Too Much Weight in Panniers?

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What effects can too much weight on your bike have on it's performance? I mean, of course it can slow you down a bit on hills but wondered if it can effect gear changes and such.

I recently started carrying equipment for my job and the total weight of my sacks is 20 pounds. My gears have recently started slipping a bit and I just wondered if that was an effect of the xtra weight. I'm going to have my bike overhauled just in case but wanted to be sure it wasn't going to be an ongoing problem....:rolleyes:

I have had my touring bike work fine unloaded and then have slight shifting issues fully loaded. I've never studied the problem but mechanics have told me they've seen the same thing on occasion.

I would say it shouldn't have anything to do with too much weight in your panniers though. Too much weight would cause maybe a frame crack, broken spoke, or something like that. If everything is adjusted properly 20 lbs isn't noticable to the derailleurs, cogs, etc.

extra weight should not affect the gear changing at all...your bike shop should be able to do some tuning to get it working fine

The first thing to check would be that there is no contact between your panniers and the derailler or cable.

I'd suggest taking a look at:
http://sheldonbrown.com/autoshift.html

too much weight- I have too much weight on my saddle.
About 25 kgs of fat carried within Gluteus Maxima. At least with panniers, you can remove them.
I need friggin' liposuction, not cheap....:eek: