Weight on front panniers - for snow riding
 

I'm riding today and my front tire is sliding around in the snow. The back of the bike fairly heavy - between my svelte 220 lbs. and large and heavy panniers, it's got plenty of weight to sink into the road.
So, I'm thinking, maybe I should put on some front fork panniers to get more weight to the front tire. Physics-wise, it makes sense, but wondered if anyone had tried anything like this and the results?

That would actually be an interesting experiment. My bike doesn't have a front rack so I can't try for myself.

What I've found is that some amount of front sideslip is inevitable. My bike is a drop-bar CX/tourer. If I ride in the snow the way I do in the dry, with a lot of weight on the hoods, the front end follows ruts in the snow and ice. If I sit back putting more weight on the rear, the front end is still subject to a little light wander, but it's generally easier to maintain course.

Now, a lot of wight on the front may be a different matter entirely.

It makes no difference, BTW, in slush, virgin snow or smooth ice. It's only in rutted snow or ice where I experience this.

Well, it's all about the weight balance so it might work for you. I typically ride a touring bike in the winter with all the load on the rear rack. I find if I load the front the steering is more sluggish, which is a problem in snow as I frequently need to make hard steering adjustments to compensate for sloppy conditions.

I've done it, and it does help. The lower, the better. The mass down next to the axle helps keep the front end from getting kicked around, and the extra weight helps the front tire punch down through the snow.

http://www.mechbgon.com/commute/arrival.jpg

^GOt a few lights do ya:)

I've heard except for the steering it does help.

You know there can never be enough lights Fizzaly ;-). All of them on the seatpost though?

I haven't ridden my commuter on snow yet, but even on pavement and mild dirt trails, it handles way better with the panniers mounted to the front lowriders. My commuter (SOMA Saga) is advertised as a rear-biased loader, but in my experience, it handles much better with the load (~15 pounds) up front.

Low Rider bags will give you your own snowplough.. a top of the wheel rack would
offer some more ground clearance..


Ive cured slipperiness with studded tires when it really matters .

still kind of lean into the bars more than I wish, Mustache bars.
but by doing so I put more body weight on the front wheel ..

I carried a load on my front rack (two ortlieb panniers) and I noticed a lot of slipping in the snow. I since put chains on the tire and have noticed better traction and less slipping. I would recommend getting chains or snow tires for your front wheel (and back if you can), I had better control with all the weight on the rear of my bike.

Jim Blackburn demonstrated years ago that a bike handles better if a heavy load is distributed between front and rear, the lower the better. Don't think he was considering ice and snow, though. I agree that low riders could be an issue in deep snow.