Chatbox

I came across this thread when I was looking at how likely is it that a 90-day tour can be done with only rear panniers. It seems pretty possible, especially when people have done long tours in the 70s with just two bags! However, I'm having doubt as to whether I have the right setup or not. So, I would like to collect some stats in the following format (if that's ok):

Bike and year: <Brand> <Model> <Year>
Primary nature of your bike: <Road / MTB / Tour / Others - please state>
Tires: <Brand> <Dimensions>
Rack: <Brand> <Model>
Panniers: <Brand> <Model>
Weight of the bike: <KG>
Weight of the rider: <KG>
Weight of your gear on the rear rack: <KG>
Duration of your tour(s): <Days-Trip1[,Days-Trip2...]>
Camping: <Yes/No>
Distance traveled per day: <KM>
Hours cycled per day: <Hours>
Road condition: <Paved roads, flats, climbs, off road...etc >
Any broken parts during the tour: <Number of flat tires, broken chains, broken spokes, hanger...etc >
Additional information: <Aerobars? Bike handling? Modified parts/upgrades? ...etc >

Much appreciated!

axolotl

Of course it's possible to tour with only rear panniers. Why would you think it's not?

All of my tours have been without front panniers. One tour lasted 14 months. I used to carry camping gear, but rarely have camped in recent years. Lots of different bikes through the years, including touring bikes, a road bike, a mountain bike, and my current favorite, my folding Bike Friday. Obviously, there has been a variety of tires, panniers, tour durations, distances per day, hours, road conditions, terrain, etc. I don't really see the purpose of all of the data you're asking people for, insofar as rear-panniers-only are concerned.

antokelly

hi chatbox, i read somewhere what you carry for a week's tour, should be enough for a round the world tour.my bike thorn sherpa with full xt shimano groopset sun rhyno wheels,with conti city contacts tyres,,and of course the brooks b17 champion saddle.rear rack only is tubus logo ,panniers are ortlieb bikepacker plus ,barbag ultimate ortlieb,i think if i can remember each pannier has 14lb weight all in all, the total weight on the rear is 3 stone thats with tent and small stool.dont know if this is any help ,but if your buying new only buy the very best gear ,it will pay for itself in the long run.

arctos

For over 20 years I have only used 2 FRONT panniers and a dry bag stuffer on the rear rack for bike tours lasting several months or more with no problems with carrying capacity. This includes the Divide Ride, South America, Mexico and much of the US. Carefully chosen essentials emphasizing light overall weight makes for more enjoyable touring especially while climbing.

Chatbox

Trying to see what kind of bike, tires and wheels people have used when they only have rear panniers loaded, and how likely (or unlikely) it is that the weight is too much (to cause damage) for the spokes, tires, or frame in respect to the terrain of the tour.

I went over other threads where people would say it's ok to use a road bike (but not ideal) instead of a touring bike, but there's no historical "data" of how the tour went where people HAVE done with it road bikes.

Thisisit

Bike and year: Surly Long Haul Trucker, 2008
Primary nature of your bike: touring specific bike
Tires: 26" schwalbe marathon racers
Rack: old man mountain cold springs
Panniers: Ortlieb Rollers
Weight of the bike: 25-30lbs, not sure exactly.
Weight of the rider: 140lbs
Weight of your gear on the rear rack: 20-30lbs.
Duration of your tour(s): Weekend and month-long (4-6 weeks)
Camping: Yes
Distance traveled per day: 75-125km
Hours cycled per day: 4-7.
Road condition: Paved, gravel, fire roads, whatever shows up in front of me.
Any broken parts during the tour: Brake issues on shakedown tour unrelated to weight/load just my poor installation.
Additional information: Bike obviously feels more sluggish with the load but is by no means an issue. Handling hasn't been a problem on descents or city riding. Climbing out of the saddle is tough and I try not to do it, but I feel that is the case with most loaded bikes.

antokelly

say arctos ,stick up your packing list. i carry all my gear on the back ,my panniers ars pretty well stuffed ,im just curious to see how you do it .thanks.

CCrew

I don't even use rear panniers... What I carry fits in my jersey pockets..














and my BOB

robow

Chat, when I, like many others, started touring back in the mid 70's, rear panniers were all we had and in fact didn't know front panniers existed. We weren't using exotic touring bikes, merely sport road bikes of the time. 27" wheels, 1 1/4" tires and off we went. You can make it work but truth be told, I do like a combination of front and rear panniers for the better balance if you're carry a full load.

BigBlueToe

I toured a few times with only front panniers when I was first starting out - mostly because I was a poverty-stricken college student with no money for anything. My parents bought me the bike, I had some old backpacking equipment from Boy Scout days, and I sewed my own panniers for the rear out of pack cloth. (I called them saddle bags.) My bike didn't have braze-ons for a front rack, and I probably couldn't have afforded a front rack anyway. My rear rack was a Pletscher from Fred Meyer.

Given that it's possible to tour with only rear panniers, I question why anyone would want to. I feel my bike handles better and is less likely to break spokes if I have the load distributed front and rear. Sure, my load could probably be considerably lighter, but even if it were, I still think I'd prefer to distribute it both front and rear.

I'm not saying people who choose to just use rear panniers (or front) are wrong, or misguided, I'm just saying my personal preference is to use both.

Is there an aerodynamic advantage? It amuses me to think of aerodynamics and touring when you see all the stuff draped all over my bike on a typical touring day.

If it's a money thing, that makes total sense to me (see paragraph 1.)

I'm probably going to get some opposing views in reply. That's fine. I respect everyone's right to make different choices than I do, and I learn from reading them.

arctos

Antokelly: Here is a quick packing list. I think it includes most everything normally used. [I may have forgotten a few things.]

In or on top of roll top dry bag rear rack stuffer- clothes for layering for the range of temperatures expected to 10F ; down quilt 1/8; bivy 0/6; Tarptent Contrail 1/12; camp shoes; long raincoat or poncho 0/12; backpack 0/8; ThermaRest pad 0/12; Go-Lite reflective umbrella 0/7; total approximately 7 or 9 pounds.

Front Panniers: cook kit & stove 0/12; 1st Aid kit 0/8; h2o tabs &/or filter pump;spare tubes; tool kit 0/12; camera; compass; shortwave radio 0/8; toiletry kit 0/8; batteries; small led flashlight; book; towel; maps & guides; binoculars 0/8; SA knife 0/2; total approximately 8 to 10 pounds not including fuel, water, food or weight of 2 panniers.

Total equipment load including panniers and rear stuffer- 20 pounds more or less.

escii_35

I've multiweek road toured on all the setups; two front, two rear or all four.

By far the fastest and best -feeling- was two front with two stuff sacks on the rear for a total of 30 lbs.

The two things I like about four bagging is, "You can be super duper lazy breaking camp and it's much easier to section off your wet stuff"

Bike and year: Cannondale 1994 Jumbo T series (RIP)
Primary nature of your bike: Touring
Tires: 700 x 30-36
Panniers: Ortlieb Rollers
Weight of the bike: 28lbs naked
Weight of the rider: 175-180
Camping: A massive 7-8lb 2 person dome. I like a big tent mkay. While soloing I don't carry a stove.
Distance traveled per day: Depends on the wind anywhere 50-105mi with 75mi as a nice average

antokelly

arctos thank's for that,i reckon that's what you call ultralight touring.

Thisisit

I'd also like to add then when I do have the money I want to add a front rack and panniers.
I am planning a week-long tour around Lake Erie in August when I get home from New Zealand and hopefully by then I'll have my front set up too.

Machka 

These were taken on a month-long tour in Europe in 2007. That's my current standard set-up, and it works very well.





Now, on my 3-month tour in Australia in 2004, I had a similar set-up, but put the panniers on the front. That worked fairly well, but having the rack and panniers on the front made the front stiffer (I believe) and I struggled with sore hands.



As for the details ...

Bike and year: Marinoni Ciclo 2003
Primary nature of your bike: Road, tour, commute, randonneuring, training, cycling in general
Tires: 700C x 25s, Conti Ultra 1000s
Rack: MEC's $15 rack: https://www.mec.ca/Products/product_d...=1234731116770
Panniers: Axiom LaSalle
Weight of the bike: 27 lb
Weight of the rider: A bit more than 27 lb
Weight of your gear on the rear rack: Approx. 38 lb
Duration of your tour(s): Most of my tours are at least 3 weeks
Camping: You bet! And also hotels and hostels
Distance traveled per day: Anywhere between 0 km and 170 km
Hours cycled per day: Anywhere between 0 hours and about 12 hours
Road condition: Yes, all of the above
Any broken parts during the tour: Depends on the tour. Some tours I had no flats, some I had a few. On my Australia tour, my freehub died ... that's probably the biggest repair. But that had to do with the quantity of rain on that tour and the quality of the freehub.
Additional information: Pretty much everything, including the frame, on my bicycle is custom or customized.

Nigeyy

I don't tour with front panniers. I have two rear panniers, and a front handlebar bag and front rack. The front handlebar bag holds small relatively heavy items (multi tool, camera, etc) and my front rack holds my tent. I've found my bike to be very nicely balanced for me. At this time, I have no need or desire to go to front panniers -but I'll never say never. However, since everything works for what I want to do, going to front panniers would mean either being given them, or winning them somehow!!!

Bike and year: Dawes Sardar 2006?/Specialized Hardrock 1990's?
Primary nature of your bike: Commuting and Touring
Tires: Schwalbe Marathons 26x1.5/Panaracer Urban Maxx 26x1.25
Rack: Axiom Journey Disc with Bor Yeah front rack/rear Bor Yeuh with Nashbar brake mount front rack
Panniers: no brand cheap rear pannier stuff with Cannondale front handlebar bag
Weight of the bike: dunno
Weight of the rider: too much!
Weight of your gear on the rear rack: I think relatively lightweight
Duration of your tour(s): 2-18 days
Camping: Yes
Distance traveled per day: 60-150km
Hours cycled per day: as long as it takes!
Road condition: Paved roads with flats, climbs
Any broken parts during the tour: couple of flats
Additional information: none

Cave

The issue isn't the gear, it is the amount of food and water you need to carry. Also the weight distribution is an issue for some, apparently if you get too unbalanced the handling can suffer. I've only used rear panniers because I haven't gone on long enough trips to justify another rack; mine have been short, or supported.

Anyway,
Cannondale T800 tourer,
700c x 35 back, 28 front (too narrow at the front BTW)
Blackburn rack, Tioga panniers, no idea of total bike weight but feels pretty heavy,
I'm 95kg, carry up to about 12kg of gear, weekends (solo, camping) to week-long (generally supported, camping),
60-150km/day, 4-10h/day, mixed roads (tarmac / dirt / rail trails).

And sure, you can have the info in any format you want, as long as you do the formatting! A bit cruel of you to insist on metric when so many on this forum are stuck using 1775-vintage British Imperial measurements !

Why don't you just load up what you think you'll be riding with and go on a long day trip. You'll get a fair idea of packing and handling. Allow about a kilo a day for food (that's for dry light food, allow more otherwise) and consider water storage. Also for a 3-month tour you might want some luxuries, seems a bit long for a fast-and-light trip to me, I'd be going front and rear rack for that long a trip, maybe front panniers, maybe a fold-out racktop bag.

Chatbox

My main concerns at this moment are: flat tires and broken spokes/wheels.

The bike I have now (Fuji Newest 2.0) is something that I've rushed into purchasing about a week ago, which I'm regretting right this minute (saw a Jamis something over the weekend that has more spokes, able to fit wider tires and has eyelets for rear AND front racks).

The Fuji has 32 spokes per wheel, came with 700x23c (but have heard that I can fit 25c on it), and rear-only rack eyelets.

I'm 5foot6, 142lbs (being a relatively small guy compare to some others is good in this case!). Don't plan on having more than 12KG on the rear rack (panniers included).

Current (major items) packing list:

1. Rear panniers (2KG).
2. Laptop & charger (2.5 KG)
3. Tent (2.2 KG)
4. Down sleeping bag, inflatable mattress & pillow (0.8KG).
5. Camera, lens, spare batteries & charger (1.5KG) (in handlebar bag, yet to find one)

--The following items are not firm yet--

1. 3 short sleeves t-shirts.
2. 3 pairs of cycling shorts.
3. 1 pair of casual shorts.
4. 1 pair of casual trousers
5. 2 long sleeves dryfits.
6. 1 waterproof jacket.
7. 1 long sleeves cycling fleece thingy.
8. 4 pairs of socks.
9. 4 pairs of underwear.
10. 1 first aid kit.
11. 1 pair of sandle-like shoes (field tested! Used them in some adventure races, dry really quickly)

iamarobotman

I'm in the same boat, Chatbox. I've got a vintage Novara Strada racing bike. The thing's a tank, but I'm worried about blowing a spoke/tire with a rear rack and panniers. I have 700x25 Specialized Armadillo's on it, and I love em'. They're the biggest I can fit, but I'm not worried.

I'm on the path to a Burley Nomad or a Bob Yak right now. I think the Nomad is better suited for an old steel, racing bike.

Let me know what you end up doing.

arctos

After trying most every permutation of pannier setup, twenty years ago I settled on front panniers only but added a large dry bag stuffer on the rear rack lengthwise for bulky items like clothes,shelter and sleeping bag. The balance is approximately 60/40 front to rear.

It does require careful gear selection but the lighter weight makes the riding easier and more fun. I have used this setup internationally in countries such as Ecuador and Mexico without running out of space to carry what I need rather than what things I might want.

This has reduced or eliminated damage to rear wheels since the wheel does not slam into potholes or offroad obstacles but articulates over them after I lift the front wheel and panniers over first. I am no lightweight at 6ft plus and 225# yet I use 36 hole 700C rims and 1.75in tires on my BG RNR without a problem.

A second benefit that I found useful on the Divide Ride and other trail riding is the ability to push a loaded bike directly without hitting wide rear panniers with my legs. It is much easier to control the bike while walking and pushing.

Also when using public transport having fewer bags reduces hassles. I often can carry everything on the plane train or bus preventing losses in baggage handling. Then I only need worry about how the bike is treated!