Gear Update - February 27, 2026

In this blog post I discuss changes to my gear since I published Gear Update - December 15, 2025. I'm doing everything I need to do to have my gear ready for Denver to Washington, D.C. 2026.

Electrolyte

Before my cross-country trip in 2024 I made about 8 cups of electrolyte powder using the recipe on the LMNT website which you can find here. In December of 2025 I had used all but about a cup of the powder, so I made another batch of about 6.75 cups. For precise measurement of the ingredients I bought a digital scale.

Shorts and leggings

In December of 2010 I bought a pair of Specialized bib shorts. The fabric was beautiful but the chamois (pad) felt like a diaper. Furthermore the shorts, like all standard bike shorts, made no provision for male genitals. I think I wore them for at most two short rides.

In September of 2013 I discovered Ergowear shorts which had a pouch for male genitals and were unpadded. In the next few years I bought several pairs of Ergowear shorts and also a pair of their tights. But then Ergowear moved the pouch away from its anatomically-correct location, so in April of 2019 I had Alteration Specialists make me two pairs of shorts based on the design of the original Ergowear shorts at a cost of about $100 per pair. When I needed to replace them I had Alteration Specialists make me another pair in July of 2023, but now the price was about $350! In December of 2025 I learned that Ergowear had restored the pouch to its original location. I bought two pairs of Ergowear MAX BOLD Bikers shorts for a total of just $81, and two pairs of Ergowear MAX BOLD Leggings for a total of just $104.

The new shorts (and also the leggings) have a problem in that the waist is the widest part of the garment, but the pelvis is widest lower than the waist, so the shorts tend to slip down. (Most men's jeans have the same design flaw, but men's dress pants do not.) I will find someone to take in the back by cutting a V out of the fabric. The shorts will then look like those on the left (which I folded to indicate the alteration) rather than those on the right.

Electric pump for tires

It takes a long time and is hard work to use my Lezyne hand pump to fill a tire after repairing a flat. It's also a nuisance to every day remove the pump from the frame and reattach it in order to top off the air in my tires. To solve those problems I bought a Prestaflator GO Lite electric pump. It weighs just 4.7 ounces, measures about 3"x2"x1", and costs just $79. It fills one of my 700c x 25mm tires from 0 to 90 psi in just 60 seconds!

Included with this pump is a 20-inch USB-C to USB-C cable used to charge its battery. I can use that cable to connect to my computer, but not to the USB-A chargers I carry with me. The battery for my air mattress pump came with a 12-inch USB-C to USB-C cable. Rather than using that cable, I bought a pack of four USB-C to micro USB adapters, one of which I would attach to one of the several micro-USB to USB-A cables I carry. I tried to use those adapters to charge the Prestaflator GO Lite (and also the air mattress pump) but none of them worked, even though I'm quite sure at least one of them did work previously. Very strange! So I will carry the 12-inch USB-C to USB-C cable that came with the air mattress pump and use it to charge both pumps.

I will continue to carry my Lezyne hand pump in case the Prestaflator GO Lite fails.

Repair of cycling shoes

I've been wearing the same pair of Sidi Genius 5 cycling shoes since I bought them in November of 2010. Over the years I've replaced all the replaceable parts several times, and have also repaired the shoes several times. The latest repair I made was to the front of both shoes, using Gear Aid Aquaseal FD Repair Adhesive.

Although I was advised by someone at Sidi to use Gear Aid Aquaseal FD Repair Adhesive because of its flexibility rather than J-B Weld epoxy, I suspect the FD Repair Adhesive will soon be worn away in the same way the fronts of the shoes were worn away. If that happens I will repeat the repair with the epoxy which I expect to be more durable.

Repair of bag for spare tire

On Day 22 of Cross Country 2024 I wrote about the hole I wore in the bag protecting my spare tire when my rear rack broke and the bag was dragging on my rear tire. I have repaired the hole with Gear Aid Tenacious Tape Silnylon Patches.

Here's the damage as seen from the outside of the bag.

I turned the bag inside-out...

...so that I could apply some cellphone tape to keep the edges of the damage as close together as possible.

I then inverted the bag and applied a patch on its outside.

I turned the bag inside-out, removed the cellophane tape, and then applied a patch on the inside of the bag.

I also repaired a small hole that had been worn in the bag from the bolt on the end of the velcro strap which holds my satellite communicator. (See this post for details.)

It was initially challenging to remove the backing from a patch, but I found that I could easily insert a pin between the patch and its backing.

It would have been easier to have Jared Baker of Simply Light Designs make me a new bag for $24, but I think you know what I say about maintaining something old rather than buying something new. If not, see Aphorisms and Exhortations.

Strap to secure stuff sacks for water bladder and cold-weather clothing

For Cross Country 2024 I used a pair of Infinity Tool straps to secure the stuff sacks for my water bladder and cold-weather clothing to each other. I lost those straps (I rarely lose anything) and have replaced them with a single 25" Voile strap. After the two stuff sacks are secured to each other, they are carried on top of my trunk bag secured with a pair of 32" Voile rack straps.

FiberFix Emergency Spoke Kit

With the wheels I built in 2019 I’ve had no spoke failures on Big Loop 2019, all the short multi-day trips since 2020, and Cross Country 2024. But I recently broke a spoke on the drive side of my rear wheel I built in 2022. Spoke failure is unlikely, but I take the recent failure as a message to prepare for the next occurrence. I therefore bought a FiberFix Emergency Spoke Kit which makes possible the replacement of a broken spoke on the drive side of the rear wheel without removing the cassette. Removing the cassette is a task that requires the use of two chain whips, tools that are too large to carry. This kit, contained in a tube measuring 2"x0.75", weighing just 0.63 ounces, and costing just $15, is a valuable addition to my gear.

To make sure I know how to use the FiberFix spoke, I used it to replace the broken spoke on the rear wheel I built in 2022. Access to the spoke hole is extremely difficult, so I wrapped the line around another good spoke. I was able to straighten the wheel somewhat by matching the feel of the FiberFix spoke to the other spokes on the drive side, but without adjusting the other spokes I would need to open the rear brakes a lot in order to prevent rubbing.

After installing the FiberFix spoke I removed it and installed a regular spoke.

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