Normally I drive at least once a week to pick up groceries at a store close to my work. Usually lots of fruits and veggies. But today I thought I'd take the groceries onto my bike rack with the two pannier bags, and my backpack. I must have packed a good 30lbs of stuff onto those two bags and the backpack.

Anyway, my query is, is it tougher to ride with a full load of groceries in tow or to ride against the wind? As luck would have it I had to do both today so I couldn't say which one made the journey so hard.

I'd say wind.

My ride home begins just as the wind picks up out of the Santa Monica mountains and it's a bear.

I'm glad it's on the way home and not on the way in to the office; ya gotta get home...

Both. Get a good load of groceries in some panniers and try riding into a headwind, like you did.

Weight makes the bike handle a little bit different, but unless you've got some pretty stiff hills, you don't notice the weight once you get rolling.

Wind you're going to notice, period. And suffer. And despite what you might have read or heard, there's no such thing as a tailwind.

Yeah, what's up with that..?

I did notice that the bike seemed more stable in the wind. I guess the extra weight increased the momentum factor, so perhaps the wind had less effect. But it still sucked!

It's more like the wind changes direction during the day so that you're riding against it both ways. That's a b!tch! I will confess I cursed more than a few times on the ride back home today.

I actually prefer to ride against the wind in the morning because I leave pretty early and get in extra miles most days anyway. On the commute home it's usually been a long day at work; I'm tired; it'd be nice to have a little bit of help. Alas it never works out that way.

Wind for sure. Where I live, the wind is like clockwork, unfortunately its a clockwork against me. I also ride a very upright bike, so there are no drops etc to get into.

Wind. My daily commuter is a pretty heavy bike (40 pounds). I have a lighter bike I use for fun weekend rides. If I had to choose between the heavy bike on a still day or the lighter bike on a windy day, I'd choose the heavy bike on a still day every time. I find that once I have the bike up to speed, I don't notice the weight too much. It does take more effort to get going from a dead stop though.

Edit: Now that I think of it, I would also choose the heavy bike if the day is windy. It has a very solid, stable feel about it.

I'm used to riding on a heavy bike. I recall plonking the rear wheel of one of mine up on a set of scales and holding the frame vertical: the scales read about 40-45kg.

I weigh 95kg (i.e. according to one of the forum titles here, I'm the featherweight end of the Clyde scale).

I have no problems travelling 80km in a day, I might walk steep hills but I'll pace myself and get to the destination, and on the flat I'll be doing around 30km/hr. Put a headwind in the equation though and I'll be barely keeping above 20km/hr.

The Bicentennial bikeway here in Brisbane comes to mind: riding that into the CBD, it's not uncommon to get a wind along the Brisbane River that slows me down to buggery. The only plus is that at least the wind is keeping you cool. (Perhaps a little too cool now it's getting to winter.)

Riding against strong wind is the worst. I would rather have hills then wind. If the wind is behind then it's ok.

Wind. Weight is only a handicap when accelerating or uphill.

whereas tailwinds are a myth.


i recommend remembering if you've got a full load of groceries loaded unevenly before getting out of the saddle, though. That's alarming.

I'd take a load or hills over wind any day. Extra weight is a constant and you don't notice it as much after a while, especially on level ground. Hills you can see coming, and can prepare mentally as you approach. Wind, on the other hand, saps your energy, physically and mentally. Trying to stay balanced with gusty side winds gets old in a hurry.

I'd much rather be pulling the 70lbs of my son and his trailer than deal with high winds

Wind is worse. Notice how a slight tailwind becomes a killer headwind. Gusty crosswinds can be downright dangerous.

I love wind, as long as it is going the same direction as I am. I moved up to 11th place on a segment not even trying with a 25 mph tailwind.

Another vote for weight or hills over a headwind.

Wind i'd say. Always picks up right as i'm about to clock out and head home lol

In general, I think a strong headwind is worse. Lots of weight is not so bad if you are riding on flat terrain or downhill. It can be bad uphill. You can find videos on YouTube of people in the Netherlands hitching trailers to their bikes at Ikea and hauling furniture home. It is pretty flat in the Netherlands and they have good city planning/bike infrastructure.

You may also want to check out some bike packing websites/blogs. There are a number of frame bag manufacturers cropping up - they make cycling bags that fit in the bike frame, under the saddle and on the handlebars. Mountain bikers that do overnight trips note the weight distribution on these is much better than panniers. Revelate designs has a good selection. This may not be ideal for groceries, but might be good for commuters that stop and get a few things after work.

I don't have too many hills so wind makes the ride a little longer whereas weight adds a couple minutes to a couple hills. I enjoy riding though so it doesn't bother me if it takes 70 vs 60 min to get to work. Wind with driving rain, however is just miserable.

Wind, especially if you're upright. Luckily, on my commute the average wind speed is only about 15mph in my face... Once in a while I get it at my back, and then it's flying home... But alas, usually the wind changes direction on during the day. ;p

As a commuter, I wouldn't think there is an option to choose one over the other.

For me i have no trouble with wind, it just slows me down which is no big deal.
Weight and hills on the other hand, one stiff hill can drain as much energy as riding 30-40 miles on level ground.

When I was doing all the grocery runs by bike the extra weight made it far more difficult than any winds I encountered. The handling is more difficult, rear heavy, swaying, hard to keep a straight line up hills. As I recall it was usually heavier than 30 pound loads though. With just 30 I think it would be easier than riding against a good stiff wind, say 15-20 mph. Relative to just riding the bike that is, irrespective of speed.

+1

It really depends on what kind of climbs you have to deal with, how much weight you're talking about and how strong the wind is. For me wind can be a real annoyance. A strong NW wind means I'll be fighting it all the way into work. It's much more bothersome than a few extra pounds.

But, my commute is relatively flat. While wind slows me down (sometimes a lot), it never does me in the way a brutal climb can. I think I would take a 20 mph headwind over having to carry an extra 30 lbs. up a hill I can barely make up anyway.

FALSE!!! I had one two weeks ago. I wondered how in the world I averaged 16 mph on the way home and looked at the weather and saw the wind direction.

But I would say wind is worse than weight. I have a hard time selecting a good gear when going into a headwind.