Tailfin rack and Ortlieb panniers

[AlanW]

So after much deliberating, I've gone for the new Tailfin Journey rack and third party adaptors so I can fit my Ortlieb panniers, or so I thought!

I don't know how thick or wide the original Tailfin legs were, but the new one is to thick for the securing hooks at the bottom of the Ortlieb pannier to slid over?

Most racks are made of 10mm diameter tube and thats the allowance that Ortlieb have made with the securing hook or anchor as they refer to it as.

However, the legs on the new Tailfin rack are 20mm, so the securing hooks no longer fit?

 

[AlanW]

Ive since emailed Tailfin and explained the problem and attached various photos detailing the issue. Which what what I can gather, seems to have come as a complete surprise to them? But there web site clearly states, purchase the third party adaptors and you can fit any make of pannier, which is clearly inaccurate.

Meanwhile, while I wait for a response Ive looked into what I can do to resolve it?

I thinking, fit a 30mm OD x 10mm thick rubber spacer (with a 5mm hole drilled in the centre) in-between the hook and the mounting plate thus giving me that extra 10mm clearance and replace the OEM M5 hex head bolt for one 10mm longer.

Just messing about in the workshop this afternoon, I got a stack of 25mm penny washers made up to make a 10mm spacer and fitted them where I suggested above just to prove to myself that it would work, and it did!

Even better, I've since found some hard rubber spacers on eBay, the exact size that I need, result!

But lets be honest, I shouldnt have to do this really, for a item that costs so much money, surely little detail like this should have been thought about. After all, 10mm tubing on racks, be it aluminium or titanium is pretty much the norm.

So when Tailfin say that any other make of rack can also be fitted to the Tailfin rack, you would have thought that someone might have checked first?

 

[AlanW]

 

[chriswoody]

One of the Tailfin videos about the Journey rack shows them fitting a pair of Ortlieb's to this rack, so they do seem to have checked them. It's hard to tell, but the bottom mount seems to be much higher on the rack arm and the bottom securing hook seems to be spaced out like yours.

 

[Elybazza61]

Ortlieb's fitted fine on our earlier carbon and ally racks although I did remove the outer cover on the legs and just put protective film on.

They are the small front and gravel bags though.