First Look: Aldi's autumn cycling bargains

I bought a pair of Aldi/Lidl (can't remember which) cycling shoes 5 years ago. I trained regularly and cycled to Germany and back in them, not once, not twice but three times. They have been out in all weathers. I have just bought another pair only because the plastic 'hinge' that holds the velcro strap has become slightly weak. They are still wearable and I haven't resorted to the new ones yet. The original ones cost me £10!

Their gloves are fine as, are their sports glasses. Not the best in the world but they do what they are supposed to. When I have been out with other cyclists they have left behind expensive bits of kit at cafes or stops. Losing a pair of £60 glasses would greatly upset me, losing a pair of £7.99 ones would merely inconvenience me.

I have two pairs of the winter cycling trousers. One pair is 5 years old and still as good as new.

I've got to agree the waterproofs are not too good, not breathable so wetter inside than out. Their cycling underwear is not padded enough but at least there are no chafing seams.

Used my ALDI gloves for the first time this morning and can't really fault them. Winter gloves from a major brand could easily cost 6 times as much and I'm finding hard to imagine that they would be 6 times better, either in perforance or durability. The shoe covers are doing OK too.

When shopping for this stuff we should remeber that ALDI don't actually make any of the stuff, only brand it, so there's no common quality standards accross their 'range'. The better stuff is still low-end but it is good value. The crap stuff really is crap.

I also had an ALDI tool kit. Quality is not great but it got me fully kitted out for the price of a chain whip. Some tools have expired but they can be replaced with higher quality ones to keep the kit complete.

I bought some fingerless gloves and lightweight cagoule earlier in the year - the stitching on some of the gloves' fingers has come undone and the cagoule is boil-in-the-bag. :-\ Will be very wary about buying cycling gear from them again - won't be so cost-conscious next time!

http://road.cc/content/image/94573-w3913-pd-thursday-6a

I bought the jacket for commuting to replace the 3+yr old Aldi one which I broke a sleeve zip due to coming off on snow last winter.

So far I'm slightly confused by the latest offering.

I'm 5'11" & 12.5 stone and the cut of the medium was very generous around the body, so I tried the small. I had a slight concern over back length but I honestly couldn't tell the difference between the S & M when trying to replicate being hunched over the bars, and the small fitted without being tight so I purchased that one.

I've worn it twice since and had to take it off both times, as it is too warm for the north east in October.

Now for the slightly confusing part, the black panels on the arms aren't made of the same material as the rest of the jacket & are very thin. Due to having a velcro strap to tighten the bottom of the sleeves rather than a zip (probably to keep costs down), the black material is pulled round onto the front of the arm. So while my body was overheating, my lower arms were exposed to the chill breeze.

I'm not sure how that will work when it is cold enough to warrant wearing it. Tempting to pay the £15 to get the zip replaced in the old one just in case.

As there is virtually bugger-all cycling kit made in the UK, these days, I'm not that fussed about where or how anything from outside the UK is sourced/manufactured; the posher stuff is still probably made in similarly dangerous sweat-shops as that made for ALDI, LIDL, etc, despite what what assurances label-owners and distributors say to make consumers feel better about themselves.
However, that's not to say that I don't empathise with those paid a pittance in squalid working-conditions.

If it looks and feels like a bargain, we know why it is.

Found Aldi stuff to be generally OK, although the soles on one of my commuter SPDs cracked after a year. Found Dare2B kit to be good value too especially the kids stuff. They always have a sale on.

Good ethical outdoor gear companies out there if you are prepared to pay. Patagonia being the original, Howies always have some nice bike kit too.

" if you think premium brands are expensive because they pay their factory workers well then you're seriously deluded and 100% wrong."

Agree 100%.

Factory working conditions aside, I have a range of expensive through to budget stuff and I'd say that the arm and leg warmers, the winter gloves and the show covers are massive bargains. First impressions on a par with wiggle budget stuff (or close to) yet about a third the cost.
Makes you realise how much we are getting ripped off most of the time.

Now I'm off to enjoy my £150 rapha shorts.

I used to cycle in whatever sports gear I had lying around but the stuff sold in Aldi and lidl was better suited to my needs.

When I made the move to road cycling and started to get a bit more serious about it I started buying higher quality stuff but I still see the value in a few Lidl/Aldi baselayers.

Lets tell it like it is.The Aldi cycle gear is SH1TE and is only for non cyclist as are the bikes they sell.I think it's made to put people off cycling.The bikes they sell when you take them to your local bike shop have to go in the skip because they are non serviceable.The clothing looks just as useful

I've had some Lidl and Aldi stuff in the past. The shoes were OK, the workstand is still going strong but the zips on any of the tops ALWAYS (alright - 3 times) break after a short time. If I had saved the money I spent on deficient tops I could've had one nice one. Trouble is, once you enter one of these shops, your brain goes into bargain mode and before you know it you're struggling to the checkout with too much low-quality bike stuff supplemented with jars of sausages and tins of champagne.

More free advertising for a budget dodgy-ethics foreign supermarket that sells less cycling kit than Tesco or Sainsbury's larger stores. The only thing they sell that's really worth it is cheap lights made to German standards (and therefore legal here) but there weren't any in this sale.

The merino top suits me well - a women's medium fits me better than it fits my wife.

The winter gloves look like they might be good for £5.

Yes, bargain clothing is upsetting, in terms of what it costs on the other side of the world - and I say this as someone who gives 10% of my income to charity - but the really upsetting thing is that it's not at all easy to tell which companies are doing a better job.

For instance, you'd assume Lidl and Aldi on the one hand, and Gap on the other, would be worlds apart on this, yet Gap clothing, too, was being made in those death trap factories featured on Panorama.

I've used a lot of ALDI stuff and some Sports Direct stuff for commuting and just knocking around. I've also got some branded gear. In my opinion it's hard to justify the cost of branded stuff even though it's highly desirable based on what is often only marginally better performance.

Maybe I'm a cheap skate but I've using the bargin gear from ALDI and Sports Direct for about three years with out a problem. The one exection is a water proof top ..... this worth spending some serious wonga on, the ALDI top is ok for very light drizzle but crap in real rain.

I still drool over some of the branded stuff, and when I win the lottery I'll be racing down to the cycle shop straight past ALDI. Till then it's up early and elbows out for the twice a year jumble sale

Bought a track pump from Aldidas about 5 years ago. Still going strong. Their socks are always good too.

3/4 shorts, decent fit, lousy seams, but fine with a pair of seamless shorts underneath.
Commuting trousers. Very nice indeed. Slightly too flattering a fit, otherwise I'd wear them all day.
Socks - functional, seem to do the job just as well as branded socks costing three times as much.

Also got reflector bands with blinking LEDs which I'm really not sure about. They'd work safety wise, but have a very strong suspicion I'd look a complete knob.

Some things I wouldn't go to Aldi for though, shoes is one of them. And chicken.

My Aldi SPDs were a great fit and lasted a good couple of years before an unfortunate incident with a Welsh hill saw them off.

Overall my experience has been about 3/5 for Aldi/Lidl stuff. My £7 cycling shorts are as good as my £40 Bontrager ones, my toolkit's still going strong and full of useful things, and I can't say anything bad about my £30 bike stand.

The worse thing I've bought has been a footpump type thing which completely demolished itself on its first use.

I have found the arm warmers to be very good in the past. The jackets are perfect for my commute to work so have bought a couple.

Sure, buying high quality ones is better in many ways, but many of us don't have that luxury.

Personally, the money goes on a really good rain jacket, but I get the Lidl/Aldi £8 shorts, as they have lasted me well, fit acceptably, and are perfectly comfy when coupled with my 2nd hand Brooks. Tops - a couple of slighly posher ones for when I feel the need, but cheapo Decathlon active-ish t-shirts for zipping around town.

The trick for those riding on a budget is working out where the money needs to go and where it doesn't, and a lot of these items are just fine for most purposes.

If this is the first pair of proper cycling shoes that the writer has ever owned I am afraid that I am left in doubt about her ability to write usefully on the subject.

I also happen to agree with the cheap-as-chips-costs-more-in-reality view point.

Not exactly Rapha is it?

Only joking.

Interesting bike stand. Looks useful.

I bought their tool kit a while back.

Poor quality that just seems to fall apart.

Visited our local Aldi on the launch day just a couple of hours after opening to find all the marino base layers and most other 'good stuff' had gone. The policy of having a couple of real bargains works well to get foot fall but leads to a lot of disappointment.

The show soles snap under heavy pedaling quite reliably.

Shame people don't check where the products are sourced.. Cheap goods are cheap for a reason..

Remember the fire in Bangladesh, it cost 1000 lives before Aldi signed a safety accord..