Cordura.👍

Have you done a review on the radical bikepacking bags?

Got a pair, fantastic kit.

Initially I thought too small, bur ordered a new smaller tent, so may have to recheck these for gravel potential. Do miss the shoulder strap but looks like there is a spot to add them for portability.

I've got a question for you sir I am purchasing a rad Runner electric bike the rear rails for hanging a pannier is 25.5 mm how big are the Hangers On the ortlieb bags would they work on that size of a rail. 25.5 mm is roughly one in" slightly over but basically one inch

Thank you for this video ,I have these Gravel bags but I can't use both the hooks on my Tubus Duo front rack ,could you suggest anything .Thank you .

Splitting a clear vinyl tube and zip tying it to the frame of the rack reduces rattling a bit.

Axiom front rack lowrider disc can fit?

Thanks for your review as you always do such a nice job. I did want to share this comment with you and your listeners because the airlines are so stringent about the size of one's bag I often have to shove a bigger pan air into a smaller pan or when I travel. In this way I do not have to pay for luggage. I might purchase that Ortleib bag because of you. And you can tell the Ortleib Corporation I said so.

What's the difference between the Free and Plus ?

Do you think it would fit a 15" macbook pro, I want to use these for my daily commute.

Great review! I don’t understand why there are people dislike it.

I see a potential big problem with how they have a “glued” clip on side for the tie down. This was a similar technique that Axiom bags used on their touring bags and they fail incredibly easily and pull out of the bag leaving a big hole in the bag and no way to tie down the top. That is something I would avoid altogether.

How is the durability for larger riders?

I like these bags a lot ,but if used on the front the they do not fit Tubus Duo rack ,The Pegalo front rack works really well & if fitted on a Surly Ogre you also have space for water bottles.

Great bags. Definitely need two stronger lower hooks and also a safety catch or lock because they can fall off if not hooked on properly. It's quite difficult to tell if they are hooked on and if you pull the bag up it pulls one catch off and is akward to remove and start again. Come on let's improve the design, they must know this.

Do you know if they be be making rear panniers in this design

The pannier has a really sleek look.

What rear rack would work well with these panniers?

You could also show at the bicycle..

I like my small yellow Ortlieb panniers. The gravel version seems to me a little ugly colored.

are they water proff as well

How do you feel about these Panniers now? Haven’t seen a follow up, so I don’t know if that’s a bad sign. I wonder if you feel they’re actually good for bikepacking in open paths with lots of wind, or if one should avoid panniers altogether.

They look nice, but I don't see any real functional changes. The side fastening system looks like it would restrict how much you can stuff the pannier before you can't close it anymore. And, as someone else has commented, you don't need the shoulder strap to close the old stye panniers, I lost my shoulder straps years ago. Overall I'm not convinced, it seems to be style over function here.

You don´t mention the volume ?? Its the most important bro!

Do the gravel pannier come with a shoulder strap?

You can buy a second hook from ortlieb.

How many liters or ci....

Ive got those, they look and feel sexy:-)!

it would have been better to know more about the bag. How do you hang it on the bike, what is the quality of the top hooks, what is the capacity, is the bag waterproof, does it have pockets inside the bag etc. so unfortunately disappointing.

The fact that you can’t just clip the two ends together, to overstuff the pannier, is a complete deal breaker. The only benefits of rolltop closures are full waterproofing, and the ability to overfill (to carry extra food, forage, water, fun stuff etc). This was what was great about all the other rolltop ortliebs Why did they change that? They still could have had male and female attachments on each side, that way you could have had it both ways. What a dumb fail

I have a set and the only reason I got these over the Ortlieb front panniers is because of the weight savings. However, I sometimes regret not getting the front rollers simply because of the integrated shoulder strap. One bottom hook in the correct location is all a person needs to keep the bags on. But the nice thing with two is you have a spare and you can adjust the 2nd hook once the bag is on to make the bag harder to steal. Not sure why they had to label these gravel panniers other than for marketing purposes. It's just another bike category that really isn't needed and I am also getting tired of hearing it.

The Gravel Pannier is not an upgrade. You have incorrect info @ 3:17. The older pannier does NOT rely on the shoulder strap to keep it closed - it was merely an optional accessory for your off-bike carrying convenience. Simply remove the shoulder strap (and either leave it behind or take it with you -- not as useful on tours compared to in-town, IMO). The remaining QR buckle ends then attach to each other, like traditional dry bags -- as you display in the video @ 1:37. Yes, it leaves a "loop" of roll-and-buckle above the bag, but you can trap that below the center strap if you dislike it sticking up - again, as you display @ 1:37. That said, the new design is lower-profile in this regard since the roll is directed down onto the bag. But really, it is of near-zero benefit as shown in that side-by-side comparison @ 1:40. The OLD design is much more tolerant of over-stuffing when needed. You might sacrifice true waterproofness by having "one less half-roll" when closing the bag, but the top will be closed, preventing the contents from escaping. With the new design, you'd have to keep the bag open, and risk stuff jumping out if you carry enough stuff to prevent the male buckles from reaching the female ones on the sides of the bag. Admittedly, this is also a minor thing - less likely to matter on a tour where you are generally carrying a known quantity/volume of stuff, but handy in some situations in around-town/daily use. And if the gravel bags have narrower webbing and buckles (I couldn't quite tell from the video) that will make replacement items that much harder to find. Standards are a good thing and mucking it up with slightly smaller stuff is dumb - again, hard to tell if that is the case. Ortlieb's stuff has been so good for so long, that even they have a hard time improving on it. They've been fiddle-farting around with "new products" and "upgrades" for a while, but mostly, they really haven't improved much on their already good designs. I LIKE and use Ortlieb stuff. I just dislike undeserved hype about "new & improved!!!" The new panniers are fine, but the older ones had advantages that make them better by a small-but-significant amount. "But the new ones have grey-faux-carbon fabric and are SO GRAVEL!!!" (eyeroll)

Mm, strange, my 10 years old front roller city bags weighs 550 grams, same volume, and still cheaper if you buy them now, i don't think this an upgrade.

looks like a cycle touring pannier not in the same concept of bike packing which don't use racks

Less you more pannier

You need to listen to how a French person pronounces pannier. It’s pronounced “pan-yay”. Your “pan-yer” is driving me nuts.