Our Holiday Gift Guide

Every year, we enjoy the autumn cycling season, and then, suddenly, the holidays are almost here. And with that, we are looking for gifts for others, and we’re being asked what we want ourselves. Gift giving is a wonderful tradition, and Natsuko and I really enjoy gifts that we use every day. They remind us of the people who’ve given them to us, and they brighten our day. With that in mind, we’ve thought of a few gift ideas for the holidays.

Many of you already have our new book The All-Road Bike Revolution – it’s also a great gift for other cyclists in your life. As Ted King put it in his foreword: “The proven science of cycling, backed by fascinating, anecdotal applicability, will be appreciated by everyone. From the first-time bicycle owner to a lifelong cyclist looking to purchase their 20th bike, this book covers it all.” And beyond the information that has revolutionized cycling, Miyoshi’s iconic illustrations also make this a fun book to read and browse. ($ 28)

Speaking of Myoshi’s illustrations, we made two Rene Herse x Miyoshi Water Bottles with some of our favorites. One features technial illustrations, while the other has a romantic image of camping. Each design is limited to 200 bottles. ($ 10 each)

We’ve often wanted a wool sweater that was as soft and warm as our Merino wool jerseys. Now we’ve teamed up with Woolistic to make it. Embroidered with the curved logo from our iconic centerpull brakes, the Rene Herse Merino Sweater is sure to become a favorite. We’ve got a very limited number in stock now. ($ 198)

If you’re curious about the story of René Herse, there’s no better gift than our book René Herse: The Bikes • The Builder • The Riders. The book project got its start when René Herse’s daughter Lyli and I were rummaging around her garage looking for some bike components from the old days and found two suitcases full of historic photos: the forgotten company’s archives that Lyli’s mother Marcelle Herse had collected over half a century.

We’ve got a small number (<10) of the 150 Limited Edition copies with a slip cover and art prints of four unpublished photos (above), or the regular edition in English or French. ($ 88 standard, $ 185 Limited Edition)

If you like racing bikes, and you’ve missed our book The Competition Bicycle, we still have a few of this now out-of-print classic in stock, with the actual bikes raced by great champions like Bartali, Coppi, Merckx, Rominger and even our own Peter Weigle. And since competition isn’t just about racing, we managed to sneak in a bike from the races of the Paris newspaper couriers, a tandem that came first in Paris-Brest-Paris, and Jacquie Phelan’s amazing Cunningham mountain bike. It’s a fun book even if you aren’t into racing. ($ 60, also available in German and French)

You can’t really go wrong with a Bicycle Quarterly gift subscription, which will bring joy not just now, but also in the future when new editions land in the mailbox. For U.S. addresses, we’ll also send the recipient a gift postcard with your name on it. ($ 36, U.S. address)

There are also gifts that you use on your bike. Mirrors are useful to keep an eye on traffic approaching behind. There’s no nicer mirror than the Berthoud Bar-End Mirror: Machined from aluminum, it fits in the handlebar end, and it adjusts to any angle, so it works with all (road) handlebar shapes and riding positions. ($ 87)

The Rene Herse Musette Bag is so small and light that you can carry it on every ride. It’s handy when you stop at a bakery and want to take a picnic to a park, when you want to get a few groceries on the way home, or for many other uses. ($ 19)

Are tires the cycling equivalent of socks? Perhaps, but I’ve got some alpaca socks from Natsuko’s parents – my absolute favorites. And a great set of tires makes a wonderful gift, too. Putting a smile on somebody’s face on every ride is one of the best gifts you can give. ($ 66 – 94)

These are just a few gift ideas – we could go on and on with Rene Herse posters, cycling caps and more… Click on the images to find out more about each gift idea.

And most of all, we wish you a happy holiday season.

Jan & Natsuko