The Best Gifts for Cyclists: The Rouleur Selection

Whether cycling in a strange land or the place you call home, we’re here to guide you towards finding the perfect gift, from stocking fillers to luxuries, for any cyclist.

The complete guide to the best products in cycling – Rouleur's Desire Selection

From the simple and universal, like Silca’s lovely Pista track pump, to the more exotic, like Hummingbird’s superlatively light folding bike, each promises to make just the right impression. 

Cactus Tongue SSL-R Bike Hanger 

£130, Shop Cactus Tongue

Give this as a gift to your bike-loving partner and potentially win back some floor space as a second benefit for yourself. The sleek stainless steel Cactus Tongue provides a cosy spot to safely rack your bike. Drilled into the wall, it’s good looking enough to show your bike off to full effect and won’t besmirch your living space when left unoccupied. With stitched leather pads to prevent any scratches, this natty Rosso colourway is exclusive to the Rouleur Store.

Related – The Desire Selection: The best winter jackets
Related – The Desire Selection: The best multitools

Rouleur Organic Sweatshirt

£60, Shop Rouleur

Just because a new cycling jacket may set our heart's racing, doesn't mean cyclists can't look great off the bike. The Rouleur wordmark harks back to the earliest days of the magazine and adorned the very first products we ever sold. Ten years on, it still tells our brand story in the simplest way.

Our Rouleur Italia Editor Emilio Previtali tells us why it's his gift of choice (to himself):

"I like sweatshirts in general. There’s nothing like the feeling of pulling on this warm sweatshirt after training, once you’ve dried up a bit. Sitting down after a session you can almost enjoy the fatigue – breathing and resting, drinking something cold. In silence. Rouleur printed on my chest tells me that I'm a cyclist and that's what really makes me happy."

Buy the Organic Sweatshirt now from the Rouleur Emporium

Mountains: Epic Cycling Climbs book

£35, Shop Mountains 

Cycling’s most beautiful and fearsome mountains, as captured by Rouleur contributor, Michael Blann. Explained by the riders who’ve made them their stage, essays from Romain Bardet, Greg LeMond, Stephen Roche, Geraint Thomas, Lizzie Deignan, Philippa York, and Andy Hampsten mean the book’s words are more than equal to its lush photography. The work of six years dragging a large format camera to some of the world’s most stunning highpoints, this expanded version contains 30 new pages and 14 new climbs.

Rouleur Empower Cap 

£20, Shop RouleurSpend some money, get a new cycling cap, support charities creating positive changes. Designed to coincide with issue 106 of Rouleur, entitled Empower, all profits from this limited edition cap go to charities and causes dedicated to making cycling better. Made in Italy and featuring a rigid peak that you can pop to display the word empower, the cap’s two-tone design accents any outfit.

Rouleur Coffee Cups

£15, Shop Rouleur

Enjoy your pre or post-ride coffee in style with our Rouleur coffee cups. Handmade in Europe and debossed with our iconic wordmark these coffee cups are handless to let your hands absorb as much warmth as possible. Available in three sizes; double espresso, cappuccino and americano, all three are dishwasher safe. Purchase as a trio and enjoy 20% off.

Silca T-ratchet and Torque Kit

£100, Shop Silca

The Silca T-Ratchet + Torque Kit as a compact way to bring a shelf’s worth of tools along for the ride.

Silca’s T-Ratchet + Torque Kit set comprises a ratcheting driver and extender bar, plus ten bits. All wrapped up in a durable waxed canvas holster, its design provides the sort of convenience and leverage usually only enjoyed in the workshop. Arriving with 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6mm Allen keys, T10, T20, T25 torx, plus a Philips screwdriver, in the unlikely event these don’t cover your needs, you can always add in any 1/4" bit. Popping easily into place, its magnetic components make for quick interchangeability of the tool bits. Just 200-grams in its standard format, this uprated Ti-Torque version weighs an additional 10-grams but sees the addition of an adjustable Torque beam calibrated to 2, 4, 6, and 8 Nm.

It's the top pick for our Executive Editor Ian Cleverly:

"Quality tools are a joyous thing. Using the correct quality tools for the job in hand is even better. You know those pesky torque recommendations that come on every component you fit? They are there for a good reason - ignore them at your peril. Silca's ratchet kit is beautiful, practical perfection in a handy little waxed canvas roll pack. Want."

Buy the Silca T-Ratchet + Torque Kit from the Rouleur Emporium

Campagnolo Corkscrew 

£190, Shop Campagnolo

The most important tool you’ll ever own. Shifting recalcitrant corks with the same ease the brand’s other tools might disassemble a bike, this is Campagnolo engineering applied to the noble task of accessing your fine wines.

Made in Vicenza in the same factory as other Campagnolo products, veterans might recognise the corkscrew’s bolts as being borrowed from Super Record cranks. As finely balanced as one of the brand’s derailleurs, its self-centring bell positions the screw exactly in the middle of the cork before its twin levers draw it out in a motion designed to leave any sediment undisturbed. 

Buy the Campagnolo Corkscrew

Rouleur Gallery 

Various Prices, Shop RouleurOne of the best things about making a magazine is commissioning your favourite artists, photographers, and illustrators. Ensuring your home is as well-furnished as the pages of the magazine, we’ve collected a selection of works from our collaborators in the Rouleur Gallery. From fine art photography from Daniel Hughes and Michael Blann to prints by Michael Valenti, most can be created to order in a range of sizes. Also including several of our famous covers, including those celebrating the return of the Tour or the Life of Marco Pantani, you’re sure to find images that capture your attention.

HJC Furion 2.0 Helmet

£180, Shop HJC

Look cool, go fast, protect your head. The Furion 2.0 from MotoGP experts HJC will manage all three. Unlike some helmets, its aerodynamic design does nothing to hurt its exceptional appearance. Channelling air smoothly over its surface and into its efficient ventilation system, it’ll make any rider both faster and more stylish. Available in a slew of unconventional shades, there’s almost certainly one to match any existing kit.  

Rouleur X Hummingbird Folding Bike

£4,995, Shop Hummingbird

OK, admittedly this one isn't cheap, but neatly slotting into the busiest of lives, the Hummingbird is a folding bike without compare. The same weight as a WorldTour racing bike, but capable of folding up small enough to slip under your desk, its performance is the only thing that remains outsized. Based around a carbon frame made by motor racing experts in the UK, the number of hours that go into producing each is phenomenal. Resulting in a machine that’s almost as fast as a racer, yet can easily travel with you, it’s perhaps the ultimate second bike.

Rouleur's limited edition version takes Hummingbird's pinnacle frame, adds some subtle, stylish Rouleur embellishments and a set of trispoke 16" carbon wheels. Special or what?

Buy the Rouleur x Hummingbird folding bike now from the Rouleur Emporium

Kinto Travel Tumbler 

£35, Shop Kinto 

Keep your coffee hot and your water cold. This insulated stainless steel tumbler from Japanese brand Kinto is fantastically utilitarian. Likely to accompany you every day, its waterfall spout is specifically designed to enhance its ease of use. Available in a range of attractive colours, its durable lacquered exterior is both hardwearing and easy-clean. Holding 350ml of liquid, its size also means it can be popped into the bottle cage on your bike. A more environmentally sustainable alternative to plastic, it could be the last bottle you buy.

Campagnolo Shifting Lever Keyring

£15, Shop Campagnolo

I recently had to explain what an MP3 was to someone. Based on even more distant technology, this keyring from Campagnolo reprises the design of Campagnolo’s famous downtube shifters. Switched from its job controlling your gears to keeping charge of your keys, it now forms a tactile and attractive fob. Offering a nod back to a time before integrated shifting, it’s a bit of cycling history in your pocket.

Silca Pista Floor Pump

£100, Shop Silca

As something that gets used regularly, it pays to invest in a proper floor pump. Silca’s classic Pista model is more than up to the job, and with a lifetime warranty, will likely remain so for some time to come. Constructed of durable, high-strength steel with leather and brass internals and topped by a wooden ash handle, it’s simultaneously functional and lovely looking. Ensuring your tyres are always filled just-so, its watch face style gauge offers class-leading precision.

Rouleur Overcoming Notebook

£15, Shop Rouleur

This notebook is perfect for planning all sorts of escapades. Plus, its cover features a shot of the most famous concrete shower block in all of France. Mystified by the significance? Hand this over with a knowing nod and explain that the Spring Classics and not the Grand Tours are the heart of cycling. You’ll be well on your way to joining the club.

For Rouleur Editor Andy McGrath, it's a special item:

"I’ve got a vested interest in these beauties, using them for all my note-taking, whether from team meetings or interviews with the cream of the cycling world. I’ve even started using one as a gratitude journal - a little reflection goes a long way after the year we’ve had."

Buy the Rouleur Overcoming Notebook from the Rouleur Emporium

Alba Anvma sunglasses

£119, Shop Alba

Associate yourself with sunshine. A gift of a pair of Alba’s stylish Anvma sunglasses will protect the object of your affection’s eyes while also ensuring they look as dashing as possible. Secretly a pretty technical pair of sunnies, their casual styling is deceptive. Possessing vented and scratch-resistant VZUM lenses, both these and the frames are exceptionally light. Making for a pair of glasses that’s heavy on style but sits comfortably on your face, they’re ideal for cycling and relaxing or a mixture of both.

Silca HX-Two Travel Essentials Hex-Torx Kit

£75, Shop Silca

The utter joy of using quality tools. No PR agent could ever magic up the excitement that these little L-shaped bits of heat-treated tool steel provoke in my hardened and cynical heart. Just thinking about them sitting neatly stored in their matching rows makes me feel more relaxed. A perfect gift, that I might have already brought myself. 

Subscribe to Rouleur

£7 per month, £73 annual 

Subscribe to Rouleur for repeated cycle-related happiness by post. A real print magazine popped through the letterbox and ready to be enjoyed at leisure or left lying around for your friends to be impressed by. Rouleur conveys the essence, passion and beauty of cycling culture via the very best writers, photographers and designers in the business. “In Rouleur, you get the history and human side of the athlete. That’s what magazine articles are supposed to do” - Greg Lemond. Thanks, Greg. We dig you too. 

Membership to Rouleur

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Cinelli City Lights Cycling Cap

£18, Shop Cinelli

This cap has been designed by New York-based artist Yoon Hyup. Inspired by the landscapes of cities, plus music such as jazz, funk and hip hop, it’s part of the Cinelli Art Program. Resulting in freehand paintings composed of dots and lines, Hyup’s bright colours are enough to add cheer through Britain’s greyer winter months, even as the peak keeps the rain from your eyes.

Rouleur Crew Sweatshirt and Joggers

£108, Shop Rouleur

Work from home in the utmost comfort and style with our track top and joggers bundle. Equally good for keeping cosy pre or post-race, they’ll also do just as well for popping to the offie to put ten quid on the stick and pick up a couple of tins.

Made from organic cotton and available in navy or blue, each features the iconic Rouleur wordmark roundel. Screen printed in the UK onto sustainably-sourced cotton using environmentally friendly inks both tops and bottoms offer a relaxed unisex fit. Buy together and be both matching and better off with a 10% reduction in price.

ashmei Signature Merino Socks

£18, Shop ashmei 

Not just socks, but the gift of un-frozen feet. Made from Australian Merino wool, these stylish and understated options from UK-based ashmei will keep your beloved’s toes cosy whatever the prevailing conditions. To achieve this, they call on the millennia of evolution that helps keep sheep happy regardless of the weather. Highly breathable and warm even when wet, they’re just the thing for cold early-season rides.

Elite Ciussi Inox Bottle Cage

£19, Shop Elite

I’m going to go out on a limb and say if you’re not using stainless steel cages, at some point, something has gone wrong in your life. These sturdy holsters look stellar and won’t eject your bottles or scuff them up. They’re also indestructible, meaning, unlike most alternatives they’ll probably outlast your bike.

The Rider Paperback, Tim Krabbé 

£9, Shop Krabbe

The best book about cycling, and perhaps the only good fictional account of the sport. Tim Krabbé’s perfect 1978 novella about the 137-kilometre Tour de Mont Aigoual spins by as effortlessly as a rider pushed forward by the wind. 'Non-racers,' he writes 'the emptiness of those lives shocks me.' One to read in a single sitting. 

Isadore Sector Jacket

£250, Shop Isadore

Looking at the months ahead, a warm jacket could be a gift that could render untold gratitude two hours into a long ride where the weather has turned on you. 

The Sector jacket uses Windtex heat regulating softshell membrane fabric on the outer shell, mixed with a soft ThermoRoubaix inner fabric. It makes the jacket smooth and water repellent on the outside, soft brushed fleece on the inside. Altogether it makes for a jacket that’s warm and cozy in temperatures from zero to 15°C. 

For bike racer and Rouleur staffer Rachel Jary, it’s the natural pick:

"In the UK winter, a warm jacket is an essential piece of kit! No one wants a flappy rain cape. So, for me, a women's jacket that fits well, looks good and protects you from all the elements is a must. This Isadore jacket definitely fits the bill."

Fausto Coppi Bone China Mug

£18, Shop Coppi

A lovely mug and a very fine sentiment as expressed by Fausto Coppi. These handsome mugs from The Handmade Cyclist have been fired in the kilns of one of the oldest surviving fine bone china manufacturers in England.

Alba Optics Delta Sunglasses

£149, Shop Alba

Retro-futurist sunglasses that will cover you for far more than cycling. Harking back to the radical styles that emerged from the peloton during the 80s and 90s, their interchangeable VZUM lens provides UV400 protection. Held in place by a lightweight frame, each pair is handmade in Italy, birthplace of most trends that are worth jumping on.

Buy the Alba Optics Delta Sunglasses from the Rouleur Emporium

Kraftwerk Tour De France Vinyl LP 

£33, Shop Kraftwerk

Since its release in 2003, this Kraftwerk record has consistently remained among our favourite cycling-inspired techno concept albums. Released to coincide with the Tour de France’s centenary, it’s just as futuristic-sounding 17 years later. Digitally remastered on two heavyweight double vinyl records, this lovely pressing arrives with a booklet featuring the matching original artwork.

Ricoh GR III Camera 

£899, Shop Ricoh

When the scenery demands more than a phone camera, the Ricoh GR III takes most of the functions found in the average DSL and shrinks them into an ultra-robust and pocket-friendly package. 

The perfect carry-along companion to any cycling photographer, it provides high-speed auto-focus, 24-million effective megapixels, and a fast 28mm equivalent lens. Take our word for it, amongst two of the Rouleur team this is the point and shoot of choice – especially when out on the bike.

Buy the Ricoh GRIII now from Park Cameras

Restrap Canister Bar Bag

£45, Shop Restrap

Made from 1000D cordura and with a top YKK zip, the spacious, yet compact bag is the ideal accompaniment for day rides. Managing to offer practicality lined with sharp aesthetic style, the Restrap Canister Bag is a gift that could be a long-term companion for road, gravel or commuting.

Rouleur's Marketing Executive Oli Dobson has it at the top of his wish-list:

"My friends always make fun of me for carrying too much on the bike. I like to think I’m just well-prepared but in being prepared I do find myself with back pockets stuffed to the brim. It's the bane of my life. 

I want to be able to access all my essentials quickly and easily whilst pedalling – no more reaching behind or stopping to open my tiny saddle bag. So the Restrap Canister Bag has been on my radar for a while." 

Adidas Road Cycling Shoes

£130, Shop Adidas

Tell me again how your ugly shoes are endorsed by such-and-such a pro rider. I’ll tell you how mine come certified by Run-DMC. Having supplied cyclists including one Eddy Merckx with shoes since the 1950s, the brand with three stripes had been out of the game for a while. Fifteen years since its last Adistar Road SL models left the factory, it’s now once again possible to match the stripes on your cycling shoes to those down the side of your tracksuit bottoms. 

Il Magistrale Cycling Coffee, Racing Wasps 500g

£14, Shop Il Magistrale

The entirely legal fuel that forms the foundation of all successful cycling performances. Il Magistrale’s Racing Wasps coffee has been specially formulated for the Jumbo Visma team. While we can’t promise it will result in quite such stellar performances when applied to the average cyclist, it will provide both caffeine and a milk chocolate flavour with hints of sweet apple and roasted almond.

All of the products featured have been chosen based on independent expert editorial knowledge. Rouleur may receive commission if certain products are purchased from links placed in this article – this commission helps fund our independent journalism.