Touring - Front panniers - do they really help all that much?

The situation is this. I'm about to replace my rear rack after breaking it on a commute recently. If I decide to buy a front rack now, my LBS will probably do me a deal allowing me to get it cheaper. What I would like to know is whether front panniers on a tour really make a lot of difference. Previously I've toured using rear panniers exclusively, which has generally worked pretty well.

However, when I was in Tasmania recently, I had to really stock up on groceries in Queenstown (last supermarket for a few days), and having all that weight on the rear of the bike took a little adjusting to, and perhaps made the climb of Mt Lyell harder than it needed to be.

On the other hand, I'm not really intending to carry anymore than I do now generally speaking, so the only real advantage they could offer would be weight distribution. How much difference does that make?

On a week long tour through California's Central Coast, I had no other choice but to use front panniers. Too much stuff. Sleeping bag took up one whole large pannier. One of four. We did not carry food. MOstly ate out. And my four panniers were full. Plus stuff atop my rack secured with bungie cords.My tent and pad were items atop the rack.
Yes. I agree, Weight distribution was much improved by splitting the load front/back.

The situation is this. I'm about to replace my rear rack after breaking it on a commute recently. If I decide to buy a front rack now, my LBS will probably do me a deal allowing me to get it cheaper. What I would like to know is whether front panniers on a tour really make a lot of difference. <snip>

i've got front and rear panniers on my touring bike that i use. when i'm not going to the grocery store i usually take the front panniers off due to wind factors. you really notice the drag on the bike if they are empty. however, just having the rack on the front doesn't seem to effect drag much and you can always take them off if your only doing short lit' gaunts into town and such. can't hurt to have the option of throwing the front panniers on when ever you need them.

they do help weight distribution on large heavy loads. i've not done any touring yet, but i have made trips into town where i've needed the front panners on the bike. (stock up on grocery items, laundry runs, etc.) they really come in handy for that extra load you need to carry or just to ballance the bike out. but if your not carrying anything in them your going to notice the wind drag from them. (i usually put the small bags in the rear panniers until i get into town, then put then on the front.)

if your looking for types of bags i suggest altura. it's a UK based company but as far as i have seen they are the best bags on the market. one button snap on and lock down. no fiddling w/ some string thing on the bottom of the rack. need to get them off in a hurry? one button and they come right off. only thing missing on them is a place for a strap for carring off the bike but that's easy enough to install. they even have little triangles on then for sliding safety lights into.

cheers
kat

You definitely get better handling with front lowrider racks. Lowrider racks place the panniers in line with the steering axis, so they are fairly steering-neutral (i.e. they don't pull the bike to the sides).

However, the added benefit is that a load in front makes the bike go in a straight line and steering a bit slower... which compensates for load in the back which tends to make steering twitchy. There are many opinions on proper load splitting, but let"s say that 40%-60% to 60%-40% is ideal. I generally put dense items like tools in front.

One thing to note: the load should be fairly well balanced between left front and right front panniers.

....On the other hand, I'm not really intending to carry anymore than I do now generally speaking, so the only real advantage they could offer would be weight distribution. How much difference does that make?...
I travel mega light by most touring standards. I like the front panniers for several reasons. First they are easy to reach into while straddling the bike so good for puttin things like a light rain jacket which I might have to put on and take off repeatedly on a showery day. Second I like to keep my food and other clothing separate so I put the food in the front. Third of course the weight distribution does help. Forth, your front panniers can double as a carry pack/day pack on a rest day when you go into a town. (Of course a handlebar bag can too). Finally your front bags tend to be more square and single compartment so I put awkward metal items in them like my gas bottle, cook stove, etc.

roughstuff

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I, too travel mega-light by touring standards (I don't even carry a stove, although I'm thinking about it in future if I can find a light one). Looks like I'll be getting the front rack/panniers and trying them out over one of the up-coming long-weekends in the next couple of months.