fietsbob

If brand Touting, Tubus Ergo(+2nd KS on my Koga) and Bruce Gordon lowrider (in 30th year of use) are Better.. both of 4130 tubular Steel ..

Used the 3rd (0r 4th, I spec 2 on top of the DT) under DT cage for the MSR Fuel tank for the Stove, Myself.

vijinho

Is there any online record of their trip, a blog perhaps? Would be interesting to see the route they took and what issues they encountered.

Carbonfiberboy 

This was about 25 years ago, long before social media, etc. One of them got married in Chile, if that counts as an issue. Probably their only applicable advice is: always be sure to have a bottle of hooch on you. Quick way to make friends, get lodging, food, etc. They started as vegetarians, but as you can see from the photo, that didn't last once they were out of the US. MTBs, went through a few wheels, the usual. Worked along the way, dumpster dived, scrounged, spent very little money.

onbike 1939

Forty years of loaded touring has taught me to keep it low and keep it light.

If you must have the capacity then I've found that a better balanced bike comes from using four smaller panniers of the same size and mounting them front and back with low-loaders at the front and the heavier objects at the bottom of the panniers. Again make sure the rear panniers are as far forward as possible without heel-clip in order to minimise potential shake.

That said, I do enjoy the unencumbered feel of my bike when touring with no panniers and a single wheeled trailer such as the Extrawheel and I think that I prefer this despite the minor inconveniences of a trailer.

staehpj1

In my experience a lot of where to carry depends on how much you carry. When I used to pack heavy (~30-45 pounds) I liked using 4 smallish panniers. When getting a bit below that I like front panniers only pretty well. If on the heavier end of the front panniers only range a tent or other item might be on top of the rear rack. Once I got down to a light load (~10-15 pounds) I didn't find it mattered too much where it was and even up high on top of a rear rack wasn't bad.

All three approaches have worked well for me, but I find I prefer going light enough that it doesn't matter much where I carry the load. I don't find that I lose any basic functionality or comfort. Camping and cooking are fully supported and comfortable even at 10 pounds or a bit less.

andrewclaus

For my last major, multi-month tour, I made some drastic changes to the way I packed. I completely ditched three front packs and went with rear only, with a greatly reduced load (from lessons I learned on some long-distance hikes). I decided to buck the "load the front" convention and all I can say is it worked great for me and my bike. It was the best cycle touring I've experienced since I started in 1975. I could tour no-handed!

This is my conclusion exactly.

Tourist in MSN

I have really concluded that the importance of weight distribution varies from bike to bike.

I used to be very obsessive about my weight distribution. But one morning I overslept while on a group ride with 15 others. Since I was one of the last ones to grab my share of community food and gear, I had somewhat more weight than average to also pack and carry. I haphazardly threw all my stuff into my panniers and the community gear on top of the rear rack to get underway quickly. I expected the bike to handle terribly that day. But, it handled just fine, I really could not tell the difference with handling compared to any other day. I had an electronic luggage scale along so at the end of the day I weighed my stuff to see how badly my weight distribution was. Numbers are:
- 14.48 lbs - Left front Pannier
- 8.88 lbs - Right Front Pannier
- 7.04 lbs - Duffle on top of rear panniers
- 14.70 lbs - Right Rear pannier
- 14.06 lbs - Left Rear Pannier
- 7.04 lbs - Handlebar bag
From this I concluded that I could be quite careless about my weight distribution on my Thorn Sherpa.

On that same trip, one guy had a Co-Motion Americano (with S&S) with huge rear panniers and rack top bag, no front panniers. I asked him why he packed it that way with so much weight on the back wheel. He said that the bike is so solid that it handled the same with all the weight on the back as it did when he put more weight further forward. And with the time to assemble and disassemble the bike at the beginning and end of the trip for airline travel, he decided to skip the front rack and panniers to save time.

Then last summer, I did 890 miles along the Pacific Coast (Astoria to San Fransisco, plus a few miles sightseeing) on my 2004 LHT. The frame was way too flexible and I had terrible handling and shaking. I found that some days I was shifting as little as a few pounds from one bag to another to try to get my bike to handle better. I know that some people think this is the best touring bike ever built, but my version of it handles like a wet noodle.

Bottom line - each bike is different, some need more careful packing than others. Some bikes have such a soft frame that it can't take much weight, other bikes can have weight distribution that would make you almost cringe, but will still handle fine.

Unlikely that a bear vault will fit.

My numbers are what I weighed these items, may differ from manufacturer specifications:
- Front Roller Classics pair (not plus), 1,640 grams.
- Tubus Ergo (not Duo), 570 grams.

imi

Great post Tourist in MSN, thanks.
Yes those weight numbers are about what I gleaned from the manufacturers site. I'll take my bear vault to a shop and test if it fits... maybe sideways?

However adding 2kg in order to carry 5-7 kg of stuff that fits into my rear panniers anyhow is going to take some thinking about. I'm not as lightweight as some, but pack what I consider minimal to camp even in stormy wet and freezing conditions, cook and carry food for a few days etc.

andrewclaus

I think a lot about that ratio, too. I think it's even worse for handlebar bags.

Carbonfiberboy 

Being long-time backpackers, my wife and I are used to going fairly light. It was obvious to us that we'd be lighter if we just put everything on the back of our tandem, so we did. Worked fine. The bike was awkward to move around on foot, but as soon as we were rolling it felt fine, cornered well, etc. Only problem was that it was difficult to stay quiet enough while standing to avoid frame flex. We do like a small bar bag just for convenience with snacks and small frequently accessed items.

Tourist in MSN

Quite frankly if my fork had the three mounting bolts for the Salsa Anything Cage, I would consider that instead of low rider rack and just get some lightweight dry bags to strap into them instead of panniers. The second link below is older, shows a different design.
Anything Cage | Parts & Accessories | Salsa Cycles
Salsa Cycles

Agree. An empty handlebar bag has a lot of weight for the mount and internal stiffening to add rigidity. But, I still carry one for the convenience.

imi

Yeesh, I haven't thought about the weight of the handlebar bag in relation to what I carry in it: a few tools, windjacket, trailmix, camera... yerknow, the stuff it's nice to get your hands on quickly.
Thanks for that thought. It never ends does it!?

BobG

+1

I like everything low and balanced all the way around the bike. I use a tiny bar bag just big enough for wallet, phone and glasses with a map window on the bars. Nothing gets piled high on the rear rack, just my Therm-a-Rest pad. (and yes, there is a 7 oz c***r wrapped up inside it!)........

jfarwell

Excellent comments throughout this thread. We ride a tandem, and never get too caught up with weight distribution. I ride on the front, and weigh 30 to 35 pounds more than my wife. We run panniers on the rear, and sometimes light panniers and a handlebar bag on the front. I think we are pretty well balanced. We have had major challenges with too much weight in the handlebar bag (lots of wobbling as the fork and frame flex), so we generally keep the weight a little lower. Same general idea with the singles, just a little less pronounced.

djb

Go into a store and pick up diff bar bags, there is quite a difference in weights between brands and models. This was a major decision point for me choosing an Ortlieb bar bag, as it was significantly lighter than other bar bags.

Yan 

Access. I like taking photographs while touring and use a large camera. I use a Carradice saddle bag sometimes, but if I had to retrieve the camera from behind the saddle every time I wanted to take a photo, I'd go nuts. The handlebar bag is also good at holding a map, as well as frequently access items such as a phone, wallet, sunglasses, and snacks. Whenever I'm away from the bike during a tour, be it during a lunch break or during a rest day, my handlebar bag is my carry along bag. I use an Arkel large bar bag with an ortlieb bar bag camera insert inside. The bag is very heavy but I'm willing to put up with it for the convenience.

I do miss aerobars.

djb

I agree with the comment about diff bikes being a factor, I commute a lot and sometimes end up with a heavily loaded pannier, only one on one side, but despite that, my old rockhopper handles it without a wobble, better than other bikes I've ridden.

vijinho

What a tremendous response, thank you everyone! You've given a lot of useful advice and food for thought before I commence my next tour.

jrickards

I would add my point&shoot camera, cell phone (if I'm carrying it) and wallet to a handlebar bag.

Doug64

Maybe I missed it is the previous posts, but for me the main reason for having a handlebar bag is to carry all my valuables and small items I use a lot: wallet, passport, airline tickets, pen, tablet, sunglasses handkerchief, cell phone, camera, gps, extra sc cards, paper back book, and spare camera battery. Mine has a map case on the lid which I use a lot. I also prefer the Ortlieb because it really is waterproof. It comes with me every time I leave the bike.

My camera fits in orange padded case.


I also like the balanced feel and handling of 4 panniers for most tours. My gear, including panniers, weighs around 35 lbs. For shorter tours where we have a good idea of weather and routes, we fit the configuration to match the anticipated conditions and needs. My wife rides only with rear panniers. She uses full size or the smaller front panniers on the rear as needed.



My wife rode across the U.S., 74 days, using her front panniers mounted on the rear rack, bar bag, and a rackpack for her sleeping bag and Thermarest.



On a 3 month tour a couple of years ago she started using regular sized rear panniers for increased capacity. She carries between 25 and 30 pounds, and has been using the larger panniers for all of our recent tours. She has no problem with bike handling. She pulled away from me going down hill when my computer was reading 42 mph.

andrewclaus

I thought the handlebar bag would be difficult to give up. But then I bought a $5 cue clip for the map, and used a couple of ziplock bags for the stuff I like to get my hands on quickly and put them in the outside pockets of the rear panniers. I didn't miss the handlebar bag at all, and the bike handled better without it. And it's easier to mount a headlight and other accessories.

djb

I'll have to respectfully disagree with you on this one. Maybe its because I've used handlebar bags for a long time, but the habit of always taking my handlebar bag off and carrying it with me with the really important stuff (money, passport, other i.d, camera) for me is a no-brainer. I wouldnt trust myself to forget to take out the various ziplock bags, not to mention it's handy to put a handlebar bag over your shoulder with the strap in a store or wherever. I also find it really handy for camera, snacks, or whatever to be right there.

whatever works for you, but those are my reasons.

vijinho

After trying out various configurations, with 10kg of front-loaded panniers (problem was too high on my rack and the bike felt like I was riding the SS Titanic on stilts), everything on the back (except for the frame bag) which felt OK, I finally decided to fill up the main triangle to keep the weight between the wheels and the ride was most agreeable. I've estimated the final ratio is 36.5/63.5% - I should add that this figure includes the rider (my own!) weight!

It was the best compromise I could make with the time I had left.

I've updated Touring Latin America accordingly.

grampa.sjb

My Thoughts on Weight Distribution:

All my gear should be carried by the SAG wagon!!! ;-)

irwin7638

Balancing is important. If you put too much on the rear, you will have wheel problems and the steering will be unstable. Too much to either side, the bike will not handle well. I have about 7-8 lbs in three bags, two in front, one on the rear. It works well for me, I don't overthink it.