Thread to tell everyone what bargains you've spotted!

daniel_b

theboyfold wrote:

Is Ale sizing similar to that of Castelli?

In my opinion, yes.

The winter jerseys for me are on a par, the lighter summer jerseys, are perhaps half a size smaller than the Castelli equivalent. Both Italian companies.
Ale quality is right up there imho.

UndercoverElephant

Having been very impressed with all other things I've had from them, I thought I'd try some of Alpkit's tights whilst they're on offer:

https://www.alpkit.com/products/rhythm- ... ights-mens



Will let you know how I get on with them when they arrive.

daniel_b

Merckx full carbon with 105 for £1302, less £130 for BC Discount, and other cashback would take it down to circa £1150 - not stunning value, can't see what makes it 3K RRP, but seems reasonable for that much, and currently in all sizes:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/eddy-merckx-mourenx-69-105-road-bike-2017/rp-prod164944

UndercoverElephant wrote:

Having been very impressed with all other things I've had from them, I thought I'd try some of Alpkit's tights whilst they're on offer:

https://www.alpkit.com/products/rhythm- ... ights-mens

Will let you know how I get on with them when they arrive.

Never heard of them before UE, seem to do a wide range of kit, a lot at reasonable prices - is any of your other stuff, cycling or non cycling related?

-Dash

I'm yet to try any Alpkit cycling products but I've always been impressed by their gear for hiking/climbing.

W12_Lad

Navy Classic Bib Shorts II £66 in Rapha sale.
Every other time I looked it was just the old classics in the sale.
I bought 2 of the last 4 remaining size S.
Only XS and S were available about an hour ago.

daniel_b

W12 lad wrote:

Navy Classic Bib Shorts II £66 in Rapha sale.
Every other time I looked it was just the old classics in the sale.
I bought 2 of the last 4 remaining size S.
Only XS and S were available about an hour ago.

Good effort, seem to show as £130 for me:
https://www.rapha.cc/gb/en/shop/classic-bib-shorts-ii/product/BSS02XXBUWSML
*not that I am buying any I hasten to add.

cougie

Alpkit make great hiking kit. Don't see why their Bike kit won't be as good.

daniel_b

cougie wrote:

Alpkit make great hiking kit. Don't see why their Bike kit won't be as good.

Am tempted by this in black for £99:
https://www.alpkit.com/products/filo-mens

Off to the mountains in Italy next month to stay with my bro, and I think it's pretty damned cold.

cougie

I have that jacket and it's awesome. So bloody warm. Hardly get a chance to wear it at home b- it's no good for rain but when it's cold - it's amazing. And packs down small.

daniel_b

cougie wrote:

I have that jacket and it's awesome. So bloody warm. Hardly get a chance to wear it at home b- it's no good for rain but when it's cold - it's amazing. And packs down small.

Thanks Cougie - where do you wear yours then?
And how do yoyu find the sizing - notice on the page it says that customers have been saying it comes up small.

Hmmm, I noticed on the video it said it had DWR treatment, guessing that doesn't have much of an effect then, unless it's something that wasn't on previous years models.
What happens in the rain then, it just gets damp and heavy, and then takes an age to dry out?
Guess the same would happen if it was snowing?

I do feel the cold, so might get more use out of it than you, but the potential disliking for water could make it less than optimum.

And before anyone complains, I concur it is not cycling related, BUT it is a comparitive bargain at £160 down to £99.

W12_Lad

Good effort, seem to show as £130 for me:
https://www.rapha.cc/gb/en/shop/classic-bib-shorts-ii/product/BSS02XXBUWSML
*not that I am buying any I hasten to add.[/quote]


Sorry Azul Marino - only xs left

https://www.rapha.cc/gb/en/shop/classic ... 02XXNVYSML

Edit
I was wondering where I got Navy from.
My confirmation email clearly states Navy but when logged into my account the order now shows Azul Marino.

cougie

Daniel B wrote:

cougie wrote:

I have that jacket and it's awesome. So bloody warm. Hardly get a chance to wear it at home b- it's no good for rain but when it's cold - it's amazing. And packs down small.

Thanks Cougie - where do you wear yours then?
And how do yoyu find the sizing - notice on the page it says that customers have been saying it comes up small.

Hmmm, I noticed on the video it said it had DWR treatment, guessing that doesn't have much of an effect then, unless it's something that wasn't on previous years models.
What happens in the rain then, it just gets damp and heavy, and then takes an age to dry out?
Guess the same would happen if it was snowing?

I do feel the cold, so might get more use out of it than you, but the potential disliking for water could make it less than optimum.

And before anyone complains, I concur it is not cycling related, BUT it is a comparitive bargain at £160 down to £99.

It's good for snow just not rain that soaks in. I wore it up in the lakes at the weekend when it was meant to be -5. I was very toasty even when it snowed.

Mine is 5 years old now and I went for a medium. I think it's a true size. By comparison my latest Castelli rain jacket is an XL.
It has been great in a couple of cold winters. It's a bargain at that price.

daniel_b

@Cougie, how do you reckon it would cope with weekend walks, catching on brambles/branches etc?

***BARGAIN ALERT***
Tacx Vortex Smart for £200!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tacx-T2180-Vortex-Smart-Trainer/dp/B00MCF5Q2I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1516821322&sr=8-1&keywords=tacx+vortex

kofsw4

Daniel B wrote:

@Cougie, how do you reckon it would cope with weekend walks, catching on brambles/branches etc?

***BARGAIN ALERT***
Tacx Vortex Smart for £200!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tacx-T2180-Vortex-Smart-Trainer/dp/B00MCF5Q2I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1516821322&sr=8-1&keywords=tacx+vortex

That tacx is cheap! And £10 off a £50 purchase at Amazon tomorrow with the code bigthanks makes it even more so!

Tashman

kofsw4 wrote:

Daniel B wrote:

@Cougie, how do you reckon it would cope with weekend walks, catching on brambles/branches etc?

***BARGAIN ALERT***
Tacx Vortex Smart for £200!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tacx-T2180-Vortex-Smart-Trainer/dp/B00MCF5Q2I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1516821322&sr=8-1&keywords=tacx+vortex

That tacx is cheap! And £10 off a £50 purchase at Amazon tomorrow with the code bigthanks makes it even more so!

1 to 2 month delivery time is a little long though

daniel_b

Very true TM, but my turbo had that alleged wait time, and ended up coming in two weeks, not saying that will happen here of course.

They also do not charge you until despatch, so a piece of cake to cancel the order should you get bored, or find a better deal prior to shipping.

You could also chance your arm on a cheeky price match with Wiggle/Evans etc.

itboffin

I'm in the market for a new turbo and have been looking at the flow, vortex and the other power one in that range, not a great deal of difference between them from what i can see.

tangled_metal

DanB - if it's mostly below zero the down in the filo jacket won't get wet through. Just brush the snow off before going inside. The colder it gets the less issue you have with it wetting out. It's why in cold places like America near the Canadian border and up into Canada they often wear jeans in snowy weather and their houses have verandas so they can shake snow off like wiping sand off in hot places.

If it's closer to zero and above zero down can get at but a good fabric with dwr coating can cope with a bit of drizzle. My mountain equipment smock is similar and has coped with drizzle.

The other point to note is the down had a hydrophobic treatment. Kind of a DWR for each and every piece of down. This means with the coating on the fabric it's likely to cope a lot more with drizzle. Heavy rain is still a problem but if it's heavy rain is unlikely you'll want the warmth of the filo anyway.

It's a good jacket for the money. You can end up paying £200+ for something similar from big names like Rab.

daniel_b

Thanks TM, good words of wisdom there, didn't realise the down itself was treated. Still wondering how hardy the material is to catches and snags etc.

@ITB: Max power marginally different, but have a feeling max slope may be identical?
Strange they make two units so similar in spec.

itboffin

Dan i think its the electric braking and FE-C functionality, i'll give it ago , i only paid £30 for my mag unit years ago

cougie

Dan I've not caught mine on anything but if you do tear it it'll be like a pillow fight fight got out of hand.

daniel_b

itboffin wrote:

Dan i think its the electric braking and FE-C functionality, i'll give it ago , i only paid £30 for my mag unit years ago

Fair do's ITB, are you going to plump for the Flow then?

cougie wrote:

Dan I've not caught mine on anything but if you do tear it it'll be like a pillow fight fight got out of hand.

I can imagine!

Any idea on how effective 100g of primaloft insulation is? I noticed that the Alpkit down (Different filling I appreciate) Filo jacket has 255g of stuff in it for my size.
I nabbed this earlier this year for £50:
https://www.rutlandcycling.com/clothing/upper-body/specialized-686-x-tech-insulator-jacket-mens-navyyellow_372015


But don't think it is warm enough as an outer layer for me, even with layers underneath.

I'm only going to be in the mountains for 5 days, not taking part in any sporting activity, so don't really want to spend £100 on a jacket that might not get that much use most of the time (4 year old daughter means long cold hikes are unlikely to be popular for a fair while) so was contemplating trying to make the above work, with layers underneath, ie base layer, thicker layer over the top of that such as a fleece (Maybe even a LS cycling jersey?), then the Spesh jacket, and IF it will fit, a trusty Berghaus, mostly waterproof, but not that warm on it's own, jacket.
I have some monster Bonty cycling gloves that will keep my hands warm, and might take the newly purchased rapha winter hat for a laugh too, and possibly the merino beanie too - if it fits.

My gf nabbed a nearly new ski jacket on the local Facebook sale pages for a tenner, so she is sorted, and we bagged my daughter a brand new one from Aldi after their recent sale.

*Please excuse the tangent, but I hope I have contributed enough bargains over the years to allow me to cash in a few tangent points.....

tangled_metal

Daniel B wrote:

Thanks TM, good words of wisdom there, didn't realise the down itself was treated. Still wondering how hardy the material is to catches and snags etc.

@ITB: Max power marginally different, but have a feeling max slope may be identical?
Strange they make two units so similar in spec.

It's built for outdoors use so should be ok for the hazards of outdoor use. Having said that it's not bombproof. Just like any fabric will snag so will be fabric on the filo jacket.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Can't confirm, but as from midnight and for 25th January only, apparently £10 off £50 shop at Amazon with "BIGTHANKS'" code.

sgt.pepper

Posted on a local community website (neighbourly) asking for a set of road bike brakes I need to get my old man's road bike going. Some guy got back to me and gave me a bunch of ultegra mechs and derailleurs, as well as a set of brakes. Free.

Chuffed.

PhilipPirrip

NitrousOxide wrote:

Can't confirm, but as from midnight and for 25th January only, apparently £10 off £50 shop at Amazon with "BIGTHANKS'" code.

Can confirm it works. Most exclusions are mainly electronic or digital content,US or Market Place sellers.

itboffin

yep pulled the trigger on the vortex, no doubt by the time it arrives the turbo days will be a distant memory, well if i dont like it it should hold its resell value pretty well.

time to find out what my real power numbers are lol

matt_n-2

Sigma Sports have an extra 10% off sale items with code 10EXTRA.

Makes the Gabba 3 SS £67.50, in anthracite, fluro, surf blue, luna grey, ceramic blue and sky blue

Castelli Idro £140

Vittoria Corsa G+ £30.60

Stages Ultegra 6800 £314.00

Perfetto Convertible £135

N0bodyOfTheGoat

https://www.strava.com/challenges/sigma-sports-ride-250

£10 off £50+ Sigma order for completing 250km outdoor distance before the end of 29th January.

IMO Strava really need to change challenges to include Zwift training, with perhaps a certain criteria for Zwift's "gradient difficulty" setting and getting credit for the monthly elevation challenge.
Since 5th Jan, after a week of a stomach bug that kept me off the bike and off work, I've done ~408 miles and ~33000 feet of climbing ... Mostly on Zwift using either the default 50% difficulty setting or ~85% (on basis the Direto can simulate up to 14% climbs and Zwift hits 17%) and because of that, ~90% of those stats count for nothing dammit!

shirley_basso

Hmmm I do want to go all internal on Di2...wonder what it would cost