Lidl Cycle Clothing 2009

[SEATALTEA]

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/lidl-cycling-offers-coming-soon-20312

Nothing on the Lidl site yet but Bike Radar are well informed.

 

[Barnowl]

Many thanks for the tip off...

 

[Mussels]

Excellent timing. I've been looking to replace my knackered shoes and get some summer clothing but putting it off. This time I'm going to get my finger out and get down there before everything runs out.

 

[wurly]

Thanks, i must remember to a have a look around for cheap rechargable cells at the same time...

 

[Grumpy1]

One thing I can't understand is why do we all spend over £1000 on our bikes and then buy cheap clothing from Lidl??!! Bizarre. Everything I ever bought from Lidl has broken. I once even bought a banana from there and it went brown before I got out the car park.

 

[Mussels]

Thanks, i must remember to a have a look around for cheap rechargable cells at the same time...

They have them in now, I think about a quid a cell.

 

[Mussels]

One thing I can't understand is why do we all spend over £1000 on our bikes and then buy cheap clothing from Lidl??!! Bizarre. Everything I ever bought from Lidl has broken. I once even bought a banana from there and it went brown before I got out the car park.

After spending £1200 on a bike I had little money left and didn't realise how many clothes I needed. If I shopped in Evans and got their cheaper range then items would have cost:
Shoes - £80
Shorts - £40 * 2
Tights - £30 * 2
helmet - £25
rain jacket - £30
rain trousers - £40
soft shell jacket - £40
glasses - £30
Summer top - £30 *2
Winter top - £30 *2
Overshoes - £25
Fingerless gloves - £15
Winter gloves - £25
Neoprene hat - £20
That lot is £600 and some of it will fall apart within a year or get lost.
I got all that in Aldi and Lidl for about £100 -£150 and ridden through all weathers in comfort.
The only problems I've had in about 4000 miles are:
Shoes damaged on the chainring, would have happened to any pair
Hat lost last week.
Glasses dropped along an offroad section, no hope of findng them.
Tights, one of the ankle zips is broken.
Overshoes wore out, I replaced them with a good Endura MTB pair.

Some things I will replace with better quality - rain top and shorts mainly but I'm still quids in and most of the kit is very good.

 

[tillson]

I'm still quids in and most of the kit is very good.

I agree with that. I bought some of Aldi's winter cycling clothes and they are very good. I have used the gear all through the winter in all sorts of weather and had no problems at all.

I really can't see the point in spending 2 maybe 3 times the amount on similar quality garments from elsewhwere just because my bike was expensive. It makes no sense.

 

[wotwozere]

Hi Aldi

Is the same as Lidl and have great spirit offers and good skiing gloves which are good for cycling too.

thx

Bob

 

[Barnowl]

I agree with that. I bought some of Aldi's winter cycling clothes and they are very good. I have used the gear all through the winter in all sorts of weather and had no problems at all.

I really can't see the point in spending 2 maybe 3 times the amount on similar quality garments from elsewhwere just because my bike was expensive. It makes no sense.

I must say I agree. Price is not always indicative of quality. I have some great quality cycling kit from Aldis. I also have some expensive quality stuff from my LBS and the internet. I have no gripes with either. You have to be discerning and sometimes just try things out. The winter cycling kit from Aldis was excellent so were the sports glasses and the bike lift. A foot pump I bought from Aldis was trash and soon broke. I spent £30 at Halfords on an electric pump and ended up taking it back twice and swapping it for other none starters. The quality of all three pumps was absolutely appalling. I spent £3.99 on a cheap electric pump for the car at a local "cheapo" shop 18 months ago and it's been a star performer.

 

[Mussels]

A foot pump I bought from Aldis was trash and soon broke.

I got one of those, it never worked but most of the stuff does.

 

[Grumpy1]

What is the difference between Aldi and Lidl? And I do think there is a huge differenece between a gore waterproof, and a cheap Aldi thing.

 

[wotwozere]

HI Grumpy

You must be dumb, everyone know the difference.
Lidl sell Vladivar vodka, Aldi sell Smirnoff red lable
Aldi sell the best Goretex lidl sell the copy stuff.
Lidl have BLT sandwich, Aldi sell Egg mayonaise.

I know which one i prefer.

thx

Bob

 

[Mussels]

What is the difference between Aldi and Lidl? And I do think there is a huge differenece between a gore waterproof, and a cheap Aldi thing.

There's not much difference between the stores or what they sell, however almost everything they sell does a reasonably good job without using expensive fabrics.
Your example of a Gore waterproof is quite a good one, a quick look on Wiggle shows the Gore-tex jackets start at £100. The Gore-tex fabric only works well in certain conditions and it's not very breathable, if I'm wearing Gore-Tex whilst exercising then I will be just as wet as I would if I wore a T-shirt. So I accept that I will occasionally get wet riding a bike and wear a soft shell jacket to keep me warm, the one I have at the moment cost about a fiver and does an excellent job. When it gets really cold or windy I have a hard shell that I put on and put up with the sweat but that is rare and usually so cold that I don't sweat.

 

[Grumpy1]

There's not much difference between the stores or what they sell, however almost everything they sell does a reasonably good job without using expensive fabrics.
Your example of a Gore waterproof is quite a good one, a quick look on Wiggle shows the Gore-tex jackets start at £100. The Gore-tex fabric only works well in certain conditions and it's not very breathable, if I'm wearing Gore-Tex whilst exercising then I will be just as wet as I would if I wore a T-shirt. So I accept that I will occasionally get wet riding a bike and wear a soft shell jacket to keep me warm, the one I have at the moment cost about a fiver and does an excellent job. When it gets really cold or windy I have a hard shell that I put on and put up with the sweat but that is rare and usually so cold that I don't sweat.

You see this is everything that is wrong with internet forums in general. Any Tom Dick or Haryy suddenly becomes an armchair expert. Nieve newbies listen to this advice like it is gospel, so please think about what you actually say. Some poor guy ( or gal) is going to get soaking wet now because you told them goretex is rubbish. No disrespect meant here but you clearly know nothing about fabrics used for outdoors clothing. Gore Tex is possibly the most breathable waterproof fabric on the market, not only that but it is windproof. That is why the military use it. And it is super durable, which means that it keeps its waterproof properties when you wash it. Unlike cheap aldi jacket which will end up turning into a plastic bag. You state that wearing a gore tex jacket whilst exercising will make you soaking wet....have YOU ever worn a gore tex garment in your life? Clearly not by what you have written. There is no reference in your knowledgable script to any goretex garment you have owned/do currently own. You say "a quick search on wiggle, not "my old jacket". I have owned both types more than once and can tell you cheap waterproofs suck. They aren't waterproof for long, rip and make you sweat. Breathable, windproof jackets work well, which is why the military use them. Get your facts right. Rant over.

Grumpy1.......#1 armchair expert.

 

[Mussels]

You see this is everything that is wrong with internet forums in general. Any Tom Dick or Haryy suddenly becomes an armchair expert. Nieve newbies listen to this advice like it is gospel, so please think about what you actually say. Some poor guy ( or gal) is going to get soaking wet now because you told them goretex is rubbish. No disrespect meant here but you clearly know nothing about fabrics used for outdoors clothing. Gore Tex is possibly the most breathable waterproof fabric on the market, not only that but it is windproof. That is why the military use it. And it is super durable, which means that it keeps its waterproof properties when you wash it. Unlike cheap aldi jacket which will end up turning into a plastic bag. You state that wearing a gore tex jacket whilst exercising will make you soaking wet....have YOU ever worn a gore tex garment in your life? Clearly not by what you have written. There is no reference in your knowledgable script to any goretex garment you have owned/do currently own. You say "a quick search on wiggle, not "my old jacket". I have owned both types more than once and can tell you cheap waterproofs suck. They aren't waterproof for long, rip and make you sweat. Breathable, windproof jackets work well, which is why the military use them. Get your facts right. Rant over.

Grumpy1.......#1 armchair expert.

My intention was not to rubbish Gore-tex but to demonstrate that it is not necessary to spend hundreds of pounds on cycling gear. I don't know how good Gore-tex would be but my point was that I don't need to find out as I have ridden all through the winter in the cheap rubbish and not felt cold. You only refer to waterproofs and that may make people think staying dry is the most important thing on a bike, staying warm is more important. Maybe the cheap clothing you tried was just not the right item for the conditions.
Because the military uses it is no recommendation of good equipment, I know this from personal and quite miserable at the time experience.

 

[torrent99]

My intention was not to rubbish Gore-tex but to demonstrate that it is not necessary to spend hundreds of pounds on cycling gear. I don't know how good Gore-tex would be but my point was that I don't need to find out as I have ridden all through the winter in the cheap rubbish and not felt cold. You only refer to waterproofs and that may make people think staying dry is the most important thing on a bike, staying warm is more important. Maybe the cheap clothing you tried was just not the right item for the conditions.
Because the military uses it is no recommendation of good equipment, I know this from personal and quite miserable at the time experience.

Oooo the old soft shell vs hard shell argument. Almost as good as the helmet debate!?!?

From my years doing outdoorsy stuff & speaking to friends that have both:

Hard shell (waterproof + "breathable" outerlayer) = attempt to keep you DRY. Works great for low activity levels (or freezing dry air). Once you start becoming active sweat tends to make you wet/damp then cold. Of course it's the only option in a torrential downpour.

Soft shell (very thin Hydrophillic +windproof top layer + fleecy insulating under layer) = attempt to keep you warm (& possibly moist ;-)). Works well for high activity levels where the activity keeps you warm and also pumps out the moisture towards the surface where it evaporates. Not so good if you are standing still & if the rain gets too heavy then garment just can't pump out the water fast enough so you get wet & cold. Most UK conditions don't get near this though.

Many outdoorsy people have moved towards the softshell as they've found that no matter how good they are hard shells don't always keep you completely dry and they'd rather be warm (+moist) than cold (+moist)...
Plus soft shells are cheaper, proof against small holes and as a system, lighter.

YMMV. (Me, I don't move much any more so it's hard shell all the way ;-) )

Cheers

Steve

 

[Mussels]

Oooo the old soft shell vs hard shell argument. Almost as good as the helmet debate!?!?

I think it's time for another helmet debate, I haven't seen the 'How much is your head worth' argument on here yet.
I think the rest of what you wrote is spot on, I do wear hard shell but only when it is below freezing, when I have broken down or in a downpour - even then it's usefulness is debatable.
Gore-tex tries to be both hard and soft shell and ends up in a fuzzy area between the two, it does some things very well but I maintain it's usefulness is overstated. If it was cheaper I may try one but at the moment I find the old fashion layering system very efficient especially with modern lightweight materials.

 

[Mussels]

After all that cheap is good speech I've just been out and bought a £75 pair of shorts from CycleSurgery.
With 50% off in the sale of course.

The full specs are in and assuming they look OK in the flesh I will be getting:

Shoes
Gloves
Helmet that's not right on the adjustment limit.
Water bottle
Spare stand
And maybe a saddle and a cycling shirt.
So £35-£50 maybe and I don't care if some of it falls apart, except for the helmet that is.

 

[Phil the drill]

I think it's time for another helmet debate, I haven't seen the 'How much is your head worth' argument on here yet.

Hmm, daresay it depends on which neck it is attached to !

I have some Lidl's stuff (waterproof bike gloves, sports glasses, cycle shoes. I would have bought more but I didn't get there in time for most of it ). Cheaper than chips and has done the job admirably well for me. I'll definitely be heading there early this next time..

Phil