flexy frame?

[ton]

got 2 bikes now, a ecr with zero flex, rides like a very comfy tank. also got a reynolds 631 tubed touring bike.
without panniers, the 631 bike is very comfy and smooth, but just had a week away touring with a single pannier, which weighed maybe 12-15lbs.
the bike rode like a thing made out of straws. felt terrible.
checked everything twice. wheels sound, tension on spokes sound, good tough tyres, rack fitted well, panniers attached right.
felt terrible.

any ideas? or is 631 a bit light for a big rider and gear.

[chris n]

All steel has pretty much the same stiffness. More to do with the tube diameters, wall thickness, frame construction and geometry.

[Oli.vert]

got 2 bikes now, a ecr with zero flex, rides like a very comfy tank. also got a reynolds 631 tubed touring bike.
without panniers, the 631 bike is very comfy and smooth, but just had a week away touring with a single pannier, which weighed maybe 12-15lbs.
the bike rode like a thing made out of straws. felt terrible.
checked everything twice. wheels sound, tension on spokes sound, good tough tyres, rack fitted well, panniers attached right.
felt terrible.

any ideas? or is 631 a bit light for a big rider and gear.

Could be one of two things IMO. The first of which is the single pannier means your bike is unbalanced. Yes, you can deal with it, but it's not going to ride nicely as soon as you're out of the saddle. The second would be that perhaps the weight is too far back for your frame to be happy dealing with it. I tried touring like that on a Harry Hall 753 frame and it was frighteningly flexy so I got rid of the rear rack and went for the low-rider front and saddlebag approach, which was very much better. Do all steel frames flex the same amount? It depends what they're made of and how fat the tubes are. The frame I was using wasn't built as a tourer, or even an audax and it weighed sod-all so no surprise it was a bit 'compliant' with panniers on.

[ton]

i thought about starting to use 2 smaller front panniers rather than rear ones.
i travel pretty light and would fit most stuff for a tour in a pair of smaller bags.

re the frame, it is a 631 touring frame from jamis.

https://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/auroraelite.html

[Oli.vert]

Reckon 2 small fronts on low-riders would be perfect on that. It's worth having a bit of extra weight on the back to balance out the braking and to keep the bike neutral handling, which is why a saddlebag/pack of some sort is such a trad go-to with low-riders. Just like bikepacking, best to have the weight spread front and back rather than all front or all rear.

[jameso]

Try loading the 631 bike front-only, on low riders ideally. Flexy frames can ride quite nicely but they don't handle rear loads at all well.