I have been using my backrollers for a while now on the front rack. They work great with the Surly rack. It took me some time to get used to the weight up front but I like it much more since the bike feels way more balanced with my heavy weight on the saddle and the panniers on the front.
I actually do swap them from left to right. Meaning the right one on the rear is now the left one on the front.
I still have the first gen Ortliebs which are not symmetrical. Meaning they are more angled on one side and only have a reflector on the straight side. This way I have the reflector at the front when mounted on the front rack.
Last edited by Harhir; 08-14-17 at 03:49 PM.