I think this is an "urban myth" that everyone attributes to Jim Blackburn. I have not found any evidence supporting the 60% front 40% rear loading concept that can be attributed to Blackburn. Actually, I was unable to find any information about the origin of the 60/40 at all. Maybe some of you will have some credible information on this and help us clear up our "misunderstanding".

This is a picture of the summary describing the results of Jim Blackburn's "tests". I tried to track the origin of the urban myth—more weight in front, and was able to get this picture of a page in Blackburn's 1995 catalog from John Schubert who is the past Technical Editor for Adventure Cycling Magazine. I cropped the page so the summary was legible. He only sent me a picture of the last page of the article describing 4 of Jim Blackburn's tests of 17 different configurations. The original work was done by Jim Blackburn and crew in approximately 1981.

You also have to realize that Blackburn's tests were conducted using 80 lbs. of weight.



This is an article that John Schubert wrote for Adventure Cycling Magazine:
https://www.adventurecycling.org/res...a-rack-primer/

"In the early 1980s, Blackburn directed a series of experiments mixing various combinations of front and rear panniers, high and low pannier mounting, and handlebar bags. Blackburn and his test rider, Jim Gentes (who went on to found Giro helmets), found that the best-handling combination was high-mount rear panniers, low-mount front panniers, and a bare minimum of weight in a handlebar bag. Because of this finding, Blackburn went on to design and build his Lowrider front pannier rack. Adding front panniers does make your bike’s steering feel slower, but in a way that feels benign and easy to control. By contrast, adding weight in a handlebar bag makes the bike resist your control, so a handlebar bag should be restricted to holding a few light items.

Blackburn also found that an acceptable alternative way to configure your load was to use high-mount front panniers instead of low-mount. The bike still handles acceptably this way. This is important to know because off-road tourists generally need high-mount panniers for the improved ground clearance. In addition, a conventional high-mount pannier rack has a small top shelf which can hold more of your possessions. This is of particular interest to tandem tourists, who have less pannier and rack space per person than single bike tourists."

There is another article published on the ACA website that promotes the 60/40, front-back split, but nothing to back this up:https://www.adventurecycling.org/res...d-how-to-pack/

"When touring with panniers, try to keep your total load between 15 and 45 pounds. Your bike will be most stable if you put more weight in your front panniers--roughly 60 percent of weight in front and 40 percent in back. Experiment with weight distribution to find the best handling results for your particular bike. Items like tools, spare bike parts, cooking equipment, fuel bottles, food, and on-the-bike clothing usually go in the front panniers and light, bulky items like clothes in the rear panniers. Your sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and tent are usually strapped to the rear rack and add to the weight on the rear wheel."