Originally Posted by
gsa103
Cargo is significantly harder on a bike than it's weight indicates, so 20% more cargo, might be twice the impact loads on the wheels.
The rider typically uses his legs to absorb and isolate impacts, while cargo is typically relatively rigidly attached to bike, so it dramatically increases the effective impact forces.
Depending, of course, if the cargo is in a backpack or in panniers. But even so, I exclusively rear-load my bike, so say 20 to 50 pounds (or more) gets directly transferred to the rear wheel.
My heavy hauler (which has the 8s DNP Epoch) does have quite a spongy tire, depending on the pressure I put in it, but can also carry up to 100 lbs on the rear (plus me).
But, lately, I've been more likely to tow than heavily load the bike, except touring. The heavy hauler is still a heavy bike
