Loaded touring weight distribution

[Lynn Haas]

How do y'all prefer to distribute weight on your Rivendells for stability?

I'm planning my first self-supported tour on my MUSA Atlantis. Health permitting I'll be riding from my home in Iowa up to Door County WI in September. I enjoy camping, so I'll be packing my hammock and all that.

In the past I've toured on a Surly LHT. I found that I liked half or more of the weight up front, with panniers on a lowrider rack (Tubus Tara) and handlebar bag, then a few things strapped across the rear rack. Loaded up that way, the bike felt super secure and stable. I'm going to have to make equipment changes to do that on the Atlantis, so I want to ask the hive mind about it before I excavate for my tools and start tinkering.

Also, anyone have experience taking a loaded bike on Metra in Chicago? I think I want to catch the train from Joliet to La Salle Station, get a fancy hotel, and do some shopping.

Lastly (if you're still reading) who's in Eastern Iowa and wants to go for a ride sometime? I've got a few miles to log between now and September!

Lynn 

(in Cedar Rapids, Iowa)

[aeroperf]

I ride a Soma Saga for heavy touring and a Rivendell Sam Hillborne for light touring.
During 2020 I did the kitty litter check - made up 5-pound bags of kitty litter to try riding with different weight distributions.

My Sam was very comfortable 10 pounds forward and 20 pounds aft.  More than that forward would make it feel a little squirrelly.  I could heap 30 pounds on the back and it was uncomfortable, though not squirrelly.  This Sam is the 465 mm chainstay version.
The Soma Saga, like the LHT, it was designed straight up for heavier loads and actually feels more stable with a front load.  It easily took 20 pounds forward and still felt good.

The Atlantis is supposedly a better bike loaded than the Sam, but I have no advice as to how much.  I’m betting that, like the Sam, it would not feel as good loaded forward as the LHT.

So my advice is to find a friend with cats, get their preferred litter and some bags, and see what works for the Atlantis.

[Lynn Haas]

Thanks for the thoughtful writeup and ideas. We have cats. They prefer the expensive litter. They make us happy, so it’s all good. Probably less risky than our (empty) whisky bottle collection.
Lynn

[Patrick Moore]

I had lowrider bosses installed on my first edition Sam and the steering was indeed odd with ~25 lb in front. 

FWIW, I filled empty half-gallon and gallon milk jugs with water for weight; each gallon is about 8 lb

On Mon, May 9, 2022 at 11:29 AM aeroperf <dore...@comcast.net> wrote:

... My Sam was very comfortable 10 pounds forward and 20 pounds aft.  More than that forward would make it feel a little squirrelly.

[dougP]

I've done quite a bit of touring on my '03 Atlantis & can offer the following experiences.  For a 4 bag, full on camping tour, I've found 60% front with 40% rear in panniers.  I also have a rando style bag on a small Nitto front rack that gets stuffed with things like lunch, lock, etc.  The only thing on the rear rack is my sleeping pad.  This set up is very stable & actually rides better than the bike unloaded, probably because it was purpose designed as a tourer.  For overnights or lodging tours, two bags upfront are quite stable & don't get in the way if you have to walk the bike.  For camping, the total load is around 35#, dropping to maybe 20# for an overnight.

Have a good trip.  I rode SAGBRAW in Door County a few years age & really enjoyed it.  We then rode back to St. Paul, following the Wisconsin bike trail system. 

dougP

[John Rinker]

Hey Lynn,

Here's my setup that works really well whether it's a 5-day or several-week trip, rough trails or smooth roads. It's probably close to dougp's 60/40 split. The sleeping bag shares the rear rack with my medium Saddlesack filled with clothing, raingear, books, tools, and Thermarest. Front panniers carry food and kitchen, and in the basket are my tent, camp chair, camp slippers, and cool things I find along the way. Under 5 days, I usually do without the panniers.

Enjoy Door County! A very lovely part of the world. 

Cheers,

John

[Lynn Haas]

What are you using to support the panniers? I currently don't have a low rack up front and am looking at options.

I'm now considering if I should build my trip around the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool festival in Jefferson County. It's probably a good thing that I'm on an Atlantis and not a Rambouillet or Chevoit. The knitters and spinners would never leave me be!

Lynn

[Tim Baldwin]

Lynn, I've had no issues with loaded bikes on that Metra line as long as you are not traveling during rush hour. The stretch from Joliet to Chicago has some unavoidable busy roads so Metra is highly recommended. The train station is also about two miles from the I&M canal trail.

My camp setup is similar to John's. I just posted a picture in another thread but here it is again! I use a Pass and Stow which handles panniers and has a nice big platform. Doug and John's weight distribution advice is spot on.

[John Rinker]

Hey Lynn, 

I have Mark's hub area rack and a Nitto mini-front to support my large Wald basket. I do like Tim's idea of the Pass&Stow rack though.

Cheers,

John

[Nick Payne]

I prefer the great majority of the weight up front. Here's our tandem many years ago on a tour of Tasmania - large home-made panniers on a Bruce Gordon lowrider front rack, and a home-made handlebar bag. the only things being carried on the rear rack were a couple of pairs of sandals for walking around at stops, as those were the days of quill pedals and cleated shoes:

and here's my own touring bike more recently - Tubus Tara rack, Ortlieb panniers and handlebar bag, Carradice saddlebag on the rear that contains just  bulky lightweight items:

Nick

[dougP]

Lynn:

Regarding front pannier racks, Tubus makes excellent gear.  Their Tara rack has some sittings that allow it to be attached to a fork with no front rack mounts, which are not always on an Atlantis.  I had my Atlantis fork modified for rack mounts & have had zero problems.  HOWEVER, this practice is STRONGLY discouraged by Rivendell. 

dougP