Christmas Presents for Cyclists 3

Words by Simon Whiten

CycleTechReview’s contributors lay it on Santa’s table

Roadman Paul Hopkins, who also loves cross, has simple, non-specific tastes and kicks things off asking for a generic track pump though knowing Paul as we do, we reckon a Birzman Tiny Tanker might suit him and his cycling mad kids.

Paul then returns to type and gets more specific, asking for a Castelli Gabba jersey, ‘the most high-tech wet-weather garment on the market’, which retails for £150. Paul wrote about the Gabba jersey earlier this year with reference to one of the coldest Classics seasons for years and is a bit of a fan. It’s an expensive top but it’s very sophisticated and will keep you riding comfortably in the worst weather.

Castelli Gabba Jersey

To go with the jersey he sensibly wants some nano flex arm warmers which retail for £30-00. Arm and leg warmers always make great presents for cyclists.

Castelli Nano Flex arm warmers

Paul then gets all vague again, asking for a respray for a knackered bike, though doesn’t mention which one and he has several… We plan to cover resprays in a future article and it’s a bit of stretch to imagine anyone arranging this for him at Christmas. Staying vague he asks for some Winter shoes, of which most shoe manufacturers seem to have one or more models, so he’s got plenty of choice.

We weren’t sure what Paul was looking for but if he was thinking “off-road shoes”, or something for his long winter cyclocross training rides, then the Northwave Extreme Winter GTX boots are some of the nicest we’ve seen, though they are not cheap at £219-99.

Northwave Extreme Winter GTX Boot

If he is after a road winter shoe, there are some nice models around such as these Gaerne Polar Road shoes which retail for £149-99 and the Mavic Road Frost which are £160.

Gaerne Polar Road Shoes

Mavic Road Frost

As we said, just about every manufacturer has a winter shoe in their range, so you should be able to find one that uses the same last as your racing shoe. There was a time, of course, when we made do with overshoes; however, having spent mega-bucks on a top end pair of racing shoes, you may not want to use them over the winter, so winter boots therefore make perfect sense. Good shout, Mr Hopkins.

Next up we ask our US contributor, Dan Saunders, what he would like for the perfect Christmas.