I recently realised that with the emergence of a bunch of other great local bike businesses, riders can now kit themselves and the bike out top-to-toe in products designed and/or made in Northern Ireland, not to mention have the bike built here too. With that in mind, I thought I'd put together a guide to shopping local for the cyclist in your life this Christmas.
Supporting local independent businesses, as well as putting smiles on their family's faces, enables the development of even more great products, creates bike industry jobs and allows them to invest back into the sport we all love. Everybody wins.
Consider the companies below this Christmas, or swing by our Pop-Up Bike Shop at The Boulevard, Banbridge on Sat 8 and Sun 9 December where you can see it all in person and chat to the heads behind the brands.
1. Galibier Izoard Quilted Gilet £43
Packable warmth for on and off the bike in a lightweight package. Lovely stuff.
2. Donard X Victory Chimp Gairbhéal Bike
You can't have this one, it's mine. It's also too late for Santa, but a deposit down on one of Owen's beautiful frames has to be the ultimate Christmas box. Also, this illustration of the bike is by local designer and bike drawer John McDermott, aka VeloVisual. Contact John on Instagram for a custom print of your bike.
3. Chimpeur Headset Top Cap £4.95
Stare down at your stem and into its eyes to channel the great apes and deliver up to 50 watts additional power.
4. Victory Chimp Ogham Olive Arm Warmers £25
Indispensable Spring/Autumn riding accessories, constructed from Super Roubaix® fabric in our Ogham pattern.
5. Victory Chimp Coffee + Enamel Mug Gift Set £20
The perfect gift set for cyclists. 250g of our sweet and smooth Single Origin Coffee and our enamel mug, built for adventure.
6. Galibier Vars DWR Oversocks £15.90
For warm feet in your Flandrian Best.
7. Victory Chimp Sur La Plaque Art Print £20
Inspired by the Rudge-Whitworth 'Red Hand of Ulster' chainring. Our favourite bike part and cycling industry mystery.
8. Galibier Mistral Bib Tights £71
Our go-to bibs when it gets brass monkeys.
9. Resolute Bay Reflective Collar £30
A cool weather scarf. Made In Belfast from merino with reflective stripe. Top marks.
10. See.Sense Ace Lights £79.99
The latest iteration of See.Sense's smart bike light. I've had a rear one on my bike since v.1. Still going strong and now switched to lid duty. Great safety features and even better support. Made right here in NI too.
£79.99
11. Galibier Contact Gloves £18.75
Total control for CX/XC/MTB and some other acronyms not invented yet. They say FULL GAS on the palm grippers which was almost all I needed to know. Raise your hands if you can no longer breath or speak.
12. Victory Chimp Ogham Olive Jersey £77
Inspired by on and off-road adventures in the wild beauty of the Sperrin Mountains and the many remnants of ancient Ireland within them. With integrated Banana Positioning Technology™ insuring optimally stationed wonder fruit.
13. Victory Chimp Ogham Olive Bobble Hat £23
A supersoft, warm beanie hat for off the bike, race heckling or ascending cyclocross podiums.
14. Galibier Vent Emergency Jacket £39
Ultra-light layer that packs down so small you can just throw it a pocket or bag for every spin and be ready for the inevitable.
15. Victory Chimp Banana Camo Bidon £8
Premium 500c bidon, covered in bananas.
16. Victory Chimp Ogham Olive Cap £15
A classic four-panel cotton cycling cap in our Ogham pattern.
17. Victory Chimp X See.Sense Reflective City Socks £13
A collaboration retaining the much-loved fit and performance features of our core sock range, but adding an innovative highly reflective yarn, woven seamlessly into the city stripes design.
18. Mango Bikes 'The Gus' £500
Under new management and now relocated to Northern Ireland, Mango are known for their super customisable urban single speeders. 'The Gus' is the first new model out of the stable and I like the look of it. Textured paintwork, riser bars and a version of the front rack we use on the VC Monster Delivery Truck. If I was still a City Chimp...
19. Victory Chimp Musette £12
The other Christmas stocking.
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Find Donard Bikes, Galibier, Mango Bikes, See.Sense and Victory Chimp at Pop-Up Bike Shop! A 2-day showcase of local, independent cycling brands.
The Boulevard (née The Outlet), Banbridge
Saturday 8 December, 9am - 6pm
Sunday 9 December, 1pm - 6pm
Brought to you by the Autobus Cycling Collective. (not affiliated with Translink).
Hope to see you there!
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