Buying

It’s that time of year again, when you’ve got the chance to show that special cycling lady just how much she means to you. Whether you're skint or minted, traditional or avant garde and whatever type of cyclist she is, there’s something here that’ll float her boat, or rattle her pedals and keep you out of the dog house on Christmas Day.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year… nearly. With Christmas just peeping its red-hatted head over the horizon, we thought we’d suggest some gifts for the performance-minded cyclist.

Okay, it's a few weeks away yet but now's the time to start thinking about presents. Maybe you’re a rider yourself, in which case you might want to point family and friends in this direction, or maybe you’re after some ideas for what to get someone with an urge to ride fast.

We've probably mentioned that road.cc is based in the fine city of Bath where apart from the hills in all directions there's not too much to complain about. Apart from anything, we are fortunate to have in Bath the UK's Independent Bookseller of the Year 2011 in Mr B's Emporium of Reading Delights and not only that Mr Edward Scotland who works there is a cyclist. Books on the theme are never a struggle around these parts. Over to you, Ed:

Urban cycling and commuting make their own particular demands, so our next lot of Christmas gift suggestions are aimed at those who ride those mean streets, need their all their cycling stuff to work well on the bike (and possibly off it too), and to to look good as well. We've gone for a selection of the practical, the unusual and the very special. These gifts will work well in the city, but a lot of them will also do a great job wherever you ride.

Looking for a present for a cyclist who likes to ride fast? A racer? A sportive rider? Someone who’ll go into the red zone to make sure they get to the top of every climb first? You’re in luck. We’ve sifted the wheat from the chaff and have a whole bunch of suggestions to help you out… Oh, and for extra background info, if we've reviewed it the title for each item links through to the original review. So that's pretty much all of them, then.

The clocks are going back so it's now officially lights season on the bike. If you're in the market for some bike lights there's a bewildering array of lights out there to choose from, ranging from a few quid to nearly a grand, so what's the best bet for your riding?

Like those Channel 4 “100 Greatest…” shows, it’s an impossible task to come up with a definitive list of the best cycling books –besides, Stuart Maconie, Terry Christian and Lisa Rogers weren’t available to do the filler pieces between entries.