Published by Lyn on 27 April 2016
Orderly chaos has descended on my back jersey pocket after Santa brought a Rapha Liberty Essentials Case (or a posh cycling wallet) for Christmas.
Rapha Liberty Essentials Case
RRP £45
Website
Until now, I’ve generally been in the habit of stuffing my spare inner tube, tyre leavers, phone, money, snack (and whatever else fits) into my back jersey pockets.
Fortunately, Wise Husband foresaw that this was a recipe for disaster for an already disorganised cycle traveller (or maybe he just got tired of waiting for me to load my pockets, or bored of hearing how I’d forgotten my inner tube and how I’d just use his if I got a flat).
Anyway, a Rapha Liberty cycling wallet appeared under the Christmas tree – a cycling extravagance I'd have never countenanced – and a state of organised chaos has now descended on at least one element of my life as a cyclist.
When I’m day-riding I use it for a spare inner tune, and credit card/cash. (It’ll also take a standard sized phone or iPhone 5 or 6, though not at the same time as an inner tube).
When cycle touring, it’s home to credit cards/cash, a pen and a few pieces of folded note paper, plus train tickets and other bits and pieces I generally need regular or fast access to (the inner tube is consigned to the bottom of the pannier, where I hope to never need to find it).
The wallet fits snugly into my back jersey pocket, making it possible for me to keep all my ‘regular stuff’ in one place and ready to ride.
It's stylish, and made from cotton canvas with a protective PVC coating (the sweaty patches on my back are yet to seep through the outer layer, though Rapha is at pains to point out on its website that the case it not in fact waterproof). The lining inside is polyester.
Inside is spacious with three compartments: a zipped section for coins (where I also keep my bike lock key when touring), plus a divider that splits the main body of the wallet into two. This is handy for keeping cards and tickets separate, or for keeping cards/cash sectioned off from the inner tube, and reducing the risk of everything coming out with the tube if you’re a bit clumsy like me.
Aside from being just big enough and versatile enough to house the key bits and peices I need for whatever type of riding I’m doing, the compartments are the best thing about it (a lack of compartments being the only gripe I have with my otherwise excellent Ortleib panniers).
It comes in a variety of colours – and I see from the Rapha website that my blue and black spotty number has already been superceded. One day I might just be able to keep up with fashion trends (but I doubt it).
Rapha Liberty Essentials Case
RRP £45
Website
