I'll be doing an 13 day self contained tour in a few weeks and I'll be camping. I've done a number of shorter self contained tours before with two rear panniers, four panniers and a handlebar bag. I have been given an Ortlieb Rack Pack (essentially a duffle bag). It will fit my tent, sleeping bag and sleeping pad with room to spare.
For this trip I can fit everything in the four bags or the two rear plus the Rack Pack. I kind of like the fact that with the Rack Pack I won't need to stuff things in. I think I know the answer, but which set-up would handle better and provide the better/easier ride?
The ride will be on pavement, +/- 30 rolling miles (no big hills) a day and I'll be riding a LHT.
Yes, I could load up and try both set-ups, but I thought that I'd ask here first.
Be safe and thank you.
Personally, I try to bias as much as possible towards the front bags. If I’m riding with a fairly small load, I put it in the front panniers and go without the rear ones. I’ve done this on several bikes and all of them have handled better with a front load.
As for the rack pack, I don’t use closed bags for both my tent and sleeping bag. If the tent in wet (due to rain or morning dew), the sleeping bag is going to end up wet as well. There is nothing worse than sleeping in a wet sleeping bag. Additionally, putting a wet tent into a closed bag is also a good way to mildew a tent. My sleeping bag is loaded into a roll top dry bag and strapped to the rear rack with the tent next to it.