I have always thought that traveling is something I must do before I get too old or tied in to some serious responsibilities.

The idea of being herded about in buses or living in youth hostels with people going to see the same sights doesn’t appeal to me.

Being a keen cyclist and having an upbringing of road riding and BMX, I’ve spent my life behind the bars of pedal powered machines and the thought of seeing the world from the saddle really excites me.

I want to break myself in gently, so I intend to start my journey with a bit of fun. Next spring, I plan to catch a ferry to Portugal and to ride up the west coast of Portugal in to Spain, following the north coast thought the Basque country to the Pyrenees and over to the south of France, where I will catch a ferry from Marseille to Corsica.

I intend on being in Corsica by the start of June so that I can walk the GR20, a 180km trail, running north west to south east across the island, with some 10,000 metres of elevation change.

The ride to Corsica will be challenging, and I’ll be preparing with a host of smaller trips, during which I’ll be testing racks and panniers from German luggage kings, Ortlieb.

Their reputation for function and durability has made them a frequent sight on steeds of couriers and commuters as I make my way into London each day. With some serious riding of my own ahead, we called in front and rear panniers, a rack, and handlebar bag for test. Let’s take a closer look at each.

Ortlieb Ultimate 6M – handlebar bag

The Ultimate 6 handlebar bag gives every appearance of a highly convenient as-you-ride access point, placing valuables that might otherwise be lost at the bottom of larger panniers immediately to hand.

It’s a feature-laden offering, all of which seem designed for a purpose rather than to fill a spec sheet (magnetic closure, reflective front panel, robust toggles on the zips on each of the side pouches).

The lid is equipped with numerous mounting points, including for a supplied shoulder strap, and a magnetic closure, which seals the bag with a defiant snap.

It opens away from the rider, granting full access to the seven litre compartment, which is supplied with a removable divider, presumably to prevent loose items from rolling around. An internal zipped pouch is sewn to the leading edge of the compartment, making its contents easily visible. Placing it on the trailing edge i.e. closest to the handlebar, would have resulted in much unnecessary craning of the neck.

The tough resin frame is lined with polyurethane-coated fabric panels that carry an IP rating (that’s Ingress Protection, folks) of 54, making them, in real terms, resistant to road spray, splashes, and temporary immersion. It mounts to a supplied clamp, equipped with a simple (and lockable) push button release mechanism.

A fair selection of accessories are sold separately, including a map case, a camera insert to replace the divider, and spare mounting kits, should you wish to swap the bag between bikes.

The Ortlieb Ultimate6 M Plus handlebar bag comes in five colours and costs £72.

Ortlieb Roller Classic pannier – back and front

It’s difficult to imagine a simpler or more efficient rack attachment than the one with which the Ortlieb Roller Classic pannier is equipped.

Operated by a carry handle, the clip that attaches pannier to rack opens when the pannier is lifted by the handle from its mooring. The clip can be adjusted to accommodate different diameters of rack tubing (we’re testing ours with Ortleib’s own Ergo Lowrider (more of which below).

Returning pannier to rack is another study in simplicity, with the carry handle-operated clip aided by an adjustable plastic ‘fin’, positioned towards the foot of the bag and holds the rack tubing twixt fin and pannier.

Both pannier sets (front and rear) are made from the same, robust-looking Cordura fabric as the Ultimate 6M handlebar bag, and so carrying the same protection from spray, splashes, and temporary immersion.

It’s sealed by rolling down the opening and clipping together two straps: one positioned horizontally, and the other vertically. The vertical strap is attached to the outward edge with a plastic nut and bolt, making it replaceable – a further example of Ortlieb’s impressive attention to detail. Two Scotchlite markings, one on either of the fore and aft facing profiles are another pleasing addition.

Internally, there’s a net pocket, equipped with a zip, and so a secure place to store small and easily-misplaced valuables. A shoulder strap is also supplied.

The Ortlieb Back Roller Classic is available in black, white, red, yellow, grey, blue, and orange, and cost £110 a pair.

The Ortlieb Front Roller Classic is available in black, white, red, yellow, grey, blue, and orange, and costs £90 a pair.

Ortlieb Ergo Lowrider rack

The Ergo Lowrider rack is a steel construction with a multitude of mounting points. Our test rig is a Surly Long Haul Trucker, a machine equipped with its own abundance of mounts. We’ve secured the Lowrider at the dropout and the fork leg, but if you’re steed is sans fork mount, fear not: the Lowrider comes supplied with bands by which the attachment might be made.

The welding of the Lowrider’s various tubes are extremely neat and finished with very stainless Allen bolts. Early rides suggest a pleasingly low seat of gravity.

The Ortlieb Ergo Lowrider Rack is available in black or silver and costs £82.

Check back soon for a full review.

Website: Ortlieb
UK distributor: Ghyllside Cycles