Ortlieb Fuel-Pack

The Ortlieb Fuel-Pack is a simple and well-executed design that's easy to access on the go and resists heavy rain. Able to fit to threaded top tube mounts, most frames with the provided straps, and everything else with an optional extension strap, it's a great choice for single-handed on-the-bike access to stuff.

Read our feature, 15 easy ways to carry stuff on your bike, for the pros and cons of popular gear-carrying methods.

Top tube bags are a proper Marmite cycling accessory that some consider to spoil the look of a bike and interfere with your knees when out of the saddle. Of course beauty is in the eye of the functional long-distance or casual cyclist, and fashion be damned, I want my stuff readily to hand.

Ortlieb's Fuel-Pack is a clever take on quick-fitting and quick access, while being light, quiet and dry inside, and fittable to any bike.

Available in black or the as-tested Dark Sand, the fabric is totally waterproof with welded seams. The cover is a single piece with a clever fold at each end, and falls into place under its own weight or tension most of the time, occasionally needing a slight nudge. The powerful magnets snap it shut, and take a good tug to come loose. There's simply no way anything is falling out unless you're involved in a major change of orientation at speed.

The Fuel-Pack has two holes in the bottom with plates that screws go through to hold it tight against either your frame or the base of the included straps. A 3mm hex is all you need to change the Fuel-Pack from top tube to strap mount or back. The straps can be used to bolt a standard metal bottle cage to for extra water-carrying capacity if needed, which is a pleasant free bit of functionality.

The included straps are good for tubes up to 60mm in diameter. Broader than that and you can use an extension strap (£6, think small Voile strap) that daisychains onto the provided staps. This would be needed for most e-bikes with batteries in the down tubes if mounting it there.

For road or gravel bikes with oddly spaced top tube mounts Ortlieb sells an 'offset plate' for £9, which allows the Fuel-Pack to be adjusted 30mm either way from the default boss spacing. It recommends a minimum of 10mm between your stem and the front of the pack, and as there's no standard for how far back top tube mounts should go, the optional plate is a good idea. The fact that the Fuel-Pack is rigid enough to stand up on its own disposes with the need for an unsightly strap around the steerer, which also is bound to mark your spacers or stem as you steer back and forth.

Ortlieb recommends using adhesive frame protection tape to minimise the chance of any scratches to your paintwork from grit being caught between the bag and frame. Ortlieb doesn't sell tape, but this stuff is very cheap. In a pinch, you could just wrap that section of your top tube in a layer of electrical tape. Or just embrace wear marks as a well-earned badge and memory of good times, up to you (that distant sound is a million titanium frame owners caring not for any of this 'scratch' or 'rub' nonsense).

Inside, the Fuel-Pack is lined with a light grey fluffy material to damp any rattling and protect items like phones or glasses from abrasion.

On the left side there's a slim mesh pocket meant for thin items like cards or cash, but as it's elasticated, larger items like a small multi-tool or gels could fit.

The capacity of the Fuel-Pack is one litre – quite a bit for a top tube bag. The shape tapers from narrow (5.5cm) at the rear to wider (9cm) at the front, to minimise the chance of knee strike. Ortlieb shows the Fuel-Pack mounted on down tubes, as well as at the rear of the top tube (facing backwards would work best to maximise clearance). Obvs it's not going to work upside down or on your seat tube.

It's long enough inside to fit a pretty sizeable battery pack, and the front of the flap is engineered so that a cable can come up over the edge and down out of the pack without allowing water to seep back inside. Perfect for keeping lights or phones charged on your handlebar.

Over a couple of months blatting about the place in all weathers I was pleasantly surprised with how stable and quiet the Fuel-Pack was. There's a fair bit of space inside, so yes, if you have lone items they may roll around a bit. But the fluffy lining kept the noise down.

One litre is plenty enough space for a lightweight jacket, some bars and a phone. As loaded as I could get it, even out of the saddle I couldn't notice any sway thanks to the reinforcing of the body.

> Buyer’s Guide: Best bikepacking bags

At 116g for the bag alone the Fuel-Pack is very light for a totally waterproof bag. Adding in the straps and you're at 150g, still pretty light. (And if you need a new set of two straps including the rubber mounts, that's £17.)

Value & conclusion

The only thing going against the Fuel-Pack is the price, but then again it's only £2.50 more at RRP than the flip-lid version of Tailfin's Top Tube Bag 1.1 Litre, which Iwein didn't really get on with, finding it didn't always sit right (though he loved the £55 zip version, despite some knee rub). You do get two options for screw mount points, so would do away with Ortlieb's adapter plate if that were needed.

Apidura's Racing Top Tube Pack 1L is cheaper still at £54, and Shaun thought that was great, if pricey, when he reviewed it in 2020 – and it was two quid less then!

Even so, with a five-year warranty, made in Germany, and with accessories available should your biking needs change, the Ortlieb Fuel-Pack is a very good choice if you have the money: a premium item of small luggage that works extremely well.

Verdict

Quick-fitting and stable way to add a convenient litre of easy-access storage to any bike