Aldi's latest weekly special may well be interest to BikeRadar Australia readers. The discount supermarket chain has annouced a limited run of low-price cycling gear, starting on Wednesday, 1 October.
You shouldn’t expect to find high-end Swiss-made clothing at these bargain prices, but despite being slightly generic-looking, the quality of the clothing is not bad for the price. Because of the limited nature of these products, it’s unlikely that Aldi will send any of these products to us for testing, so we may have to throw some cycling items into the trolley with our steak dinner in order to test them.
Here are a few of the products that piqued our interest.
Bikemate Premium bike repair stand and tool kit
Despite the price, the Bikemate workstand looks reasonable
Every aspiring home mechanic needs a workstand and toolkit, and the 37-piece toolbox and bike repair stand from Aldi aren't a bad start.
The 37-piece tool kit ($29.99) seems to have most of the essentials, including a chain breaker, Allen keys and pedal wrench. There's even a few for the more advanced home wrench, such as a bottom bracket tool and chainwhip. The downside is that it appears to contain some older, lesser used tools in place of more modern and common necessities.
The workstand ($39.99) features a quick-release clamp and a magnetic tool tray, and can be used as a portable telescopic stand or a wall mount.
Men's and women's clothing
We guess that the cycling kits will be about the same quality as what you would expect to get from a general sporting goods store
The range of cycling clothing featues everything from jerseys, knicks, baggy shorts and jackets, in both men- and women-specific cuts. The garments feature Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF) 50 , Italian-made chamois and reflective detailing for night-time visibility.
- Adult cycling jersey: $16.99, men’s S-XXL sizes, women’s S-XL sizes
- Adult cycling shorts: $21.99, men’s S-XXL sizes, women’s XS-X Lsizes
- Adult cycling knicks: $16.99, men’s S-XXL sizes, women’s S-XL sizes
- Adult lightweight cycling jacket: $24.99, men’s S-XXL sizes, women’s S-XL sizes
Road and mountain bike shoes
Those road shoes look like mountain bike shoes to us
Aldi’s road cycling shoes feature a two strap closure and “lightweight outsoles compatible with most commonly used SPD systems”. The ‘SPD system’ is the two-bolt cleat-mounting system that's common in mountain biking, and to us, the ‘road shoes’ look like what most cyclists would consider to be a touring or casual mountain bike shoe.
The Aldi mountain bikes shoes appear to use a laced closure system, feature a “durable rubber outsole” and are compatible with two-bolt cleat systems.
- Road shoes: $39.99, sizes 7-11 (for both men's and women's versions)
- Mountain bike shoes: A$39.99, sizes 7-11 for the men's shoes, sizes 6-10 for women's.
Crane Premium mountain bike
The Crane Premium mountain bike has premium features such as premium disc brakes and premium Shimano shifters and derailleurs…
Crane is not known for its overwhelming quality, but if your budget for a dual suspension mountain bike only extends to $199, then this contraption from Aldi is worth a go. It offers premium features such as a kickstand, chainring protector and cables routed in the wrong direction. The bike also has a four-bar suspension linkage, disc brakes and a Shimano drivetrain. There is no sizing information available.
The Crain Premium Mountain Bike comes with a one-year warranty.