do I have too much crap?

[sspeed]

Yeah, the first day that I tried riding to work with front panniers on I scraped them on the ground twice.  Since then I've been more careful.

[John Nelson]

Yeah, the first day that I tried riding to work with front panniers on I scraped them on the ground twice.  Since then I've been more careful.

Well I agree that this is unacceptable. But it is far from a universal problem with front panniers. Different panniers or a different rack would surely eliminate this concern.

[sspeed]

I ended up sending the front panniers home on the third day.  I'm going to sell the Tubus Duo front rack.  My Arkel rear bags and handlebar bag had more than enough room for everything I needed.

I embedded some pictures of the trip on to Google Maps if anyone is bored at work today.

http://www.motate.org/biketour/

[shirley]

I was looking for opinions to this question and the thread is kind of going this way so I hope you all are willing to "divert" a little from your original subject.  Question:  do you think the bike handles better with weight in front panniers only or rear panniers only?  Do you balance the weight in your panniers front to back and, if so, how to you portion it out?  Or do you not worry about it?  Thanks!

[sspeed]

My bike handled no differently with the front and back loaded and only the back loaded.  It sure felt faster without the front loaded though.

I did try to keep weight out of the handlebar bag as much as possible as I've heard that can contribute to "shimmy".

One thing that was much better when both front and back were loaded was picking the bike up from the ground.  With both loaded it picked up nice and evenly. With only the back loaded it would wheelie every time I picked it up.

[John Nelson]

Question:  do you think the bike handles better with weight in front panniers only or rear panniers only?

I think it depends on where the weight is in the back. If the center of the weight is over or in front of the rear hub, then I think you'd be okay with or without front panniers. But if the center of the weight is behind the rear hub, then I think front panniers would help.

[RussSeaton]

I am a fan of putting all the weight or most of the weight in the front panniers and as little as possible in the rear panniers.  I have toured with only front panniers and no rear panniers.  And with front and rear panniers.  Always putting the heavy stuff in the front panniers and the light stuff in the rear panniers.  Touring bikes get more stable and controllable with weight on the front wheel.

[Pat Lamb]

Any significant weight in the front will load the front wheel and make steering feel heavy.

OTOH, if you start climbing a really steep pitch without weight in the front, the front wheel can lift off the ground.  Weight in the front keeps this from being an issue.

Your choice. 

[PeteJack]

    Scraping my panniers on the ground when you lean it over too much...

Has that actually happened to you?

Good question. You either have very low paniers or be cornering tight radii very fast.