I have never rode with panniers yet because I have not taken my first long distance tour that would require lots of storage and I don't have a bike set up for them. They seem illogical to me. When you look at a bike rider and think about trying to be a little more at one with the wind, the idea of panniers on the front forks and that low seems to make little sense. A front rack seems more logical since you body is higher and wind resistance in that area is the greatest due to the alignment with your body. Also, it would seem more logical to me that utilizing the rear rack that would be position luggage behind your body would have less resistance than having some low baggage that would be behind your legs. Legs are much smaller and separated to allow wind to move through at a greater rate. Your body is where the issues of wind are at their greatest. I feel I can store enough things on two racks and a handlebar bag to go around the world, but I don't see many doing that. That leads me to believe I am wrong about my way of thinking since there are so many well educated that ride bikes great distances. Am I incorrect in my way of thinking? I am also not interested in an answer that say, who cares about wind resistance when touring. Efficiency is pretty logical IMHO. Also, weight distribution higher on the bike does make riding a little more difficult and that may offset my wind resistance reasoning, but I have had a 5 gallon water bottle on the rear rack before. It wasn't a very enjoyable ride home with that due to the shifting of the liquid and how much weight that is, but I don't think a loaded bike would handle that poorly. I could be wrong however. I need help in deciding how to set up my tourer.