21 Seriously Cool (and Useful) Gifts for Cyclists, Bike Tourists, and Adventurers
It’s always hard to find the perfect gift for your significant other, your fun coworker, your best friend from college, and that weird uncle you’re not even sure you’re actually even related to. If they like bikes and riding them, we’ve got you covered with our complete cycling gift guide! These gifts range from a few dollars to bigger gifts for the people you actually care about.
Why are we qualified to write this guide? I commute 30 miles by bike everyday, we’ve cycled all over the country, and we biked around the world’s largest lake in 19 days. All of these gifts are things that we have and currently actually use and love!
If you have a cyclist or someone who bike tours in your life, here are 21 gifts that they will love and actually use.
These 21 gifts range from fun and quirky to super practical things that cyclists need.
The cyclist in your life will love and actually use these 21 gifts.
1. Bluetooth Bike Speaker
This is the most fun gift on the list, and that’s why it’s on the top gift on the list. This little bluetooth speaker from Outdoor Tech propelled us around Lake Superior and all the way to work every day for the last year. You can make every single ride feel like it’s a spin class. It’s a party not a workout! The speaker attaches to your handlebars so that you can hear it really well, and even answer a phone call! Plus this one has a light, and it can also be used as a power bank to charge your phone.
Having a bluetooth speaker on your handlebars can make you feel like every ride is a party!
This bluetooth speaker is also a powerbank that you can use to charge phones, watches, etc.
The Buckshot Pro Ultra has a light and great sound quality!
2. Warm Cycling Gloves or Bar Mitts
Cold weather can keep you off your bike, and that can make you sad. A good pair of warm, windproof, water resistant gloves can really be an excellent gift for cyclists. We like these durable gloves from Aero Tech Designs. After over six months of daily use in Montana winter, these gloves have really held up. Adding a pair of wool glove liners underneath these gloves can allow you to ride in even colder weather.
Pogies or handlebar mitts are also great gift to help extend the biking season even longer into the winter. These are like little garages that velcro onto your handlebars to cover and shield your hands. Pogies come in styles for flat bars like you’d have on a mountain bike and drop bars for road bikes, so make sure that you pick out the right ones for the recipient’s bike.
A high-quality pair of gloves is a great gift for a cyclist who rides in cold conditions.
We love these thermal windproof gloves from Aero Tech Designs.
3. Cycling Overshoes
Overshoes are another great piece of cold weather cycling gear. I bike through almost the entire winter by using neoprene overshoes with my bike shoes. I also have a windproof pair that are perfect for the shoulder season, and the neoprene pair that are great for very cold, wet, or snowy weather.
A good pair of socks and some overshoes would make a great gift for any cyclists.
Neoprene is a great material for overshoes for cold and wet riding conditions.
4. Cycling Boots
If your loved one wants to take their cycling or bike commuting allll the way through the winter, it’s time for some more serious gear. I recently got a pair of winter bike boots so that I can keep biking in even the coldest weather. Because your feet don’t move much while biking and they are the first thing to get wet, they are usually the limiting factor when riding longer distances in the cold months. Cycling boots can keep your feet warm while out riding during the winter.
Winter cycling boots are a great gift for someone who rides bikes a lot.
These bike boots have little liners that are like sleeping bags for your feet.
A lot of winter cycling boots have places where you can attach small bike lights since winter riding is often in low-light conditions.
5. Bike Trainer
Maybe the cyclists in your life doesn’t want to brave the winter elements or maybe you live in a location that gets mostly ice rather snow. In this case, an indoor bike trainer would make a great gift. Bike trainers allow you to ride your own bike indoors like it’s a stationary bike. We have a super basic folding friction trainer, but they also make much roller bike trainers that are more similar to outdoor riding, but the most difficult to ride, and higher-quality trainers that connect directly into the drive train for a more realistic riding experience.
There are so many great spin class Youtube videos that can make riding indoors a little more fun.
Bike trainers are a great gift for people who live in apartments, because they don’t take up as much room as a stationary bike.
Friction bike trainers usually have a knob that clamps to change the resistance while riding.
6. Panniers
Bike touring is like a road trip that you have to earn. We love these Jannd bike panniers, because they are a small American company with great products. Their panniers are completely waterproof and incredibly durable. I’ve used these panniers chock full of gear while touring around Lake Superior or chock full of vegetables while running errands. Either way these panniers are a cool gift for the cyclists in your life.
These Jandd bike panniers are the perfect thing for carrying gear on a long bike tour.
We like these panniers, because they can be expanded to hold a lot of year or just a little bit.
Panniers are a great choice for a gift for someone who loves to bike tour or commute.
7. DIY Frame Bag
Nothing says you care like a handmade gift. It’s actually pretty easy to make your own DIY custom bike frame bag by following Ian’s tutorial. For this one, you’ll want to have access to their bike, so that you can create the stencil so that the homemade frame pack fits perfectly into the frame of their bike.
Ian’s frame pack was great for our Lake Superior Circle Tour because he didn’t have a way to attach a rack to his bike.
A custom frame pack will fit the recipient’s bike better than any pre-made bag that you can order.
8. Stashers Insulated Bike Bags
You and your significant other are a match made in heaven…just like beer and bikes. Stashers insulated bike bags are the perfect size to hold beer cans so that you can crack open a cold one after a long ride. Even if they aren’t beer lovers, they are great for carrying fresh food (like smoked fish) while bike touring. Stashers are awesome because they modular and you can stack them on your handlebars or on your top tube.
Stashers bike bags are great for if you just need to carry a little bit of stuff on a long ride, because you can attach it to so many places on your bike.
Stashers Insulated bags will keep your beer cold until you are read to drink it. Plus you can get matching water bottles!
9. Bike Multi-Tool
It’s essential to have a multi-tool with you if you plan to ride any distance from your house. While you can carry all these tools separately, you could just get one small tool that serves multiple purposes. There are so many multi-tools on the market to chose from, but this stainless steel multi tool from Lezyne has a full Allen set, all spoke wrenches, a serrated knife, a chain brake, and a bottle opener!
It’s important to have a small multi-tool while out riding.
A nice multitool is a great gift or stocking stuffer for cyclists.
10. Bike Stand
You don’t absolutely need a bike stand to complete basic maintenance on your bike, but for us, buying a bike stand was a complete game changer when it came to fixing our own bikes (and by us, I mean Ian fixing our bikes…). Our bike stand is collapsible and it has a small attachable tray where you can set your tools. Plus a folding bike stand doesn’t even take up that much space, so it can even be used in small apartments.
A bike stand is a neat gift for someone who might want to start working on their bike more.
This folding bike stand barely takes up any space once’s it’s collapsed.
A gift of a bike stand can save someone a lot of money if they start doing their own bike maintenance.
11. Emergency Spoke Kit
Being caught with a broken spoke is a real bummer, but an emergency spoke replacement kit which allows you to use a string to keep the tension in your wheel, can help get you through while bike touring until you are able to get to a bike shop with a replacement. An emergency spoke kit is the perfect small gift or stocking stuffer for cyclists.
An emergency spoke kit is lightweight.
Our bike touring toolkit includes this small emergency spoke kit.
If you’re a wild rider like Ian, you’ll probably break a spoke every now and again. An emergency spoke kit can help.
12. Gatorskins Bike Tires
A flat tire in the middle of long ride is not fun. If you are in the middle of a cold winter commute, it will really get you down. But with Gatorskins tires, you get many fewer flats while riding. It really made a noticeable difference when we switched to riding with Gatorskins. On our Lake Superior Bike Tour, I got two flats, and Ian got five! Guess who had Gatorskins on their bike!
Gatorskins are great durable tires for bike touring, and they can be a great gift to help upgrade someone’s bike.
Without the Gatorskins, Ian literally wore a hole in his bike tires while bike touring around Lake Superior.
Make sure you buy someone the right size if you are giving tires as a gift.
13. Spare Tubes and Tire Levers
Even with the most durable bike tires, everyone will still occasionally get a flat. I know that it sounds like a super boring gift, but very few avid cyclists would be disappointed by a few extra spare tubes in the right size. (I mean don’t give this to your wife for your anniversary, but maybe your nephew who’s in college or your bike commuting coworker.) You could also include some cute colorful tire levers and patch kit if you want to make the gift a little more special.
Flat tires a bummer on a bike tour if you still have to bike 60 more miles.
Most people who bike a lot already have a lot of gear, so get them a gift you know that they will use.
Spare tubes might be a somewhat boring gift, but they are so practical for a cyclist.
14. Bike Pump
You have to have a way to pump up those bike tires as well. You could give a cute little stocking stuffer portable bike pump that can carried while riding or you could give them a full floor pump to use at home. We really like the small bike pumps that can be mounted next to the water bottle holder or thrown into a saddle bag.
A small bike pump is a great small gift for a cyclists.
Having a bike pump while riding can be a real life saver if you get a flat tire.
A nice full-size floor pump with a gauge is a great gift for a cyclist.
15. New MIPS Helmet
Do you worry about your loved one while they are out riding around on two wheels? A great gift is to replace the helmet that they’ve had for 20 years with a MIPS helmet. These helmets reduce the rotational forces that are very harmful to our brains during a fall. Protect their brain! It’s the only one they have!
A new, more protective helmet is a great gift for a cyclist who hasn’t replaced their helmet in a while.
MIPS helmets redirect the force on your head when you crash.
16. Flexible Helmet Mirror
My helmet mirror is my very favorite biking accessory. This little flexible mirror from CycleAware allows you to see behind you without having to turn your head, just like in a rearview mirror in a car. Plus you just look really cool and intense…like you ride so much that you can’t even be bothered to turn your head. If you want to know more about gear to stay safe while biking, read our post “How to Stay Safe While Bike Touring.”
A helmet gift is a very useful gift for anyone that likes to bike.
Another great stocking stuffer for cyclists— a flexible helmet mirror!
A mirror on your helmet allows you to see behind you without looking around.
17. Bike Shorts or Pants
Padded bike shorts and pants are an under appreciated piece of bike gear. Saddles are generally designed for maximum energy transfer rather than comfort, and that’s why you need a good pair of bike shorts for long rides and touring. We love our Aero Tech Designs shorts and pants, because a small American company in Pittsburg makes them, they come in inclusive sizing, and they are just all around great. (Seriously, we wrote a whole article about them.)
Our shorts from Aero Tech Designs have proven to be really comfortable and durable.
A great new pair of high quality bike shorts is a unique gift for a cyclist.
18. Roller Stick, Foam Roller, or Massage Cane
Every avid cyclists has experienced sore muscles after a long ride. Help your favorite cyclist get those knots and tense muscles loosened up with a muscle roller or a massage cane. If you want to get really serious, a foam roller is another great tool for taking care of tight legs.
After a long ride, rolling out can help relieve aches and soreness.
A roller stick or massage cane is a great gift for cyclists to take care of themselves.
19. Pain Relieving Gel or Balm
Another great gift to go along with a roller or a massager is a pain relieving cream or gel, especially ones that use mostly natural ingredients to relieve pain. Biofreeze uses menthol cooling sensation to block the pain signals to your brain. Badger Balm uses cayenne and ginger to create a warming sensation that soothes tight muscles.
20. Salt Stick or Electrolyte Supplement
Help your bicyclist friends, prevent sore muscles in the first place with an electrolyte supplement. We’ve biked in some really hot weather while bike touring, and Salt Stick has helped us finish out a long day. We especially like the chewable ones, because it’s kind of hard to swallow a big pill when your mouth is all dry from the heat.
Salt Stick electrolyte taps are the perfect small gift for a cyclist or bike tourist.
21. Bike Lights
A red light (aka Rudolf’s nose) led Santa’s sleight, and a red light can keep your cyclist safe this holiday season. That’s why bike lights are the perfect stocking stuffer for the holidays. Check out these super bright bike headlights from NiteRider for dark riding conditions and these flashing red lights for the rear from Ascher. Both of these bike lights are USB rechargeable, so when you’re bike touring you don’t have to carry extra batteries.
This super bright bike headlight allows you to ride safely in complete darkness.
A rear flashing light is a good gift that will help keep the recipient safe.
Still need more ideas? Check out our 17 Great Gift Ideas for Vanlifers and Travelers and 10 Essentials for Vanlife.
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AERO TECH DESIGNS, Beer, BIKE CLOTHING, BIKE COMMUTING, BIKE HELMETS, BIKE LIGHTS, BIKE MIRRORS, BIKEPACKING, BIKE SAFETY, BIKE TOURING, BIKE TOUR PLANNING, BIKING, BLUETOOTH SPEAKERS, CYCLEAWARE, CYCLING GEAR, Fat Biking, Flat Tires, Frame Packs, FRUGAL TRAVEL, Gift Guide, Gravel Bikes, Health, HIGH-VISIBILITY GEAR, LAKE SUPERIOR CIRCLE TOUR, OUTDOOR TECH, PANNIERS, POWER BANKS, Rain Gear, REFLECTIVE GEAR, STASHERS, TRAVEL, TRAVEL PLANNING, Winter Travel
What is your favorite cycling gear? Share your gift ideas with others by leaving a comment below!