Review: The #creakybottombracket 2019 Holiday List

Cover photo is lifted from Rapha. We do not own the photo. We do not own any of the photos on our holiday list. Please support the companies listed.

(2019) Another year at the offices of creakybottombracket.com have seen more good things. This year we updated a race rig. We also rode in some great events with great people. What is exciting is we caught a glimpse of other events, other places to ride, and particular goals to tackle for the final year of the decade. 

We make it a point to say holiday lists aren’t our favorite, but we really do believe in the items featured. They are gifts we have seen, lusted after, or considered (should we win the lottery) for a calendar year. We feel items on this list embody the cycling spirit for men and women. These items can be picked up on whatever day, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, or Gift-giving Tuesday. As is customary our list ascends in price point, so there’s a gift at nearly every level.

Our offices have another year of celebrating the fact that readership continued upward. Already for 2019 we have had more readers than ever before. One of the goals is to put out content that people find interesting, and we hope the numbers are proof of meeting that ambition. Those numbers motivate us, and we cannot thank you enough. 

Let us meet up on the road again in 2020. Hopefully we will be able to recognize you because you received some of the items on this list. Enjoy the offseason and feel free to loop around if you see us. We are always happy to talk bikes. Happy Holidays and, as always, thanks for reading!

Gift Card to the Local Bike Shop (Any Amount)

We made this a gift for the second year in a row because of the importance to keep bike shopping local. Sure nearly every item can be purchased online these days, but nothing beats walking into the local shop just to say hello. These shops are the hub of the local cycling culture. Getting a gift card from the local establishment means gift seekers are investing in the community, too. 

The best part of getting a local bike shop gift card is the elongated product reviews given consideration as each product vies for the status of being picked up. As a people watcher I can say I have noticed patrons with gift cards take their time and relish in the potential. Giving a gift card is an experience on numerous levels. It is an exciting endeavor to have the empowerment of a gift card.

Striipe Design Socks ($20)

We are cyclists first and foremost but we are also motorsport fans. The amount of professional race drivers who also take out their road bike is remarkable: Fernando Alonso, Tony Kanaan, Scott Dixon, Ryan Briscoe, and Jimmy Johnson to name a few. When Striipe Design caught our attention with iconic motorsport livery sock concepts, we knew we had to have a pair (or a few). 

We have Martini (Blue) in our cycling sock drawer and bring them out on motorsport days such as the Indy 500, 24 Hours of Le Mans, or the 24 Hour of Daytona. Don’t think the designs are phoned-in colorways; these socks are beautiful in person and are subtle enough to wear under office wear. You may not know someone who actually owns a Rothman’s Porsche 962 but might possess a car with Recaro sport seats. Striipe Design has it covered if that’s the case. That’s right, not only do they stock livery socks but also patterns of seats, tires, manual gearboxes, and the Pasha checkered flag pattern. In case you were wondering whether Striipe Design made socks gobbled up by cyclists, the answer can be found at the bottom of their site where one can purchase a Factor O2 Disc complete bike in custom Martini colors.

Rouleur Notebook (2 for £25)

Being a writer for a cycling site, it is a guarantee there have been some of the greatest articles never written. It could have been the content was forgotten twenty seconds before falling asleep. On certain rides we got caught up in moments instead of recruiting each and every sense. Sometimes the ride was so enjoyable, so pure, the event needed to be recorded but not published. It was a memory only for us.

Rouleur Magazine would know a thing or two about notebooks. They are the gold standard in cycling publications. If they are picky about anything, it would be the notebooks with their logo in the online store. With beautiful covers and a convenient placeholder, these notebooks are a unique gift for a cyclist. Now that vision quest bike ride taken last year can be recorded as best as possible. Even if nothing were written in the notebook, we would much rather carry it around and be prepared than to be without a book to record a moment. If nothing else, it would make a great autograph book.

New Trail Brewing Moonlit Stout

A little thought about New Trail Brewing in Williamsport, Pennsylvania: They brew incredible beers. But those beers come with a catch. Nearly every one of their offerings is brewed once and then shelved. Maybe they will re-release. Maybe they won’t. The point is when New Trail puts something out, scoop it up directly. Their Moonlit Stout, a vast line of specialty brew options, is set to be released. Whether their distribution hits you is a different story.

With Moon Lit coming in Barrel Aged, 2018 Barrel Aged, Barrel Aged Vanilla, Barrel Aged Coffee, Moonlit, and Vanilla Moonlit, there is bound to be a style for everyone. And with New Trail’s reputation of using high quality ingredients, these brews are eagerly anticipated to either consume or to cellar. Should you be lucky enough to be in the New Trail catchment (and last year’s list had wishful, inaccessible Vermont beer) keep an eye on dark bottles with wax toppers on them. Then be prepared to bask in the glow of praises when the wrapping paper falls away approvingly.

Counter Culture Forty Six Dark Roast Coffee ($15)

Counter Culture Coffee has been through our offices on more than a few occasions. It’s the coffee that provides a nice change of pace. It also reminds us of one of the coffee shops in Keene Valley, NY. Despite being a roaster from North Carolina, we found Counter Culture in a tucked away shop in the small Adirondack town. We don’t normally seek products out based on name alone but, if they brew it in the Adirondacks, we get a bit excited.

In the Adirondack Mountains, a bumpy area in northern New York, there is a challenge called the 46er. It is a collection of 46 peaks over 4,000 feet in elevation. Truth be told a few are not over the 4,000-foot mark. With that in mind, Counter Culture released their Forty Six Dark Roast coffee beans, and the rest, they say, is history. Counter Culture, dark roast, Forty Six, memories of the Adirondacks, that’s a great gift.

Black Fly Challenge Entry ($50 in 2019)

Speaking of Adirondacks, there is a gravel bike race that is set to celebrate their quarter-century mark. It is a race with two divisions: mountain and ‘cross. The Black Fly Challenge is a race that goes from Inlet, NY, to Indian Lake, NY. Then they flip the route for the next year. This race has been on our mind for the past couple of years and this year we would like to do it. We would love to receive a registration and worry about the ‘cross bike situation later.

The race is a manageable forty miles and attracts serious racers to recreational cyclists and everyone in between. With 2020 being an even year, the route will start in Inlet and finish in Indian Lake. Either way, we have never ridden the roads in this area and would love to add them to our Strava Heatmap. This could be our year of adding the Black Fly Challenge to the box of old race numbers.

Spurcycle Chris King Limited Edition Bell ($70)


To some, it’s just a bike bell. To others, it’s a warning. It’s a communicative device. Those who have splurged on a Spurcycle, have done so and ring it at every chance. With their beautiful design, some may still be ringing right now. 

Each year Chris King gets in on the action with Spurcycle and releases a limited edition collaboration. Standard Spurcycles come in silver or black but the Chris King editions come with a clapper that matches King colors. This year the Spurcycle/ King bell is black with a red striker. The best part about these machined bells is the ease of installation due to their genius design. When people walk into a bike shop and ring the bells, it could get old. With Spurcycle, shop employees have flicked the striker just to enjoy the long ring of the handmade bell. While we would use it only a handful of times near our offices, they come in quite handy when riding in beach towns.

Belgian Crew Brussel Gilet (€95)


We love cycling gilets. They are the unsung accessory to transitional seasons. Gilets come out at a variety of times. They are protective enough when the summer light fades and the body has yet to adjust to colder conditions, or they can come out in the deep winter on one of those freakish warm days that have us posting selfies of wearing sleeves in January.

For years Belgian Crew did not have a gilet in their lineup but that changed this year. The perfect accessory is now being produced by one of the best cycling apparel brands in the world. Expect supreme Belgian attention to detail and a comfortable fit from Italian manufacturing. Every year we feature a Belgian Crew garment because they crank out great-fitting and great-looking gear for Belgiany weather days. The Brussel Gilet will get you outside a couple more times each season. Isn’t that what the right attire is supposed to do?

Chris King Thru-Bolt Robert Axle Project ($120 pair)


Make no mistake, we love the machined look of anything Chris King. We love the quintessential buzz made by their hubs and the genuine quality feel of their components. While they make many performance pieces, Chris King has commissioned the Robert Axle Project, thru-bolts designed to focus attention on less-waste practices in the machinery world. 

The Chris King/ Robert Axle Thru Axle project comes in road/gravel and mountain sizes.

Portland, OR, based Robert Axle has teamed up with Chris King to add a little more flavor to your bike. They feature Chris King matchy-matchy colors to make your thru-bolts pop. Each axle is lever-less using less material and saving a couple of grams. That’s not what is important though: we all know rocking a Chris King thru-axle will immediately garner the response, “Oh this ol’ thing?” while secretly chuckling inward with vanity. That’s ok, you think, it was a gift.

Morgan Blue Maintenance Kit Pro

We have thrown a lot of items at our bike this year. We have rolled through surprise severe thunderstorms, over some of the hoppiest gravel, and even survived the Pennsylvania hellish season of chipping-and-sealing roads for no reason. We have had tar, sealant, mud, worms, and grease latch onto the parts and frame. If this kind of riding is to continue, we need to step up the cleaning supplies.

Morgan Blue is a Belgian company that supplies a pro cleaning kit. The only problem we have found regarding Morgan Blue is finding a place to order them. Morgan Blue’s presence in the States is quite small and their website had us confused in no time flat to locate a local bike shop featuring their items. Should we find one, we will scoop it up and prepare for the 2019 attempt at the Festive 500. At this rate, we will soon be adding road salt, sand, and cinder to the list of items gunking up our bike. Morgan Blue’s cleaning kit can solve all those issues. If it’s good enough for professional mechanics on the Tour, it probably can clean home riding issues.

Roka Torino Sunglasses ($115)

Roka has been rather aggressive with their sales campaign and it has paid off, specifically when they offered a discount through the cycling app Strava. While their glasses are pretty cool, it was an email that featured the Torino sunglasses that made us go ‘hmm’. And why not, the colors are perfect.

Add sunglasses to the category of items yearning for the old days of motorsports. What would a classic livery lineup be without the lovely powder blue and deep orange combination of Gulf petroleum? Roka did just that by creating the Torino sunglasses for the bike or for the afternoon at the motorsports park where Porsches, GT40s, and McLaren’s fly by with similar colors. That begs the same question offered to the recently released Ford GT: Is it for racing with a casual feel? Or is it casual with an aggressive racing focus? The Torino glasses could be that set of glasses to straddle both categories handsomely.


POC Omne Air Spin Helmet ($150)

While we would never solely consider a helmet just for its color, POC’s Omne white and orange offering have us considering combining the Roka Torino glasses with this helmet for a stylish homage to racing’s better years. Though POC has had to discontinue the Spin feature for law reasons, they still make a protective lid that has evolved regularly. Gifting a helmet, as we have said before, is a sticky business. It could suggest the person is accident prone. It could also suggest the gift giver cares about the receiver.

The helmet’s target audience is the all-round rider and not so much the racer. That makes it the perfect bucket for commutes, gravel races, grand fondos, and Wednesday Night Worlds at the local bike shop. With its rounded shape, the helmet is a bit sleeker than their other offerings, but we like the Omne look. We think you will, too.

Wahoo KICKR Headwind ($250)

The Missus once defined a gift perfectly: It is something you want but might not actually buy. That description fits the Wahoo KICKR Headwind perfectly. We might get roasted a bit for putting a $250 fan on our list, but hear us out.

A few days ago we came up with the bright idea to go up Epic KOM and Alpe du Zwift in the same ride. By the time I was summiting Epic, I had shucked every piece of clothing on account of heavy sweat. The shelf fan was just not doing it. The Wahoo Headwind is a smart fan that mirrors your cycling experience. That’s right, the wind blows harder when your heart rate rises. And the fan can blow up to 30 miles (50 kilometers) per hour. Good luck sweating with that sort of power. The KICKR Headwind does feature four manual settings but its shines with the user-controlled settings. You may not buy a KICKR Headwind for yourself, but that doesn’t mean you should not put it on a list.



Shave Smith Custom Straight Razor ($400)

Each year we feature a custom straight razor smithy we would like to add to our collection. Shave Smith Razors, based in Colorado, features beautiful handmade straight razors that make a great gift. Since it is believed by Pennsylvania Dutch to be bad luck to gift sharp objects, we suggest gifting money toward a custom designed straight razor. It takes Chris approximately six months to deliver from commencement, which means receiving a blade before the holidays is unlikely.

Chris from Shave Smith can create a piece of functional art that can be handed down generations.

We love straight razors because of the reduction in waste and the return to skin health after years of using a cartridge. It is also a time-honored tradition to lather up and swipe the skin into health. During the winter rides the face takes a beating. That’s where straight razors help repair damaged skin by aiding it back to life, not pummeling it a second time with twelve razors and alcohol-based lather. These keepsake razors are the perfect gift for someone interested in passing the razor down. Get the kids’ names engraved on the spine, have the spouse’s name etched on the blade, or get really freaky and put your Dirty Kanza finisher time for all eternity on the metal. We won’t blame you if you request to take the last suggestion to your grave. 

Moots Routt RSL (Contact Moots for pricing)

Our ridekick Mike has been struggling on a new bike for a while. He has asked whether to get a gravel or ‘cross rig for his next steed. Such is the world of sport-specified bikes that can do only one thing but do it well. It was only a matter of time before people came back around to ask for a bike that can do more than one discipline. That’s where the Moots Routt RSL comes in.

This is the first time we featured a gravel bike on our holiday list, but with an endless list of capabilities, the Routt RSL can handle the paved road, too.

Colorado frame maker Moots has come up with the idea that a bike should be what is needed for that moment. Moots Routt RSL is four bikes in one with a few modifications necessary. The Routt RSL is touted as a gravel machine, groad slayer, ‘cross capable, and winter ready. Perhaps Mike should pony up and utilize the bike that can do it all. Well, except time trialing. The leader in custom titanium bikes Moots has brought a bike that can handle everything the current generation of cyclist is eager to throw at it. Capable of handling 40mm tires as well as fenders, this is the bike of bikes. If you have made it this far down the list, and are considering this as a gift for someone, c’mon. Do them a solid and hook them up with a Moots Routt RSL.