I’d been looking for a bar bag for the gravel bike for a little while when I stumbled across Jango Rolls.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d found the usual brands. Restrap’s bags looked nice. Apidura clearly know what they’re doing. I’m a fan of Alpkit’s bags already, and the Podsacs frame and saddle bag from Planet X have been holding up well. But I wanted a tube. A small tube for GoPros or energy bars. Something that was nice and small, easy to get into and cheap. Cheap was the main factor.
When I reached out to Jim at Jango Rolls, I initially asked him what the dimensions were. For £35, I thought they were reasonable. Jim was keen to see what I thought and, in true Pedal Slip ‘tight Yorkshireman’ fashion, we struck up a swap – his bag for my photos. Sounds fair to me. What I hadn’t imagined is that I’d actually like the tool wallet most. It wasn’t even what I’d asked about. It wasn’t even on the shopping list.
Both bags arrived really quickly. I put the tool wallet to one side whilst I admired the matching bar bag. Bright orange and blue cord. It had to match the gravel bike but also be bright enough. After a while, I thought about what to do with the tool wallet. Initially, I was going to use it as a first aid kit pouch but it seemed daft to take all of the first aid kit out of the original bag to put it in there.
Instead, I figured I might as well actually try it out as a tool wallet. You know, because that’s what it is.
I ended up stuffing it full of the tools I take on every ride, whether that’s on the gravel bike or on the mountain bike. My pump, some tyre levers, zip ties (of course), an ‘essentials only’ first aid kit, and a tubeless repair kit. It all fit easily. I managed to squeeze an energy bar and an inhaler in just for good measure and test it to its fullest capacity.
The tool wallet has actually been the product I’ve sed most out of the two so far. I’d entirely underestimated having all of my essentials pre-packed in a handy little wallet which could just be grabbed when heading out for a spin on the bike. No more searching for that annoying little pump which I’m sure I’d only left in the bottom of the bag from last time… when actually it was in the back of the car all along. Everything now has a place. It’s something so small, and probably so insignificant to most, that’s actually made such a big difference to my day to day riding preparation.
As for the Jango Rolls wallet, well it’s spot on in terms of construction. A hefty cord on the zip to make it easy to open and close with gloves. A decently hefty zip which doesn’t just pop open when I squeeze that extra bar inside. And the fabric certainly seems weighty enough to hold up to some abuse. The colour is nice and bright – although just about any option is available – and I’m very impressed overall. For not a lot of money, you could have something produced in the UK, help out a small business, and make riding preparation that bit easier.
Who knew.