How should I fix my Ortlieb Rack Pack (medium, 31 litres) to my rear panniers?

Question

I recently bought an Ortlieb Rack Pack to go across the top of my rear pannier rack. When the pannier bags are attached the Rack Pack works great: it clips into the two pannier bags and everything holds together nicely.

However, if I'm only using one pannier bag or if I'm using the Rack Pack on its own, I struggle to get the Rack Pack secured to the rear pannier rack. I'm thinking of using a bungee cord, but should I try something else instead? Is there a different kind of strap that is specifically designed for fixing things to panniers?

Answer 1

I'd go with a couple of bungee cords, maybe the adjustable-length ones. That's probably going to be more versatile and adaptable than something more specialized.

There are some flat adjustable bungees, like these:

http://www.amazon.com/ROK-Straps-Adjustable-Loop-Thru-BLACK/dp/B008ETMV8I

That particular type is attached on either side such that you can open it without having the entire strap coming off the bike. Both ends are a plain nylon strap, and the middle section is stretchy. I've used these for motorcycle luggage and I liked them.

Answer 2

I have the exact same setup:

On the end of the bag, I clipped it to the panniers using the built-in clips, as you're doing, but I would not trust this to keep the bag stationary.

I just bought one of those big containers of bungee cords of different lengths from Canadian Tire, and used the two shortest ones to go around the bag's middle. It looks like I actually missed the handle there, but usually I run them through the handles so they can't slip off.

They work well without the panniers, provided you run the bungies through the handles.

Dirt cheap, and kept it in place really well.

Answer 3

I bought some ROK straps from Cycleblaze. There are two sizes. You thread one end of each strap through the loop at the end of the strap, then buckle them together. I got the small, but I would advise the large.