Five Useful Christmas Gifts for Cyclists

The rush of last minute gift buying is upon us. And buying a gift for a cyclist is quite difficult - especially if you are not a cyclist yourself and you don't want to spend a fortune on high-end equipment.

Cyclists appreciate a useful gift, so here are five ideas for a last minute Christmas gifts for a cyclist.

Handlebar Fancy Wrap
by Andrew Dressel via Wikimedia Commons

1. Bar tape or handlebar grips - Both the tape on a road bike and grips on a flat bar bike deteriorate over time and need to be replaced. A fresh and good bar tape or grips is a great gift for every cyclist, useful and always welcome. Just choose a good product. There are a lot of unwritten rules about color coordination between the saddle, frame and tape/grips, but it's a gift - have fun with any color that is in any way present on the bike.

Cycle Computer mounts

2. Cycling Computer mount - if your favorite cyclist uses a cycling computer, it's probably mounted on the stem or on the bar with the standard mount. There are better alternatives, like mounts from better material (aluminium), nicer colors and better position - bringing the cycling computer in front of the handlebar. Just make sure you know which cycling computer your cyclist uses - there are different mounts for different brands.

3. Cycling Computer rubber bump protector - the cycling computers tend to be dropped, crashed, splashed with copious amounts of water and otherwise abused. And they also tend to come in 2 -3 standard colors. You can surprise your favorite cyclist with a better protection for their number cruncher, and add some color coordination to the black or blue brick that hovers on their stems/bars. Again, make sure you know which model of cycling computer you are buying the protector for.

4. Water bottle (a bidon in french) - A cyclist who doesn't use water bottles doesn't go very far. And the plastic containers also suffer from all kinds of abuse - drops, kicks, crashes, mud splashes, not being cleaned regularly etc. So a refresh is always nice. If possible, go for an insulated version - these are more expensive but will be appreciated very much. Make sure you buy a water bottle for a bicycle - not for running. The water bottles for running don't fit the bottle cages on a bike.

Athletic Facilities by Texas A&M University
via Wikimedia Commons

5. Winter gym voucher - for the cyclist and friend (possibly you) - bad weather tends to put cyclists off regular training. In these conditions their entire training program suffers, but they won't admit it. Cyclists are outdoor animals and they tend to avoid the gym - especially not alone. So give them a gym voucher and get one for you too. You'll keep the cyclist in top shape, and you'll both have someone to support you in not giving up on the gym through the winter.


Have any other useful git ideas for a cyclist? Share with us in the comments!

Share on Google Plus

About Bozidar Spirovski