Christmas gifts for discerning cyclists — what to buy for the pernickety pedaller in your life

Step aside Campagnolo corkscrew... there’s a new sommelier in town, and it’s carbon fibre.

Based on the classic waiter’s friend, the body of this bottle opener is made of the magic weave which supports a hardened steel spiral and blade, and stainless steel levers. It also features Farfalli’s patented double lever system to make slipping a cork out a breeze.

It trumps the Campag bottle opener by coming with a foil cutting knife - and by being carbon fibre, of course. It’s also a lot smaller and lighter, so you can pop it into your back pocket or seat pack for mid-ride baguette, cheese and wine breaks come the summer. That's something you’d struggle to do with the bulky beast from Vicenza.

Something for both the cyclo-cross and road fans here, as the former will have seen the adverts decorating numerous Belgian ‘cross race courses and roadies will know the Oude Kwaremont as an iconic and frequently race deciding cobbled climb during the Tour of Flanders.

Kwaremont is a full flavoured blonde beer coming in at 6.6%, which isn’t quite as knee-wobbling as the steepest bit of the 2km climb which hits you at a punchy 9% - but if those gradients are a bit much and you’re on a recovery refreshment, there’s always a 0.3% low alcohol version available too.

Finding an elegant home bike storage system can be hard. Some bent metal hooks from B&Q just don’t cut the style mustard, and even if you go for some fancier wooden ones they’re often just bits of plywood slotted together.

These wooden bike stands from Woodys Fenders are an elegant way of keeping your bike upright, and are beautifully crafted in a choice of handsome woods available to suit any tyre width from road to mountain. They don’t look ugly or obtrusive and put your bike right where it belongs - in the front room.

It can be hard to find a piece of bike-related jewellery that doesn’t contain a bit of upcycled rusty chain link somewhere, and maybe an offcut of inner tube. Studio 51 are thankfully changing that by combining their backgrounds of jewellery making, fashion and design with their love for all things cycling.

They still use recycled and responsibly sourced materials, but it doesn’t look like they have. The number 51 has gained mythical status since it has brought many riders good luck, with Eddy Merckx, Luis Ocaña, Bernard Thévenet, Bernard Hinault and Greg LeMond all winning the Tour with the number on their back. Studio 51 offer a few designs with that number on (so you can enlighten anyone that may ask), but this cleat pendant has a more decorative and enigmatic charm about it.

The discerning rider knows where it’s worth spending money, and where it’s totally fine to go for the cheaper option with no discernible drop in quality or usefulness. The cost of everything and also its value, if you will.

A good waterproof is where it’s definitely worth spending all of your money and then a bit more, as any pounds you may have saved will make themselves known at some point, and when you’re soaked that point will be a miserable one. A jacket that keeps the outdoors from seeping in and allows your sweat to sneak out is a truly wonderful thing, and makes riding in the rain almost a pleasure because you realise you’ll always be dry and not just waiting to get damp and grumpy at some point.

While it's a huge spend, the Slicker from Castelli is at the cutting edge of waterproofing, and is now coated with an environmentally friendly PFC-free membrane to make you feel better about buying it compared to that Shakedry stuff. 

While we’re on coffee and bikes, here’s the perfect marriage of the two in a coffee tamper made from an old bike hub. A step up(cycle) from your usual rusty bike bits tat, this tamper from August Bicycles takes an old hub shell and expertly mates it to a catering grade stainless steel base that can be sized to fit any portafilter. And... if you have an old hub that you’re still emotionally attached to and can’t throw away, August Bicycles can turn that into a tamper for you too.

It’s not a Thermos, it’s a Winter Fuelling Flask ok? Spatzwear have become famous for developing clothes that allow you to ride in the absolute worst that winter can throw at you, and now they’ve come up with some hardware to warm you from the inside.

The Capsule is a flask that crucially fits inside a bottle cage, enabling you take 510ml of hot drink with you on your ride. It comes with an OTE energy product inside to provide both a sip of energy and a gulp of comfort in what Spatz call a hot fuelling system, although I’m sure that could be replaced with overly sweet tea if that’s more your thing.

The Capsule is made from a brushed non-lacquered stainless steel so it won’t scratch and look tatty, and its double vacuum design will keep drinks warm for hours. The locking lid is designed to be used with one hand whilst cycling too. You can also use it off the bike: in the office, when out walking, at the gym or when camping, like a Thermos.

The Discerning Cyclist keeps their bikes in peak operational condition at all times, so on the road mechanicals are rare. They’re far more likely to have to lend their tools and their working pump to riding companions. In that respect there’s no need to carry a multi-tool the size of Bear Grylls’ fist with all the tools to fix any bike, half a Land Rover and the widget to gut a fish. The Pebble Tool has just enough to get you out of most common mechanical mishaps in a package that’s half the size of a back pocket just-in-case snack bar, with 3mm, 4mm, 5mm and 6mm Allen keys, a T25 Torx and an integrated Dynaplug tyre repair dart should the Tubeless Puncture Pixie come to say hi. It comes in four snazzy colours too.

Does your special little cyclist spend hours ensuring that their bicycle is always spotless and running immaculately, is stored in a climate-controlled shed with a meticulously organised collection of tools whilst somehow not really being bothered that the actual house itself is a bit of a mess? Maybe this will help them tidy up a little, especially those little snots of oily gunk that flop off a jockey wheel post ride.

King Cage have been making titanium and stainless steel bottle cages out of Durango, Colorado for over a quarter of a century. Founder Ron Andrews worked at Fat City Cycles, Ibis Cycles, Merlin Metalworks, Jo Breeze Cycles, Ted Wojac cycles and Yeti Cycles before concentrating on making bottle cages in his basement, where he still works. The King Cage Titanium Dustpan is hand made by the man himself and comes with an option of brushes and a branded (literally) stand.