Ortlieb issue HB strap storage warning in new mtg instructions

[Danneaux]

Hi All!

I just checked out the downloadable mounting instructions for Ortlieb's new 2013-series handlebar bags and noticed they have updated their installation instructions as well.

Compared to the instructions for my Ultimate V Plus, the new instructions for the updated version -- now called the Ultimate 6 Plus (not the Ultimate 6 Pro discussed here: http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=5201.msg27305#msg27305 ) -- now include a clear warning to NOT store the handlebar bag strap on the bag; see attached copy of their illustration or view them in their entirety here: http://www.ortlieb.de/_anleit/ultimate6.pdf  The strap mount for the Ultimate 6 Plus appears identical to the same pieces on my Ultimate V Plus.

This is *exactly* how I have been storing my carry strap so it is conveniently in place, ready for use when I stop and wish to take the bag with me. No longer.

Ortlieb now advise removing the strap and storing it inside the bag until it is needed for carry.

I would have thought a spontaneous release impossible until I played with my bag a bit and found it can release without warning if just the right combination of factors obtains. When it does, the strap end can dangle and possibly catch in the front wheel spokes, perhaps with tragic consequences. Please note I have only removed my strap once or twice in all the time I've owned it, so mine is a "best case" example. The strap is much more likely to release if the strap has been repeatedly attached and removed. Storing it is less convenient, but a lot safer compared to the carnage that could result if just one end of the strap comes free while riding.

I'll be placing my strap in the bag from now on, except for those occasions when I am off the bike carrying it. Hopefully Ortlieb's caution will prevent a sad result for someone in future.

By the way, the handlebar mount has also been revised so when it is locked, it secures the lid as well as the bag. There is a small, plastic-covered corded loop that is captured by a tab on the lock and this is what holds the lid shut. It looks as if it could be easily sliced open by a thief with a pocket knife, so it is probably still best to carry your handlebar bag with you when leaving the bike, ensuring all valuables and passport go with you.

The new bags are pictured here:
http://www.ortlieb.de/_prod.php?lang=en&produkt=ultimate6m_plus
http://www.ortlieb.de/_prod.php?lang=en&produkt=ultimate6_pro
Please note the map cases have been revised. They no longer attach snaps, using elastic cords secured around plastic hooks instead. snaps no longer secure the lids, either, now being replaced by magnets. Users are cautioned to keep bank cards a minimum of 2cm away from the magnets. Compasses (both magnetic and electronic, as those included in GPS are) need to be rather farther away than that to maintain accuracy.

Best,

Dan.

[il padrone]

Hmmm....

I have almost never removed the strap and it always sits draped across the handlebar bracket. In this position if it came off I reckon it'd be unlikely to dangle too much.

[Danneaux]

I think you'd be fine, Pete; just don't do it the way I have, all neat and such.

Best,

Dan. (...poster boy for skull 'n' crossbones warnings)

[jags]

i always carry mine inside.btw Dan have you a link for a spare bracket so as i can fit it to my raleigh bit of a pain swapping from the sherpa.

[Danneaux]

Dan have you a link for a spare bracket so as i can fit it to my raleigh bit of a pain swapping from the sherpa.

Here y'go, jags...
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/ortlieb-ultimate-2-5-bar-bag-mounting-bracket-lockable-type-for-fitting-onto-handlebars-oe164-prod5800/

KlickFix also offer an Ortlieb-compatible alternative that works well for many.

All the best,

Dan.

[jags]

Thanks Dan i did look honest 
 that will save me alot of hassle. now if only this wheel i'm still waiting for would be available to buy.
i could buy that  bracket as well but i'm not brave enough to ask the wife for a lend of her credit card 

[Danneaux]

...i'm not brave enough to ask the wife for a lend of her credit card

Can't help you with that one, jags, but...

Didja know if you put a finger through the loops at the back of the lid, you can "pop" the lid open a lot easier without breaking thumbnails? Previously, I pulled on the loops as if they were tabs. They work much better used as loops...at least while the bag is relatively new and the snaps are fresh and unworn (and still very tight).

Best,

Dan.

[pdamm]

I wonder if the risk they are concerned about is the strap with both ends attached catching on the front wheel if you have low handle bars and no mudguards?  For me that wouldn't be an issue as I have mudguards and a Surley nice front rack in the way and my handle bars are unusually high. 

If you are worried about one end of the strap coming off its mount you could attach a little tether to the end of the strap and around the strap mount as a safety line.

Peter   (... who doesn’t want to live his life according to what some insurance company recommends to somebody else...)

[Danneaux]

... who doesn’t want to live his life according to what some insurance company recommends to somebody else

Me either, Peter; full agreement there. Ortlieb's diagram shows a dangling strap, and that was my first thought, too.

I initially dismissed the fresh warning as so much lawyer-talk, but when I started to play with mine, it would occasionally come loose with little if any effort.

Looking at my bag in the photo, I'd snugged the strap up underneath so it wouldn't be in the way of the headlight (I run a rear mudguard on the front, so no problem with the tire catching the strap). Doing so places some slight tension in the downward direction...same direction the strap anchors release.

I think part of what spooks me is the memory of a truly beautiful young woman back when I was at uni. She was riding past on her bicycle and caught my eye -- just in time for me to see her long-strapped purse slide forward off her back and catch between one fork leg and the front tire. Before I could utter a word, she rotated around the locked front wheel and slammed face-first into the pavement, hands still on the 'bars. I dashed forward, called to one of the stunned bystanders to call for an ambulance, and stayed with her till it arrived. She was awfully quiet, not saying a word the whole time. From the looks of it, she suffered a broken nose, jaw, and cheekbone, and must surely have incurred a concussion. It made a real impression on me, enough to pass on the warning for individuals to take or leave as they will. Once aware of the potential for problems, it is a bit like the helmet issue -- people will choose whichever course suits their risk valence.

I much prefer the design of modern HB bags to those available in the past. A member of one of the tour-groups I led in the '70s-'80s had an Eclipse handlebar bag with stabilizing bungees going to the front dropouts (as in the photo here: http://www.vintage-trek.com/images/trek/Mann510/side-black-door.JPG ). One day a bungee detached and got wound up in the spokes. Rather than snapping, the nylon-clad bungee pulled the bag down and off its steel support, and that got wound up in the works as well. Fortunately, it all happened after a stop when the rider was just starting off rather than at full speed, so no fall or injury resulted. Small wonder bungee-stabilized HB bags disappeared from the market after Eclipse went bust.

All the best,

Dan. (...who is glad he no longer has to worry about institutional liability and tour groups)