I have very different experiences between commuting or everyday riding, and touring.
I commuted, and continue to ride, with relatively high loads - an Acorn HB bag & a Carradice Barley. Neither have ever affected bike handling. But when I used a Nelson LF and put my Macbook in it I could feel the effect of the weight on the bike handling. I switched to a bike commuter pannier when I needed to carry it, and found I was happier. On the other hand, my wife and I are just back from 5 days of cyclotouring in Quebec on our tandem: http://gallery.me.com/mhechmer#100098 We carried 35 lbs of gear distributed among low riding rear and front panniers, and the Acorn bag sitting low over the 26" wheel. I could not perceive any difference in the bike handling between this set up and our usual unloaded pleasure rides. To be sure, just one data point, but it certainly suggest that there is probably some point at which lowering the center of gravity becomes important. The big advantage of higher loads, for me, is not convenience, but rather having everything above the fenders. Call me a cleanliness freak, but I've ridden across too many rain soaked dirt roads to be enthralled with panniers on a day to day basis. michael -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/-/Kf2cJHokqyAJ. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
