Buying a gift for someone is never a simple task, is it?

Doesn’t matter whether it’s a Christmas gift, birthday gift, Mother’s day (or Father’s day) gift or, frankly, any of the more weird and wonderful gifting occasions throughout the year (don’t forget “Hug A News Anchor Day” on April 4th)

But, don’t worry! If you find yourself in the position of needing to buy a gift for a cyclist – for any occasion – then I’ve got a list for you in a moment of some fantastic gift recommendations for bike riders.

I’ve then got a brief guide for you of the different categories of gifts that all bike riders love to receive. These are the kinds of gifts that they either can’t justify buying for themselves (like new bike tech). Or things that, whilst they might already have one, it will be worn out, or threadbare, or ancient, or sub-standard, or all of the above.

Like socks, for example. Ever received those as a gift? I think everyone has at one time or another. You unwrap the gift, see what it is, say “um, gee, thanks, I guess”, and then, when no-one’s looking shove them to the back of the closet never to be seen again. Cycling socks are different. Every cyclist will have multiple pairs and I can guarantee that every single pair will be worn through at the toes or the heels. Give a cyclist a new pair of socks and they’ll say “well, I’ve already got a few pairs and didn’t really need a new pair, but…” and then they’ll quietly throw out all the nasty old worn socks and wear your new gift FOR EVER. Well, at least until the next time that someone is generous enough to get them a fresh pair. Pro Tip – buying new cycling socks for your gift recipient every year will guarantee you a special place in the their heart.

Enough rambling, here are my top recommendations for cycling gifts. Take and look and then we’ll dive into the gift categories that bike riders can’t get enough of.

---

How to choose a great gift for a bike rider

What kinds of gifts do cyclists like? Well, there are a few different categories of things that they like. I’ve classified these into three distinct categories although, in reality, you get some crossover between the groups. That aside, the categories are New Bike Tech, Bike Consumables, and Conversation Starters.

Let’s take a look at the details.

Drool-worthy new bike tech

Many sports and hobbies have their own version of tech gadgets that the participants love to get their hands on. This applies equally (if not more so) to cycling. Bikes themselves are high-tech enough these days. You get fancy carbon-fiber frames that are superlight. You get fancy electronic components that attach to the bike and tell you how much power you’re pushing through the pedals. The latest trend (and one that’s gathering pace) is for fully electric bikes. These are bikes that have an electric motor and battery fitted to them. Turn the pedals and the motor kicks in. Whizzing you up hills, speeding down the other side.

Cyclists drool over this stuff. From our perspective though it’s a little tricky to buy for them. They’ll have definite ideas about what they want and they’ll probably have specific size requirements. Thankfully there’s another whole subset of bike tech that’s easy to buy for them and they’ll love to get. Notable mentions here include electronic gear like bike computers and bone conduction headphones. You’ve also got plenty of non-electronic options with butt-saving suspension seatposts, CO2 tire inflators that use compressed gas rather than muscle to pump tires, bike multitools, and new super-bright bike lights.

Cyclists can’t get enough tech.

Bike consumables AKA cycling gear that wears out

We’ve already touched on this category. It’s a great option because you can see the kind of things that they like – maybe they love green bike water bottles – then you can look at the kind of wear and tear that those bike items have received at the hands of your cyclist. Hint – look closely at their existing water bottles and you’ll see that they all have ingrained dirt and probably a layer of impossible-to-reach gunk round the lid. Yuck. Time for a new one, I think.

Cycling “conversation starters”

Here’s a little insight into the personality type of a cyclist. If you know your cyclist well then you might already have some experience of this.

The thing is, they love their hobby (cycling) and they LOVE talking about it to anyone within earshot (and even some people who are just too far away, forcing the cyclist to raise their voices a notch, or even shout, to make sure that everyone, and I mean everyone, can hear them spout forth about their sport of choice.

To make this easier for them, it’s useful for them to have one or two “conversation starters”. These are everyday objects that are branded as cycling items. Examples include tumblers with bikes on them, or BBQ aprons with “World’s Greatest Cyclist” printed across the front.

These are much-loved by cyclists because they can stand there, in their BBQ apron and holding their bike tumbler, and wait for an unsuspecting person to wander by. Unsuspecting person says, “oh, do you like cycling?”. At which point the cyclist pounces and starts to regale the unsuspecting person with details of their hobby, where they’ve been on their bike recently, what kind of bike (or bikes) they have, their favorite types of padded cycling shorts…

Whilst the unsuspecting person may not thank you for this kind of “conversation starter” gift, the cyclist certainly will.