What is the thinking behind running only front panniers and a standard saddle bag? Why not mount the panniers on the rear and out of the wind?

Back in the olde days..there was a theory that low rider front panniers were more aerodynamic because they created an area of less turbulence behind them for the pedals to rotate. Some people are still promoting the concept.I don't know if this is proven to work, I suspect not, and I have no association with this product and make no recommendations.

If you don't have tons of gear, low riders up front and a saddlebag allow you to balance the load between front and rear and the keep the front load low which is more stable.
I have toured that way and liked it, but I usually have more stuff so prefer front and rear panniers.

When possible, i use rear panniers up front and a compression dry bag atop the rear rack. It's become my favorite setup for when I don't need 4 bags.

I like the stabilization the bags create up front. I can stand out of the saddle and the setup is more stable too.

Based on my completely unscientific analysis, I find there is no difference in wind resistance. The bags stick out the same amount whether placed in the front or rear.

oh, and there is already a rear weight bias due to me riding, so pushing some weight up front has to be nice for those rear spokes.

Ups, Not allowed to post urls yet but if you search for „cyclingabout front panniers“ (exactly like this) you will find the link I mean

havent tried only front by myself yet...

I think aerodynamics have nothing to do with it. With a frame that is too flexy, this gets rid of the heavy weight on a rear rack that can make your bike feel like a wet noodle when the tail decides to wag the dog.

I do not use this method, I put most of the weight on my rear but my bikes are stiff enough that they handle well with four panniers and handlebar bag.

I neither carry camping or cooking gear when I tour. As a result, I don’t need to carry 4 bags. I can just use 2. Front panniers are smaller and lighter than rear ones. Also, metal racks are heavy, as well. Why carry extra weight if I don’t have to?

I use a frame bag, as well.

Front panniers in combination with a 20 mph headwind is brutal.
I would rather have turbulent air hit my rear panniers than laminar air hit my front panniers.
It's the curse of being an engineer. On long, flat boring plains your mind drifts into issues that probably don't make much difference.

Nope. It wasn't due to aerodynamics. Frank Berto and Jim Blackburn did tests in the mid80s on the use of low riders and found that the front lowrider greatly stabilized the ride as you have correctly pointed out. Aerodynamic panniers came along after the introduction of the lowrider but, I suspect, that they offer only minimal improvement.

They also found that the worst configuration in terms of handling was low-riders front and rear.

It's about stability. Putting heavily loaded bags on the rear of the bike cantilevers a load over a vehicle that is already biased towards an overloaded rear wheel. The front wheel on a bicycle is lightly loaded with just the rider on the bike. Putting more load rearward can introduce sway into the system which "wags the dog" at most every speed. If you have lightweight, flexible racks like most aluminum racks, the problem is even worse. Putting the load on the front wheel reduces the wagging and makes the ride more stable. Additionally, the front wheel is much stronger than the rear wheel so the load doesn't stress the spokes as much.

I ride with 4 panniers for on-road tours but most of the load is in the front...about 60%. The rear bags are for light but bulky stuff. Food, stove, cooking gear, i.e, any thing that is small but dense, goes in the front bags.

I'm doing 'credit card' trips (hotels & hostels at night) and only use front panniers, a saddlebag for tools, and a small bag for daily stuff that's either on top of my front rack (Surly front rack) or rear rack. The steering can be a little sloppier with everything up front, but its usually just a matter of packing properly to correct it. Seems to work for me, YMMV. .

My front felt very unloaded both credit card tours with bags on back. Next time I will run bags up front.

As someone mentioned, dense heavy stuff went up front on my camping trip with four bags. Different bike, so not apples to apples, but felt much better with more weight forward.

With my small wheel low trail bikes; Bike Friday, panniers ,
and Brompton, head tube mounted fitting, QR,

the handling is more solid....


Front loads and low trail are a good pairing..

VBQ readers , rave about their low trail rando bikes ,
with bigger wheels, more rake/offset lowers the trail measurement,
on the ground plane..




...

I found your post to be a little bit vague. A determination as to how may bags and their location really depends on A) what type of touring you intend upon embarking on and B) how much gear you intend on taking. I mean in square inches not necessarily weight. For instance, I do full loaded touring. I would simply run out of space with the amount of gear I take on tours with less than four panniers. I have read that steering becomes greatly affected when you put more than 20 lbs on the front racks. On a side note: Personally I am against the frame bags, because of the importance to have easy access to several water bottles. Do tourists know that they need to drink close to a bottle an hour while riding?

I do. 🙂 Meaning, I never figured out an exact amount, but I sure know I drink a lot. Especially in the summer, obviously.

.....................................................................
................choice is personal.............
........like it some do, others not....
......try you should, then choose......
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Not true. As LeeG pointed out, bicycles are steered by leaning. Even at slow speeds, front panniers with 60% of the load have little effect on the steering. I carry around 40 to 50lb now...depending on the amount of food I'm carrying...and have carried as much as 60lbs in the past. I don't weigh the bags but I generally aim for a 60/40 ratio. That means that even at 40 lbs, I'm carrying around 24 lbs on the front but I've carried almost 40 lb on the front. I've never noticed any steering problem.

I'm not a fan of frame bags either. I do use a less then full frame bag for off-road touring but that's a different beast. That said, I also don't use my water bottles for water that I drink regularly when touring. Two of the cages are dedicated to carrying sports drink and the third is dedicated to reserve water. But the water I drink comes from a Camelbak. It holds more and can be packed with ice which makes for far more refreshing liquid intake than drinking tepid water. As an added bonus, the ice cools me as I ride.

As I wrote; I read about how over 20 lbs on the front of a bike is going to affect steering. (I do not even remember if the 20 lbs was total weight or 20 lbs per side) I admit that I have no personel experience with touring with more than eight pounds per side, just that there is some website that writes with authority about the tipping point as when there is too much weight on the front. The page that I was reading was comparing plain front racks to the low rider type that puts the load closest to the axle level. Wish I could find it. Not sure if it is true, but might be interesting for those thinking about loading up the front of their bike.
I'll never use a frame bag. I am short, my frame triangle barely fits water bottles. I could see it on the big guys bikes with the 60- 64 cm frame where they have tons of room for both bottles and a frame bag, but not me.

I have a milk crate up front, between the handlebars. It's not very aerodynamic but it's handy to put things in. Now when I am on a trip I pull a canoe on a trailer with most of the load in it, and just a few things up front with nothing on the rear rack. I find that having some load on the front wheel makes the bike feel more solidly on the road, and when I don't have anything up front it feels kind of light and bouncy. It's probably all just in my head, but that's what I've thought I noticed.
Zach

you pull a canoe?
pics shouldnt be asked for when someone mentions this- theu should just be posted in advance.

bring em here, please!

With your bike? Yes, pics, please. 😉

Different bike, but same idea.

Forgot to mention I also carry a tent, cooking gear, and drone in my pack.

I am trying to get enough posts to be able to put up pictures, I'm almost there but I keep getting error messages. I'll keep trying, and thanks for your patience.
Zach

Here is a picture of my loaded rig on the way to the Adirondacks, crossing the Black River outside Boonville, NY. It's a 1998 Trek 520 with a milk crate on the front and homemade rear carrier which I normally use to run errands, and a homemade trailer and canoe. I only can get away for a trip once a year. My first day last summer was 117 miles, but after that I spent more time canoeing than riding till the end of my week's vacation when it was time to go home. I'll be leaving in a week or two for this year's trip, depending on the weather. With the big tires the trailer pulls easily and it's easier to put my camping stuff in the canoe than having everything on the bike. This will be my 5th annual Adirondack trip with the canoe in tow, and I had 5 years of non-amphibious travel before that.
Zach

I think my problem was that I couldn't use a quote either, till I had 10 posts. I also found out that I wasn't allowed to post more than 5 times in 24 hours, which is why I waited till today to try again. Here are a few more pictures, now that I think it works:


Bridge at Santanoni Preserve


Route 28n heading toward Long Lake from Newcomb


At the top of the climb out of Lowville


Getting started on the 2016 trip