Originally Posted by
Brian25
I I have read that steering becomes greatly affected when you put more than 20 lbs on the front racks.
Not true. As LeeG pointed out, bicycles are steered by leaning. Even at slow speeds, front panniers with 60% of the load have little effect on the steering. I carry around 40 to 50lb now...depending on the amount of food I'm carrying...and have carried as much as 60lbs in the past. I don't weigh the bags but I generally aim for a 60/40 ratio. That means that even at 40 lbs, I'm carrying around 24 lbs on the front but I've carried almost 40 lb on the front. I've never noticed any steering problem.
Originally Posted by
Brian25
On a side note: Personally I am against the frame bags, because of the importance to have easy access to several water bottles. Do tourists know that they need to drink close to a bottle an hour while riding?
I'm not a fan of frame bags either. I do use a less then full frame bag for off-road touring but that's a different beast. That said, I also don't use my water bottles for water that I drink regularly when touring. Two of the cages are dedicated to carrying sports drink and the third is dedicated to reserve water. But the water I drink comes from a Camelbak. It holds more and can be packed with ice which makes for far more refreshing liquid intake than drinking tepid water. As an added bonus, the ice cools me as I ride.