Originally Posted by HTupolev

Even touring bikes can lose stability when rear-heavy. They're usually better at dealing with it than non-touring bikes with otherwise-similar construction, but it's a poor situation to begin with. When I put large loads on my Campeur, I try to put the heavy stuff onto the front low-riders. So for instance, this...



...handles far better than this...



...even though the bicycle is carrying far more weight in the first photo.