Why do cyclists love coffee?

Cycling and coffee share a community as much as a caffeine boost. The bond traces back to the 1960s, when Italian espresso manufacturer FAEMA sponsored Eddy Merckx's team. Today, cafés serve as meeting points, finish lines, and social hubs for riders — and a good post-ride espresso is part of the ritual.

What is a bike café?

A bike café is a specialty café built around the cycling community — bike racks out front, an early opening for pre-ride coffee, and often a repair shop or club room attached. Some are hybrid coffee/bike shops; others are coffee-first spaces with a strong cyclist following.

Does coffee actually help cycling performance?

Yes — caffeine is one of the few performance aids with strong scientific backing. It improves endurance, reduces perceived effort, and is legal under WADA. But the culture goes beyond performance: most cyclists drink coffee for the ritual and the community, not just the watts.

Where can I find bike cafés near me?

Roasters maps the cycling-friendly specialty cafés in 25+ cycling cities including Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Berlin, Paris, Portland, London, and Melbourne. Filter the app by city and look for the cycling tag.

Coffee and Cycling — Why Cyclists Love Specialty Cafés

Where the bond started

The connection between competitive cycling and specialty coffee traces back to the late 1960s, when the Italian espresso machine manufacturer FAEMA sponsored a road cycling team that included Belgian legend Eddy Merckx. The team won; the espresso machine became iconic; cyclists and espresso bars stayed bound.

By the 1990s and 2000s, road cycling crews across Europe were meeting at cafés before and after rides. As third-wave coffee emerged in the same cities — Antwerp, Copenhagen, London, Melbourne, Portland — cyclists became part of the early specialty café customer base.

The bike café, as a category

A bike café is a specialty café built around the cycling community. Two common formats:

Hybrid coffee + bike shop: espresso bar at the front, repair stand and parts wall in the back. Examples include Look Mum No Hands! (London), Lamarck (Paris), and On Y Va (Barcelona).
Coffee-first with a cyclist following: a specialty café that opens early, has bike racks out front, and has become a regular meeting point for road crews. Most cycling cities have a handful of these — Roasters surfaces which ones in each.

The ritual

For most riders, the ride-and-coffee ritual is the point. A pre-ride espresso at 7am; a midway café stop on a long loop; a post-ride flat white at the home café. It's how cyclists socialise, plan, and recover. Performance is secondary — though caffeine does help (scientifically), and is legal under WADA.

Where to find bike cafés

Roasters maps cycling-friendly specialty cafés in the cities with the strongest scenes. A few good starting points:

Or download the app to filter any city by cycling-friendly cafés.