This is for a multi-month road (mostly flat) trip with primarily camping (tent carried by riding partner)
kashvi11 on
Are your panniers attached to the rack in that first photo? They look like they’re sitting on the ground – I would be concerned that they are too low in the front like that.
baerli_there on
I’d definitely put them on the rear racks, steering is easier and more responsive. Wouldn’t worry about weight distribution being too far back at your weight (am similar). Although if you’re going for a couple of months I’d have both front and rear panniers
michael_tyler on
I would be concerned about your centre of gravity riding over the front handlebars, along with the rest of your body until it meets the (hard) floor.
everydayiscyclingday on
I would 100% recommend your front loading setup over your rear loading.
In my experience the ride will be much better. When you have the weight on the fork, your arms are directly connected to it, and you can feel it immediately when steering the bike. The front wheel feels much more planted than with a rear load.
When the weight is in the rear, there’s a feeling of delay from your bars through your frame to the weight in the back. It’s like moving something heavy at the end of a stick compared to having the weight at the beginning of the stick if that makes sense. It’s a little hard to describe but I find front loading way superior.
An often overlooked benefit of front loading is that it also makes pushing your bike up steep hills muuuuch easier. It’s the same weight that needs to be moved, yes, but you won’t strike your heels on the rear panniers, and the front wheel won’t try to lift itself up and away from you.
The downside to front loading is that the steering will feel slower. I agree with that, but i find it’s a trade off between that and having faster steering but with the “tail waggle” when rear loading. Again, I prefer how front loading feels.
A lot of people prefer rear loading, so I say give both a try and see what you like.
6 Comments
lbs kg
Rider 238 108
Bike with racks 35 16
Drybag 6 3
Left pannier 10 5
Right pannier 11 5
Frame bag 4 2
This is for a multi-month road (mostly flat) trip with primarily camping (tent carried by riding partner)
Are your panniers attached to the rack in that first photo? They look like they’re sitting on the ground – I would be concerned that they are too low in the front like that.
I’d definitely put them on the rear racks, steering is easier and more responsive. Wouldn’t worry about weight distribution being too far back at your weight (am similar). Although if you’re going for a couple of months I’d have both front and rear panniers
I would be concerned about your centre of gravity riding over the front handlebars, along with the rest of your body until it meets the (hard) floor.
I would 100% recommend your front loading setup over your rear loading.
In my experience the ride will be much better. When you have the weight on the fork, your arms are directly connected to it, and you can feel it immediately when steering the bike. The front wheel feels much more planted than with a rear load.
When the weight is in the rear, there’s a feeling of delay from your bars through your frame to the weight in the back. It’s like moving something heavy at the end of a stick compared to having the weight at the beginning of the stick if that makes sense. It’s a little hard to describe but I find front loading way superior.
An often overlooked benefit of front loading is that it also makes pushing your bike up steep hills muuuuch easier. It’s the same weight that needs to be moved, yes, but you won’t strike your heels on the rear panniers, and the front wheel won’t try to lift itself up and away from you.
The downside to front loading is that the steering will feel slower. I agree with that, but i find it’s a trade off between that and having faster steering but with the “tail waggle” when rear loading. Again, I prefer how front loading feels.
A lot of people prefer rear loading, so I say give both a try and see what you like.