are there any fair trade or ethical cycle brands?

Loads of hipsterish bike clothing brands claim fair trade eco credentials – Howies etc. No idea how valid they are.

It was sent to us by their very proactive marketing dept.

The magazine is a Yorkshire product after all 😉

Lights touch paper and runs away

place was wall to wall smelly cyclists elbowing each other and buying gloves for like, a quid….

Yes but you can go late as all the XL stuff goes first so skinny race whippets can still get stuff three weeks later 😉

It was sent to us by their very proactive marketing dept.

In that case apologies, with the tags still on i assumed you’d bought it. Im sure i read a review of the stuff in the past where the mag/website had bought it and was convinced it was STW, so assumed it was same again.

Try it is not bad stuff….seriously it is brilliant for the money and my stuff has lasted years as well

If you want good gear at a good price have a look at this stuff… Encove

I was a bit wary at first as it looked a bit ‘cheap’ but they offered to sponsor me and a few mates on a ride from London to Newcastle. We went to their warehouse in Sunderland (another thing to put you off 😉 ) and after looking at the gear we were really impressed. We had white jerseys so they looked a bit grubby at the finish after 3 days riding, but when washed they have came up like new! no ‘brand’ white top has ever come up as clean and they are a really good fit and comfy too. My favourite bit is the pocket are sewn a little higher so when stuffed full the jersey hem still sits against your back, wish my fancy merino jerseys did that!

If you want good gear at a good price have a look at this stuff… Encove

Ooooooh, that looks quite tempting. Shall give them a whirl. Cheers OP, wouldn’t have seen this otherwise!

indeed that looks good value

What if somebody only wanted to could only spend £15 on a top? Should they be made to ride in a T shirt instead?

Not every can afford or justify the price of the top line kit, and the cheap kit might work like a stepping stone to the more expensive stuff.

the top end stuff will be no better than the cheap stuff as it is just material – not had any come apart at the stitching ever

My Ron Hills did get so baggy you could not get behind the saddle due to crotch sag

I think [ waterproof aside] £15 is my top price ever paid for cycling clothing- oh got some animal shorts in the sale for £17

there really is nothing there to justify the price IMHO

seadog101 – Member
Not every can afford or justify the price of the top line kit, and the cheap kit might work like a stepping stone to the more expensive stuff.

I can afford the top line stuff but my Yorkshire/Scottish genetics mean I’m not too tempted 😉
I have a fairly extensive wardrobe of Aldi gear & most of it has outlasted pricy branded stuff!
I must point out the branded stuff is only bought when they are at least 50% off

In that case apologies, with the tags still on i assumed you’d bought it. Im sure i read a review of the stuff in the past where the mag/website had bought it and was convinced it was STW, so assumed it was same again.

I thought the whole point of review stuff was that it was sent in.

No matter how you try and work it, if you go out and buy something, you’re then (mostly) very favourable about it – you’ve spent your own money so you kind of need to justify to yourself that you’ve made the right choice – in other words you put up with minor niggles and you also want to keep it looking nice or not break it. So any testing is intrinsically biased right from the start.

So any testing is intrinsically biased right from the start.

Not necessarily when it comes to professional journalists, it’s not their money. (OK, in the case of STW it probably is their money, but if The Sun decided to review bike clothing I don’t suppose having to spend a bit of Murdoch’s money on the review items would have a massive influence on the results…)

I thought the whole point of review stuff was that it was sent in.

. Well a mag buying something to review is very different to me and you buying it and posting on a forum that its great. That aside, there is always a concern that items given to mags to review are not ‘free’ but come with an expectation of a favourable review and the big stick of withholding future advertisement money. Infact wasn’t this a concern with the lack of on one reviews in a certain mag as they do not advertise enough?

Once you’ve crashed and ruined an expensive garment, cheap but good and just as functional begins to make a great deal of sense.

We don’t buy review kit. It’s sent to us for review and I’m not going near the ‘review/advertising ‘ comment. No siree. It’s a lovey day and I’m not going to spoil it 🙂

I went through my kit last week trying to tidy some stuff up. I realised I had “expensive” shorts and tops in there that date back to 04/05 all still fine no stitching coming out all well made etc. Happy to keep buying stuff I like and not feel ripped off. I buy new kit every so often but rarely have to throw anything out.

I went through my kit last week trying to tidy some stuff up. I realised I had “expensive” shorts and tops in there that date back to 04/05 all still fine no stitching coming out all well made etc. Happy to keep buying stuff I like and not feel ripped off.

This. But then my aldi stuff that predates my ‘nice’ gear is also in remarkable shape given how many muddy welsh winters it went through.

Well a mag buying something to review is very different to me and you buying it and posting on a forum that its great.

I don’t know that would depend if the poster has say been sponsored to do a ride by the clothing company it could be argued that they are advertising the products.

Aldi stuff isn’t bad but I think it lasts so well because its fairly ‘agricultural’ with thicker fabric and less complexity (panels etc) compared to the high end stuff.

Firstly, good on STW for actually including the ALDI stuff in FGF.

I wear a lot of their stuff and it’s surprisingly good.
If I had to spend a fortune on kit, I might not be able to afford the cost of keeping four bikes running.
I buy my spares from my LBS by the way, so I like to think I do my bit to keep them going.

And RonHills are great!

I don’t get why a good LBS would be that worried about Aldi kit – but then I guess it is the Tesco effect.
I also did not like the insults being thrown.

terrahawk – Member
I went in once when they got some cycling stuff in. urgh. place was wall to wall smelly cyclists elbowing each other and buying gloves for like, a quid….

From what I saw this morning, it was wall to wall people doing their shopping. Doing a reasonable trade in bike kit too. Glad the world isn’t full of snobs.

I don’t know that would depend if the poster has say been sponsored to do a ride by the clothing company it could be argued that they are advertising the products.

Fair point, under no obligation now tho, ride done ages ago and already had the free jersey, if it was crap i just wouldnt have posted.

bigblackshed – Member
From what I saw this morning, it was wall to wall people doing their shopping. Doing a reasonable trade in bike kit too. Glad the world isn’t full of snobs.

Yep me too, I was the only cyclist in there (well I was the only one there who rode his bike to the shop)
In fact I’m just about to pop back there as we’ve just run out of tomatoes.