Storing money in a secret place on the bike
 

So for a number of years now, I've been in the habit of storing money, and often spokes, inside my handlebars. Both have come in handy, but especially the money.

I'm planning to replace the down-tube shifters with bar-end shifters on my load carrying bike, since shifting with lots of weight in the front feels a bit unnerving, although, since I haven't had any close calls, perhaps I shouldn't worry about it. So I'm wondering whether there are any other good places to stash cash.

The advantages of the handlebars for storing things are as follows:
a) The money can be accessed without tools, and doesn't depend on tape or adhesives to hold it.
b) They, and thus the things inside them, aren't likely to be stolen.
c) The money won't fall out.

Any thoughts?

If I publicized it here on teh interwebs, it wouldn't be secret any more, now would it. ;)

I keep a twenty dollar bill and a quarter in my tube patch kit. I've never needed it but Murphy's law is always lurking.

What is the advantage of storing money in your bike over in your pocket? What if the bike is stolen? (even though the thief will not know there is money inside)

That did happen once.
But I don't usually carry money with me, and often wouldn't think of bringing it, and might spend it when I didn't really need to. Having it on the bike means it's always there, but not too accessible. The problem with keeping the money in a patch kit is that someone might steal my bike bag. Perhaps I shouldn't worry about that, since it hasn't happened, but I did have a pump stolen once. I sometimes carry my tool kit with me, if I'll be gone awhile.

put a little cash in your pocket. no pocket, put it inside your shorts, on your hip. (assuming you use cycling shorts)

I have ridden with my wallet on one hip and my cell on the other. didnt even know they were there once I started pedaling. In fact, I nearly forgot they were there until I took my shorts off...

At first I thought this was a crazy thing to do but I've changed my mind. If you're in that type of situation where having money is not a daily biggie, then I can see this.

Of course for this to work, you would also have to be in a place where the likelihood of your bike being stolen is a remote possibility.

Whatever the case, if we're talking a token amount, then why not? If your bike gets stolen then so what. It's not that they've stolen your life savings or anything.

so do i.

So that explains why some jacka** stole the Cinelli bar end plugs off my bike while I was in a convenience store!:mad:
They though it was *your* bike.:lol:

Bad. You are just giving the thieves one more reason to steal our bikes (or bike parts)! That is perhaps an even better reason for them! :mad:

The Truvativ cranks on my RANS bikes have an easily-accessed hollowed out hiding spot inside the external bearing bottom bracket. I'd need a cork or rubber plug to keep the cash from falling out onto the ground, though. Loose change would be kinda noisy, I would guess.

Hmmm... It seems that a roll of nickels would fit in there nicely.

What's the quarter for? I have seen a pay phone in forever...and last time I saw one I swear it was more than 25 cents.

Inside the seatpost comes to mind as a possibility.

Sakkit touring cycles used to be built with a security plug in the lower part of the seattube above the bottom bracket. i believe this frame fitting could be purchased and retrofitted on a steel frame if you were willing to sink the expense into the modification.

not the frame, but inside a frame pump would be an easy fit for some paper lucre.

True, true. I got separated from my dinner date last week, and when I stepped into a market to buy a Reese's cup, I asked the teller where the nearest payphone was.
"You don't have a cellphone?! Even homeless people have cellphones!" :lol:

(And now we all have an excuse to talk to ourselves at full volume in public.)

I use a Money Belt, and wear it beneath my clothing , on bike tours I have a mesh singlet with a tunnel sewn
across the back, so the strap does not have to be tight around my waist.

The rest of the time the cash , check book, D&C Card and my spare folding reading glasses are in my handle bar bag ..

Comes off the bike when I stop.

I keep my credit card number in my brain. I've had to use it (the number, not my brain) on a number of occasions.

To date, nobody has ever accessed my brain looking for anything useful.


Since bikes are so easily stolen, I've never understood the principle of hiding money on a bike. It's like hiding a $20 bill inside a $100bill -- thieves might not see the money you've hidden, but they're happy enough just to get what's on the outside.

BTW, lots of merchants will take a credit card charge with just a number -- you also need your expiration date and security code.

I see bar end plugs all over the road, I wouldn't stash money in the barends.

Old habits die hard. Funny that you ask that because I always bring along my cell phone when I'm out riding. :)

I'm a grown man,why would I want to keep money on my bike?Do you pin a note on your shirt too in case you get lost?

I put money in my wallet or my pocket and keep tools in my tool pouch.

Perhaps folded tightly in a sandwich baggie, then duct-taped to a chain stay. It would look to all the world like you're just protecting the paint from chain slap. In a similar vein, if you finish your bar tape with electrical tape, maybe you could tuck a bill between layers. Or maybe even under the bar tape, if it's really just for emergencies.

What emergency? somebody steals my wallet? If I'm in the city,I'll go get more money.If I'm in the middle of nowhere,who's going to roll me? Somebodys going to stop their car in the middle of nowhere to steal my wallet and leave the bicycle and all my stuff?

And of course you never mess up and forget to take your wallet and put in in your Jersey pocket, or have a week from hell at work and barely can make to the Saturday ride start, never even thinking that your last cash went to the pizza delivery guy, let alone worrying about stopping at the ATM on the way to a ride start.

Having a bit of cash stashed can sure make things easier. On the bike is as good a place as any. Blow out a sidewall in hte middle of nowhere and having the funds to have some food and drink can be the difference between a only mildly frustrating wait with a view (Any bike time lost is by definition at least a little frustrating) and a truely horrid wait.

There is such a new fangled thing called a 'wallet" . . . stick it in your jersey or shorts pocket.

I didn't expect so many people to be hostile to the idea of having some emergency cash on your bike. It's just a $20, if your bike gets stolen, you have much bigger things to worry about. On the other hand, if you just happen to forget your wallet, a $20 stashed somewhere could be very important.

In any case, an extra water bottle can be a nice place to store stuff like money, keys, etc. A cheap water bottle isn't going to attract the attention of 95% of thieves (a pump... I figure there are at least a few thieves who probably thing a mini pump is some extraordinary feat of engineering and therefore worth money) and nobody expects anything but water to be inside of them. Specifically I recall a thread from Commuting where a rider going home at some ungodly hour was stopped and shaken down by the police (for no real reason other than people out at 3 am are a little suspicious by nature). I believe he consented to a search or something... Point is, the cop checked his pockets and his seat bag or pannier very carefully but never checked his water bottle (where he had his keys and other items). Think of all the drugs you could fit in a water bottle!

What I say, too. Put it in your pocket. If somebody steals your bike, you'll have money for Starbuck's while you wait for a ride. If they steal your pants, you can still ride home.

I keep a baggie in my jersey pocket, it contains a tube, two CO2's, a patch kit, and $5. It came in really handy last week when I did an impromptu century and had no food.

I'm not trying to be hostile,I just don't get it.I can understand putting your I.D. in the frame if it gets stolen.

I wear normal clothes,maybe that's why I don't get it.I've "lost" my wallet once in 50 years,at gunpoint.

That explains a lot. How far do you ride? Many riders who wear cycling specific clothes will do a 30-50 mile ride on the spur of the moment (or for some the better chance for issues is a group ride that starts earlier then they would like). Either way forgetting to transfer a wallet from the pants pocket to the jersey pocket is pretty easy. Heck I've seen riders who drive to a early ride start forget to take their water bottles, either left in the fridge at home or if running late left in the car.

Somehow many of the posters on this thread have gone off into left field about crime. The issue is not crime, it is oops no wallet or oh crap only 2 bucks in the wallet. And guess what, 95% of the time you find out about either of these only when you are about to pay and reach for the missing wallet or find there is no cash. Things are getting better, but there are still a few places that have minimums for plastic and a handful that do not accept it at all.