A handlebar bag probably shouldn't be loaded with more than two-or-three pounds of must-have-at-hand gear ... at least, IMO.
You can put a lot more "stuff" in a panniers ... some people will say that it is because the weight put in panniers is lower, but MY observation is that whatever you put in a handlebar bag is offset about a foot from the steerer's axis -- imagine a two pound weight strapped to the lower end of a front fender (as an extreme) and how that would effect the steering vs. that same amount of weight (equally) strapped against the fork ... the lower, hypothetical position does not make the weight more stable (as the conventional wisdom would have suggested it should) than when it is near the steerer's axis ... that is, handling/steering will be worse with a handlebar bag than with panniers.
Al Feng Albuquerque, NM
On Fri, 15 Dec 2006 15:31:50 +1100 geoff duke
<g.duke@civenv.unimelb.edu.au> writes:
> This may be more a question for the framebuilders list but seeing as
>
> many on topic french bikes have front racks I was wondering if
> anyone
> on this list can tell me what the difference, if any, there is
> between a bike made to take a handlebar bag and a bike made to take
>
> front paniers.Bicycle Quarterly regularly looks at bikes that are
> designed to take handlebar bags.Will those same bikes handle the
> same
> with front paniers ?
> Geoff Duke Melbourne Australia