The Belleville's front end geometry is within millimeters of the Gary Fisher Simple City bikes, which used as a starting point the classic Schwinn Suburban*, and subsequently tweeked in by having some groups of target users ride prototypes with two bags of groceries in the front basket.

Because Trek came up with something other than the fashionable answer du jour, I've seen these bikes critized by a number of folks that admitted to not having ridden them. That said, I don't know if they ride and handle well with a front load or not.

tcs

*Actually, neither a randonneur nor porteur bike. Nor for that matter, a Dutch city bike or traditional British three-speed.