$399 ALDI Road Bike - Crane

[franco cozzo]

I don't reckon you'd get anything wider than a 700x28c in there which with limit you

...thanks jase. see what you mean as cx tyres seem to start at 30c and go up from there ....so, something like:
http://www.this link is broken/au/e ... -prod69133
..would be a decent all rounder for a variety of surfaces with good puncture protection? im after something thats going to be comfortable & grippy for when im on non paved stuff as well..?

...and theres no way i could get something like
http://www.this link is broken/au/e ... lsrc=aw.ds
...on. main issue is clearance at the front fork.... is that right?

[jasonc]

for $20 it'd be worth a shot

and yes, main issue would be getting the inflated tyre through the front fork/brake

[caveboy]

nothing wrong with Aldi gear

[AUbicycles]

After building a road and MTB for friends, I invested into some Aldi bike socks. Perhaps for the price, they are better than cheap and nasty socks but they are a miles away from quality and pricier cycling socks.

I would put them into a similar category as the Wiggle DHB socks. They work ok, but the elastic gets tight in the wrong places and in comfort and longevity you notice why you can consider paying a premium for great socks.

[rodneycc]

I didn't find the Aldi socks too bad myself. I went the crew cut (because I hate short socks) on sale for $4 for a pack of two. Can't go wrong for that and after a couple of rides are fine.

This coming from a fussy sock man who has 6 pairs of Ground Effect foot soldiers and up until now has refused to wear anything else (best cycling socks known to man imo).

So $29 +postage for one pair GE vs $4 for two pairs of Aldi. Can't fault the value for money.

Btw here are mine. Aldi have sold several different types of socks recently of different quality.

[Arbuckle23]

I have a couple of them (as pictured) quite happy with them.
But then again I am a noob and don't know any better

[thatmdee]

A friend mentioned the local Aldi had a couple of these left still.

So, we drove down from Newastle to Blue Haven today. I picked up a medium (for my dad -- he wanted a cheap entry level road bike). My partner picked up a large. $199 each.

If you do go to an Aldi, ask them to check the store room. These ones when we first went to the store a couple of days ago were not on display. They have been moving a lot of old stock out back to make way for Christmas goods.

The Aldi hotline was not showing any inventory, however they did say it's not accurate where the store might only have 1-2 items. So, it pays to check out your Aldi, and see if they have any left out back -- you may be in luck.

[Arbuckle23]

An update on my Aldi bike.
After around 1500 km I had (what looks to be) a pinch flat. No problem in the normal world you say, but in this case it blew a hole in the tread material of the tyre.
I initially thought I must have run over something to do this to the tyre, but an examination of the tube showed the hole in a different location to the hole in the tyre itself.

Looks like the Kenda tyres fitted couldn't handle the sudden release of air Good thing I was only 1.5 km from home.

Anyway, updated the tyres to something decent and went to 25mm. Can't believe the difference in ride quality, night and day.

The rest of the bike is powering on with no issues as its owner builds fitness (although still contemplating wacking ten speed shifters and cassette on it).

[ironhanglider]

The bike has now done 6182km and is going strong.

My rear tyre only lasted 1500km before I replaced it after the second puncture. (I have no interest in getting punctures on a commuting bike).

The first spoke went at 1900km, and I rebuilt the wheel with new spokes after the 5th spoke at 2895km.

I am now on my third chain, but I choose to replace them rather than the cassette. My chain checker might be a bit conservative, but I also ride in all weather so I don't expect long chain life. (Chain wear in the wet is about 5x the wear in the dry IME) I have now fitted a flap to my front mudguard which might help to keep the tyre spray off and give me better chain life in future.

I will soon upgrade to a 10spd cassette and shifters, to match my other bikes, so that if necessary I can substitute a different wheel when I discover a flat just before riding to work. The Claris shifters will go on my wife's bike, they haven't missed a beat.

The Durano Plus tyre on the rear has done 3000km, after nearly 10000km on the front on various bikes. It is just about due for replacement with the blue showing in one spot. I will replace it with a 25mm Gatorskin. I got the 25mm tyres because they are known to measure wider than the name would suggest and I'm not convinced the Gatorskin 28s would go under the mudguards although there would be sufficient space without them. Whilst it has lasted a long time it does sacrifice some grip which caused me to crash once last year, before I moved it to the back.

The original brake pads lasted to 4000km on the front and 5000km on the back, I've now got some Lifeline pads on (which I got for the holders) which do seem to pull me up faster, although I'm looking forward to changing the cable housing when I upgrade the shifters because I think that that will give me some more improvement. The next brake pads will be Koolstops.

I think I may have found a derailleur hanger at $10, but I'll have to test it before confirmation. Everyone needs to have spare derailleur hangers on hand regardless of bike IMO.

Cheers,

Cameron

[Jash Rider]

My father picked up one of these road bikes last year for $199. He took it for one ride and realised he'd made a mistake in purchasing it. So guess who got an only once ridden Aldi road bike for their 41st birthday?

I've put some Maxxis Re-fuse 28's on it to smooth out the ride and some aluminium BMX pedals so I can ride it to the shops. Might put a rack on the back and use it for the school commute with the kids. And will probably upgrade the narrow 400mm bar to a 460mm bar. I've also got a set of Continental Tour Rides in 28mm width to maybe do a bit of gravel riding.

What I can't believe is that similarly specced bikes can be as much as $1,000 (or more) from a bike shop.

[koshari]

Well it was rrp ing for round 600.

[ironhanglider]

My father picked up one of these road bikes last year for $199. He took it for one ride and realised he'd made a mistake in purchasing it. So guess who got an only once ridden Aldi road bike for their 41st birthday?

I've put some Maxxis Re-fuse 28's on it to smooth out the ride and some aluminium BMX pedals so I can ride it to the shops. Might put a rack on the back and use it for the school commute with the kids. And will probably upgrade the narrow 400mm bar to a 460mm bar. I've also got a set of Continental Tour Rides in 28mm width to maybe do a bit of gravel riding.

What I can't believe is that similarly specced bikes can be as much as $1,000 (or more) from a bike shop.

I hadn't noticed the 400mm (c-c) bars. I had to go out and measure them to be sure most of my others are 420mm. Mind you I used to chip my dad and his truck driver's bars at 440mm. The frame is quite short in TT as well, so I've got a long stem and a lot of seatpost exposed, but I was able to make it work for me.

Well it was rrp ing for round 600.

Not the Aldi road bike. $399 was the start price. I paid full price for mine and don't regret it because they ran out of my local store pretty quickly. I'm happy for those who managed to pick one up for less.

Yes some of the consumables were cheap and needed replacing too early, but with the distances I'm doing that only meant a few weeks sooner than the better stuff that replaced them. Chains, tyres and brake pads should be a DIY job for most people. Spokes require more expert knowledge, particularly when most pro wheelbuilders would be reluctant to re-use the hub and rim. When a replacement wheelset costs more than the bike I suspect that there might be a few that fall into disuse for this reason as a result.


Cheers

Cameron

[AUbicycles]

Thanks for the update - good to see how the bikes are going and also the upgrade requirements. This is pretty solid use and you would still hope to get a bit more time out of the heavy duty looking chain. But I also think you are using it far more than the majority.

[klr_rider1]

Aldi is selling MTBs on Saturday 18 March 2017 for $79.99 each.

There are two versions, a ladies MTB in white and a gents MTB in black.

Both have alloy rims, steel frames and 21 speeds.

They are also selling cycling gear, such as pumps $9.99, helmets $19.99, locks $9.99 and drink bottles $7.99.

[Jawa]

[ironhanglider]

Who wears black jackets/jerseys? I'd consider the pink jacket on the basis that the Giro will be on soon and real men wear pink.


In other news I'm pleased to announce that I have found a replacement derailleur hanger. IMO if you have a replaceable hanger you need to have a spare available in case you happen to need it. Searching for one after you need it means missing out on riding...

However on inspection the bolts that hold my hanger on are made of cheese. Fortunately my hanger didn't break as I re-adjusted it so I didn't need to replace it this time. I'm not looking forward to the day when I do have to replace it though because it will probably mean drilling the bolts out from the inside of the frame.

As for the chains, my latest has now got to the point where my chain-checker says it needs to be replaced after 2,300km. This is now the third chain to bite the dust. I will admit that my chain checker was made by a chain maker whose interest would best be served by people buying chains more frequently, but this is enough for me.

If anyone wants an 11-28 8spd cassette I will happily give it to them, my conservative chain life strategy would mean that there should be good life in it yet, I simply don't have any 8spd bikes anymore (my wife's bike is a 7spd).

I think the upgrade to 10spd will happen this weekend.

I will state again that I ride in all weather and I weigh more than most. The result is that I wear chains out much faster than most. The unusually wet winter and spring account for the early demise of the first chain and its replacements. I am hoping that my new mud flap will keep the spray off and give me better chain life.

Cheers,

Cameron

[uart]

Who wears black jackets/jerseys?

Under the jersey it says "assorted designs", so I'm hoping that means there will be other designs and colours to the one shown.

[Noviss]

Who wears black jackets/jerseys?

Under the jersey it says "assorted designs", so I'm hoping that means there will be other designs and colours to the one shown.

Just returned from Aldi and all they had at the Belconnen store was what was displayed in the ad. I was hoping they had some jerseys with a full length front zip but they were all had were the half zips.

Picked up a pair of bibs for $19.99. This is my first bib so I haven't got anything to compare but they seem OK to me. Chamois seems firm and back to the quality that they were a couple of years back. I found the chamois in the shorts they sold last year to be a bit thin and spongey.

[Arbuckle23]

Didn't like the jersey's this round. Got some better ones from last year still going well.
I thought about the bibs, but the full back panel put me off, I get hot enough with the open panel ones I have.

[uart]

I just got a pair of the padded shorts and a jersey. The jersey is mostly red white, with white sleeves and a black trim down the sides.

The shorts seem quite good but unfortunately the jersey is gonna have to go back. Their sizing seems a bit messed up, and even the XL jersey was way too small for me (whereas L was a good fit for me in the padded shorts).

[AUbicycles]

Insane prices for the bikes... how do you manufacture and sell a quality bicycle for $80. Thinking about transportation costs (international and local), there is no margin. The forks are the 'questionable' pressed / squeezed tube versions but if they are better that Kmart or Target.. then it's a bonus.

The cycling gear could be OK to get started and if this helps more people to get onto bikes, or gets you gear which you may not have otherwise purchased, then good.

The shorts look OK - but can't speak from experience. I have purchased Aldi cycling socks... they were quite poor (uncomfortable, poor fit, quickly wears out) and I stick to expensive socks which are the opposite end of the spectrum in every way.

[sertse]

I've seen short for that price but never for bibs. Maybe it's a good opportunity for try one and see whats the difference.

[Ross]

I bought some bibs, haven't ridden in them yet, just tried them on at home. As I thought they run large in sizing - I usually take a M but gambled and bought a S and they sem to fit me well. Chamois feels ok but as I said I haven't actually ridden in them yet. The shoulder straps seem to be the weak link IMO with not enough elasticity so potentially could break if stretched to much when taking the knicks on and off. Nice touch having a reflective band around the bottom of the short legs.

Edit: Just came back from a rtide (only 40km) and happy to report these knicks are quite good. Chamois is minimal yet comfortable. There is a small zip pocket in the back as well suiitable for a credit card/cash and/or ID. They are no ASSOS or Rapha but more than suitable for commuting or general riding. Other good thing about them that being all black they will go with any jersey so you dont have to waste valuable ridng time looking around for matching kit, just grab the Aldi bibs and the nearest clean jersey and off you go.

[RobertL]

I bought 2 pairs of the bib knicks for $19.99 each. The fit is pretty good (maybe the grippers are a bit tight around the thigh, but not too much).

The padding is thin, but I'm probably only going to wear them commuting which is about 30 minutes each way. I won't wear them when I go out riding with the cool kids!

I actually wore them this morning on my commute and they were fine.

[Jash Rider]

Done quite a few kms on this now. Clocked over 100km on it last Sunday. Had to swap out the original saddle for an older, but much more comfortable saddle.

I've let a few other people ride it and they like it enough to want to buy a road bike for themselves.

My son uses it sometimes to ride to school because it's much faster than his MTB, but he doesn't like that you can't bunny hop the gutters with it. Well, at least not as easy as you can on a 26 inch MTB.

I'm quite looking forward to using this bike for some light, overnight touring this winter. Doesn't have super low gearing, but with only an extra 8-9kg on board it shouldn't be a problem.