Frame/fork geometry is important to how a bike responds to the placement of loads. I've seen work bikes in China with huge loads on the rear and I assume the pilots of those bikes have pretty definite opinions about where the load goes! For the Grand Randonneur, I prefer the load up front, whether in the handlebar bag or in panniers. In my case, I find the bike handles better with a front load than with no load at all. But maybe that's because I'm a load all by myself.
On Fri, Feb 4, 2022 at 3:27 PM Patrick Moore <bertin...@gmail.com> wrote: > I'm sorry to be so voluble and definitive on the matter, but bike > commuting and equipment for it are subjects I've spent a lot of time and > money on and I have formed definite opinions. > > My take on f versus rear: It depends on the bike. My last 2 > commuter/errand bikes have had custom rear and front lowrider racks. Of > these bikes, one was designed by Grant, the other copied from this first, > so Grant geometry road bikes. > > These bikes take heavy loads in the rear better than heavy loads in the > front. I can carry rear loads (with a stiff rack) up to ~40 lb without > undue difficulty. On the front, much over 15 lb makes steering stiff, even > dangerously stiff or unreactive if you do not anticipate the steering > slowdown. > > Also, I can carry lopsided loads in the rear with just minor handling > awkwardness, but even a 10 lb imbalance in front makes handling very > awkward. This with lowriders in front. > > With low trail geometry, of course, the matter is very different. > > And, as an aside that might be of use: IME, stiff rear racks make more > difference to stable load carrying ability that a stiff frame. The best > rear load carrying frame I've owned was a racing frame made from > lightweight, relatively thinwall, small diameter tubing. I carried up to 45 > lb on the rear (on 12 oz rack) without horribly messing up the handling. > > On Fri, Feb 4, 2022 at 2:02 PM Jim Kramka <kramk...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> Another vote here for panniers, but on the front instead of the back. >> Keeping the load up front on the steering access provides more control than >> loads on the rear or a backpack up high and behind you. Low rider racks for >> the panniers keep the center of gravity low, too, adding stability. (I >> apologize that the model in the photo is not a Riv. I wanted to try 650B >> wheels and low trail geometry without spending a lot on the frame; the Soma >> fit the bill.) >> >> Jim, Nashville >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CALuTfgsbud%2ByEwp8oURCfgiKZWtpMrCsG-ZKXgwUbpxmnr0gKw%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CALuTfgsbud%2ByEwp8oURCfgiKZWtpMrCsG-ZKXgwUbpxmnr0gKw%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CAE1EX5vZ3DzmwxwqFzzWCS0dZYsq4o8VM6dBzUfubQMyau%3DM2g%40mail.gmail.com.
