hmmm, just been to aldi to scope out… the only thing i would consider is the winter cycling jacket for roadie duties, the rest just felt low rent stuff to me. merino felt horrible, shoes had loads of padding to get saturated & the fabrics and materials used on most stuff didn't feel nice – kind of 80's sports wear & track suit material. I guess all OK for occasional use, but really not my cup of tea for regular.
Eccles Aldi was my port of call. went in for me and a friend who's resting up after being knocked off riding to work yesterday.
Yes, it's low quality, but sometimes needs must and the difference in longevity between this stuff and far more expensive isn't so much. I use this stuff commuting (170 miles a week, every week), so it suits me just fine.
So, £80 spent between us on:
Merino jersey x 2
Winter jaxket
Gloves x 2
socks x 3
Base layer
Was drawn in by the promise of a merino top, got some other stuff but the 'merino' top is 70% acrylic! No wonder it felt less than wooly smooth. Left it alone. Pleased with my buys though!
Just bought 2 winter tops, a winter jacket and some winter gloves. All for less than £38. Bargaintastic.
Amazed at how their XL stuff actually seems to fit my arms whilst not being comedy tent big in the body. They must dwarf people with 'normal' length arms. Hope they are not designed to shrink in the wash!
The original Aldi merino tops were 100% merino, but were also a little more expensive than they are now… I was most disappointed the next year when I went in and they were only 30% merino..
My disappointment in hearing that I've been beaten to it by dthom has been lessened by the 'not 100% merino' shocker – they were my main target but not now. Will still go have a look-see and a rummage though. My aldi rain-cape is one of my best puchases EVER.
The waterproof trousers are really good too. i had pair that lasted 2 years and got another pair this morning. So busy in bristol southmead one, like wasps around a nest
careful with that merino, I bought one of their tops a few years ago, washed it once and it shrunk to comical proportions, would have been snug on one of the kids (small) teddy bears!
Dammit. I was looking at a quick trip into town to get a couple of those tops to replace the one that the puppy ate (Grrrrr. little sod), but if they are a bit tat, then I might not bother.
Then again, the long shorts might still make the trip worthwhile.
MrSparkle – don't know yet, it's still in its packaging on my passenger seat. I would say ask me tomorrow when I've fitted it but chances are it'll take me about a month to get round to doing it (baby daughter taking most of my spare time at the moment!)
Edit – meant to say that I bought it on the same premise – a tenner seemed worth it to give it a try on the commuter, though I can't tell if it's going to foul the disk brake yet.
Just back from Mussleburgh and purchased winter bike jacket , 3/4 mtb shorts with liner and gloves for £37. Pretty happy with quality as It will only get wrecked anyway. The shorts in particular are great value but sizes are on the small side.
Romsey, Hampshire 09.15 – Packed with odd looking 'cylists' filling trollys with the stuff….!
I came away with 2x baggies, 2x socks and a pair of gloves… and lots of sausage 😯
Total scrum in Springburn Glasgow this morning! I went for gloves (they're the business) and a few pairs of the winter socks (also good).
Looked at the merino-ish tops, but didn't bother as they've no rear pockets and I've better tops like that at home. Don't Rapha call 30% merino/70% acrylic 'sportwool' and sell it for slightly more than Aldi?
Didn't see the racks, and nothing else looked that good. The overshoes are crap.
DezB – Member
£12! for MTB baggies! Amazing how they can do them for £12 where other brands can charge over 100smackers. Someone's rippin us off (Surprise).
MTB Baggies that are, quite frankly, shite. Stitching awry and material so thin you could shoot peas through it. I thought that the whole logic behind wearing baggies on a mountain bike was that they were supposed to give you some protection in the event of scraping along the ground?
The fit on most of the garments is, shall we say, challenging (see above).
"Merino" jersey that seems to be mostly made from oil and not sheep.
The socks are great. Buy a few pairs and they'll last you until the next round of Aldi cycle gear comes on sale.