Nitto/Berthoud Part Two

This is part two of two. A follow up to my previous post- Nitto/Berthoud project. I actually finished the project and used the set up on my recent Texas Buckaroos Tour. It worked great. I had some worries about the load on the front...mostly because I totally confused myself reading various sites and publications about fork rake and trail and front vs. rear loading on a touring bike. I'm not that smart.

I do know that Grant Petersen is the BOSS when it comes to designing bicycles, and if this didn't work, it certainly wasn't the fault of the bicycle. I am riding a 61 cm Rivendell A. Homer Hilsen.

Here is the bike (Chief) outside Alpine Texas. The front rack top bag is the Gilles Berthoud GB28. The two small panniers in front, the Gilles Berthoud GB799, were developed to fit on a rear rack and probably on a rack with side rails a little below the top platform, such as the Tubus Logo. Since the Klick Fix attachment protrudes above the top of the bag, as shown in Part 1. I cut that off to make this setup work. The pannier bags are still easy to get off and to put on, and I could still access them in order to remove items. I carried my cookset in one, and I did need to pop the side bag off in order to get to it, but it was a minor inconvenience.  

One of the things I like about using these bags in conjunction with the Zimbale 18 liter saddlebag is each bag is relatively compact, with exterior pockets. So, as long as I can remember which bag I put something in, everything is pretty accessible. I don't have to empty things out and dig around like I would with large panniers. I also like the high, centered load. To be fair I should probably do a trip with the standard front and rear pannier setup for comparison. Oh darn, that means I have to buy more stuff and do more touring.

As far as bike handling goes, the first day out I experienced some shimmy in the front end. Actually, a lot of shimmy...at most speeds. The next day, I put some more air in the tires and, voila, no shimmy! At any speed.

So, overall I'm very pleased with the way this worked out.