Gifts for cyclists — indoor cycling Christmas presents for the cyclist in your life

If you’re fed up hearing ‘Stronger’ by Kanye West blasting through the house after work, these 1More Comfobuds Mini earbuds are an essential purchase this Christmas for the cyclist in your life. 

Most cyclists would say that listening to music or podcasts is the key to making indoor cycling easier and the time to pass more quickly. These 1More Comfobuds Mini earbuds provide decent audio while being unaffected by sweat. 

Added noise cancelling features mean they really can get in the ‘zone’ and the battery will last about five hours with noise cancelling on and about six hours with it switched off. Be sure to purchase these for some peace and quiet back in your life!

At just over 20 quid this Altura Indoor Training Vest is a perfect stocking filler for the cyclist in your life. It’s a heavier material than normal mesh base layers, weighing 120g, but the polyester material proved to be impressively breathable. Combined with the relaxed and airy fit, this vest is better than most standard base layers for indoor training. 

You might think your recipient has everything cycling related they could possibly need, but we think this Altura vest is a good buy given the price-tag isn’t over the top for a niche bit of cycling kit. 

Riding rollers is a steeper learning curve than a turbo trainer, but if you know a cyclist who can ride rollers, or would be up for the challenge, they are arguably more like riding on the road than a turbo trainer. Rollers are an engaging way to ride indoors and we think the performance of these Kreitler rollers is excellent. 

The rollers feel smooth at all speeds and the added flywheel accessory increases both the resistance and momentum, increasing the power required for a set speed and keeps the rollers spinning for longer when you stop pedalling. This adds to an overall more realistic ride feel. 

Most people opt for only a base layer for indoor cycling due to their added cooling, but this Le Col x Wahoo Indoor Training Jersey is perfect for some added style when suffering through those sweaty sessions. Some of the best summer cycling jerseys are suitable for indoor riding but this jersey weighs just 90g which is about half to one-third the weight of most summer jerseys. 

This jersey is basically made of very small holes to maximise evaporation, much like that of a base layer, but with added advantages. It comes with the versatility of a standard jersey having a full-length zip and three standard pockets. Emergency gels can safely be stored, which a standard base layer can’t do.

If space isn’t an issue for this cyclists indoor cycling set-up, this LifeLine Rocker Plate adds an extra dimension to indoor riding, making longer sessions more comfortable, measuring 162.5cm in length and 90cm at its widest point. The setup is designed to fit almost all brands and styles of trainers. 

It allows side-to-side movement through inflatable balls which can be adjusted for rider weight and preferences. Increasing the pressure will reduce the movement which may be useful when they first get set-up on the plate. Fear not, Velcro straps are provided to secure the trainer in place, so only your legs will be moving fast (hopefully!). 

Rated a 10/10 by our reviewer Mike, you are sure to impress by buying these as a gift this Christmas. For the potential long hours on an indoor trainer, a high-quality seatpad is essential which many of the best cycling bib shorts have.

These Lusso bib shorts have a triple-density pad, designed for long rides and removing pressure where you don’t want it. Being uncomfortable won’t be an excuse for finishing a session early!

Overal these shorts are comfortable, breathable, and high-quality, making them the ideal indoor cycling Christmas gift this year. Will they be getting a 10/10 from the cyclist receiving these?

You can never have too many pairs of shoes so why not add to their collection of road cycling shoes with these lightweight shoes from Mavic, weighing in at 502g on our road.cc scales of truth. 

They are certainly not for winter weather with thin fabric and mesh panels, but that makes these the ideal shoe for indoor cycling as they are highly ventilated helping to keep you cool during those sweaty turbo sessions. 

Efficiency is definetely not comprimised with these shoes with the carbon-reinforced outsole ensuring maximum pedalling power meaning they shouldn’t be left behind on any of those sprints on Zwift.

This kit allows easy and secure mounting of an iPhone 12, 13, and 14, to a variety of handlebar sizes making it a great purchase for a cyclist using virtual training apps for their indoor sessions who currently balance their phone on their stem. At the time of writing this, you can get your hands on one from £30.99. 

It’s highly sophisticated, totally secure, and very easy to use. Combined with a Zwift subscription, this would make an ideal christmas gift. 

Rounding off our indoor cycling gift ideas is the Tacx Boost turbo trainer. On its own, this is a non-smart turbo trainer, but it’s possible to have smart capability by adding a speed sensor to your wheel hub. 

The Boost has ten levels of resistance which can be changed via a cable-operated lever that clamps to your handlebars. The resistance levels give plenty of range up to 1050 watts at an effective speed of 40km/h, according to Tacx. 

Overall, the Boost is well-made and provides the versatility of a standard turbo trainer you can use away from the home/power supplies. Stick it in the boot of the car and you won’t miss a session when visiting the in-laws over the festive period! 

For the committed, goal driven cyclist, TrainerRoad is an extremely useful tool that’ll help them use their time effectively. It is less immersive  and visually exciting compared to other virtual training platforms such as Zwift. If you know a cyclist who’s results driven, this may be a better spend for helping them work towards specific goals. 

TrainerRoad can be subscribed to monthly for £16.80, or a yearly payment of ∼£157. 

> Zwift vs TrainerRoad: Which is best for you?

TrainerRoad’s biggest appeal is the vast number of workouts and training plans, with a staggering 1,000+ workouts. There are also 100+ training plans for every type of cyclist and following a plan is the optimum way of improving fitness. 

“No pain, no gain” is widely accepted in cycling, particularly by those cycling indoors, but this next gift idea will make those indoor cycling sessions easier and a lot less sweaty! 

The best indoor cycling accessories are crucial to make indoor cycling more bearable and a good fan should be top of that list. This industrial Vacmaster Cardio54 Fitness Fan, designed for building sites, is sure to blow masses of air in the face of the lucky cyclist. 

This comes with a handy remote that can be mounted to handlebars meaning the settings can be controlled whilst riding. Vacmaster doesn’t make any claims for the remote being waterproof, so we suggest its kept out of the sweat zone!

This vest is an extremely effective cooling solution, making it one of the best cycling baselayers for indoor cycling. It’s an expensive choice at nearly double the price of most mesh base layers, but this vest comes with four reusable ice packs, a full-length front zipper for maximum cooling effect, and is highly durable. 

We think this vest is worth investing in for the avid Zwift users, but also proves very effective in hot outdoor weather for those pre-race warm-ups, especially with the full-length zipper meaning you can swiftly take the vest off. 

This is vest is the ideal gift to stop your significant other having every window open and numerous fans blowing whilst you’re trying to cook dinner. Ed reviewed this vest and said he only needed one fan on!

If the cyclist you know has been extra good this year and you’re either a recent lottery winner or just feeling extremely generous, this Wahoo Kickr Bike is an impressive (and pricey) bit of kit. 

The Kickr Bike will be a large box to wrap, weighing in at 42kg by us here at road.cc, but is surprisingly easy to put together. Taking only about 20 minutes, it will be built in time to burn off that Christmas dinner! 

The Kickr is highly adustable and one of the nicest ride feels of any indoor trainer we’ve tried. Fear not, comfort doesn’t compromise power, with a 6kg flywheel and motor claiming to offer 2,200W of resistance. See if they can put that one to the test!

The Zwift Hub smart trainer is the best budget smart trainer you can buy right now in terms of what you get for your money. Winning our product of the month for October and featuring on our best turbo trainers 2022, this is sure to get a thumbs up from the recipient. 

> Check out road.cc recommends here

The Zwift Hub is primarily about its simplicity of the set-up and a fully integrated experience. Whilst Zwift isn’t concentrating on the numbers, this genuine direct-drive smart trainer has a claimed accuracy of +/-2.5%, a maximum resistance of 1800W and can simulate a gradient of 16%. These are very good numbers and won’t be troubling any of us anytime soon! 

Will you be purchasing this as a gift, or maybe just as a gift to yourself?

Zwift has changed indoor training completely. You could call it an online game for cyclists, providing a realistic alternative to cycling outdoors, for fun or dedicated training. We aren’t sure indoor training and fun should ever go together, but Zwift (and other apps like it) certainly helps to make indoor cycling more enjoyable!

The £12.99 monthly subscription allows you to cycle with anyone around the world, on Zwift at that time, on nine virtual worlds containing many different routes. For a relatively small price, Zwift makes a big difference to indoor riding. While we’ve gone for the most popular one for this guide, there are other training apps are available of course, so be sure to check out our other favourite cycling training apps if you reckon your gift recipient could be less of a Zwifter and more of an, erm, Rouvy-er…