Aldi are offering a load of winter cycle clothing in their latest Special Buys this Thursday (26th September), including a winter cycling jacket costing £16 and winter gloves for £5.
As is the usual deal with Aldi’s Special Buys, they have a limited stock so you need to be quick if you want to bag a bargain. Best to be at your local store nice and early then, to avoid disappointment.
They’ve got lots on offer this time, with plenty of winter clothing. The Winter Cycling Jacket (pictured above), costing £15.99, uses a 3-layer softshell material with a brushed fleece liner for added comfort and insulation. The outer layer is claimed to be waterproof and windproof, it’s probably water resistant at best, as most soft shells are. There’s plenty of reflective details, pockets galore and an elasticated waist with a dropped tail. It’s available in men and women’s sizes and colour options
The Cycling Rain Jacket costs £19.99 and is made from a waterproof and windproof material. There’s a full-length YKK zipper, vents in the side panels, elasticated cuffs, zipped chest and rear pockets and reflective details. Available in pink for women (yes, really) and yellow for men in various sizes.
A good base layer is the foundation of any cycling outfit at this time of year, and the £15.99 Merino Base Layer Top and Bottoms look just the job. You get all the good benefits of the natural material - anti-microbial, breathable, warm, doesn’t smell and is soft next to the skin.
Gloves are another cornerstone of autumn/winter cycling outerwear, and these Winter Cycling Gloves looks good considering they cost just £4.99. They’re lined for warmth and comfort, have reflective details, foam padding, Terry cloth on the thumb and anti-slip details on the palm and fingers.
What else is there? Ooh plenty, including LED lights (£2.99), waterproof cycling trousers (£9.99), reflective bands (£4.99), merino shirt (£14.99), ergonomic cycling socks (£3.29) and lots more. Head over to Aldi to see the full range of offers.
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So last year I brought the soft shell and only found myself wanting to wear it a couple of times, it's too good at keeping you warm.
I find layering up with some thinner layers is better. Base layer, jersey and windbreaker worked pretty much all winter for me (most of my rides started at 5:30am an d lasting well over an hour with temps as low as -14 and freezing fog.
This year I've brought the socks and gloves on offer.
The socks feel comfy to wear and have already replaced all my current cycling socks.
The gloves are like the softshell in that they will keep you warm on a cold morning. The gloves however are so think they offer no feeling when shifting and very little when braking. For those with electronc gears probably not an issue but for those of us who like to feel the gears moving in our hands these gloves remove that feeling. Also they don't give a comfy feeling when riding on the hoods and actually cause a bit of discomfort between the thumb and index finger.
On this morning's nursery run I did go for the 'trousers tucked into socks' option. Not stylish but it works. Kinda wish I had dug out a set of tights though as it was a bit drizzly and damp jeans are pretty uncomforatable.
Also popped in to my local ALDI - gloves and shoe covers. Couldn't quite bring myself to go for the dayglow jacket; might have done if they had some slightly toned down colour options. Shoe covers seem alright, still too warm for the golves though.
Gloves for a fiver seem like a bargain. Sizing is a bit iffy, I bought the XL and they're still snug. Quality seems decent and they slip on and off OK.
If the leg warmers are decent I will pop back on the way home.
Been out for a quick 30 min ride and wore them. They are spot on and actually a bit to warm for today so should be cracking for the winter.
I've been this morning a bought a pair of leg warmers for £6.99. Tried them on when i got home and they fit really well. Walked around the house with them one (ooh what a sight !) and they didn't start to creep down my legs so well happy at the mo.
Having an Aldi just a short walk up the road I went up and had a look. Came away with a waterproof jacket (s) and a pair of gloves (large).
The jacket looks a lot nicer than my old heavy Ozzo polythene one. Being 6ft and a 38" chest I found the only one in the shop which was small. It's a nice snug fit with a decent length in the sleeves. Until I've tried in the wet I can't comment on the level of waterproofing but the seams are taped. It seems to be a perfectly decent piece of kit for the price though. If it was Rapha, the decimal point would be one place to the right.
The gloves seem ok too. The inner doesn't pull out when taking them off. Might wear a merino liner under them when it's really cold.
Just picked up both of the jackets and they look okay and fit okay as well. They will do for my commute if nothing else. With the weather it can be in this country I guess I will be finding out warm and waterproof they are pretty soon.
While Aldi and Lidl stuff is very cheap, that's no reason to believe that more expensive brands are treating their suppliers and the garment workers any better. Premium clothing brands Nike, Adidas, Gap and others have been guilty of all sorts of skullduggery, they're all at it. Apple, for all its glossy image, uses subcontractors with dreadful records in both environmental and worker exploitation.
Big brands can pretend all they like but it's invariably all about money (they don't get big by being nice). Unless you hear it from someone like a Garment Technologist or, more realistically, someone who has actually worked in the factory, you don't know sod-all about what really goes on.
Stating that someone will take a shit wage over absolutely poverty is factually true but that doesn't make it right to exploit them. Would you want to live like that?
Howies try very hard to reduce their impact and source ethically, Veleco clothing too: http://www.veleco.cc/ethical-cyclewear
Lusso and Shutt VR manufacture cycle clothing in the UK.
Edit: I should add that some of the extra you pay for cycling brands over Aldi/Lidl may well go on materials, design and product testing. But lots of it will be spent on marketing (including team sponsorship, advertising, product launches and freebies given to reviewers), a posh HQ, the CEO's helicopter, importers/distributors' and dealers' margins and more.
Just to add another perspective to the cheap gear/fair-trade/corporate responsibility debate its worth noting that this sort of low-cost gear gets people cycling.
Lets say, as an example, that I drive 7 miles to work every day but I'm thinking of cycling instead. As well as buying a bike if I don't already have one I'm going to need some additional kit, especially at this time of year. Jackets, waterproofs, lights, mudguards, paniers etc. To buy all of this gear from certified fairtrade, eco, sustainable sources would cost £100s; probably enough to persude me to stick with the car for my daily commute.
What about the longterm investment Matt? That investment in a bicycle and clothing (surely far cheaper than the high costs of running a car) will be paid off in not very much time at all. Then there is your health, which will improve, plus a host of other factors. Agree that there's a reasonable amount of cost upfront to get into cycling, but it's still far cheaper than getting a car or motorbike on the road
No need to persuade me of the longer term benefits of investing in quality gear; we probably share a similar personal perspective on this. For the average Joe however, who *might* consider cycling as an alternative to the car the initial outlay can be an obsticle. There are probably few people in this position who post on this site but lots who shop in Aldi.
Actually, I feel the current fashion for special clothing puts new riders off. Just ride in whatever you've got that's suitable. Maybe cycling-specific shoes (differently flexible) but the full lycra/wicking makeover is an unnecessary faff until you're doing longer distances.
If anyone gets a bike as part of a cycle-to-work scheme or similar, they should specify sensible things like mudguards and racks that can accept ordinary bags (those pannier racks with extra bars and hooks, basically)... not that any racks or bags are in this offer, and the mudguards are plastic ones at a similar price/style as those in well-known car spares shops. And the lock is a cable lock! That's probably not going to help keep people cycling, is it?
Cheap lights are a good move, but lots of shops already sell ones at similar prices to those in this offer. Hardly newsworthy, unless anyone knows that Aldi's are approved to the German standards.
Finally, I don't think this helps people who might ride to work, because how many will take a Thursday morning off work to queue up to get this Aldi kit? I suggest it'll be mostly be bought by leisure cyclists cutting corners and hang the workers who suffer. It's just a bit more competition for that bottom-end market already served by the zero-hours Sports Direct and Amazon.
I partly agree with you on this, but I think its more to do with the fashion for more performance orentated bikes that is driving this. When riding more performance orentated bikes it becomes more necesary to consider clothing, particually if riding fast. For instance I know that if I jumped on my CX bike in jeans and rode it in the smaller ring my jeans would get shreaded by the outer ring. Compared to a more traditional utility bike with a chainguard that you can ride in any clothes, but which aren't considered cool enough to be out in public on for most people.
Rolling trouser legs up isn't just for freemasons
Tuck it in your sock and Ride It Like A Rambler!
I bought some pannier bags last time they had things on sale. They're broken already after occasional use. Hooks failed on one, waterproof cover section split on the other. Not going there again. Guess that's what you get of you pay peanuts...
yes the softshells were good last year, really nice fit. The shower jackets less so, a bit loose round the middle and not well cut.
I had one of the ALDI gilets a couple of years ago. The zip snapped off the second time I did it up. Couldn't get out of it so my mrs had to cut me out of it with scissors! Wouldnt bother buying anything with zips from them again, but the baselayers I got last time are great. Will probably nip down to take a look I guess.
I got last year's winter softshell. Brilliant value.
Off-topic, is it too much to ask to type 'at' and 'and'?
Carradice is a British company, making stuff in Britain, from British stuff. British workers can't be enslaved or flogged, even up north.
Are the gloves the same as last years? As in, when you try to remove your hand from them it pulls the lining out, meaning it's almost impossible to put your hand back in without spending 10 minutes rejigging the lining back in to place?
I threw mine away last year as they were unusable.
bohrhead wrote: Amazing what you can achieve during a 19 hour shift http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24195441
+1
can't say about fairtrade clothing, but in addition to howies (just bought a new jacket from them, 10x the price @ aldi but probably about 10x as good as well -- & made in portugal so presumably morally safe as well as showerproof) i also have cycling jerseys & merino base layers from embers & icebreaker. i'd be confident they're ok. also check out paramo.
in fairness to aldi & lidl & others, there is a debate to be had about sweat shops in developing countries. i've travelled a fair bit in very poor countries (in africa mostly) & people i've met would rather be working 10 or 12 hours a day for miserable wages than not working @ all. @ least then they can send their children to school (not really free in most of the world) so there's some hope their children can have a better life, even if they themselves will never know anything better.
Santini stuff is designed and manufactured in Italy. I am assuming that that is a good thing in terms of factory conditions. http://www.santinisms.it/en_who_we_are_madeinitaly.aspx
Oh, definitely. In Bergamo, near Milan. I visited Santini once. Cool place.
Is that 100%? I know some of the other factories around Milan that knock out designer gear just do a bit of final touches and sew on a 'Made in Italy' label whilst the majority of work on the garments is done elsewhere.
Amazing what you can achieve during a 19 hour shift http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24195441
That is for lidl, not aldi. I'm not saying that they don't use a similiar supply chain...
I've used the aldi stuff before and I have found it to be adequate for commuting in. Certainly I shall be looking at this in greater detail.
I was thinking the same thing. Do you know of any fairtrade suppliers for cycling stuff? The only one I know that is is Howies, although I haven't researched other brands
The BBC article is about Lidl not Aldi. That however does not mean they aren’t up to the same thing.
They are however two different brands just like Tesco and Morrisons.
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