$399 ALDI Road Bike - Crane

[ironhanglider]

Post up a pick of the 28mm tyres fitted up when you have done that.
Keen to see the clearance.

It'll be a bit difficult to see the clearance if I took a pic, because the guards would interfere with the view. However the fact that I have guards fitted alone would suggest that there is ample clearance there, even taking into account the variation in size of different "28mm" tyres.

Does that mean you can run 32mm, without guards? Possibly.

I've not replaced the front tyre, it has always been a 25mm Schwalbe Dureme. It would be close to fitting a 28mm tyre there with the guard as well, and comfortably so without.

Cheers,

Cameron

[Ross]

There's one blue medium road bike left at my local Aldi (Casey ACT) $369

[cjrich]

Still a couple of Med left at my local Aldi, tempted to buy one just for the trainer. Does anyone have frame dimensions for Med size? My Cervelo is 53cm top tube, I'm 170cm tall, not sure if Med will be too big.
Thanks
CJ

[jasonc]

I think I've read some where the medium is a 54 and the large is a 56

[ironhanglider]

If it is for the trainer what does it matter? If you need to fit a 50mm stem to make the reach work for you then so be it. Mind you I've ridden a few different front end geometries and I'm not even sure if I have a preference any more. I just get used to each bike as I find it.

I don't think that the size will be much of a problem in practice, although I found the front end of the 56 to be pretty high, but that is probably a good thing for a commuter and also on a trainer. I find myself riding on the drops for about 50% of the time.

Cheers,

Cameron.

[AUbicycles]

On the Aldi website there was a geometry guide - a link is in this thread I believe and should be in the comments of the Aldi Bike review on the bicycles network australia main website.

Similar to ironhanglider - orientate on the best suited size but then make adjustments in saddle height, position and handlebar reach to match you road bike for which you are fitted.

[Firehand]

Aldi Kotara (NSW) had two further reduced to $299. I took the medium, there's still a large left.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this thread (esp the review), I read almost every post whilst standing in front of these bikes about an hour ago, before deciding to bite the bullet!

[ironhanglider]

Good stuff Firehand.

Remember that nearly every bike comes in a box, the difference between an LBS bike and a supermarket/department store bike is who puts it together, and who is responsible for putting it together badly.

As posted previously the lack of markings on the bar is annoying, but you can work around that. Priority #1 is to make sure that the brakes are working properly. Adjust the pads if necessary to ensure that they meet flush with the rim. #2 is to make sure the gears are working properly. St Sheldon will show you the way. Once the bike is safely rideable the next priority is making it fit you. Stems can be adjusted for height both by flipping it over and by moving the spacers from below to above. It is also easy to exchange a stem to achieve a difference in length or angle. The seatpost is long enough for lots of adjustment. Don't give up on the saddle too easily. Changing the angle or moving it fore or aft can make a big difference to its comfort.

Cheers,

Cameron

[Firehand]

Thanks ironhangglider, for all the tips. Have to admit, never thought of shifting the seat around!
I have come from the Supermarket bike market, with relatively recent exposure to a higher tier of bicycle from my brother (pretty dedicated weekend rider, B=3); but never could quite come at spending more than $AUD300 on a bike I don't use that often. But in the last month, the whole family seems to be a bit fired up about cycling - even my wife! - which kind of blows me away. Stumbling on this rebadged Polygon is a bit of good timing, then.
Watched a couple of YouTube videos, then threw most of the bike together last night, adjustments this afternoon.
Gears, seemed, surprisingly, to be good out of the box...I wonder if that's just a function of my ignorance, though!
About to take it out on the road for the first ride now. If I don't post again...
Having a good hard think about using this thing to commute to work.
But not sold on Lycra.
Yet!

[Firehand]

OK, survived a couple of trips now.
That seat is hard. Will try moving it forward, but have also ordered a WTB Speed V (heavy but cheap)
Quite a lot of strain on palms/wrists, esp on rough surfaces. Not used to the posture. My brother tells me to get gloves (will do, prefer to wait for next Aldi sale but who knows when that is), and the 23mm/100psi tyres are not helping. But (a) would 28mm tyres fit, and (b) can I keep current rims or need a whole new wheelset?
Upgrade bracket creep has begun!

[bychosis]

You can probably drop your tyre pressure a bit to help with the harshness, but bigger tyres would be better. I run 23mm tyres and just got used to it being a bit rough.

[ironhanglider]

Do the easy/cheap stuff first.

You don't need to have the tyres at 100psi. Try 90 in the front to start with. (Yes you can put 28mm tyres on the same wheels but I say do that once you wear the existing tyres out)

Do have a play with saddle position. You may find that moving the saddle backwards will take pressure off your hands, as it lets you stay more balanced. (if you stand with your back to a wall and try to bend forwards, you will fall over because your backside can't go backwards far enough to maintain balance) Similarly moving the bars up and backwards will mean that you don't have to bend over as far. Depending on how you have installed your stem there may be some adjustment available there.

Hard saddles are good, if they are the right shape and in the right position/angle. A couple of rides is not enough to rule a saddle out. Soft saddles will hurt you in the long run.

Cheers,

Cameron

[AUbicycles]

Nice advice by ironhanglider - and I would support his suggestions.

Do you have cycling knicks? They have a bit of padding in the right places and are useful for comfort. Though as already noted - soft is not better and it can take time to adapt.

If you move your seat post down a bit, your saddle forward and angle your handlebars up, it would give you a more comfortable riding position however it is not necessarily the best for efficiency. But as a temporary solution to give you more enjoyment as you ease into it, and then you incrementally return the positions / heights to where they should be.

[ironhanglider]

Well 1900km down and the first failure. A drive side pushing spoke. At least it'll give me the opportunity to pull the spoke protector off, and give the cassette a thorough clean.

At least the rim seems strong enough, the resulting buckle was not even enough for the tyre to hit the mudguard.

Cheers,

Cameron

[Firehand]

Thanks for all the advice, Cameron & AU!
Continue to ride a few Ks each day, handlebars are angled up a bit, gradually getting used to the position I think, seemed more comfortable today. No padded clothing yet, my wife has threatened divorce if she sees me in lycra...

[ironhanglider]

Thanks for all the advice, Cameron & AU!
Continue to ride a few Ks each day, handlebars are angled up a bit, gradually getting used to the position I think, seemed more comfortable today. No padded clothing yet, my wife has threatened divorce if she sees me in lycra...

A bit everyday is good, and yes there is a period of adjustment required. Post a pic up of your bike on the bike gallery

As for your wife's irrational fear of lycra, I presume that she's willing to rub the ointment into the chafed nether regions when you start doing longer rides.

Cheers,

Cameron

[chriso_29er]

Post up a pick of the 28mm tyres fitted up when you have done that.
Keen to see the clearance.

It'll be a bit difficult to see the clearance if I took a pic, because the guards would interfere with the view. Cheers,

Cameron

What guards did you fit to it? Interested to see a pic if you can.

[ironhanglider]

Post up a pick of the 28mm tyres fitted up when you have done that.
Keen to see the clearance.

It'll be a bit difficult to see the clearance if I took a pic, because the guards would interfere with the view. Cheers,

Cameron

What guards did you fit to it? Interested to see a pic if you can.

Hi chriso_29er,

I posted a photo in the Commuter World thread. I suspect that the guards are SKS (they are similar to the Bluemels without the flap), but they are branded Olympia.

Cheers,

Cameron

[jasonc]

Still three left at Mt ommaney in qld. 2 mediums and a large

[thatmdee]

I spotted a large at the local Aldi today.. reduced to $199... a bit of a shame, as I'm only 167cm -- so it's probably a bit big

If the size wasn't a problem, I'd snap it up and use it for commuting. I may even try another Aldi store just in case they happen to have any mediums left..

[franco cozzo]

....took the plunge after reading the review and following this thread...having a little misfortune atm, 1st bike i grabbed had the same problem as on page 2 in this thread...bent or damaged big ring causing havoc with chain rub on the front mech etc. ...took it back for a replacement this morning, thankfully the replacement bikes front rings/chainset seem to be ok and its shifting pretty well for straight out of the box.

unfortunately this bike has some weird thing going on with the fork/headset...once i installed the front wheel i noticed looseness & knocking through the fork when testing the front brake...i figured loose stem or top cap or fork not seated correctly.
i tried loosening off the top cap and stem and re-torqueing several times and tried the stem lower in the stack but i can't seem to snug the stem/top cap to eliminate play & looseness at the fork...i can even grab the spacers / headset / upper steerer and feel play there

never have this problem on the mtb and im just wondering is there anything im missing or doing wrong before i haul it off to my lbs in the morning for evaluation? any suggestions as to what may be going on? happy to post a vid if it helps...

[QuangVuong]

Did you make sure the stem is no clamped down when you tighten the top cap?

If that's not the issue, possibly an issue with the headset bearings. I don't know which type it has, but if its got caged balls, there is a chance that it was installed upside down.

[jasonc]

Undo stem bolts undo top cap, tighten top cap then stem bolts. If that doesn't fix it, It's a bearing

[franco cozzo]

Did you make sure the stem is no clamped down when you tighten the top cap?

If that's not the issue, possibly an issue with the headset bearings. I don't know which type it has, but if its got caged balls, there is a chance that it was installed upside down.

thanks for pointing out the obvious quang...yup i got my order wrong . all fixed now...funny that it came like that out of the box. would have expected them to at least make sure the fork was correctly installed and free of any play

Undo stem bolts undo top cap, tighten top cap then stem bolts. If that doesn't fix it, It's a bearing

see above... cant believe i stuffed that, but its been ages so thats my excuse

...this 700c thing is new to me...what size tyres can i run on these wheels jason? im thinking something along the lines of a cx tyre but im not sure what these rims and frame clearance will allow? also any recs? mainly for gravel & paved bike paths, some light rail trails etc...just a good all rounder as i wont be riding on roads much(...if at all)

[jasonc]

...this 700c thing is new to me...what size tyres can i run on these wheels jason? im thinking something along the lines of a cx tyre but im not sure what these rims and frame clearance will allow? also any recs? mainly for gravel & paved bike paths, some light rail trails etc...just a good all rounder as i wont be riding on roads much(...if at all)

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