How to Carry a Mobile Phone, Cash, etc. on a Ride?

Graphic courtesy of theweightlosscyclist

The list of items one should carry on a bike ride, in addition to water, and perhaps food, is quite extensive.  A spare tube, tire levers, patches, multi-tool, hand pump and / or CO² canister and inflator, mobile phone, cash, credit card, ATM card, identification card, and insurance card.

Having decided what needs to come with you on a bike ride, you need to figure out how to carry it all.

If you are a purist and / or anal, you might refer to The Rules, as enumerated by those cycling disciples of the highest order, the Velominati.  In particular:

Rule #29:  No European Posterior Man-Satchels (known by mere mortals as saddle bags)
Rule #30:  No frame-mounted pumps
Rule #31:  Spare tubes, multi-tools and repair kits should be stored in jersey pockets

The Velominati rules currently number 95.  The first of which is Obey The Rules.

Rule #29  Regular readers have seen many photographs of my bikes, all showing a saddle bag or seat roll attached.
Rule #30  Two years ago I wrote a post about the pump I use.  I still carry a Lezyne Pressure Drive, attached to a bracket fixed to the frame.
Rule #31  I carry a spare tube, tire levers, patches, and multi-tool in my current favorite seat roll, the Silca Seat Roll Premio.

So much for the Velominati rules then.

Not having the items needed to fix a flat tire in my jersey pockets means that they are available to carry the rest of the stuff in the list at the top of this post.  These are all small items that require a case to keep them together and secure.

For a couple of years I have used a Rapha Essentials Case.

Photograph courtesy of rapha.cc

The case fits my iPhone 6.  There is an inner sleeve pocket for cards and cash, and on the opposite side there a zippered pocket for coins.  I put my car keys in that zippered pocket too.

At 155mm x 100mm, and about 30mm thick when filled with my stuff, the Essentials Case fits nicely into the center pocket of my jersey, without making me look like a camel.

Rapha says you can get an inner tube and multi tool in there too.  I haven’t tried.  That extra stuff would make the case too bulky for my liking.

Last Christmas the Essentials Case was augmented by the Bellroy x MAAP All-Conditions Phone Pocket.  This is a most excellent present from my son Arif.

Photograph courtesy of silodrome.com

The Bellroy x MAAP case, at 156mm x 92mm, is slightly narrower than the Rapha case.  Still roomy enough for the iPhone 6.  The All-Conditions Phone Pocket has two internal pockets for cards and cash.

The Bellroy website says that the inner pockets can hold coins and keys as well.  Just note that those pockets do not have zips, so heavier objects like coins and keys can fall out unexpectedly.

The All-Conditions Phone Pocket is my prefered case.  Mostly because the case looks great sitting on a table during café stops.

The Essentials Case still gets the nod when I need to carry car keys.  The thinner, more flexible leather, and the zippered inner pocket, accomodate keys and a fob that the All-Conditions Phone Pocket cannot.

So I roll with a pump on the frame, puncture repair items in a seat roll, and mobile phone, cash, cards, and keys when necessary, in a case.

Infinitely preferable to this alternative.

Photograph courtesy of cyclingtips.com