Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

review

Ortlieb Downtown 2 QL3.1 pannier

8
£155.00

VERDICT:

8
10
Great build quality and office-friendly design make this a very good city bag
Great quality
Flat rear profile
Well organised inside
Good waterproofing
Closure design limits capacity
QL3.1 system not so easy to switch between bikes
Weight: 
1,307g
Contact: 

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

What the road.cc scores mean

Good scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.

  • Exceptional
  • Excellent
  • Very Good
  • Good
  • Quite good
  • Average
  • Not so good
  • Poor
  • Bad
  • Appalling

If you're looking for a classy bag for work/urban duties and you're not after a huge capacity then the Ortlieb Downtown 2 has much to recommend it. It's beautifully made, looks great and is easy to carry on and off the bike.

The Downtown bag has been in Ortlieb's range for a while but the latest version has seen some updates. For a start, it's moving away from Ortlieb's traditional PVC/PU-coated canvas; you can still get the bag in shiny black but it's available in a more stylish cordura fabric in both navy and grey.

> Find your nearest Ortlieb dealer here

All three are still waterproof – not to the chuck-it-in-the-river extent that a roll-top pannier is, but I've ridden through some serious weather with the Downtown 2 without any rain sneaking inside. The top folds over and the sides fold underneath to give protection against water sneaking in under the flap. It works very well, and it won't be a surprise to anyone who's owned an Ortlieb bag that it's beautifully made.

2020 Ortlieb Downtown 2 Briefcase pannier - tab.jpg

The closure has been redesigned – it's an aluminium hook with three nylon loops depending on how much the bag is carrying. You can open and close it with one hand, and it's very simple and secure. The design of the bag does limit its capacity, though: the Downtown 2 can carry more than the 20L stated capacity but there's no way of pulling the flap over the top of the bag once you've filled it past the point where the last loop will engage.

2020 Ortlieb Downtown 2 Briefcase pannier - clip.jpg

It's not designed to be a huge cargo space, and there are plenty of Ortlieb bags (and other bags) that will do that job if that's what you need. If you're packing your lunch, a laptop, a couple of folders and a spare shirt then it's more or less ideal in terms of size, with room to spare for anything you might pick up from the shop on the way home. Assuming it's not a big bag of potatoes or anything.

2020 Ortlieb Downtown 2 Briefcase pannier - seam.jpg

Our Downtown 2 attaches to the bike using Ortlieb's Quick-Lock3.1 system, but it's also available with the QL2.1 system for £20 less. The QL3.1 system requires either a rack that's specifically designed to accept it (Ortlieb's Rack Three, for example), or you need to mount a QL3.1 frame bracket to your pannier rack, which is supplied with the bag.

2020 Ortlieb Downtown 2 Briefcase pannier - rack attatchment.jpg

The QL3.1 system uses three attachment points: you locate the bottom one on the bag and then slide the top two into plates that contain a quick release mechanism. It's not necessarily as secure as hanging the bag from the pannier on hooks, but it has the advantage of being very low profile on the bag, so there are no hooks to dig into you as you're carrying the bag using the included shoulder strap.

2020 Ortlieb Downtown 2 Briefcase pannier - strap.jpg

It's a good system that's ideal for a bag like this: it's simple to get the bag on and off the bike and it makes it much slicker when you're not riding. If you're using one bike then it's no problem as the QL3.1 adapter will always be there; if you want to switch between bikes then you'll need another one. They're not expensive, though.

2020 Ortlieb Downtown 2 Briefcase pannier - back.jpg

There's a briefcase-style handle too. And feet on the bottom mean the bag sits nicely on your office floor when it's not in use.

2020 Ortlieb Downtown 2 Briefcase pannier - base.jpg

Inside there's plenty of organisation available. There's a notebook compartment at the back that'll easily swallow a 15in laptop; it's padded but not too padded that it takes up lots of space. On the outside of that there's an organiser with zippered pocket, a pen holder and a clip for your keys. It's designed well for the kind of things you're going to be putting into it. It's an easy bag to like on a day to day basis.

2020 Ortlieb Downtown 2 Briefcase pannier - laptop sleeve.jpg

At £135 with the QL2.1 mounting system it's a similar price to a good quality courier bag like the Carradice Kelbrook and even with the more expensive QL3.1 system it's still a lot less than something a bit more boutique, like the Hill & Ellis Professor.

> Buyer’s Guide: 17 of the best racks and panniers

Obviously, there are a myriad of panniers that you could buy that will serve perfectly well for a fraction of the price, but this is a bag that looks good on and off the bike, works well and is beautifully built and likely to last a long time. As such, it's not hard to recommend if you want something a bit more office-friendly.

Verdict

Great build quality and office-friendly design make this a very good city bag

If you're thinking of buying this product using a cashback deal why not use the road.cc Top Cashback page and get some top cashback while helping to support your favourite independent cycling website

road.cc test report

Make and model: Ortlieb Downtown 2 pannier

Size tested: 20L, QL3.1

Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Ortlieb says, 'The classic ORTLIEB Downtown Two has been given a new look that is both stylish and businesslike. In addition to its new appearance, however, this waterproof, modern bicycle briefcase also offers some impressive new functions. For instance, you now need only one hand to open and close the flap. The interior of the Downtown Two is as smartly structured as its exterior, offering a padded compartment for notebooks or tablets of up to 15.6', an organizer with two zippered pockets, a pen holder and a carabiner for your keys. The new Downtown Two comes in three timelessly appealing colors. In addition to durable canvas, this popular bicycle briefcase can now also be purchased in wear-resistant Cordura fabric in the colors black and steel blue. The Downtown2 is available with the Quick-Lock2.1 or the Quick-Lock3.1 mounting system.'

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Ortlieb lists:

+ The reversible mounting bracket enables mounting on either side of your bike rack

+ Adjustable and removable shoulder strap with anti-slip shoulder padding

+ handle

+ feet

+ edge guard

+ reflectors

+ Dimension notebook compartment: 27 cm x 40 cm x 3 cm / 10.6 in. x 15.7 in. x 1.2 in

COLOR steel blue

MATERIAL PS36C

BAG TYPE single

ADAPTER Quick-Lock2.1

WEIGHT 1290 g | 45.5 oz

HEIGHT 31 cm | 12 inch

WIDTH 40 cm | 15 inch

DEPTH 14 cm | 5 inch

VOLUME 20 L | 1220.5 cu inch

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
9/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
9/10
Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
 
7/10
Rate the product for value:
 
6/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Very well: an excellent city bag.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Great quality, easy to use on and off the bike.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Closure limits the capacity.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

You can spend a lot less and quite a bit more for a bag to take your stuff to work in, but it doesn't feel like bad value.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

Very good overall; some minor issues with the closure and the ease of use on multiple bikes, but overall not much to complain about

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 47  Height: 189cm  Weight: 94kg

I usually ride: whatever I'm testing...  My best bike is: Kinesis Tripster ATR, Merida Scultura, Dward Design fixed

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, time trialling, cyclo cross, commuting, touring, club rides, sportives, general fitness riding, fixed/singlespeed, mtb, Mountain Bike Bog Snorkelling, track

Dave is a founding father of road.cc, having previously worked on Cycling Plus and What Mountain Bike magazines back in the day. He also writes about e-bikes for our sister publication ebiketips. He's won three mountain bike bog snorkelling World Championships, and races at the back of the third cats.

Add new comment

3 comments

Avatar
kil0ran | 3 years ago
0 likes

Never mind the bag, what's the bike? Those are some seriously racy seat stays smiley

Avatar
daccordimark replied to kil0ran | 3 years ago
0 likes
kil0ran wrote:

Never mind the bag, what's the bike? Those are some seriously racy seat stays smiley

Not to mention the three braze-ons on the drive side seat stay. Never seen that before. 

Avatar
dave atkinson replied to daccordimark | 3 years ago
0 likes

it's the thorn club tour: https://road.cc/content/review/thorn-club-tour-mk5-275037

the braze ons are for rim brakes for 650b and 700c

Latest Comments