Old 11-05-09, 02:40 PM
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cccorlew
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Location: Antioch, CA (SF Bay Area)
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Bikes: Trek 520 Grando, Roubaix Expert, Motobecane Ti Century Elite turned commuter, Some old French thing gone fixie

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Physics geeks: Effect of unevenly loaded panniers?

I'm arguing with my office mate who also bike commutes.

He says I'm a dangerous fool because I don't bother to evenly distribute the load between my two panniers. Indeed, I sometimes load a bunch a papers on one side, and not much on the other.

I contend I can't feel it, and it doesn't matter. He says that being unevenly loaded could cause a problem in a corner, a big wind gust or an uneven surface.

He even got a science guy at our college to support his viewpoint.

I contend that the weight is relatively close to me, and being as I can't feel it, it really doesn't matter.

Weigh in. Science facts will help.
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