Question/Comment on semi-loaded touring

[SamIAm]

I just go back from a 600 mile ride from Pittsburgh to Newport News. I did this on a A. Homer Hilsen from Rivendell. It was equipped with front and rear baskets attached to front and rear racks with zip ties. Each basket held a waterproof compression sack and was secured by elastic netting. The front bag weighed about 7 lbs and the rear bag about 15 pounds. In general this system performed quite well over the Allegheny and C&O Towpath portion of the trip as well as the country roads.

My only concern was out of the saddle efforts. These felt very shaky and unstable. Has anyone experienced this? Is there a better solution for distributing weight that could have made a difference here? Or could it have been that the bike was not designed properly for carrying this much weight?

Thoughts?

This was my first "tour" and I really enjoyed it. I want to do more, but I want to solve this problem before I do.

Thanks.

[sg8357]

Weight distribution, move some of the front weight to the back.
move the remaining front weight as close to the wheel and handle
bar as possible. Move the rear weight as low as you can.
Make sure the load doesn't sway.

I've ridden a lot on a Rivendell Atlantis, same design philosopy
as the AHH. The bike handled the same loaded as unloaded,
unlike other touring bikes I'd tried.

Rear Tubus rack, with Ortlieb panniers, front Hobo bag hanging
from the bars. I could ride the bike hands off.

Scott G.

[BoulderGeek]

This is all interesting to me, since I will be touring Europe in August; with panniers for the first time.

I have to drop weight from both myself and my belongings.

[Ken Robb]

Actually the A Homer Hilsen is more like a Rambouillet with more tire clearance. An Atlantis has heavier tubes and more relaxed angles with even longer chainstays.

[stevep]

touring like this is great fun.
been a long time ago for me...but i think of it fondly.
great way to see the country ( or some other country for that matter )
s

weight lower should help and a super solid rack and bag attachment.

[Peter P.]

You want your load as LOW as possible.

Ideally, you'd also like to split it front/rear as well, but there's more tolerance here to fudge it and put the majority if not all that 22lbs. on the rear. Most "light" touring bike specs I've seen put a limit of 20lbs. for a load; I am drawing the assumption that means 20lbs., all on the rear, but I have no basis for this, just opinion.

I've run 15lbs. in rear panniers with no trouble at all. Once I plop my 7lb. mechanic's tool bag on the top of the rear rack, it starts to shimmy if I dare take my hands off the bars at ANY speed. Climbing out of the saddle feels somewhat like an inverted rolypoly.

Friends that run front lowrider panniers to carry the bulk of their loads RAVE about them because they make the bike so stable.

I say, can the baskets and at least run panniers on the rear, or run front lowrider panniers with the load weight the rear rack would have carried, and put the 7lb. front load on top of the rear rack. I think you'll be amazed.