I appreciate eveyone's input regarding front bag handling. As Doug P. suggested, I apparently I opened up a vein in the process! The snow finally melted enough today in Minneapolis to test weight in the front with an old trunk rack shown here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/66219337@N06/6392142867/
I filled the bag with 7-8 lbs. worth of stuff; rain jacket/pants, u-lock, tube, pump, air cartridge+inflator, multi-tool, wallet, phone and a second lock I didn't realize I had packed until half way into the ride. I later weighed everything at 7.5 lbs on a grocer's scale but it felt a lot heavier. http://www.flickr.com/photos/66219337@N06/6392143227/in/photostream/ First impressions were that the weight made the steering heavy so, it tracked nicely. The longer I rode however, the more annoyed I became with the heaviness in front, it was almost like wearing wrist weights. Yeah, the handling is slower but wow, the weight sucks all the joy out of my bikes typical ride handling. Verdict: HATE IT! Next, I put the bag back on the rack and because I only use this bag on our tandem, am annoyed by the high riding weight in back–kind of like when my wife isn't pedaling enough on our tandem...uh, hem. The front end is back to the lively handling that I prefer. I can live with the sluggish weight feel in back to get my steering more lively again. Verdict: LIKE IT! http://www.flickr.com/photos/66219337@N06/6392143619/in/photostream/ Lastly, I put about half the weight in my saddlebag and leave the rest in the front. Despite not liking my knees hitting the front bag on aggressive climbs, I really want a front bag to work for map viewing, occasional phone access and mainly, to grab food and clothing layers without stopping. Verdict: LOVE IT! To no great surprise, even distribution of weight is the Holy Grail for bike handling. For me, 4-5 lbs is the max I can tolerate up front for non-tour riding. Happy Thanksgiving to all, Shifty -- 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/-/fHUXoR8sAyQJ. 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.
