Two panniers or four?

[AnnaLu]

I'll be cycling LEJOG solo in June/July and have been pondering the issue of how many panniers. I know that I could fit all of my gear into two smallish (and lightweight) rear panniers and a bar bag. I've done shorter tours like this in the past. But I'm wondering if the bike (a Dawes Galaxy) will actually ride better with the same luggage split between four panniers. I do have front racks and panniers as I've used these in the past - several years ago. Of course, one disadvantage of this setup is that there is then the additional weight of the front pannier racks and two small panniers.

Opininions and advice appreciated (but please don't tell me to just take a saddlebag )

[Vorpal]

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[22camels]

I think it's largely a matter of preference, if it were me and I could fit it into just the rear and under 20kg, I would stick with rear only. I'm a bit new to touring, and having done three week long tours with rear only, had my first taste of rear+front recently on a 4 day "experimental tour" and came away with the feeling of "I hope I don't ever have to do this again", but I think I'll have to get used to it sooner or later (or get a trailer). Basically my front end felt really sluggish and took away a lot of the fun feeling I get when riding a bike (this little test involved riding three different bikes so it wasn't just to do with my bike). On the plus side it felt stable and the front didn't lift off the ground going uphill. Many people will say handling is improved with some low-mounted front weight, at least for some touring bikes.

[AnnaLu]

Thank you! Interesting reading. I think I'll save the weight and stick to two rear panniers.