Courtesy Neil Hodges on Google+
Have you ever been bothered by the plastic hex nuts that Ortlieb uses inside their bags? Quite possibly your answer will be “no” and you haven’t ever thought about them. However, some people are bothered by them, as they stick out into the inside of the bag and can get snagged on things—and also look a little cheap.
When, after many years of heavy use, I lost one of the nubs, I remembered that I had once seen an alternative on a German bike touring forum. Unfortunately, several different local hardware stores didn’t have the required parts. But hey, McMaster-Carr to the rescue!
Here’s the before:
And the after:
Much nicer, isn’t it?
These are the required parts, from left to right:
For a full conversion of a Back Roller you will need thirteen of each. I got everything in stainless steel, which is probably a bit overkill and quite expensive. If you’re paranoid about waterproofness, it might make sense to add a little Seam Grip before tightening.
Credits for coming up with this solution go to GeorgR.