Touring - my 4 panniers make my touring bike sway in the wind

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mac
08-03-05, 12:25 AM
I got my 4 Arkel panniers last week and installed them on my bike. I've got 2 on the front and 2 on the back. When I took it for a test ride today, it felt at times that I was being pushed to one side or the other. Is this normal?

Sebach
08-03-05, 02:03 AM
If it is intermittent with the wind, then yes I'd say it's normal for a bit of extra "sailing". If it is constant or mostly apparent when manoeuvering, it might be the loading. The bike will handle and differently when loaded but if it is pulling L/R by default, I would check the loading first. Did you have anything in the panniers?
mac
08-03-05, 09:49 AM
No, the panniers were empty. BTW - I had 5 including the trunk. I only get that "sailing" effect when I'm over 25 MPH and it's intermittent. When I get a chance this weekend, I'll do my mountain ride then fly down it at > 40 MPH to see if I still have that effect. When I did that w/o the panniers, everything was fine.

Sebach
08-03-05, 10:08 AM
Well, it might even be worse if you don't have anything in the panniers. Think of it: when you use panniers, you're increasing your lateral surface area but not increasing your mass much if they're empty. A sheet of paper and a cinderblock might have the same surface area facing the wind, the biggest difference is that one weighs more in relation to that area. If you loaded your bike down, the "sail" effect might not be as noticable.
grolby
08-05-05, 08:23 AM
The fact that the panniers were empty probably caused the "sail" effect to be greatly pronounced. A loaded bike has quite a bit of inertia. Despite some occasional strong winds, I never had a problem with being blown around on my tour. On the other hand, we (my buddy I was touring with and I) found that a loaded bike has considerable wind resistance, which makes drafting your pal extremely effective! :)