Soon after I bought my first bicycle in 2009, I had my first flat. This was when I learned that every cyclist must carry tyre levers, a spare tube and a pump or CO2 inflator whenever they ride. I put those items into a saddlebag, along with house and car keys. I don’t remember how I carried cash.
I went through a variety of saddlebags over the years. All were like these examples from Topeak and Lezyne.
By 2010 I was using a Rapha Tool Roll.
I liked this tool roll because I could cinch it tight under my saddle. This stopped items in the roll from rattling.
The white leather strap was held tight by teeth in the buckle. This worked well until the teeth lost their sharpness due to use and rust, and the leather strap began to fray. After one too many instances of the strap loosening and an inner tube and tools dropping onto the road while riding, I swapped the Rapha for a Silca Seat Roll Premio.
The advantage of the Premio was its BOA closure system. This was a more secure attachment method than the buckle and strap of the Rapha Tool Roll. I used the Premio from 2016 until 2018.
The reason for switching from the Premio to a Specialized KEG Storage Vessel is in this post from February 2018.
I still use the KEG to hold a spare tube, tyre levers, keys, etc.
As I said at the top of this post, I don’t remember how I carried cash and a credit card in my early days of cycling. It would not have been long before I bought my first Rapha Rainproof Essentials case.
Over the next decade, that first Essentials Case was augmented by some others in different colours.
In 2018, I bought a Silca Phone Wallet. I had started doing multi-day credit card touring rides. I needed a waterproof rather than just a water-resistant wallet.
The Phone Wallet had an internal dry bag, making it ideal for protecting my mobile phone and cash. The downside was that the phone wallet was bulky. It only saw use on multi-day rides.
I stopped carrying my Essentials Case in a jersey pocket in 2018. That is when I discovered Cargo Bib Shorts with mesh pockets on the legs. No more struggling to take my wallet out of a jersey pocket while pedalling. And no more unloading a jersey pocket before settling into a chair.
The Rapha Rainproof Essentials cases were my go-to cycling wallets until the end of 2022. That is when I got an iPhone 14. The iPhone 14 was just a tad too long for the Essentials Case. So I ordered a Rainproof Essentials Case – Large. And broke out the Silca Phone Wallet, which is big enough to hold an iPhone 14, while waiting for delivery of the large Essentials Case.
Early this year, I did the Audax Pink Ride 7.0. Each participant was given a clear plastic Cycling Wallet to stop their brevet cards from getting wet.
The pouch is big enough to hold my iPhone 14. I left my large Essentials Case at home and did the Pink Ride with my mobile phone, brevet card, cash and credit card in the Cycling Wallet.
I like not just being able to see my mobile phone screen through the wallet. I can also operate the touch screen through the wallet. No need to take the mobile phone out to use it.
The Audax Randonneurs Malaysia Cycling Wallet has become my method of choice for carrying whatever doesn’t go into my Specialized KEG Storage Vessel.
A new way to carry things on my bike might be around the corner. Evolution never stops.
Old Roots, New Routes 