Yes, I was touring with panniers, but I carry my panniers on the front, not on the rear. If I had to guess, I'd say it had more to do with cycling in the rain, combined with general wear and tear. I had about 22,000 kms on the bicycle by then and had been caught in quite a few rain storms. And sometimes, from what I've heard, freehubs just die ... their internal mechanisms are relatively delicate.



BTW - if you go to my website in the signature line below, and scroll down to the Packing List link ... that's my packing list for long tours with the occasional Randonneuring event thrown in.