Grab an Aldi Specialbuys cycling bargain on 28th September including £50 indoor bike trainer and £15 lights

RMurphy195 wrote:

Had a quick look in there the other day, I was looking for some brightly coloured waterproof winter riding gloves. What struck me was that all the winter clothing I could find was coloured BLACK!

Yeah, odd move. I fancied the merino jersey but the ninjaness of it put me off.

Ended up only buying the neoprene gloves which i tested out this morning. Good points being they're warm but too warm for this time of year. Need the temperatures to drop a bit and then also glove liners as I found I could barely get them off sweaty hands. Bad points were they gave me a bit of hand cramp. Obviously this is my personal experience and someone else's hands may be fine.

Gave the overshoes a miss as they looked the same as the last ones I had from Aldi which were garbage and literally feel to pieces.

aegisdesign wrote:

I just edited the existing config.txt file to set the time while it was connected to my Mac and set the 0 to 1. You don't have to take the card out. Then ejected the  "drive". I set it to 3 seconds past the minute knowing that switching it on takes 3 seconds, switched it on at the time I set and bingo, perfect time.

My card came with a readme on it already explaining how to set the time.

edit: There's no time offset for China. How would it know? It's not connected to the net. It's just a dumb clock.

I just stuck my card straight into the light and turned it on. Who reads manuals?

I didn't say it was connected to the net, or knows about timezones, just that the time of the internal clock (and therefore all timestamps on videos and file dates) was 8 hours ahead of GMT (which puts it in the official TZ for China & HK).  Presumably they come off the production line with the clock set to local time.

Yorkshire wallet wrote:

RMurphy195 wrote:

Had a quick look in there the other day, I was looking for some brightly coloured waterproof winter riding gloves. What struck me was that all the winter clothing I could find was coloured BLACK!

Yeah, odd move. I fancied the merino jersey but the ninjaness of it put me off.

Ended up only buying the neoprene gloves which i tested out this morning. Good points being they're warm but too warm for this time of year. Need the temperatures to drop a bit and then also glove liners as I found I could barely get them off sweaty hands. Bad points were they gave me a bit of hand cramp. Obviously this is my personal experience and someone else's hands may be fine.

Gave the overshoes a miss as they looked the same as the last ones I had from Aldi which were garbage and literally feel to pieces.

I have read a few reports that come to the conclusion that bright colours make little to no difference in visibility on the roads as too  many static things are hi-vis on the roads. Where the diference is made is in reflective materials which are most effective on moving parts like ankles and wheels.

CygnusX1 wrote:

I just stuck my card straight into the light and turned it on. Who reads manuals?

I didn't say it was connected to the net, or knows about timezones, just that the time of the internal clock (and therefore all timestamps on videos and file dates) was 8 hours ahead of GMT (which puts it in the official TZ for China & HK).  Presumably they come off the production line with the clock set to local time.

The date on mine was sometime in May and the time wasn't 8 hours out. Not sure they set the time at all.

Anyhoo, easy set.

ClubSmed wrote:

 

I have read a few reports that come to the conclusion that bright colours make little to no difference in visibility on the roads as too  many static things are hi-vis on the roads. Where the diference is made is in reflective materials which are most effective on moving parts like ankles and wheels.

I always spot orange the easiest. It just seems to leap out either in the drab of winter or against greenery in summer.

I know there's no excuse for spotting cyclists wearing anything during daylight hours but it often helps to spot people from as far away as possible so you can plan your pass easier and modulate your speed to meet them in an overtaking position. Likewise I'd also be spotted from as far away as possible too, none of this 'suddenly a cyclist appeared....so I ran them over'.

ClubSmed wrote:

Yorkshire wallet wrote:

RMurphy195 wrote:

Had a quick look in there the other day, I was looking for some brightly coloured waterproof winter riding gloves. What struck me was that all the winter clothing I could find was coloured BLACK!

Yeah, odd move. I fancied the merino jersey but the ninjaness of it put me off.

Ended up only buying the neoprene gloves which i tested out this morning. Good points being they're warm but too warm for this time of year. Need the temperatures to drop a bit and then also glove liners as I found I could barely get them off sweaty hands. Bad points were they gave me a bit of hand cramp. Obviously this is my personal experience and someone else's hands may be fine.

Gave the overshoes a miss as they looked the same as the last ones I had from Aldi which were garbage and literally feel to pieces.

I have read a few reports that come to the conclusion that bright colours make little to no difference in visibility on the roads as too  many static things are hi-vis on the roads. Where the diference is made is in reflective materials which are most effective on moving parts like ankles and wheels.

I recall a few articles in the past year or two which said that it was contrast that was key.

I'm not sure there are lots of static hi-vis things on the road - roads and buildings aren't hi-vis, and many cars are dark colours. So hi-vis or bright colours are more noticeable against them, especially in low daylight. 

Reflective materials are effective when lights are shone on them during hours of darkness. They're less effective in low daylight (such as my evening commute currently is) or brighter. 

pockstone wrote:

Got one myself on Thursday. A bit of a punt as , even at 40 quid, a rear facing camera is a bit of a luxury for me.

So far so good.

Cons include  a paucity of mounting options. Seatpost only mount means either emoving my seatpack or rearranging the contents to stop it blocking the lens, as I don't have a lot of seatpost sticking out on my commuter. I'm sure less of a problem for riders with plenty of post showing. Even so the wide angle lens meant I still got a good view of traffic behind, albeit with the sky blocked out by the saddle bag! ( It seems lack of mounting options  is a problem common to the Fly6, although the bulk of the Aldi version may make it more of a drawback.) Make sure you've got room for it in your preferred set up.

It  beeps. (loudly) when turned on or off.

It has a habit of lighting up when you disconnect it from the computer.

Controls have a bit of lag when turning on or off. Patience needed when you press the button for on or off. I'm sure I'll get used to this.

Sticky patch on the mounting wedge isn't that sticky, so take care not to lose the wedge.

Light isn't as bright as my Smart rear lamp.

USB and card cover doesn't look very waterproof. I'll add a bit of tape just to be sure.

Overall, only minor gripes.

Pros. It does loop the video, as mentioned by others.

Video seems pretty good.

Battery remaining alert is very handy.

Once on it seems fairly stable. Canal towpath and potholes didn't loosen it on my commute home.

It does work in camera only mode, using the light dimmer button.

Cheap, compared to the only competition.

I just need to see how long it lasts, winter draws on!

 

 

I've never used the Fly that it rips off but initial impression is "unremarkable" and it will probably go back.

1. Difficult to get the velcro tight enough to stop it slipping on the seat post. On both rides so far it has also rotated a lot around the post. I'm running a 27.2 seatpost

2. The beeping when plugging in for charging is bloody annoying and loud - it sounds like a fire alarm. Not ideal for the office or for that matter at home. Can't be switched off. Main reason its probably going back.

3. File management - if you delete files from a Mac it'll chuck them in a .trashes folder that won't be visible and reduce the amount of space you have for recordings. Would seem to be best to just let it loop record and ensure your card is big enough to cover your whole commute. Got an insanely close pass early on in my commute this morning but because of the way it handles manual deletes it had been overwritten by the time I got to work 30 minutes later.

4. Its surprisingly big and heavy, which probably contributes to #1 above.

5. Not sure how it handles timestamping. There's a file you can change to set the current time but this is only accessible from a PC and I don't know whether it needs setting each time you turn the camera on. If so its a complete dealbreaker because timestamps are important when submitting evidence. Really needs an internal clock to be useful. I certainly don't want to have to plug the camera in every time, mainly due to the beeping beeping!

On the whole, meh...

Interested to see how all that compares with a Fly as I'm now tempted to get one of those...

kil0ran wrote:

 

 

 

 

I've never used the Fly that it rips off but initial impression is "unremarkable" and it will probably go back...

On the whole, meh...

Interested to see how all that compares with a Fly as I'm now tempted to get one of those...

[/quote]

1) No problems with the velcro so far. I sit the heel cut out over the seatpost clamp. Prevents spinning but  I guess that depends on clamp.

2)Yes, that bloody beep! Time for a bit more insulation tape. I can live without the soundtrack of fluffed gear changes and grinding chain.

3)Files delete OK on a PC. Swopped the card for 32 gb so should easily get a days commute recorded.

4) I was a bit disconcerted by the dimensions, but having checked out the fly6, it seems pretty similar. I can't believe what a direct copy it is!

5) Timestamp seems to work OK without reconfiguring each use. New card configured easily.

So main drawbacks for me ... size, and that infuriating beep (At least the beeping actually serves a purpose.) but not so bad that I can't live with it.

I've already had one accident this year with no camera evidence. Don't want another.

kil0ran wrote:

4. Its surprisingly big and heavy, which probably contributes to #1 above.

5. Not sure how it handles timestamping. There's a file you can change to set the current time but this is only accessible from a PC and I don't know whether it needs setting each time you turn the camera on. If so its a complete dealbreaker because timestamps are important when submitting evidence. Really needs an internal clock to be useful. I certainly don't want to have to plug the camera in every time, mainly due to the beeping beeping!

On the whole, meh...

Interested to see how all that compares with a Fly as I'm now tempted to get one of those...

Size/Weight

Size: Aldi = (H 88mm, W 38mm, D 63mm) vs. Fly6 = (H 85mm, W 39mm, D 55mm).

Weight: Aldi = 150g (approx) vs. Fly6 = 113g

https://support.cycliq.com/support/solutions/articles/13000005491--fly6-dimensions

http://www.quesh.co.uk/data/images/products/79004UG.pdf

Timestamp

The Aldi/Maxtek one comes with the time set to GMT+8 (China).

I tried setting the date by following the less than clear instructions (it said to amend a CONFIG file but I had to create it, change a 0 to 1 and put the desired date in YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm:ss format). Since I failed to change the time, I created a README that explained the offset to any PC Plod that picked up the remains in the event of my sad demise.

The instructions for the Fly6 are clearer, and suggest date in MMM DD YYYY HH:MM:SS format so I will try this tonight.  Will report back if it succeeds. (Incidentally, looks like you can do this with the SD card in the Fly6 whereas you have to remove the card in the Aldi one).

https://support.cycliq.com/support/solutions/articles/5000549576-fly6-date-and-time-setup

*** Breaking news ***

Looks like the tech support guys at Quesh have been fielding a lot of calls on the date/time setup, they've added some instructions on the product page:

Creating A Config File:
� Create a text document on your Windows OS desktop and title it "CONFIG".
� Copy and paste the listed below into the document:
1
YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS
� Modify the last line of text to the correct date and time and save.
� Format the micro SD card before using.
� Transfer the the completed file to the micro SD card and insert it into the camera.
� Turn the camera on.

http://quesh.co.uk/products/?product_id=461

jh27 wrote:

Does anyone else find it a bit odd they don't offer a small anymore?  I suspect they weren't selling much of it - perhaps because they don't offer any changing facilities.  I've mostly bought medium in the past but I have a small jersey from them which is a much better fit - and I woudn't consider myself small.

Precisely the reason why I don't (or can't) buy Aldi gear any more. They have been phasing out size small for a few years - I think this may have been the first time they had no mens clothing items in small at all.

I did email them a couple of years ago to express surprise at this, and their 'cut-and-paste' answer was there were 'some items' that were in size small! Now even this derisory selection has disappeared. Had they had smalls in everything, then there were a few things I would have considered, but okay - I just won't give you any more of my money then.

CygnusX1 wrote:

Get your Fly6 rip-offs now! Available for pre-order:

https://www.aldi.co.uk/c/specialbuys/dates/2017-09-28

Slightly underwhelming specs compared to the Fly (for example, looks like there's no camera-only mode, and the mount looks a bit basic. I've ordered one so we'll see on fri/sat when it arrives

Also, if its not looping the video you're going to get less than 30 minutes video with the supplied card.

kil0ran wrote:

Slightly underwhelming specs compared to the Fly (for example, looks like there's no camera-only mode, and the mount looks a bit basic. I've ordered one so we'll see on fri/sat when it arrives

 

Also, if its not looping the video you're going to get less than 30 minutes video with the supplied card.

"Includes 8GB Micro SD card, and can support up to 32GB class 10 Micro SD Cards"

For the price, and ignoring the issue of which bits of Cyclic's intellectual property it might or might not be infringing, only bundling a small card seems reasonable.

I'd hope that it does loop though, like the Fly; 32GB isn't that much larger (and is a fairly obvious thing to do, without directly copying it from the Fly).

I'm a bit dubious, but will probably succumb to temptation if the local store has any in when I look.

armb wrote:

"Includes 8GB Micro SD card, and can support up to 32GB class 10 Micro SD Cards"

For the price, and ignoring the issue of which bits of Cyclic's intellectual property it might or might not be infringing, only bundling a small card seems reasonable.

I'd hope that it does loop though, like the Fly; 32GB isn't that much larger (and is a fairly obvious thing to do, without directly copying it from the Fly).

I'm a bit dubious, but will probably succumb to temptation if the local store has any in when I look.

Had a brief look at it on my way in this morning.

First impression is that it's actually quite a bulky unit - I'd expected something smaller.

Second impression is that the buttons were pretty horrible to use. The on/off one had to push quite hard for a couple of seconds, then it beeped and a few lights came on. The mode one didn't seem to do anything at all in the 5 minutes of prodding I gave it before giving up and putting the whole thing back on the shelf.

Came away with a some of the merino tops, socks and arm warmers and a couple of bottles of lube.

kil0ran wrote:

Also, if its not looping the video you're going to get less than 30 minutes video with the supplied card.

it loops, at least mine does

I've lost patience with Cycliq. I bought a 6, the battery gave up in the cold (just outside the warranty period). I've had 2 front versions, both have given up - going to turn off, the orange light started flashing together with a loud insistent beeping. The first time this happened (after 8 months),  I got a replacement. The same thing happened to the replacement, after 6 months, which seems to have put me outside the 12 month warranty. I've certainly been waiting about 3 weeks for the distributors to make up their minds.   Talking to someone in my bike shed, they also got a 6 month life out of theirs, which isn't very long for £250 ...

I got 2 of the Aldi versions, one for me and one for the lad now he's commuting to school. I was struck with terror when I looked at http://www.quesh.co.uk/products/?product_id=461 , which says it doesn't loop when the card is full. However, it seems to, so we're all good for now

kil0ran wrote:

CygnusX1 wrote:

Get your Fly6 rip-offs now! Available for pre-order:

https://www.aldi.co.uk/c/specialbuys/dates/2017-09-28

Slightly underwhelming specs compared to the Fly (for example, looks like there's no camera-only mode, and the mount looks a bit basic. I've ordered one so we'll see on fri/sat when it arrives

Also, if its not looping the video you're going to get less than 30 minutes video with the supplied card.

 

So mine has just arrived in the post (got it delivered to the office), my thoughts so far:

1. Aldi packaging is a bit embarassing could they not disguise it as a parcel from LoveHoney or something

2. It beeps (very loudly) to tell you how much charge it has - discovered this when plugging in USB charger in a quiet office

3. It DOES have a camera only mode (dimmer switch on right side allow turning lights off).

4. Mounting is a velcro strap, comes with rubber shims to adjust angle or to fit an aero seat post.

5.  Looping - not tested yet, but others have confirmed that it does.