Chat with a coworker made me realize my pannier setup was backwards

My coworker Jen saw me struggling to balance my bag on my rack and said 'why don't you just put the heavy side closer to the bike?' I had been loading my lunch and lock on the outside pocket for like 6 months. Has anyone else had a simple fix that made a huge difference in their daily ride?

2 comments

2 Comments

patriciamoore1mo ago

That thing about "heavy side closer to the bike" hit me hard. My buddy Dave spent a whole year with his panniers loaded completely wrong because he just watched videos from some touring guy who said to keep weight balanced for off-bike walking. He was wobbling like crazy on turns and his bicycle chain rubbed his bag constantly. One day his neighbor, an old bike messenger, just looked at him and said "your load is flapping like a flag." Dave switched everything around that afternoon and said it felt like he got a new bike.

jade_hernandez1mo ago

That whole story with Dave @patriciamoore proves how often we overthink simple things and miss whats obvious.