I found mountain hardtails seem to have a geometry that's favorable with loaded panniers, as well as oversized crap on top....like a large suitcase, with all kinds of crap inside.

I'm currently in the process of making my Talus more practical by adding a rack to it....which means disc to vbrake conversion on the back...ugh.

I still feel that multi-speed is the way to go, even if it's just a sturmey archer 3-sp hub.