Ortlieb Trunk Bag review

[mickeg]

...
Going off thread, I've been looking at the Ortlieb Fork Pack Plus as a way of adding 11 ltrs capacity to the front of my Surly without using a rack, frustrating to find that despite having 18 mounting points (Yes seriously 9 per leg) none of them are suitable!

Thanks for mentioning that, I was unaware of it.

Looks like it should mount on any fork that uses the same three mounting bolts as a Salsa Anything Cage.

My bike touring trips are usually longer and I need the volume of my panniers.  Thus, I have not yet seen a reason to try one of the options other than conventional front rack and panniers. 

But, I could see at some time wanting to forgo that and instead use some smaller dry bags on either the Salsa cage or the Blackburn Outpost cage.  The Blackburn takes two bolts spaced the same as a water bottle cage instead of the three that Salsa uses.  And there are now lots of other brands in that field too.

Looks like the Ortlieb system is a well thought out design that accomplishes essentially the same as one of those cages and a drybag.

I did buy a couple of the Blackburn cages, I think I could mount them on a Nomad Mk II fork easily enough, upper bolt in the upper rack mounting point on the fork blade and a P clip on the lower mounting point on the cage to hold the orientation of the cage in the right place with the P clip wrapped around the fork blade.  Have not tried it yet, but I have accumulated the hardware to do that.

***

Also off topic, the tent I currently use for bike touring is a trekking pole style tent.  Instead of using trekking poles, I cut some poles that I can fold up short enough to fit in my front pannier, thus I no longer have to have my tent poles on top of the rear rack.

But, if your tent uses flexible poles and almost all tents do now, having poles custom cut to be smaller could be rather expensive.  The poles I use are not supposed to flex, so it was quite easy to do that at minimal cost.

[PH]

...
Going off thread, I've been looking at the Ortlieb Fork Pack Plus as a way of adding 11 ltrs capacity to the front of my Surly without using a rack, frustrating to find that despite having 18 mounting points (Yes seriously 9 per leg) none of them are suitable!

Thanks for mentioning that, I was unaware of it.
Looks like it should mount on any fork that uses the same three mounting bolts as a Salsa Anything Cage.

Yes, the Surly has two sets of three at the right spacing on each leg, but neither of them are parallel to the wheel.  That wouldn't matter on a cylindrical bag/container but would with the flat, rigid backed Ortliebs.  I might end up with cage and bags, or if it gets too much trouble get a front rack, I'm looking for something easy to completely remove when not in use. I'm in no hurry, any possible use is months away.

[Moronic]

A 65km out and back last weekend along my favourite cycle trail led me to reappreciate the Trunk Bag, plus brought the opportunity to grab another pic of the bike with bag.



I've also recognised belatedly that a similar sized saddle bag would benefit from a decaleur, which would increase the weight of, say, a Carradice Pendle to match this Ortlieb product.

It also occurs to me that the 800g Trunk Bag must weigh little more than, say, an Ortlieb Ultimate Six handlebar bag and mount, while offering 40 per cent more capacity and better streamlining. Plus it has no effect on steering.

And if you carry the easily attached and very light shoulder strap, you can bring the Trunk Bag very comfortably into cafes et cetera. It removes as easily as a handlebar bag also, and more easily than a saddle bag.

Add all that up, and for day trips it is arguably rather superior to either, assuming you'll have a suitable rear rack attached in any case.

It is well named as a Trunk Bag, as it gives the bike a storage space analogous to the trunk - or boot, as we call it over here - of an automotive sedan. Usually it's not full, but nor does it get much in the way and there's a fair bit of space if you need it.

Its principle shortcoming arises from its very ability to avoid intruding. You forget it is there, which implies you wouldn't notice if suddenly it wasn't there. The risk of loss en-route is low, given that as I have said the mounting seems extremely secure. It's just that the consequence of such a loss would be high, if you treated it like a handlebar bag and put your phone and wallet in there. Resist that temptation and this is a very good product.

[PH]

Your pic reminds me of another bag feature not yet discussed - Lean protection, when I lean my bike on something, I try and use the bag as the point of contact, partly because the softer surface makes a slip less likely, it's also easier to clean if what it's leant against is dirty, and I'd rather scratch/scuff a bag than the frame or saddle.  Panniers are the easiest, the Carradice traverse saddlebags are also OK, my Ortlieb saddlebag offers nothing and hinders leaning the saddle. Of course if it's something you're likely to take off after you've lent it somewhere it's irrelevant...

You forget it is there, which implies you wouldn't notice if suddenly it wasn't there.

You'd think that wasn't possible with a bar bag, but it is I've done 20 miles with mine left behind in a cafe... and several in the group had similar stories which made me feel slightly less of a muppet.

EDIT - Spelling

[mickeg]

...
I've also recognised belatedly that a similar sized saddle bag would benefit from a decaleur, which would increase the weight of, say, a Carradice Pendle to match this Ortlieb product.
...

I think of the Pendle as a rear saddle bag.  And I think of a decaleur as a mount for a handlebar bag up front.  Thus, I am not sure what you are suggesting.

Most of my bikes had racks on them, until Covid.  During the pandemic I have been using my bikes a lot less for shopping, as my shopping was more likely to be infrequent trips where I purchased more during hours when the stores were less crowded.  Thus, I was driving a vehicle to the stores for more shopping trips and rarely using my bike for shopping.  Less shopping by bike, meant less pannier usage.  And, since I was using the racks less, I removed the racks from a couple of my bikes and started to use my Pendle more.  I had bought the Pendle almost a decade ago but the vast majority of the usage it has seen has only been during the past two years.

I did not like the way my legs hit the bag when I pedaled, thus I added a stem to my seat post (with appropriate shim) and a short horizontal cylindrical piece of wood, sprayed black to hold my Pendle back further.

My Pendle is usually less than half full, but it is a convenient place to put a layer of clothing, extra water, perhaps some food, etc.  I also use a handlebar bag. 

I have nothing against a rack top bag like your Ortlieb, I have used rack top bags for lots of things for several decades and continue to use them on bikes with racks on them.  But, I have started to use a saddle bag on bikes if I will not be using panniers on that bike.  Last week for a couple days it warmed up to near freezing and the wind was light, so I took advantage of the good weather for an exercise ride on my Nomad Mk II, the rack top bag had a couple layers of spare clothing in it.  Marathon Winter tires, 50mm wide worked well.

[PH]

I did not like the way my legs hit the bag when I pedaled, thus I added a stem to my seat post (with appropriate shim) and a short horizontal cylindrical piece of wood, sprayed black to hold my Pendle back further.

I dislike this as well, so don't use the saddlebag without Carradice Bagman, maybe this is the sort of thing Moronic meant by decaleur. 
OT - I've been told the translation of "decaleur" is something like "move out of the way"

[mickeg]

... don't use the saddlebag without Carradice Bagman, maybe this is the sort of thing Moronic meant by decaleur. 
OT - I've been told the translation of "decaleur" is something like "move out of the way"

I am in USA and occasionally I find that british english and american english do not mean the same thing.  The only company that I know that uses the word "decaleur" in their product line is this company in USA, here is an example.
https://velo-orange.com/collections/racks/products/rando-front-rack-with-integrated-decaleur-cantilever

But I have never seen them use the word decaleur for the rear.

Carradice makes a bracket that a bag can hang from that is supported by the loops on a B17 and possibly on other Brooks saddles.
https://carradice.co.uk/shop/accessories/saddle-bag-rack/

That is the closest thing I can think of as a decaleur for the rear, but Carradice does not refer to it as such.

My road bike does not have saddle loops on the saddle, it is a Brooks Pro saddle.  I made up a support by bending an aluminum rod to support the bag, photos attached.

I am aware that you can buy little loops that clamp onto the saddle rods, I have some, but I found they slip.  Or at least the ones I bought in the 1980s for that purpose slip.

[JohnR]

I did not like the way my legs hit the bag when I pedaled, thus I added a stem to my seat post (with appropriate shim) and a short horizontal cylindrical piece of wood, sprayed black to hold my Pendle back further.

I thought I was quite good at improvisation but hadn't thought of that solution for the problem of supporting a saddlebag. I've used the Carradice Bagman but have the problem that my Carradice Lightweight Audax bag is very floppy and sags to each side of the Bagman and I need to improvise a lightweight platform.

I've also got both the Carradice Super-C and Carradura rack bags but these result in the added weight of providing a rack. I had reckoned that an in-line bag should result in the least wind drag but the bike felt a bit faster when I changed to a saddlebag.

[mickeg]

...I've used the Carradice Bagman but have the problem that my Carradice Lightweight Audax bag is very floppy and sags to each side of the Bagman and I need to improvise a lightweight platform.
...

I initially used a piece of cardboard inside my Pendle, and I also have a Nelson Long Flap, used it for that too.  But it worked well enough I decided to make something more permanent, so I used Coroplast.

I bent it into a U shape, it is in the front, bottom and back.  I tried to figure out exactly where I wanted the creases and put those creases in first.  It Just sits in there loosely, not physically attached to the bag.  It does give the bag much better shape instead of sagging like a wet sack.

I have no idea where to procure Coroplast in the UK, I am in USA and bought a big sheet of it at a building supplies store. 

Second photo is my Nelson Longflap, at the time of the photo I just had a sheet of paper cardboard in it in that U shape.  The bag sits on the two panniers with no other support from the bottom, but from the photo I can't tell if the bag is also supported by the Tubus Logo rack under it, it might also be sitting on the rack although my recollection was that it was only sitting on the panniers.  It might have varied from day to day as I packed the panniers differently each day.

[Danneaux]

...I used Coroplast...

I did on mine too, with success.

I suggest it can be helpful to apply duct tape to the cut edges of the Coroplast and slightly round the corners, as both can be sharp and eventually cause some vibration-induced abrasion of the bag's inner if used extensively on rough roads. 

George, I have three of the same rack trunks of the same kind shown on your yellow Nomad. I sure like mine and they have become a day-ride standard on my bikes. A Nashbar product from some time ago, as I recall. The wedge-expanding top has come in handy when buying produce at roadside fruit stands. I attach the waistband of my large safety triangle 'round the bag for better nighttime visibility.

Best,

Dan.

[Moronic]

Yes I may have misused the term decaleur. I meant the Carradice Bagman thingie.

Mickeg, you've got some fab looking bikes in those images. 

[PH]

What's the issue with a Carradice flopping over the edge?  I thought that was the look I don't have any of the larger bags and mine usually have enough in them to keep their shape. More of an issue for me is it sinking into the Bagman, which obscures a light and encroaches on the space underneath, it's easily cured with a couple of wraps of gaffa tape.

[JohnR]

I have no idea where to procure Coroplast in the UK, I am in USA and bought a big sheet of it at a building supplies store. 

Does it look like this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/162688632536?var=461702781589 which claims to be bendable in one direction? If so, what thickness did you use?

[PH]

I have no idea where to procure Coroplast in the UK, I am in USA and bought a big sheet of it at a building supplies store. 

Does it look like this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/162688632536?var=461702781589 which claims to be bendable in one direction? If so, what thickness did you use?

It's the stuff they make signs out of, the "For Sale" estate agent type.  If you can't find a bit lying around waiting to be re-cycled, try a sign maker, they'll probably have an off-cut big enough.

[mickeg]

I have no idea where to procure Coroplast in the UK, I am in USA and bought a big sheet of it at a building supplies store. 

Does it look like this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/162688632536?var=461702781589 which claims to be bendable in one direction? If so, what thickness did you use?

I have never measured Coroplast before, I have only seen one version of it.  My caliper says it is about 4mm.

But, I would suggest you first try paper cardboard to see how it works.  And once you get a cardboard piece that is exactly the right size, you have a pattern that you can use to cut and bend the expensive stuff.

The only reason that I am not still using paper cardboard is I bought a sheet of Corplast for a different project, had left over so used it for my Carradice bags.  The paper cardboard worked pretty well.  But, I would expect it would work poorly if you had a multi-day rain event and exposed it to rain every day.

It is occasionally used here for political signs, but more often they use something cheaper.

This is what I used:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Coroplast-48-in-x-96-in-x-0-157-in-White-Corrugated-Plastic-Sheet-CP4896S/205351385

It is easier to bend if you first score it with a dull pizza wheel cutter.  It bends easiest in one direction, you will figure it out.