Christmas 2024 gifts for cyclists: thoughtful ideas for road, gravel, commuters and more

We rate this bell highly. Firstly, its ring is bright and clear, while the strong spring doesn’t rattle around, causing inadvertent rings while riding on less-than-perfect surfaces. And then there’s the neat, low-profile design, which makes it a great fit for a range of handlebars, even those that are on the narrower side.

For many of us the festive season also means plenty of rain, which can cause havoc with your bike’s performance. We’ve found that using this wet weather lube has helped to mitigate some of these issues. It clings to the chain nicely, helping to keep the muck away from the rest of the drive chain with great success. It does require more frequent application than your lighter summer lubes, but that’s to be expected.

Available in a range of flavors (including peanut butter banana) my favorite has been the white chocolate macadamia nut. Whilst some white chocolate bars can be overpoweringly sweet, I’ve found Clif’s to be rather more delicate - as well as being easy to chew and swallow whilst riding. Plus, the nine gram protein content is helpful for keeping your macros in balance on all-day epics.

These aren’t your typical Christmas socks! Made from merino wool, we found that they delivered just the right amount of warmth, keeping our toes toasty during cold rides. Another advantage of these GripGrab socks is their lack of bulk, which works well with cycling shoes, while we also appreciated the wicking qualities that some of the thicker alternatives lack.

The best saddlebags combine a practical nature with a stylish appearance. We think there are few better examples than this offering from Castelli. It’s just the right size to store your ride essentials - a spare tube, tyre levers and a small multi-tool - while at the same time matching the sleek aesthetics of your road bike.

I’ve yet to find an overshoe which keeps my feet completely dry on wet rides. I don’t know if the water is dripping down from the top, rising up from above, or if it’s just the general dampness of the air. Still, Fizik's overshoes are amongst the best. They feel super durable and come with a robust zip. They are low profile, so a great '2.5-season' staple, but not super insulated for the very coldest rides.

This is such a beautiful tool. It’s super compact whilst still being easy to actually use. Some multitools focus too much on the former and compromise on the latter. Silca’s managed to fit in hex keys from 2mm up to 8mm, Torx 10, 20 and 25, as well as a cross-head and flat screw driver, disc brake spacer and spoke tool.

We like to keep our handlebar as clutter-free as possible and this neat device from Raveman helps us do just that. Connecting to a standard Garmin quarter-turn mount it allows for the running of daytime lights without taking up more space on the bars. Alternative parts for Wahoo computers are available too.

A pair of reliable winter gloves is an essential item for any cyclist at this time of year. If the cyclist in your life suffers from ‘frozen fingers’ then we’d recommend these ‘lobster style’ gloves from Pearl Izumi. Like mittens they enable your fingers to stay close together and thus remain warmer. But vitally for cyclists they also allow you to still shift gear, brake and control the bike with ease. For us, they’ve been a great companion on cold winter rides.

We could go on for hours about how much I like this rucksack! I’ve found the generous 30L size to be perfect for carrying all my essentials, laptop and a change of clothes. The fabric is both waterproof and PFC free - practical and environmentally friendly. The stretchy bottle pockets, handy side zip and the ability to detach and reattach the waist strap are all really neat points - as is the reflective Fjällräven logo in the middle!

We're a huge fan of stainless steel bottles for being easier to clean and longer lasting than plastic bidons. The sticking point is generally the design of the cap, as you can’t just squeeze a steel bottle to make the water come out! Bivo’s pull-top design is very neat, allowing you to drink as if it were a plastic bottle! We like the raw finish aesthetic, but the model with the rubberized finish eliminates that metal-on-metal sound when popping it in an alloy bottle cage.

Some ‘essentials cases’ bear a striking similarity to a school pencil case, so Bellroy’s signature touch of class is a nice addition. The construction feels super robust and oozes quality - from the water-resistant leather to the AquaGuard zipper. We’ve used it in consistent rain and had no issues, but we wouldn't recommend submerging it.

Another great stocking filler. Like Voile straps or merino socks, these are one of those items which cyclists always find themselves wanting more of. Super useful for cafe stops when you’re still near your bike - also handy for helmets and bikepacking bags, too. We really like using them for keeping our bike-cover tarp securely on our bike when locking up in town for a few hours.

This is a particularly useful bike lock. Most bike insurance policies these days require a lock which is rated ‘Gold’ by the independent testing company Sold Secure. Very few folding locks are able to meet the requirements to hit that level of security - but Seatylock Foldylock Forever is one of the few exceptions. It is heavy at 1.76kg, but is has a much larger lockable area than a D-lock.

Given how heavy water actually is - and the fact that it’s delivered on tap to every home - the idea of shipping it in the form of bike cleaning agents is both wildly inefficient and quite nonsensical. This is where Schwalbe’s Bike Soap comes in: a single, relatively light block is sufficient for over 100 washes - plus it’s biodegradable, microplastic-free and made entirely from natural substances. It’s effective, too - although you’ll still need a specific disc brake cleaner.

While the Bivo bidon is great for water, Rapha’s Black+Blum collaboration is perfect for that other necessity of life: coffee. The insulated flask can hold a generous 340ml volume, which we tend to only use half of for our preferred strength of Americano. Even half filled, the insulation has been good enough to keep it hot even after several hours out in the cold.

There are many quality bar bags on offer these days but for us, this one from Restrap ticks all the boxes. It’s a breeze to fit thanks to the well-designed straps, while the mesh pockets are ideal for holding onto energy bar wrappers and the like. Over many rides it’s allowed us to stop overloading our jersey pockets, preventing that annoying sagging feeling.

We can’t express how useful packable bags are for bikepacking. It makes stocking up at supermarkets super easy, as well as any situation where you might be leaving your bike for a period - such as stopping off at an interesting site. This is a step up from what we’ve used before: we really like the roll top and bottle holders. It’s significantly cheaper too, but the fabric still feels robust.

This is such a neat light with so many functions. Our favorite is that it can be used as a power bank to charge your phone or other devices in a pinch. Our night riding is generally just on roads, so the 2,400 lumens is well above what I actually need (closer to 1,200). But we just pop it on the middle setting and enjoy the extra battery life from the 8,000mAh Li-ion cell!

It’s nice knowing that everything will definitely fit together in one compact setup - and that’s what you get with MSR’s Stove and Cookset. We really like how it comes with an extra plastic pot, so when you’re traveling with a friend you both get a bowl - and with hardly any extra space taken up. The stove is worth the investment in itself, very powerful, compact and well built. Fully recommend.

These are another neat addition for bikepacking. There are often times when you know you’re going to be far from a water source for a long time, or perhaps the timings with shop opening hours just don’t work out. These plastic bottles are super compact when you’re not using them, but can carry up to 2L when you need it. There’s also a water purifying alterative, if you’re out somewhere really remote.

Silca’s whole brand is built upon exquisitely engineered tools and accessories - and the Pista pump is a central part of all that. It feels super sturdy, with no play or wobble in the stand or barrel at all. The metal construction feels super solid and the lack of moving parts in the chuck further reduces the potential points of failure. Plus, you really can’t beat a wooden handle.

This is such a nice tool. It feels really weighty in the hand and allows you to set the torque setting to within 0.2 Nm, with an audible click once you hit the right tightness. The ratcheting feature makes tightening bolts in hard to reach places a breeze, too. Just be aware that this doesn’t include the drive bits, which have to be bought separately.

This is a really lovely socket-set tool-roll which folds up to only being a little larger than a multitool. It doesn’t include a spoke key, tubeless plugs or tire levers - so there’s a little more you might like to take with you. But it includes Hex bits from 2mm to 8mm, Torx T10, T15, T25 bits, a cross head screwdriver and a chain tool. (Personally, we’d swap the 2mm Hex bit for a flathead screwdriver). The best part is that it even includes a torque meter attachment - you don’t often get that!