I have talked about the Ortlieb pannier hooks and spacers falling off before (clicky here: Ortlieb Bike-Packer Plus (Rear). For some reason they fitted just nicely and snugly into the hooks. But after a few weeks of use the hook became wider and every time you un-hooked your panniers, you had to go hunting for the spacers.
When the panniers were fixed to the racks, they invariably rattled, because we have lost all the spacers we had. I set out to find a way to solve this problem. The harder material of the pannier hooks have also worn off the paintwork of our Tubus racks.
I remembered that some cycle tourers had wrapped some inner tubes around the racks and zip tied them into place. It took some time before I got my act together and had a spare inner tube that I could use.
I cut a 2″ long bit of the inner tube and split it open. I then stuck some gaffa tape at one end and rolled the inner tube twice around the rack. Then with a zip tie at each end (from side to side) I secured the inner tube. Remember the old adage: if you can’t fix it you’re not using enough gaffa tape or zip ties! The reason I made it around 2″ long is because the hooks are around 1″ wide and that you would be able to hook the panniers onto the rack with out hitting the zip ties.
It feels nice and secure, the panniers click on and off just like before and there is less rattle. So, it seems to be a success though time will tell if it will stay in place and how long it will last.
I have a simple solution.Got the trusty ruler out , measured the gap and went off to a hardware store looking for small sizes of hose.Thehad a few for lawn mowers etc; one had the perfect diameter, so i bought around a metre in length.Back home cut it down one side after getting the length right.A couple of cable ties on the extra lengths (either side of the clip) and bob’s your uncle .A very firm fit no rattle or jumping off the rack now.Later noticed in a car parts shop fuel hose in different sizes this could work too.