Originally Posted by
cyccommute
Big mistake! Not the carrying her stuff but trying to fit it all in one set of rear panniers. The bike will handle like a pig. Go with 4 panniers that are smaller and load most of the weight (60%) on the front wheel with a low rider. The bike will handle much better and you spokes will like you a whole lot more.
I'd also suggest you let her carry her own clothes in a set of front bags on her bike. Clothes are bulky but relatively light. You can carry all heavier stuff like locks, toiletries, camping stuff, etc.
Agree very much with this comment. I carried a load for a family trip and the bike was no fun at all to ride with just the rear loaded. I have been thinking along the same lines for touring with just my wife. I am going with 3 pairs of panniers, so I have the flexibility to offload what I need to give my wife to even out our pedaling ability. She will have a rack on the front and rear of the bike so we have the option of putting the panniers on the front with some bulkier items on the rear. It's our first trip, so I am looking primarily at flexibility to be able to get things just right, then maybe fine-tune the system in the future.