nstone

What's the best way to carry moderate loads on a road bike? I'm considering a porteur rack (although my bike doesn't exactly have the geometry for it) so I can have everything up front and won't have to balance panniers.

Any suggestions?

TenSpeedV2

What do you need to carry, and what specific bike do you have?

Darth Lefty 

For a classic road bike a front rack with a bag, rear rack and panniers or tail bag are all normal. So are front panniers if you can mount them. So are backpacks and messenger bags and even fanny packs, if you can stand the shame. The right answer is up to you. But you don't need to worry about balancing panniers if you can balance yourself. You probably won't even notice them. A front rack is going to affect your steering, which is also normal and not to be feared.

10 Wheels

Get a used kids trailer.

wsgts

I have one of these, connects to seat tube and seat itself.
Sackville SaddleSack Medium - GREY
T

Bike Gremlin

I solved the problem with using a hybrid frame:




Room for wider (28 mm) tyres, mudguards and drilled holes for rack holding screws. Backpack and panniers can be fitted at the rear.

Ludeykrus

I went with the Topeak MTX system for commuting luggage. My Trek 750 has the Explorer rack, so I tossed on the MTX BeamRack on my road bike so I could use the same bag. Quick release, and the larger bag allows me to carry anything I would need for work, while the rack can be very easily removed for weekend rides:







I believe Iberra makes a quality system that's similar, would be worth checking into as well.

fietsbob

Actually a imbalance of just 1 pannier is easier to cope with on the rear rack, than it is on the fork-Low rider racks.

nstone

Carrying a change of clothes and some shoes, maybe some books as well. Bike is steel early 90s racer. Geo is somewhat steep, not dissimilar from most modern road bikes. I usually ride to work, then go for a quick 20 or 30 miles on my way home.