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The Best Value Gifts For Bicyclists
I feel your pain.
My friends, family, and work colleagues seem to have found out somehow that I know some stuff about bikes. I don’t know how. It’s not like I talk about it. Well… not much. Okay, well it’s not like I talk about bikes and cycling and everything to do with bikes and cycling when I’m online.
Well… um… apart from this website, obviously.
Look, the point is that I get asked – a lot – for gift ideas or even get sent out to go and buy a gift for someone.
“What leaving present do you think we should buy for Colin in Accounts? I know you like bikes, and so does he! So you must have loads of ideas for us!”
“Ben, can you pop out and get a birthday gift for Auntie Sarah? She loves bikes, so just get her something that would be useful. Whatever you think….”
So, I know what it’s like to try and find (usually at the last minute as well!) an inexpensive gift that the recipient will really appreciate. It’s a tricky task, isn’t it?
If they’re a cyclist, then they’ve obviously got a bike (often at least one). And anyway, bikes are expensive and don’t generally come within the budget available. But often it appears that everything that IS affordable, is just cheap plastic rubbish that the gift recipient will unwrap, take one look at, say, “Hmm…. thanks…. I guess…. umm…”. And then put it at the very back of one of their drawers that never gets opened, and that’s the last anyone will ever see of it.
But fear not, dear reader! In my years of research, I’ve come up with a list of bike-related gifts that:
- Cyclists love to receive, and that
- They find useful, and that
- Don’t cost the earth
I’ve got some fantastic recommendations for you. Let’s take a look, shall we?
My Top Recommendations
Okay, let’s take a look at these in detail.
I have never met a serious cyclist who has enough cycling jerseys in their closet.
The ones they own are either falling to pieces from being washed so much. Or, they’re in the washing machine. But it’s the kind of thing that you can never justify buying for yourself as it’s a bit of an indulgence to buy a new jersey.
If your gift recipient is female, then choose a jersey that has a women specific cut, like this one. Really cute and a great range of colours to choose from.
It’s the perfect gift and this one from 4uCycling is the perfect price.
Full zip and breathable fabric make this great in all seasons. Plus there’s a choice of either short or long sleeves. Short is great if they live in a warmer location, long if they don’t.
Everyone needs a tool kit to take out with them when they go for a bike ride…. And yet most people don’t have one!
A kit like this one is perfect for small repairs and adjustments when you’re out on the road. Plus it’s got tire levers (which you use when you’re fixing punctures), which are very useful. The tool kit all packs up really small, so it’s easy to take with you.
If you have extra to spend in the budget, then I’d recommend combining the tool kit with this bike bag. This fits on to the underside of the saddle and it is small enough to fit the tool kit, and easy to forget it’s even there. No excuse for them to take it out with them.
Cyclists like to tell people about their cycling. They talk about it at family gatherings, mention it at work parties, and even write websites about it.
They like to talk about it when they’re cycling…and they particularly like to talk about it when they’re not. For that reason, a coffee mug is a useful conversation-starter for them and it makes it easy to steer the conversation to their favorite topic. Cycling.
Go big and bold with the mug design like this one. Room in the budget for a little extra? Grab a pack of these Coffee flavored energy bars, which are ideal for an energy boost midway through a bike ride.
That way they can talk about cycling when they’re drinking coffee, and talk about coffee when they’re cycling.
These make a fantastic inexpensive gift for any avid cyclist.
I have to say that, even (especially?) in this digital age, I seem to do more and more of my writing and journaling on paper rather than on the computer. I guess I’m just old skool….though probably not in a hipster cool way….
That aside, I use books like this all the time and I’m always delighted when I get notebooks as gifts. Notebooks of this size are great to use and easy to pop in a pocket or purse. I use mine for notes, and I also keep a special one as my cycling training log. Making notes on each of the rides I’ve been on, including dates, distance, routes, etc.
Really useful gift that is great value and people love to receive.
Apart from making me hungry (and want to go for a bike ride!) whenever I see it, this has to be one of the most awesome kitchen gadgets I’ve ever seen.
Perfect for the cyclist who has everything: lots of bikes, all the kit, etc. What’s the one thing that they still need? A bike shaped pizza cutter of course!
This is a lovely gift idea that looks very stylish in any cyclist’s kitchen and cuts a mean slice of pizza with, not one, but two cutting wheels.
If you’re looking for a very small gift, maybe as a stocking filler, or a little something extra, then you won’t find much better than something like this.
Most ‘stocking fillers’ that I tend to receive are usually small, cheap, and not very useful. Thankfully this one ticks all the three boxes: it doesn’t take up much space, it’s a great price, and it’s very useful indeed.
I have lost count of the number of times I’ve ended up at a friend’s house, after a long day’s cycle, both of us thirsty and desperate for a cool, refreshing beer….only to discover that we can’t track down the bottle opener! Nightmare!
With one of these in their jersey pocket (attached to their bike lock key) your cyclist will never be the wrong side of a bottle cap for a thirst-quenching bottle of beer after a day in the saddle. Buy them one of these and you will have their undying gratitude.
Final word on inexpensive gifts for cyclists
Buying gifts for people should be fun, shouldn’t it? But oftentimes it’s anything but that. As we scour the shops with a limited budget, limited time, and limited ideas of what to buy.
I hope you find one or more items on this list that your cyclist will love and I hope that this post can bring back a little fun to the gift-buying process.
…aaand relax.
