Ortlieb front roller plus and sports roller plus:
Are these two pannier types identical?
It might be a quirk of goggle but searching one often leads to the other and I've noticed that the front roller plus is out of stock in a number of outlets but the sports roller plus is available.
The 'front roller' doesn't exist as an actual named product.
However Ortlieb front panniers that use a roll closure (the Sport-Roller Plus and Sport-Roller Classic) are often referred to as Front Rollers - simply to distinguish them from the larger Back-Roller which does exist as an actual product. The 'Plus' nomenclature indicates the use of a PVC free Cordura fabric. The 'Classic' nomenclature indicates a glossy PVC fabric. The Pluses claim to be harder wearing but they are pricier and suffer from colour fade. The capacity and shape of each model is identical but the Plus model weighs a tiny bit less.
If you want to save a few bucks (quite a few as it happens) the Sport-Roller City is identical to the Sport-Roller Classic but with a simpler, slightly less versatile fastening system - no shoulder or top strap. The lack of a top strap simply means it's harder to keep the contents restrained when over-filled. The loss of the shoulder strap is not loss at all - I have a cupboard full of discarded Ortlieb shoulder straps. First thing that happens when I get a new Ortlieb is that strap goes in the pile.
Syd
Edit: You can add the new "Sport-Roller Free" to this list of 'front rollers'. It's free from PVC and made from a "polyurethane-coated polyester fabric". Damn, now I have to google why PVC appears to be the new asbestos.... and why polyurethane and polyester aren't.
