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Which is the better bike?

Which gives better handling: one big backpack on top of my bike rack or two panniers on the sides of the rack?

  • I put a rack on the back of my road bike for some touring. Which would give me better handling of the bike: having a big backpack on top of the rack OR dividing that weight into two panniers on either side of the bike rack? I'm not interested in weight distribution between front and back but rather whats a better set-up for the back of the bike. I'm thinking the panniers would be good because the weight is lower to the ground but i also think the backpack would be good because its centered right on top of the rack itself.

  • Answer:

    Rarely do I disagree with SoccerRefToo. This time I do. Two panniers (one on each side) would provide vastly better weight distribution & better balance. And given the size of the panniers, they may well hold a greater amount than a basket too. Any time you place a large amount of weight on top of a rack, the bike becomes top heavy. Splitting the weight in half & placing it on the sides - lower - provides much better balance & stability. Case in point... At least once a week I load up my trusty Raleigh with groceries. Sometimes those 'grocery getter' panniers are stuffed to the brim. And I'm not talking a load of paper towels here either. I'm talking sometimes weight up to 40 - 50 lbs. A gallon jug of milk alone would be about 8 lbs. Then toss in maybe a whole frozen chicken or other frozen meats. It can get heavy. Link below on what I use.

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Usually, keeping the weight lower gives better handling in my experience. I did once snap the axel on my bicycle when I had a child in a childseat on the back of my road bike and was climbing a big hill. The amount of weight higher up caused the whole rear end to rock back and forth and snapped the axel and several spokes. NOT that I could have distributed the child between panniers (ewww). This summer I have tried to use my bicycle for as much as possible. That includes grocery shopping. I have overloaded the panniers on my bicycle. The added weight is obvious, but has not caused any incidences, or handling problems. So I believe the panniers are a better choice.

david61567

You are right with the panniers. Better distribution, lower center of gravity, less torsion on the frame. The steel basket could be a good thing for running errands around town but not for touring, it may weight a few pounds on its own. Panniers can be water proof, which is a good thing.

nodopenomore

panniers even if the weight is not distributed evenly, this is better than having it high on the rack wle [[ ,<-- never used panniers, backpack on back everywhere, so what if handling is slightly 'worse', it is still very manageable]]

☼wle☆atlanta☼

Web EHHH! Option three. The best carrier is a large stainless steel basket ,ounted on the rear rack. It will hold bags, books, even a large bag of groceries with no muss or fuss. Soccerref

SoccerRefToo

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