Gifts for Motorbike Riders and Cyclists When You Don’t Ride Yourself

Every gift guide for riders says the same thing: helmet, gloves, jacket, maybe a fancy lock. And they’re right. That’s what riders want.

It’s also the one thing you shouldn’t buy if you don’t ride. A motorbike helmet in Australia has to meet AS/NZS 1698 or the ECE 22.05/22.06 standards; it has to fit their head, and most riders have brand loyalties you’ll never see coming. The gear is theirs to choose.

What you can get right is who they are. The best gifts for motorbike riders and cyclists skip the kit and prove you’ve noticed which kind of rider they are.

Every rider belongs to a tribe. Below is how to spot theirs, and the tee that says you were listening, from $24.95 rather than the $100 to $900 the gear guides start at.

If there’s a motorbike rider and a cyclist in your house, one order covers both. (Shopping for a 4WD tragic or a beer lover too? Our hobby gift guide has the rest.)

1. The Cafe Racer or Custom Builder: Just Ride and Custom Riders

Does your rider talk about “the build” more than the ride? Do they park at the same cafe every Sunday and spend an hour looking at other people’s bikes? You’ve got a cafe racer.

The name isn’t decoration. Cafe racers came out of 1950s and 60s British rocker culture, when young riders stripped everyday bikes down to look like racers and tore between transport cafes like London’s Ace Cafe.

Today it means a pared-back, custom-built bike and the person who’d rather wrench on it than buy something new.

Two tees speak their language. Just Ride Cafe Racer is the obvious one. Custom Riders Motorcycle Club, with its “Est 1964” badge, has the look of a club shirt from a workshop wall, and it’s the motorbike tee people find us through most often on Google.

Both are $34.95, 180gsm cotton, S to 3XL, in black, coal or charcoal.

Best for: the rider with a project bike and opinions about handlebars. Skip if: they ride a big touring bike and couldn’t care less about style.

2. The Garage Tinkerer: Bob’s Motorcycle Garage Crew

Some riders spend more hours with a spanner than on the road. The bike’s in pieces on a Saturday, the garage is basically their room, and “I’m just going to have a look at something” means you won’t see them until dinner.

Give them their workshop. Bob’s Motorcycle Garage Crew is styled like a real repair-shop shirt (“All Repairs Serviced”), the kind of thing that looks like it came with the business. It’s $34.95 and comes in more colours than anything else in the range: burgundy, black, army, coal and charcoal.

Tinkerers are also the hardest people to buy tools for, because they already own the good ones and have strong views on the rest. A shirt sidesteps all of that.

If your rider’s weekend involves a workshop manual and a drip tray, this is the one. It’ll get worn while they’re doing the thing it’s about.

3. The Racing Nostalgic: Retro Racer, Dare Devils and High Speed

What do you buy someone whose favourite bikes were built before they were born? Old race footage, vintage posters, a soft spot for anything with a number board. That’s the racing nostalgic.

Three tees cover it:

The other two are $34.95, in the same 180gsm cotton as the rest of the motorbike range.

If they lean towards old-school racing, Retro Racer. If they lean towards old-school showmanship, Dare Devils. If you’re buying for two nostalgic riders, get one of each and let them argue about it.

4. The Ride-to-Live Lifer: The Original Motorcycle Riders Club

For some people, riding isn’t a hobby. It’s the thing. They’ve ridden for thirty years, every holiday is a ride, and the bike gets the good spot in the garage while the car sits on the street.

The worry with a rider like this is buying something that looks like a costume. Real riders can smell a novelty shirt from across a car park.

The Original Motorcycle Riders Club gets it right. “Ride to Live, Live to Ride” is a line they’ve probably said themselves, and it’s on a plain $34.95 tee in black, coal, charcoal or royal.

One honest note. Two designs in the range lean American: Motorcycle Club USA IMC and South Californian Chiefs Vintage Motorcycle Classic. They’re great for a Harley or American-iron fan. Skip them for a rider who’s proud of the local scene.

The verdict: for a lifer, keep it simple and keep it local. All nine designs are in our motorbike tees.

5. The Roadie With Too Many Bikes: N+1 and May the Forks

Number line of bikes owned: n bikes now, n+1 wanted, and s-1, the most a partner will put up with

Here’s a number every cyclist knows. According to the Velominati’s tongue-in-cheek Rule #12, the correct number of bikes to own is n+1, where n is however many you have now.

The rule has a second half, and it’s written for you. It can also be expressed as s-1, where s is the number of bikes that would lead to separation from your partner.

The n+1 joke is on both of you. That’s exactly why it works as a gift.

You’ll know a roadie by the lycra, the Saturday cafe stop and the second (or third) bike in the hallway with plans for another. The N+1 Road tee from CrankDNA is the one to get them, at $29.95 in red, black or white. It says you’ve heard the argument a hundred times, and you were listening.

For a Star Wars fan, May The Forks Be With You is the same price and the pun does the work.

Best for: any road cyclist. Skip if: they genuinely own only one bike and are happy about it (rare, but it happens).

6. The Strava Chaser: The Stravanator

Does your cyclist check their phone before they’ve even unclipped? Do they say “segment” like it’s a normal word? They’re a Strava chaser.

Strava splits popular roads into segments, and the person with the fastest time on a segment’s overall leaderboard gets a crown, known as the KOM or QOM: King or Queen of the Mountain. Losing one to a stranger on a Tuesday can ruin a week.

Not every Strava chaser is fast, mind you. Strava also hands out a Local Legend laurel to whoever rides a segment the most times in 90 days, which rewards stubbornness rather than speed. Either kind will get the joke.

The Stravanator (“Hasta la vista KOM!”) is a Terminator pun built for exactly that person. It’s $29.95, in black or red.

If they’ve ever ridden a hill twice in one morning because the first attempt “didn’t upload properly”, this is their shirt.

7. The Pro-Cycling Tragic: Cadel, Jens and Hoogerland

Is your cyclist up at 2 am in July watching the Tour de France? Do they refer to professional riders by their first names? Then the CrankDNA deep cuts are for them. You just need to know what they mean, so here’s the translation.

These are the most personal tees in this guide, and the riskiest. Give one to a genuine fan, and you’re a legend. Give one to someone who only rides on weekends, and they’ll smile politely.

Not sure? Go back to n+1, or skip ahead to the commuter picks below.

8. The Mountain Biker: Don’t Fight the Mountain

Mud on the car, a bike rack on the ute, trail names you’ve never heard of. Mountain bikers are their own tribe, and road jokes mostly miss them.

Give them their motto instead. Whatever Happens, Don’t Fight The Mountain is a motto for anyone who’s ever tensed up on a steep descent, and it’s $29.95 in white, red or black. There’s a reversed print too, if you’d rather the lettering stand out differently.

One thing to know: this is an after-ride shirt, not a riding shirt. Nobody rides a trail in cotton, so picture it at the pub or the trailhead car park, not on the bike. That goes for every tee in this guide.

The verdict: if their bike has more suspension than your couch, this is the one.

9. The Commuter or Everyday Obsessive: Cycopath, Cranky and Fuel Economy

What if all you know is “they ride”? Start here. These are the broadest jokes in the range, the cheapest, and the hardest to get wrong.

Apart from Biking Bad, they’re $24.95 to $25.95, printed on black, XS to 5XL. If you’re buying for a cyclist and you don’t know their type, buy one of these, and you won’t be wrong. The full range is in our cycling tees.

How a shirt get listed

FAQ

What size t-shirt should I get if I can’t ask them?

Measure a tee they already wear a lot. Lay it flat and measure straight across under the arms, then match that number to the size chart. Our motorbike tees run from 47cm (S) to 68cm (3XL) across the chest. The cycling tees run 47cm (XS) to 64cm (3XL), so the motorbike sizes come up bigger at the top end.

If it’s still wrong, size exchanges are available within 14 days, with the return shipping split.

Will a t-shirt arrive before Christmas?

Yes, if you order by early December. Every tee is printed to order and dispatches within about five working days (the Hoogerland tee can take up to seven), then goes by Australia Post. Australia Post’s 2026 cut-off for interstate parcels is 21 December, and as early as 14 December for parts of WA and the NT.

What do you get someone who rides a motorbike and a pushbike?

One of each. Plenty of riders do both, and a motorbike tee plus a cycling tee covers both halves of their life for $55 to $70. If it’s two different people in one house, it’s still one order and one delivery.

Is a gift voucher better than a t-shirt for a rider?

A voucher is the safe gift when you need them to choose gear themselves. A tee is the gift that shows you know them. They work well together: a voucher for the helmet they’ve been eyeing, and a tee for the reason they ride.

Will they actually wear a novelty bike shirt?

They will if it matches their tribe, which is why this guide is sorted that way. These are 180 to 190gsm cotton tees, not thin party-shop costumes, so they wear like a normal shirt to the cafe after a ride.