But hauling camera equipment in a handlebar bag is a different scenario from that of a long-distance brevet. In the latter case, the bag would be kept comparatively light with items such as clothing and snacks. On the 300K brevet I rode recently, I had this bag filled with such items,cycling rear pannier bag but its overall weight was perhaps half that of the photo-expedition setup. With these lighter contents, I did not notice the effects on handling to nearly the same extent. There was a little bit of weight on the front, but the bike still felt like My Bike. And the handlebar bag was ever so convenient for extracting items on the go.
Since affixing this bag to my road bike,bicycle map holder handlebar bag I have carried in it items including clothing, gadgets, cameras, books, even groceries. Over short distances, I've probably ridden with close to 10lb in the bag. As far as handling and overall feel, the formula seems straightforward enough: The less weight on the front, the better and more like itself the bicycle feels. Depending on one's use case scenario, that may or may not be acceptable. For my purposes, it is good enough.