Originally Posted by
ckaspar
What should I look for in the geometry if planning for panniers? If I can take some measurements now and realize panniers would NEVER be an option for this bike then I can skip the Supertourist and just go with the Explorer designed for disk brakes. The Explorer that Big Lebowski is referring to is not designed for disc so I would have to do the $40 Explorer setup for the disc.
I don't have specific metrics - but the main thing you'll be looking for is how far the front edge of the pannier will sit from the back of your heel while riding.
You'll want a rack that will sit level and far enough back to prevent heel-strike. I think the main thing to look at is how long are your chainstays? If the front edge of the rear wheel is really close to your bottom bracket and you have long feet you may have problems using large panniers comfortably.
For example, one of my bikes has aprox. 16" chainstays when measure from the back edge of the outer BB shell to the axle... I usually had to fiddle a little to make sure a large pannier didn't brush my heel while riding, and eventually switched to ones that had allowed me to tie them to the seat stay and lift the front edge back a bit to solve the problem. If I had smaller feet, it wouldn't have been a problem naturally.
My other bike, which is a touring bike, has aprox. 17" chainstays measured the same way and I have no problems with clearance at all with that extra inch of space.