Christmas Presents for Cyclists 9

 

By Simon Whiten

 

Part 9 of our Christmas gift guide in which CycleTechReview’s contributors lay it on Santa’s table

 

Unsurprisingly, given what’s gone before, Peter Cole is building a cyclocross bike but enjoys a mixed bag of cycling from commuting to work, riding the local chaingang, and long road or mountain bike rides at the weekend.

 

However, it’s his training that he wants to get on top of this Christmas, with a Stages power meter about which we should have a review soon. As he currently rides an Ultegra groupset, Peter’s looking at about £700 to get the crank mounted strain gauge and ANT+/Bluetooth ready unit, so he’d need a good friend to buy him one of these for Christmas…

 

 

He then asks Santa for something a bit more realistic and ‘fun’ – a Campag Big Corkscrew. This should remove corks with a minimum fuss by utilising its self-centering, telescopic bell and sharp hardened steel crew. At £150 it’s not cheap, but is a good present for any cyclist and perfect for the party-going-Pete in your life.

 

 
His next request is a bit of light reading with “Merckx 525” by Ron Reuman, Stephan Vanfleteren, Jan Maes and Frederik Backelandt. It records the full history of the Cannibals career and 525 wins. Eddy Merckx says of it, “Merckx 525 is a unique collection of exclusive photographs, including some that even I had not seen before. It is the only work authorised by me… and the first truly complete record of my accomplishments.” At £42 or $60 it represents a superb gift for any road cyclist, especially a child of the 70’s like Peter.
 

 

Ceramic jockey wheels seem like a great idea and represent a good product for any cycle techie looking to pimp their ride, plus there’s loads to choose from. Token do some nice examples, available from i-ride in the UK for £39.99 or, alternatively, there’s BBB Aluboys cermic pulleys which retail for £37.95.
 

 

 
Finally – perhaps to recover from whatever he uncorks with that Campag corkscrew – Pete’s after the stunning, limited edition Rapha Rocket Espresso Machine, though at £1700 you need to love your coffee…

 

 

Next up we look at what Vince Halpern would like for Christmas.