I'm not sure. I was testing out my old iPod so I only put 10 songs on just to see if it worked with the fresh battery and SD card storage I installed. Apparently I cooked the motherboard in such a way that the audio doesn't work. It's a somewhat common problem according to the internet.
I've got my own server but I wanted to give this a try for fun anyway. iTunes seems to have no problem using a library that lives on a local server and syncing it to an iPod. I'm guessing you need a windows computer or mac to run iTunes though, it's been over a decade since I last tried to get it to work on a Linux machine
I agree. I have several timbuk2 bags and the only one with significant damage is the pet carrier that my cat clawed the shit out of. The company repaired it for like $10 to cover the shipping
Can confirm, SGI still exists in Saskatchewan. It is definitely more than a couple hundred bucks a year but it is nice knowing that they don't make a profit. They sent everyone a rebate a few years ago because they had a surplus
Arkel makes some excellent quality bags. There are at least a couple racks made in Canada but they aren't exactly your typical panier racks. Mica cycles makes the rat tail rack for bike packing, it has 3-pack mounts on the side and it's meant to have a dry bag lashed to the top. Memento cycles makes a couple models of front rack which are super strong and built for carrying cargo or a large basket.
If you have more questions about either of these, let me know, I own one of each
My understanding is that touring bikes are designed to handle well with a load on the fork