cyccommute 

You are misunderstanding what I said. The "normal" rear pannier set up is to use 40 L panniers. The "normal" front pannier set up is to use 20L panniers. When I use both front and rear, I use 20L on the front but the heaviest, most dense equipment goes in the low mounted front bags. Lighter bulkier equipment goes on the rear. The rear load takes up more space but is lighter. Most people going to a rear bag only route will usually use 40L bags which are much larger and are more likely to cause heel strike. That usually means moving the panniers towards the rear more to avoid heel strike and thus putting more of the load behind the rear axle which causes the steering to be vague.

When I bikepack, my load is very similar to yours with the exception of using a rear pannier. Although I've posted this before, here are two configurations I've used recently

DSCN1255 by Stuart Black, on Flickr

2020-01-26 16:51:13 by Stuart Black, on Flickr

The first is similar to another configuration that I used that resulted in a biffed helmet on a steep downhill when the high load surprised me. I used a Revelate Design Trangle instead of the Oveja Negra Super Wedgie on that ride. The handle load each time is identical: A tent, sleeping bag and pad, and some food in the front pocket. Inside the frame bag in the first picture is the most dense equipment I carry...a stove, fuel canister and cup and some food. I carried some freeze-dried food in the pocket on that trip.

The second picture adds the small panniers so that I can carry a bit more freeze-dried food (it was a longer more remote trip) and some on-bike food which I could have used on the other ride. I added the fork leg bags to carry the dense equipment and to free up some space in the Super Wedgie. The weight of the trip is only slightly more because of the extra food.

I, like you, don't get into the handle bar roll except to make camp. The bike still feels top heavy compared to a regular road load and can be sketchy on steep rocky downhills. Riding it requires constant attention to rider position and care when roads and jeep trails become steep.

I'm not talking about on the road bag removal but removal at night or removal for travel. We have a bus service that I can use to get to starting points and from starting points. The bus is too popular for my bike to be carried under the bus and thus must be carried on the front of the bus. At the instruction of the driver, I had to remove the handlebar roll, leg bags, micro panniers, gas tank and saddlebag. Thankfully, he didn't make me remove the wedge pack. That made for 6 bags of various sized that I had to move about on a narrow bus. I was also carrying my helmet and a Camelbak so that's 8 bags or pieces of luggage to wrangle while boarding a bus. A road set up would have been one fewer bag (2 front, 2 rear, a handlebar bag, and the other two) but the package is easier to deal with because the bags mate together, are the same shape, and have convenient handles for carrying. They are also far easier and quicker to remove.
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And, even at camp, the bikepacking bags can be difficult to deal with. As I live in bear country, the bags with food have to be removed and either stored in a bear vault or hug from a tree. I've done the same with panniers and, again, they have convenient handles.

john m flores 

For those of you that have mounted racks/bags to suspension forks, have you noticed any change in fork performance? Since you're adding to the unsprung weight of the fork, I'd imagine that it would be slower and less able to react to bumps, washboard, etc...

MarcusT

I did not notice that. It seemed to work normally. Now that I have a stiff fork, sometimes I miss the suspension

djb

My fork is an old airless, oilless one from the late 90s, using springs and those compression foam things, although it was a high end one back in 97...
it was clearly affected, but it also is a stiff suspension fork, so it is less affected, but more importantly I didn't have much weight up front. Certainly tons less than other riders I've seen, although I suspect the individual fork is a big factor and weight of course.

thumpism 

Found these yesterday.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...2605920829890/