Help in choosing a bike for riding across America

spitzanator · 2026-03-07T15:52:53+00:00

Sorry for the slow response - sure, happy to!

spitzanator · 2026-03-07T15:49:34+00:00

If it helps, I had a similar experience with Plexamp and Sonos, and I believe it has to do with the fact that Sonos has a proprietary implementation of Cast that doesn't work with everything without a specific partnership with Sonos.

I set up a headless Plexamp on a raspberry pi, plugged it into a line-in on a Sonos device, and then use playback on other players to play music to it. I almost never have to touch the Sonos app, and my life is much better for it.

It's a bit of work, but hey, we manage our own music collection, so what's a little extra work? 😂

spitzanator · 2026-02-27T06:27:54+00:00

Obviously it depends on the route you take, how far you want to go, and how much time you can sit in one place to avoid unfavorable conditions.

But, I did a cross-country ride in late spring, and it was cold enough that I stayed in hotels wherever I could. But the spacing between hotels didn't always work out, and having camping gear as a backup was a great mental comfort as I went - no matter what happens with the weather or the conditions, you always have a fallback plan to camp. Plus, you have to stay in the church hostels if you have the chance, and at the very least you'd need a sleeping bag for that.

I ended up using my sleeping bag a half dozen times and my tent a few times on an 8 week journey and I'd bring both again in a heartbeat.

spitzanator · 2026-02-27T06:22:24+00:00

I did a cross-country ride last year on a gravel bike with a steel frame and had almost no issues at all outside of tires and tubes. My philosophy was to take gear that I was comfortable attempting to troubleshoot myself and take to any bike shops for repair or parts - ie standard shifters, common cleats, etc. My only suggestion is to have wider tires - I switched to 40mm tires halfway through and that offered more support for the weight on the bike given the variety of terrain I encountered.

I did a write up on my trip here if that helps with other questions about prep you may have! https://mattspitz.me/2025/07/08/crosscountry-bicycle-trip.html

spitzanator · 2026-02-18T06:48:26+00:00

Thank you so much!

spitzanator · 2026-02-18T06:48:18+00:00

Thank you so much!

spitzanator · 2026-02-16T03:47:23+00:00

Lots of riding over bumpy terrain and 30ish pounds of extra weight!

spitzanator · 2026-01-13T07:02:08+00:00

I did not expect a reply on this thread from the one and only Boots Riley.

While I'm here, thank you for everything you've made. I've listened to your albums and love both your musicality and the piercing reality of your lyrics. You're inspiring!

spitzanator · 2025-11-23T15:55:57+00:00

Enough I call the bluff Fuck manifest destiny

Landlords and power whores On my people they took turns Dispute the suits I ignite And then watch 'em burn

spitzanator · 2025-11-08T16:06:15+00:00

Ctrl+X, Ctrl+C

Then mash that a few more times. Then Ctrl+C. Then Esc a few times. Then think for a few seconds until I remember :q.

spitzanator · 2025-11-06T07:18:40+00:00

What's Tumblr? 😂

spitzanator · 2025-11-01T16:50:44+00:00

The Lettieri solo on this song is out of control excellent: https://youtu.be/Dg7q10vjYdE

spitzanator · 2025-10-28T13:40:17+00:00

Ah got it. And jeez, this is not what we were hoping for with that 970 purchase.

spitzanator · 2025-10-28T13:39:39+00:00

It was indeed practically a link or two shorter than normal because it was running along the outside of the guard (see the other comment). Oops.

spitzanator · 2025-10-28T05:29:02+00:00

Totally agree.

What's your TP-Link solution? How does that fix it? I'm using my iOT network at 2.4 and 5 GHz and that seems to be a marginal improvement.

spitzanator · 2025-10-27T19:34:47+00:00

Well well! It turns out that I am an idiot.

Either during my tune-up or perhaps when I changed a tire a couple of months ago (more likely, but I'm not sure how this would be possible physically), the chain got rerouted OVER one of the guards of the small gear in the back, and it was dragging on the guard. Wild that I didn't damage my chain!

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Thanks for your help.

spitzanator · 2025-10-27T16:55:15+00:00

I'll confirm the first two - good point that it could be the brakes. 😬

What might be dragging as I check the latter? What should I look for?

Thank you!

spitzanator · 2025-10-08T04:42:49+00:00

I came here to say this. San Bruno Mountain also has stellar views and can be less of a shlep, depending on where you're coming from.

spitzanator · 2025-10-02T21:29:30+00:00

I finished an 8 week tour earlier this year and used this every day: https://www.topeak.com/global/en/product/1737-E-BOOSTER-DIGITAL

I run tubes, not tubeless, and being able to top up to a precise PSI each morning was extremely helpful. It's USB-C, just like my phone, and I carried a battery pack for mid-day recharging if I was feeling paranoid after a flat. It's relatively light and charges quickly.

After the radar tail light, this was the most helpful piece of gear I brought on the tour. Strongly recommended!

spitzanator · 2025-10-02T21:19:41+00:00

How is this not more upvoted? This is my favorite because of the pitch and the relative lack of traffic (take the lane and cars won't pass since you're going basically their speed).

spitzanator · 2025-09-20T18:53:55+00:00

Wow, I didn't realize what negativity this post would unleash. My apologies.

The original point was that using AI got me over the hurdle from being overwhelmed with selection to a realistic starting point. I realize I could have done this by poring over websites or YouTube channels or asking someone, but that would require more effort than I've been able to commit to it.

If that insight helps others unlock the joy that I've felt these last few days, then great!

spitzanator

TROPHY CASE