Compact Road Bike and Panniers
 

Has anyone tried to put a rack and panniers on a compact road frame? I was wondering what the ride is like from a stability standpoint and if heelstrike is a major problem due to the short chainstay. Right now I ride with a backpack which was fine for the winter but was miserable last summer. Thanks.

I've done the panniers and roadbike thing. Yes, the heel strike sucks! annoyed me to the point of getting rid of the bike and buying a touring bike. Take a look at using a saddlebag instead of racks and panniers. Carradice makes saddlebags in all sizes. You can get a quickclamp that attaches to your seatpost or a "bagman" that attaches to the rails of your saddle. If you can find one that is large enough for your needs... that would be the way to go instead of racks and panniers.

I don't think the chainstay length is different between a compact road frame and a non-compact road frame (like a Cannondale).

I have used the Nashbar Daytrekker panniers on an old-school road bike with no problems - they are pretty small. Haven't tried on a more modern road machine.

What's the chainstay length on your bike? I would suggest you look for panniers that have adjustable mounting clips and definantly bring in the bike for a test fit.

FWIW, the chainstays on my mountain bike are 42cm and I have no heel strike issues (I also wear a 9.5 shoe and the bike has 175mm cranks) with Novara Transfer panniers. They have adjustable mounting clips and are longer than they are wider (I had heel strike issues with all of the wider panniers I tried).

Use a clamp on seat post rack. With this kind of rack the panniers sit higher and there is no heel strikes.
Here's an example. http://www.deltacycle.com/product.php?g=30
I use a Thomson mountain bike seat post with it. Mountain bike seat posts are longer so there is more overlap between the post and the seat tube. Also, the Thomsen is one of the strongest seat posts available yet it is super light. I have toured with 40 lbs on it and have had no problems.
For a compact frame you'll need an extra long seat post, 400mm. Use as long a post as you can.
If you buy a 400mm and it's too long, cut just enough off to get your seat height right.
If you use a pipe cutter you must file the edges of the cut or it will enlarge your seat tube, not good.
One advantage of having the panniers higher is that they're behind your body, out of the wind.
The handling seems a little strange at first but you adjust to it quickly.

Thanks for all the replies. The chainstay is 40.5 cm so it's a little short. I tried the delta and it was strangely too wide for me at the seatpost and my legs would rub the mounting clamp (but I didn't have any heel strike issues).

Agreed on the Thomson posts. They do make great seat posts if you were interested in a seatpost mounted rack. Not a bad option especially if you would like to take it on and off often. Thomson actually has a factory here is Macon. They have built some really cool MTB trails out back.

I didn't notice that the Delta is of the quick release variety. I've used one and it rubbed my legs too. I returned it.
The one I use is not the quick release sort and it does not rub my legs.
Here's a better example.
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/...tegory_ID=2325

The Delta comes either with a quick-release or without. I have the non-quick-release Delta and it rubs my legs, too. In fast, the non-quick-release clamp looks wider, so it looks like rubbing would be more of a problem.

I just deal with it when I want to carry stuff on my road bike, but I don't like it.

One issue with racks and compact frame are the extra long rack stays that you need to reach the low eyelets, they destroy the proper triangulation of a rack and add flex.
There are a number of solutions to heel trike:
Use smaller sized panniers.
Make sure they have a heel cutout rather than a square profile.
Use a mounting system that allows some selection of position. Some locking style QR mounts slide onto an Al extrusion rivetted to the bag. You can mount the bags as far back as you like. If your load is light, rearward mounting is not too bad.
Carradice saddlebags are a good solution for S-M loads and without a rack, the whole system is a lot lighter.