For commuting I like smaller front panniers better than rear ones. I find pushing the load up hills is easier than pulling the load up hills.

Yes, it's common. That's one reason to get panniers with adjustable hooks - you can shift the whole pannier to the rear as necessary.

The other reason is that not all racks have the same configuration of struts and cross supports. A pannier that works well with one rack may not work well with another. Although most any pannier will sit somewhere on most any rack, your choices about where the pannier will go may be seriously constrained. That could mean that the pannier has to go too far forward, resulting in heel strike.

You can also adjust the hooks so that one of them butts up against a cross support on the top of the rack. That will help prevent the pannier from shifting out of place during the ride.

This is from experience. I've used three pairs of panniers on four different models of racks on various bikes over the years, which is a lot of different combinations. The panniers with fixed hooks just didn't work well in some of those combinations.

I agree about the Ortliebs. I think of all the cheap stuff I've bought and get annoyed at myself. I bought a small pair of Ortliebs a few months ago and have no regrets at all. They are so amazingly convenient because of the easy on and off.

Everything Banjo Brothers makes is good, and pretty inexpensive.
Tough. Practical. Affordable. Bike Bags. | Banjo Brothers
I've used their waterproof panniers every day for 2 or 3 years with no problems, and my wife uses (and likes) the market pannier.

Thanks again everybody for all your input, it's definitely helping!

It looks like I will go for the cheap solution.... Ortlieb's :-)

I would love to see a physics analysis behind that.

Sort of...Some of the Ortlieb bags are rolled closed like dry bags. The surface that faces inboard towards the bike generally has something inside to stiffen it like a plastic sheet to prevent it from going into the wheel. Usually there are two or three hooks attached to secure the bag to the rack - 2 upper hooks to hold the weight and a lower hook to prevent the bag from swinging out sideways.

With panniers on the front, the panniers are near my hands when I stand up and pull on the bars. This means I don't have to twist the frame as I do when the panniers are instead on the rear. I discovered this in the summer.

Thanks for taking the time to explain, Jsdavis.

I would love to see a physics analysis behind that. ;)

I "lol'd".

- Andy

OK, OK, I don't know how to do this. Does it make any sense at all to you? Can I improve my description? I was surprised at what an improvement it was, especially since I expected no improvement at all.

The fork on most bikes only flexes fore and aft, not laterally, so maybe that is what you are experiencing?

- Andy

I'm experiencing the lack of frame flex. The more weight on the back, the more the frame flexes when I stand up to pedal.

I can't "even"....

You mean the rear triangle follows the bottom bracket/seat tube more cooperatively vs with stuff on rear rack? My old cruiser had quite a bit of frame flex, with no racks of any kid, but it was ALU with big diameter tubing, are you using alu or steel? Narrow or big tubes?

- Andy

Yes that's right. It's a 1982 McLean with Reynolds 531 tubing, standard diameter.

If you have size 15 feet like, that bolded part is super important. 415mm chain stays aren't going to cut it! I suspect I need a full on touring bike with 450mm+ chain stays to avoid heel strike.

I always have heel strike-even with panniers shifted all the way back on my rack. Which is why I use a trunk bag. Topeak MTX TrunkBag DXP with Expandable Side Panniers fits a change of clothes, iPad, and lunch with no issues.