I've got to agree with Stuart, Daily Commute. Adding weight to the front wheel won't effect the point at which the rear wheel lifts off the ground. Let's think about a bicycle with an applied front brake as a third class lever. A third class lever is one where the force (the braking force trying to lift the rear wheel into the air) comes between the resistance (the weight over the rear wheel, keeping it on the ground) and the fulcrum (the hub of your front wheel).

An endo happens when the mass of the rider shifts toward the front wheel (which is the fulcrum on our third-class lever) under hard braking, reducing the force pushing the rear tire onto the ground. This force acts against the braking force, which is trying to swing the "lever" (your bike) up into the air. Shift it far forward enough, and there is no longer enough force on the rear tire to prevent it leaving the ground. Mountain bikers stick their butts back behind the seat when braking to increase the resisting force, which allows them, in turn, to brake harder. Luckily, because a bicycle acts like a third-class lever in this situation, the braking force must be greater than the resisting force in order to lift the rear tire.

The reason I'm describing this in terms of a lever is because force and mass at the fulcrum aren't relevant. Adding mass (panniers) at the front wheel, especially down low at the hub, simply does not effect the liklihood of doing an endo during hard braking. It will effect the stopping distance under a given amount of braking force, but added mass will have that effect no matter where it is on the bicycle. A bicycle with weight on the rear wheel is less likely to do an endo than a bike without weight on the rear wheel, but the bike with front panniers is no more likely to flip than an unloaded one. I hope this makes sense to you - loading up just the front panniers doesn't put you in any more danger of going OTB than riding with it empty.

EDIT: Chipcom, the point that I'm making is that weight on the front wheel has little relevance to balance in terms of weight distribution. Balanced weight between front and rear has relevance only terms of handling, and even then, on balance (HA!), more weight on the front is less likely to have a negative influence than more on the back. The critical factor for balancing mass in the front panniers is the right/left distribution of weight, which is indeed very important. For this, among other reasons, I just load up the rear rack, where distribution from side to side isn't critical, but in simple terms of fore/aft weight distribution, you're better off with 15 extra pounds in front than in back.

I agree with balancing the weight. If any of you have ever ridden with a BOB or something similar heavily loaded, it really helps to have a front rack with something in it. I'd rather have a BOB and a front rack than just a BOB.

Chuckie

No worries, I wasn't disputing your point, merely stating that when considering front or rear, both is a better choice than one or the other.

What he said. In my defense, I am just a lowly chemist and it's been a long time since I had a physics class. I knew what I needed to say, I just didn't have the proper words.

Also to Chipcom, I will agree with you about the need to balance the load, if you were touring. However we are talking about a rather light load for commuting. Most people would not want to deal with 4 bags on a commute. I've found, through experience, that loading bags on the front wheel has benefits that loading the rear wheel just doesn't have.

To grolby: The right/left distribution isn't that critical. If you were several pounds heavier in one bag over the other, you would notice it but within a few pounds, it really isn't a problem. I notice a weight differential most at high speed on long downhills but otherwise it's not much of a problem. I lost a front bag and didn't see any effect on handling.

Same principal applies to commuting. Don't put all your eggs in one bag. Takes me just a few seconds to pull the handlebar bag, saddlebag and panniers off the bike. The bike is more agile and responsive with the weight evenly distributed, which to me is more important on my commute, dealing with traffic, than having an extra bag to pull off the bike.

Never found the bike to be less agile with just front bags. If anything, it's easier to lift the front wheel off the ground to jump a pothole or curb with bags on the front than with rear bags. Sounds odd but it works for me. I will divulge, however, that I only really use panniers in the winter, since I need more room for carrying clothes home. Winter clothes take up a lot of space and since I have to dress for arctic winters in the morning and Hawaiian summers in the evening, I need the room. In summer I generally use only a trunk bag and maybe a Camelbak.

I loaded about 50 lbs in my rear panniers when I went grocery shopping yesterday.

You ain't kiddin'. The bike handled like crap. Next time I'm gonna carry that much, I'll hook up my trailer!

The panniers work great when I need to carry a lot of stuff that is more volume than weight (like clothes), but with them full of canned goods and fresh fruit & veggies, the bike was REAL unhappy. Fortunately it was only about a mile and a half and level.

When I used to load up my Atlantis for loaded touring, I split the load between front & rear panniers, stuff on top of the rack, and a handlebar bag. The bike weighed about 90lbs that way, but it handled GREAT and was very stable and easy to ride. But that was a touring geometry frame... it actually rode better loaded than it did with just me on it. Kinda like a 3/4 ton pickup with a load vs empty.

I only use front panniers, never back. I have been thinking of getting an xtra cycle. Mebbe one of these days I will...

If you use a low rider rack up front with up to 30 pounds in panniers it actually makes the bike more stable because of the low center of gravity of the load. Bar bags have the opposite effect.

The key is learning how to distribute the weight between front and rear and equal on both sides to prevent shimmy.

I recently added a fork low rider rack to my commuter and moved my gorcery panniers from the rear to the front. I like it better in the front. I do have to lean a little harder to turn, but the steering feels more stable. I definitely have more traction with the front wheel now. The rear tire looks less "deformed" than it did with my gear loaded in back. I think it depends on how much weight you are carrying, how much you weigh, and what the geometry of your frame is. I am pretty sure that I had way too much weight on my rear wheel before and that I am probably much closer to the 40% front, 60% rear distribution now.

OK, I will play the role of the devil on your shoulder. Get the LHT. Long wheel base, front rack braze-ons, designed for carrying a load. Yummy.

Full disclosure, I am in full on jones for a LHT frame and will be buying one as soon as I can get a 62cm.

grolby, I see your point, but putting extra weight on the front wheel greatly increases the effectiveness of the front brake, which means that even slight front braking is more likely to lock up the front tire. That increases the chance for an endo but, more importantly, when your front wheel locks you can't steer. Not being able to steer makes it nearly impossible to sustain your balance.

I also see the point that front and back may be better than just back. But having panniers on the back only is better than panniers on the front only.

Extra weight on the front wheel does not increase the effectiveness of the front brake nor lead to wheel lock. I've ridden this way for a very long time and never had a front wheel lock in normal conditions. I have experienced wheel lock but that was on ice on an unloaded bike.

Placing the load in the center of the wheel puts it at a place where angular momentum is approaching zero so the load has almost no effect on braking anyway. The force to stop the bike is applied out at the rim. The only effect from the wheel load is increased mass which increases stopping distance but, loaded front or back, the mass would have the same effect on stopping distance.

Lots of valid arguments above. A lot of the "problems" (shimmy, etc.) depends on the exact geometry of the bike and the rigidity of the frame and wheels. As a bicycle tourist and utility cycling, I have lots of experience with light and heavy loads on various types of bikes.

If you are carrying heavy loads, especially on a long distance and/or on difficult terrain, splitting the load evenly between front and rear works best. Anything between 40-60 to 60-40 works fine and if you have a rigid bike, sturdy racks and the proper weight distribution, riding the bike loaded with 70-80 kg of stuff will feel as good as riding it unloaded... except for lousy acceleration!
For load on the front wheel, I prefer a lowrider rack because the load is centred on the fork rotational axis; much easier on steering than a top rack with panniers in front of the fork rotational axis!

For lighter loads and especially for shorter distances (less than 4-5 km), I prefer a rear rack and panniers, but mostly for practicality.

– Load doesn't need to be split evenly between right and left panniers. No handling issues when I carry 10-15 km more on one side than on the other. On the front wheel, the load needs to be evenly split between left and right panniers.

– It's possible to attach things outside rear panniers, to have some sticking up, some loosely attached on top of the rack... without any safety hazard.

– It's easier to find a good but cheap rear rack and panniers than a good but cheap front rack and panniers. There are exceptions, though.

– Lowrider panniers get very messy in the snow.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but nonsense! Adding weight to the front of your bike has two effects: 1, it increases the total mass of bike and rider, meaning that, at a given speed, there is more kinetic energy that must be converted into heat, which translates to: you gotta brake harder to stop in the same distance. And 2, it increases the weight on the front wheel, thereby improving the traction of your front wheel. The upside of this is that you can brake harder before locking your front wheel. Of course, on most surfaces and under most conditions, the limit to braking power comes at the point at which the rear wheel lifts off the ground, not when the front wheel locks. In any case, at no point does the effectiveness improve. In fact, the added weight will decrease the effectiveness of your brakes, whether it is on the front or back. I'm sorry, but between the science and the practical experience (which cycocommute is dishing out in shovelfuls), there is no apparent basis for the argument that carrying the weight on the front is somehow less safe. In fact, it may have a considerably smaller negative influence on bicycle handling. I am thinking that, when I load up the front of my bicycle to go on tour, I am putting the weight in the front to balance the weight in back, not the other way around. When I put that front rack back on my bicycle, I may just start using it a bit more often.

But you can't steer when your front wheel locks. If you can't steer, you fall.

I previously was a rear rack/panniers commuter. I never thought about it.

Reading the touring forum initially is what changed my mind, I believe.

I'm building a new commuter which will double as a rigid SS mtb. I am definately putting a front rack only on it, esp to avoid "wheelies" when climbing.

Yes, but under the large majority of circumstances, you will go OTB long before your front wheel locks. On slippery surfaces, like ice and snow or mud or sand, a front wheel skid is a concern. On dry surfaces, it just doesn't happen. Using only front panniers. In fact, the additional weight on the front wheel will provide greater traction - it is actually harder to lock your front wheel with loaded front panniers. The front brake is not rendered any more effective by weight on the front wheel. In fact, it becomes less effective, as it would no matter where extra mass was added to the bicycle. Oddly enough, putting weight on the back of the bike would make it easier to lock the front wheel, as it would add to the resistance keeping the back of the bike on the ground. I don't see this as any particular advantage, partly because I think it would make little or no difference in maximum braking performance, and partly because it would take a fair amount of weight to manage, but you can have it if you like.