[Closed] Toptube frame bag (ortleib)

fashion innit.

was gonna buy some ortleib. it is tough but very heavy.
i went for alpkit.

I've had an Alpkit Possum on the bike continuously for the last four and a half years (including an off-road E2E and linking up all the Welsh Trail Centres bikepacking style, plus frequent shorter trips). Zip's just starting to get temperamental because I tried forcing too much stuff in. Water resistant rather than waterproof. Like it enough I'm considering one of their custom bags to replace it. I also have their Big Papa seatpack and like it.

Ortlieb is still the brand favoured by most of the long distance travellers - and with good reason. I'm not convinced that their durable/heavy construction fits best with the lightweight ethos of bikepacking, though if you want something to survive the zombie apocalypse.... 😊

I've got the Ortlieb, though I haven't used it on a long ride yet.
Very well made & properly waterproof. Not what I'd call heavy either.
It can also hold a Kryptonite New Yorker U lock.

Loving my Ortlieb stuff.

Handbag, frame and seat packs.

Went for the buy right, buy once and have no complaints.

The said I'm a huge fan of Alpkit.

My experience of ortlieb stuff. Totally waterproof ie drop it in the river waterproof, Durable, heavy and expensive

If I was buying panniers for long trips, I'd be keen on the ortleib heavy/bombproof/waterproof approach. you're going to have lots of weight in there, they're going to be leant up against stuff, you've probably got clothes and sleeping bag in there that needs to stay dry.

For a frame bag, I'm not sure the benefits are as useful - it's carrying less weight, it's not exposed to scuffs, it's going to be used for stuff you're regularly after, so if it's raining, you're going to be in and out with wet hands anyway, and things like camera and wallet can be kept waterproof in a thin drybag.

And it's more likely to be used on a lightweight trip, on it's own or with bar and saddlebag, so being lightweight itself is an advantage.

I've got a wildcat (ocelot?) and I'm very happy with it. Not throw-in-a-river waterproof, though!

Everything breaks eventually, even Ortleib bags. I've had them fail in several ways:
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I like their drysacs, though, I'd just stick an appropriately sized one in whatever luggage you get. It'll be more waterproof that way, too, rather than depending on external seams, zips, etc.

I just weighed my Ortlieb, 148g is not what I'd call heavy.

I actually ordered an Ortleib seatpack at the same time I got the Big Papa bag (both about the same capacity). The weight was fine; I kept the Alpkit over the Ortleib because I preferred the strap set-up, and the fact more weight/space is under the saddle rather than out the back.
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But most of this stuff will do the job fine. For me, I prefer buying UK-made gear if I can do it without stiffing myself, so I'd be looking at Restrap, Wildcat, the UK-made Alpkit stuff, maybe that Straightcut outfit featured on STW recently.

I've got some Ortlieb panniers and a couple of their smaller handlebar and saddle bags, as others have said: basically bombproof.

For bikepacking we've got a variety of bags and harnesses from Alpkit, Apidura, Revelate and Wildcat. Don't have any Ortlieb just, well just because. The best made of those we do have is the Wildcat stuff. Not used or indeed seen any Restrap bags.

The Ortlieb Toptube bag is their equivalent of the Alpkit Possum and the Wildcat Ocelot, i.e. a partial frame bag that is able to fit several frames unlike a bespoke full frame bag. (Odd nomenclature - a top tube bag normally sits on top of the top tube behind the stem) Greg May who posts here occasionally used Ortlieb bags on the TDR, his review of them is here - http://www.gregorymay.ie/?p=2898 The bags may only be 4 litres but they do seem almost tardis like and you can get a surprising amount in them.

With all these bags, including the Ortlieb, I keep electronics and stuff that has to be dry (sleeping bag) in a dry bag or even a dry bag and a ziplock plastic bag as well as making sure that things don't move around abrading those.

If you need/want something custom might be worth having a look at straigtcut design based in Edinburgh. Pretty sure his stuff ticks the boxes.

I don't know why there's a lot of posts commenting on the weight of the ortlieb bikepacking gear? Is it really that much heavier than similar offerings from Apidura or Alpkit etc? Also it is waterproof rather than weatherproof. I suspect some of the comments are based on comparisons with ortlieb bike luggage ie. the stuff that is made out of lorry tarpaulin, rather than their bikepacking gear. I've bought a lot of Ortlieb stuff to do the NC500 and a C2C this year and it was awesome.

I ran the seatpack, handlebar bag and accessory pack and it performed brilliantly through torrential rain, mud, shit and tears. I ran an Alpkit frame bag for the NC500 because my Ortlieb 6l was too small, but the Alpkit became saturated after a bit of exposure, but to be fair Alpkit never claimed it to be waterproof. Only criticism of the Ortleib framepack is that it is a single zip, therefore a single space and can get a bit bulky. Also the single space means that it is harder to locate things. Whereas the Alpkit had two zips and a divider, that made it easier to locate and organise. When it's pishing of rain and you're cold and wet, you want to be able to set up camp as quickly and efficiently as possible.

For the OP, I think the 4l would be ideal as you don't need the two zips. Check out the Lomo bag, it is only £23 and looks well made. I'm thinking of getting one for my winter hardtail.

My review of Ortleib stuff:-
* Handlebar bag- Can't fault it. Stuff inside dry as a bone, handy webbing on the outside for holding jacket or sandals
* Accessory bag- as above. Works really well with the handlebar bag and is good for keeping all valuables in and you can quickly detach into 'man bag' when you stop for breaks or take into tent.
* Seatpack- it extends a bit out back and depending what you put in it you may get the 'happy dog' effect. I stuffed it with all my lightweight stuff like clothes, sleeping bag etc It worked well as long as you thought about how you load it. The webbing on the back is pretty handy too for storing waterproofs etc. The air release valve is a pretty cool feature. Also, because of the shape, it acts as an excellent mudguard.
* Cockpit bag- It's the only bit of kit that i'm disappointed with. The plastic moulding on the bottom means that it only works on compatible frames. My steel adventure bike was too thin and I had to use extra strapping to stop it moving. The zip is not that accessible normally and even less so with extra strapping holding it down.

Umm

OK, I'm not running the top tube bag, but their seatpost bag is superb quality - waterproof with a bleed valve to get air out as you tighten the straps.
The shape of the bag also suits a full suspension bike better than others I have worn out (not naming them)
Cannot fault the quality - did I mention that?

I have the Ortlieb Top Tube Frame Bag. It feels bombproof and is impressively waterproof. With the zip done up fully its had to push air out, let alone worry about water getting in. It also did a good job of containing a liquefied banana after 3hrs of bashing around on really hot summer ride (i was going to eat a lot earlier!). Thankfully it cleaned up easily with some dry grass!. I use it for commuting too as it's nice to vaguely lob stuff in there rather than stuffing pockets, and on my frame I can still run two bottles (also much lighter than rack\single pannier).

*Disclaimer: I haven't done any crazy bikepacking trips with it, just normal riding (varying distance) and commuting.

Thank you all for the replies, much appreciated. Looks like i have lots to look into. I printed out the ortleib top tube bag template yesterday and tried it when I got home. Unfortunately the bag is way too big. I had never really noticed how little room there is between my head tube and top tube, only about 40cm, and of that only about 35cm is usable space before the angle of the top tube and down tube becomes tight. Bike is a Cube Nutrail Pro 17". May have to re-think bag/style and/or location so thanks for the reviews of various other bits of kit. Will also look at alpkit custom made and straight cut design, cheers GKW never heard of these guys before and fairly local for me.

I'm very happy with my Restrap Frame bag. It's never been in all day rain but has kept stuff dry in very heavy showers

Another UK stock/custom option to think about - Aiguille.