Comments on: What’s the Speed Difference Between Front/Rear Panniers and Bikepacking Bags? Results

By: Alee | CyclingAbout.com

Alee | CyclingAbout.com — Thu, 29 Mar 2018 23:13:00 +0000

In reply to Greg Melia. Unfortunately, I don't have the files anymore. Thanks for the heads up on Golden Cheetah!

By: Greg Melia

Greg Melia — Wed, 28 Mar 2018 11:37:00 +0000

If you’ve still got the power files from this experiment, have you considered doing a Chung test? It would make your results a lot more accurate, and it would be interesting to see what you got. You can download a free program called Golden Cheetah (google it), import your power file and as long as you can identify each lap of the velodrome (usually pretty easy from the data itself), it can do an accurate calculation of your aero drag coefficient, which you can use to calculate time saved.

I’m off on a world tour soon and will definitely be heading to the velodrome to test my setup, so I can reduce my drag and finish each day as relaxed and refreshed as possible!

By: Tim Rice

Tim Rice — Sat, 17 Mar 2018 13:08:00 +0000

at what mph do aerodynamics come into play? 12 ish mph ?
I guess if I was concerned about being Aero I wouldn’t be looking at 650×47 tires. interesting thoughts to consider though. Especially if its a grueling 80-100 mile ride into steady head winds. at that point, I’d probably just sit on a bench in what ever town and watch the world go by. 😉
I am still reading other arguments. Bikepacking is winning, due to a more centered load, lighter load. Panniers is winning because of the ease/simplicity of packing. panniers is losing because who wants an extra 8 pounds in racks and bag weight? This argument also is tipping the slider one way or the other towards choosing between tour vs gravel bike. As in if I went the pannier route then I’d choose Vaya, or Sequoia, Awol etc…. bikepacking = Carbon Norco search XR, Cannondale Slate. Norco Search XR could do it either way.
I am also not sure I am the frame bag kind of guy. Choices……

By: Alee | CyclingAbout.com

Alee | CyclingAbout.com — Wed, 14 Mar 2018 16:58:00 +0000

In reply to Gary M. Keene. Panniers are undoubtedly more practical for most uses. It's normally when you get to really rough dirt roads, or singletrack off-road trails where the bikepacking gear is the way to go.

By: Gary M. Keene

Gary M. Keene — Wed, 14 Mar 2018 15:36:00 +0000

In reply to Alee | CyclingAbout.com.

Thanks, I think you nailed it in terms of using bike packs for light touring. My observation is I’m seeing bikes loaded/overloaded with giant seat-packs, monster handlebar rolls, over-stuffed frame in-fill bags, all trussed up like sausages, so that I want to ask, Have you ever tried panniers?! It also jumps out that I don’t see much of anything in these get-ups in the way of easy access, the kind you need constantly for long days on the road – for clothing quickly on/off, snacking, tools and cameras, etc. Whatever– I’m an old fart by now, and won’t be investing in (any more) new gear set-ups (got a garage-full of that = need some original Eclipse panniers and matching racks? Still the lightest, best set-up ever.) gmk

By: Alee | CyclingAbout.com

Alee | CyclingAbout.com — Tue, 13 Mar 2018 22:55:00 +0000

In reply to Gary M. Keene.

I’m guessing the reason you don’t really hear people doing a weight comparison (in terms of handling) is because people who use bikepacking bags will almost never carry as much weight!

I’ve only packed ultralight when using bikepacking bags to do mostly off-road stuff. I’ve find that with those kind of loads (10-15kg across all bags) the bike’s handling is very quick to adjust to.

On a side note, one of the reasons I prefer front panniers over a front basket (or porteur-style bag and rack) is for the reason you’ve pointed out; the latter butchers the handling of a bike with a similar load (10kg+).

By: Gary M. Keene

Gary M. Keene — Mon, 12 Mar 2018 04:10:00 +0000

Alee, I appreciate your work and info. Re: bikepacks vs. panniers, all the results match common sense, as does your comment that a wider-ranging long-distance tour requires more equipment and thus more capacity = panniers. What I’ve not heard anyone comment on is the difference between riding a bike carrying the same weight in panniers vs. bike packs = not in terms of aerodynamics and speed, etc. but Handling. The frame is a lever relative to the tire contact patch (effectively a fulcrum point); moving the weight farther out on the lever– carrying the gear up at top-tube/saddle/stem level– increases the leverage of the frame relative to the tire contact patch. This effects handling. Comments? Thx, garyk

By: Pieter Beck

Pieter Beck — Sat, 27 Jan 2018 22:09:00 +0000

In reply to Alee | CyclingAbout.com. Given the aerodynamic drag of panniers I wonder why there are hardly any on the market with compression straps that allow you to make the side profile of the bag as narrow as the load allows. Am I missing something?

By: George Green

George Green — Thu, 02 Nov 2017 14:48:00 +0000

A fair point. A bigger air profile would actually help in the case of a tailwind but that happens so rarely alas!

By: George Green

George Green — Mon, 23 Oct 2017 21:35:00 +0000

Very interesting test, and thank you for sharing. When I go touring average speeds are much less than 30km/h – probably closer to 15 km/h, so aerodynamics would make a lot less difference. For me anyway. Worth bearing this in mind. I would be interested see a comparison energy expenditure over 100km between the various conditions, because that (rather than time) is the scarcer resource when touring. Thank you again – very interesting read.