Originally Posted by user2

Alrighty, we fully loaded the bikes this morning and went on a short 30km practice run past Pink Lake in Gatineau Park with 370m of elevation gain. It was a bit slow but went well. The bikes actually handled surprisingly well under load. The only minor annoyance I find is the clunking of the panniers when going over bumps but it’s not really anything to be concerned about, just annoying.

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For extra stability on dirt/gravel/stone covered roads in Northern Ontario I wrap an Arno strap around my panniers. Even without clip-on pannier mounts I've never had a pannier bounce on those roads. Arno Straps are like super-long toe-straps. they're also great for strapping things like sleeping bags, sleeping pads or tents to the top of bicycle racks.

Cheers