It’s that time of year where the nights are closing in, the days are much colder and suddenly it’s a lot harder to get the motivation to head outside to cycle. Luckily, Christmas is around the corner so we can treat ourselves (or be treated to) something nice. Being cyclists, we get a pretty clear trend of presents from family, friends and work colleagues – anything with a bike on seems to be an appropriate gift.
There have been some ‘hilarious’ bike related gifts the last couple of years – Bike Balls are the obvious ones (picture below) and whilst they probably have some practical safety value, they’re very old hat now we’re in 2018!
I do have some other suggestions though…
Christmas Gifts for Cyclists 2018
Summit Finish Summit Markers
Firstly something a little bit different – for the cyclist who likes a climb, there’s these 11cm or 17cm tall Summit Markets from SummitFinish.co.uk – there’s quite a few of the staple climbs like Alpe d’Huez or the Stelvio from the Giro d’Italia. What’s really nice though is that you can get custom ones made up.
If the cyclist you know has been somewhere else and conquered a climb on say the Haute Route or L’Etape that’s not included, it’s easy to get one made up. For me, my biggest French climb I’ve personally ridden is Le Puy Mary, so I’d be wanting that for sure – I did it from the D17 side anyone wants to get one made for me!
Personalised Model Cyclist
Something that goes well with a personalised mile marker is a personalised toy cyclist. These originally come from a child’s game from many many years ago but have achieved a new popularity in recent years – mainly because they’re colourful and decorative.
There’s plenty of stock ones from various teams as well if someone’s a big fan of a particular team or has a matching retro jersey – personally getting one hand-painted to a club jersey design makes a great Christmas gift for the cyclist you know.
Personalised Model Cyclist – £21
Crankalicious Cycle Care Set
It’s pretty common to get people a ‘smelly set’ with some shower gel, deodorant and after-shave – normally it’s not supposed to be meant as a hint but everyone knows a rider whose bike needs a good solid clean. This gift is the equivalent of the ‘smelly set’, just for someone’s bike. Alternatively, anyone with a fancy bike that deserves a bit of the ‘spa’ treatment will appreciate the range of goodies in this set.
The set includes:
- Mud Honey – Foaming Bucket Wash 100ml
- Pineapple Express – Rapid Acting Bike Cleaner 100ml
- Limon Velo – Grease, Gunk and Grime Remover 100ml
- Mayo Jaune – Intensive Frame Polish 100ml
- Gumchained Remedy – High-Performance Chain Cleaner 100ml
- Epic Hide – Leather and Vinyl Cleanser 100ml
- Enduro – Long-Lasting Frame Sealant 100ml
Crankalicious Cycle Care Set – £25 (original link no longer live but product still available)
RidePac Belgium Case
As someone who’s had a phone escape a jersey pocket whilst having fun sprinting, a good jersey case can help protect your valuables from flying out at speed. I’m always afraid when riding in a jersey without a zip pocket that my house key will disappear, probably when pulled out accidentally when reaching for my phone mid-ride. The Ridepac allows you to keep everything in one place and kept tidily too.
Rather than just simply being a case, the Ridepac has a zip pocket and an elasticated pocket on the inside so the important things can be kept inside safe and sound and phones protected from potential smashes. Perfect for rides with cafe stops, everything will still be reassuringly there once you arrive. There are lots of designs but this one is my favourite.
Cyclist’s Bucket List: A Road Bike Journal
It’s probably not a shock (given that you’re reading something I’ve written about cycling) that I quite like writing about my cycling experiences. This nice looking journal is a way to write about your own experiences, whilst simultaneously having a bucket list of cycling milestones to tick-off along the way. The list ranges from sportives completed to climbs conquered and also things everyone can do by just simply riding.
Nicely illustrated, there’s plenty of pages to add your thoughts, write down some of the details from Strava and include some of those Instagram links to your pictures. In my case, I’d be including the link to my blog where my public thoughts have ended up. Some of the bucket list items I can tick-off right away are Liege-Bastogne-Liege, London-Paris and the Trouee d’Arenberg.
Pro Cycling Top Trumps
Top Trumps is a game I played a lot as a kid (and won a lot at…) so it’s nice to see someone having a go at producing a version for pro cycling. There are two packs for the 2018 men’s peloton, a women’s peloton pack and then fun ones like a retro Legends pack and one including epic Climbs. Key statistics for rider skills like Time Trial ability, Classics skill and Sprint prowess allow you to try and win all of the other cards.
Once you’ve learned the deck, you’ll be formidable and everyone will be both amazed and frustrated at your ability to win despite calling out seemingly low numbers – it’s the non-gambling equivalent of counting cards! An added bonus to the packs are the rider designs – seemingly a Playmobil man was used as a template but each rider is recognisable, particularly if they’ve got a defining facial feature!
Pro Cycling Top Trumps 2018 Bundle – £15
If I got all of these in my stocking this year, I’d be happy…hint hint!
