I keep hearing stuff like "Put it in a thin bag so you can hear it ring." Or "put it in a holster on your camelback."

I can't even understand the mentality behind this type of thinking. My cell phone is for ME to CALL OUT ON if I need to. It is not for everyone else to call me on while I'm riding. I would NEVER answer the phone while riding even if it did ring. And, my cell phone is my business phone. To top it off, I usually ride during business hours. Can't get me? Tough, leave a message and I'll call you back after I shower.

When it comes to cell phones, turn it off, chuck it into your jersey pocket and go ride. No plastic baggies, no ringtones, no clip-on gizmos, no distractions. Go ride. Anything else is just taking your worries with you.

There are a number of ways to carry a cell phone. Let's first consider whether or not you're the type who likes to both make and/or take calls while out riding and those who don't.

FOR THOSE WHO LIKE TO MAKE AND/OR TAKE CALLS

1. Put your cell phone in your jersey pocket, belt or waistband clip, or pants pocket.
2. If there's rain in the weather forecast, put it in a ziplock bag and put it in your jersey pocket.
3. If not #1, put it in front basket or bag.

FOR THOSE WHO DON'T ACTIVELY USE CELL PHONES WHILE RIDING

1. Turn cell phone off.
2. Put cell phone into a ziplock bag.
3. Put bagged cell phone into bag or storage area of choice. (e.g. seat bag, handlebar bag, backpack, messenger bag, camelbak trunk bag, panier,etc)


All of these are possibilities. When I ride, I regard the cell phone as a tool for safety or emergency purposes. I put mine in a ziplock bag and put that into a trunk bag on most of the rides I take. For others, I put it into a holster and clip it to my belt or waistband. When I'm not riding, I either carry it in the holster or I leave it on my desk at my home.

Depends on the phone, had a nice little Kyocera phone that I was happy with, but it died from hand sweat. Now have a dead basic Nokia 1600, its been forgotten in a jersey pocket in the rain, twice, no problem.

If you ride in a group a cell phone is a nice addition to your riding equipment. Most of our riders have cell phones and they have used all the methods mentioned so far. We have on hold out that we keep trying to get to buy maybe a prepaid phone. Here is our logic. We are often on a long ride and sometimes the A group sets a pace that put quite a gap between it and the B group. This one rider takes a bit longer to warm up on a ride than the rest of us but he has stamina. He will often get dropped in the early part of the ride and sometimes the B group will pick him up. But every so often he takes off on a short cut and catches up to the A group and finishes the ride with them. The problem is if he has an equipment failure and he has taken one of those shortcuts we have no way of knowing if he needs assistance. If he has a cell phone at least he could call for help and some of us could “answer the call” and go to his aid.

Like someone said, cell phones have become a safety tool.

Go to a local tech store or failmart, target, or w/e, with 15 dollars. Buy a pay as you go phone.
If it gets wet, crushed, lost, stolen, abducted by aliens, or becomes sentient you're only out 15 bucks. Stash it in a zip lock anywhere along with twenty bucks for a taxi/food/tire/lady of the night.

Give the number to family only, in case there's an emergency while you're out.

I keep mine in a Camelbak phone holster, ironically on my Hydrapak.

Two reasons, I have different rings for different folks. If my boss calls while I'm out on a ride off of business hours, it's an emergency. If that hot little brunette from the bar last weekend calls, you bet your ass I'm taking the call.

If it's just a friend or someone I don't care to hear from, F 'em. Also, my day is pretty packed so my riding time is usually overlapped with making plans for the evening etc. I can't hear it ring in my jersey pocket, but in a shoulder holster I can decide if it's worth checking or not.

And if it's a picture message from that same hot little brunette... yeah, I'm going to have to check that.

Damn you crackberry.

On a frigid winter day, I would keep it as close to my body as possible, deep to all my layers to keep the battery warm.

I'm guessing you aren't a parent or spouse.

Simply stuck in the jersey pocket for me where I can feel it vibrate.

I usually keep my cell in my saddle bag. One ride about 2-1/2 years ago I switched it to my shorts pocket because I was expecting my wife to call. Naturally, I crashed and hit the pavement directly on the phone. Still have a large lump on my thigh. Since then everything goes in the saddle bag.

Incidentally, the phone still worked, just the display was trashed. Of course I couldn't call anyone for help because I couldn't read the phone display and had not memorized their phone numbers.

Recently, I was out riding with a riding partner and all of a sudden her cell phone rang. She pulled over to the side of the road, stopped, pulled her cell phone out from her jersey pocket and answered the call.

As she did so, I began thinking if the place where I keep mine is the right one after all. I generally carry a cell phone while out riding in case I absolutely NEED to use it. However, I've carried it in my trunk bag where I wouldn't hear its ringtone and would be unable to answer it. Only a very short list of people who aren't bothersome know its number. Perhaps the shirt pocket is a better idea.

i keep mine right in front of me
https://www.bikeforums.net/showpost.p...3&postcount=38

AMEN!!! I leave mine at home as well. Besides most places I ride have spotty if any cell service. Then I have to worry about it getting wet or bonked. I can't hear it ring anyway while riding nor want to be bothered, so it stays home. If I need a phone badly I just find a pay phone or someone with a cell phone!? So I take a calling card and some change.

I wear Wrangler or Dickies shorts most of the time and they have cell phone pockets that work well, unless you have a slick-side phone, then the phone may slip out while seated in certain car seats/couches...

I just keep my phone in one of the side pockets of my panniers, turn the ringer to it's highest point, and be loud enough to scare the beegeezus out of old women and children who happen to venture too close.

Saw someoune out power walking while on a ride while talking on a cell phone. Half hour later when I looped past she was doing the same thing. Lesson: Never let the phone leave your ear.

A couple of the posts reminded me of a cautionary incident. While skiing, I put a phone in a pocket that seemed perfect for it on the front of the ski suit, it was angled down to the left and just under the left nipple. Wiped out big time, phone survived, but that separated rib, took weeks to heal! OW! OW!