Aldi Sale - it's weird

triban

Just had an odd experience.

Nipped into Aldi this morning to have a look at the Cycle sale i'd heard so much about and was confronted by hoards of middle aged men jamming everything they could see into baskets! :shock: Felt like i was in a George A. Romero movie

Most of the stuff looked pretty crap to be honest, which is fair enough when you consider the price but geez, these guys where going mad for it!

I love a good deal, but i felt i'd be throwing money away buying any of it.

am i missing something?

imposter2.0

triban wrote:

am i missing something?

in a word - no.

Some of the stuff is excellent value - like the base layers. But I wouldn't be lining up outside the door at opening time for the rest of it...

goonz

Imposter wrote:

triban wrote:

am i missing something?

in a word - no.

+10

Northwind

My most-worn cycling kit is an aldi softshell and an aldi long-sleeve top, they're both ace. But some of the stuff is tat. Mostly it just brings out the hunter/gatherer instinct

nicklouse

Northwind wrote:

Mostly it just brings out the hunter/gatherer instinct

and the Ebay resellers.

PHILATHAM

Frankly, although I'm not made of money (which is my main reason for buying from Aldi) I'd much rather get stuff which is very useable, value for money than be someone who is a walking advert for Assos or Rapha and is afraid to get their stuff dirty or wet. I'have two softshells , gloves bibi tights and a full toolkit all of which are still going strong after several seasons riding.

goonz

PHILATHAM wrote:

Frankly, although I'm not made of money (which is my main reason for buying from Aldi) I'd much rather get stuff which is very useable, value for money than be someone who is a walking advert for Assos or Rapha and is afraid to get their stuff dirty or wet. I'have two softshells , gloves bibi tights and a full toolkit all of which are still going strong after several seasons riding.

I do agree with some if this, as I do have to think twice about wearing my best kit on a wet day and again about washng care but the fit is spot on and looks great and I like fitting clothes and to look good so I am happy to pay a bit extra. Im not made of money, I am the only earner at home so I have to save or buy off ebay but I'd rather buy second hand rapha then brand new aldi.

elderone

Well I bought 3 items today and for the money its a a bargain.The qaulity may not be top draw but the fit is good and they are perfectly use able.I got the light jersey with removable sleeves so acts as a gilet aswel.Also got rain jacket and seat bag which at under a fiver with a tool kit inside was a steel.
I have no worry about using this kit and if people are put off by price then your missing out on good use able kit.

Calpol

When starting out in this sport there is so much to buy in addition to the bike. I agree that the Aldi stuff maybe isnt the most stylish or of the highest quality but it is EXCELLENT value for the most part. I have the softshell jacket from last year and for £15 its a very good buy. I would venture that for people commuting then the gear is also a good route to take. My Mrs has been down today and picked up some bits as she is starting to get into the sport which has probably saved me a few quid that I can then spend on something much sexier.

Avit5

I popped in Aldi this morning and it was only me looking at the cycling gear. Lots of people milling about the gardening stuff though. I purchased a cycling jersey at £14.99 and some fingerless mitts at £3.99. Jersey seems decent enough quality . Looked at the light jacket and had I realised it had removable sleeves to also use as a gilet I would have got one. Might go back later. Only thing I find odd are the sizes - you really need to try on before buying as my jersey was an XL and normally I am a medium.

cookeeemonster

Avit5 wrote:

I popped in Aldi this morning and it was only me looking at the cycling gear. Lots of people milling about the gardening stuff though. I purchased a cycling jersey at £14.99 and some fingerless mitts at £3.99. Jersey seems decent enough quality . Looked at the light jacket and had I realised it had removable sleeves to also use as a gilet I would have got one. Might go back later. Only thing I find odd are the sizes - you really need to try on before buying as my jersey was an XL and normally I am a medium.

what are the mitts like? I was thinking of getting a spare pair

elderone

Avit5 wrote:

I popped in Aldi this morning and it was only me looking at the cycling gear. Lots of people milling about the gardening stuff though. I purchased a cycling jersey at £14.99 and some fingerless mitts at £3.99. Jersey seems decent enough quality . Looked at the light jacket and had I realised it had removable sleeves to also use as a gilet I would have got one. Might go back later. Only thing I find odd are the sizes - you really need to try on before buying as my jersey was an XL and normally I am a medium.

Im a medium and I tried both jackets on in size medium and a perfect fit,but I would say try them on first,only takes a minute to be sure.The mits look very good for the price and I would have got some if I needed new ones.At the price they are almost disposable.

navrig

Someone I know works for Lidle or Aldi (can't remember which) and he said that their business model didn't make them a great deal of profit on general groceries, which is why the sell jam etc so cheaply, but that they made a lot of their profit on selling the extras such as cycling gear, gardening stuff, DIY and motorbike stuff.

They order in bulk well in advance with factories in low cost countries - sometimes years in advance. These factroies then slot the manufacture of the Aldi/Lidl kit into their quiet times meaning that factory utilisation is high. Aldi/Lidl get the kit at a fraction of the normal cost and hence they make a signifcant markup on "hobby kit".

Interesting model.

What is more thought provoking is how much markup is being made on the branded stuff like Endura/Gore etc (ignore Rapha and Assos for now). Whilst the quality of the materials for Endura/Gore will be better the main difference is probably in the design and fit and that will be a small cost on an item which is popular.

goonz

Navrig wrote:

Someone I know works for Lidle or Aldi (can't remember which) and he said that their business model didn't make them a great deal of profit on general groceries, which is why the sell jam etc so cheaply, but that they made a lot of their profit on selling the extras such as cycling gear, gardening stuff, DIY and motorbike stuff.

They order in bulk well in advance with factories in low cost countries - sometimes years in advance. These factroies then slot the manufacture of the Aldi/Lidl kit into their quiet times meaning that factory utilisation is high. Aldi/Lidl get the kit at a fraction of the normal cost and hence they make a signifcant markup on "hobby kit".

Interesting model.

What is more thought provoking is how much markup is being made on the branded stuff like Endura/Gore etc (ignore Rapha and Assos for now). Whilst the quality of the materials for Endura/Gore will be better the main difference is probably in the design and fit and that will be a small cost on an item which is popular.

Interesting.

Surely R&D for Gore/Endura would cost a lot? Plus they have sponsorships to fund, doubt that comes from no where...

triban

that is an interesting business model!

But i'd have agree with goonz that Endura/Gore and similar companies will have high operational overheads so big mark-ups are required to make the business viable.

i know i've sold products and services in the past that would appear to have excessive mark-ups, but to sell them any cheaper would be prohibative to the company because of the relatively small customers base and therefore the product wouldn't exist at all.

Low volume of customers = high mark-ups. Only way to reduce cost is to reduce quality.

(EDIT: Obviously i'm not talking about supermarket types that can buy stock at massive volumes and sell worldwide to a large customer base, i just mean the smaller, specialist companies.)

BelgianBeerGeek

CookeeeMonster wrote:

Avit5 wrote:

I popped in Aldi this morning and it was only me looking at the cycling gear. Lots of people milling about the gardening stuff though. I purchased a cycling jersey at £14.99 and some fingerless mitts at £3.99. Jersey seems decent enough quality . Looked at the light jacket and had I realised it had removable sleeves to also use as a gilet I would have got one. Might go back later. Only thing I find odd are the sizes - you really need to try on before buying as my jersey was an XL and normally I am a medium.

what are the mitts like? I was thinking of getting a spare pair

Good. I bought a pair as back up for when my others are in the wash and they have been good for 2 years use. Well worth getting.

ilovegrace

goonz wrote:

PHILATHAM wrote:

Frankly, although I'm not made of money (which is my main reason for buying from Aldi) I'd much rather get stuff which is very useable, value for money than be someone who is a walking advert for Assos or Rapha and is afraid to get their stuff dirty or wet. I'have two softshells , gloves bibi tights and a full toolkit all of which are still going strong after several seasons riding.

I do agree with some if this, as I do have to think twice about wearing my best kit on a wet day and again about washng care but the fit is spot on and looks great and I like fitting clothes and to look good so I am happy to pay a bit extra. Im not made of money, I am the only earner at home so I have to save or buy off ebay but I'd rather buy second hand rapha then brand new aldi.

Please tell me where I can get a secondhand rapha top for the £15 I paid last year at Aldi and I would snap your hand off.
Even second hand rapha is £80 - 100 or more .
I used to buy the pro level top of the range cricket bats £300 or more from the top manafucturers , No doubt the performance of these bats was far supeior to the cheper ones .This was what I was after ,performance , however it slowley dawned on me that a big chunk of that £300 was not going on the willow , or the crafstman to make it but for sponsering the big name players.
I contacted an indipendant bat maker in Halifax and bought the top of his range for £150 , same top class wood same craftstmanship same performance , no sponsership ,half the price.
A south African test player who had a contract with a big name manafacturer loaned one of my bats liked it so much swaped me for two of his pro bats.
I have no problem paying for the good craftmanship , good materials etc but I do not want pay over the top for costs (not directly) ie sponsership added to the final cost of the equipment/clothing etc.
One Rapha top at £150 or 10 aldi at £15 the chice is yours.

goonz

ilovegrace wrote:

goonz wrote:

PHILATHAM wrote:

Frankly, although I'm not made of money (which is my main reason for buying from Aldi) I'd much rather get stuff which is very useable, value for money than be someone who is a walking advert for Assos or Rapha and is afraid to get their stuff dirty or wet. I'have two softshells , gloves bibi tights and a full toolkit all of which are still going strong after several seasons riding.

I do agree with some if this, as I do have to think twice about wearing my best kit on a wet day and again about washng care but the fit is spot on and looks great and I like fitting clothes and to look good so I am happy to pay a bit extra. Im not made of money, I am the only earner at home so I have to save or buy off ebay but I'd rather buy second hand rapha then brand new aldi.

Please tell me where I can get a secondhand rapha top for the £15 I paid last year at Aldi and I would snap your hand off.
Even second hand rapha is £80 - 100 or more .
I used to buy the pro level top of the range cricket bats £300 or more from the top manafucturers , No doubt the performance of these bats was far supeior to the cheper ones .This was what I was after ,performance , however it slowley dawned on me that a big chunk of that £300 was not going on the willow , or the crafstman to make it but for sponsering the big name players.
I contacted an indipendant bat maker in Halifax and bought the top of his range for £150 , same top class wood same craftstmanship same performance , no sponsership ,half the price.
A south African test player who had a contract with a big name manafacturer loaned one of my bats liked it so much swaped me for two of his pro bats.
I have no problem paying for the good craftmanship , good materials etc but I do not want pay over the top for costs (not directly) ie sponsership added to the final cost of the equipment/clothing etc.
One Rapha top at £150 or 10 aldi at £15 the chice is yours.

Obviously not going to get it that cheap, but as an example, I paid £200 for both the winter jersey and softshell gilet off ebay and saved £100. So for me thats the sponsorship I saved on and paid for the performance. Still overpriced yes, but for the comfort and performance and pleasure those items give me, I was happy to pay it.

I bought a s/s jersey for £60 so half price so getting bargains like that for me is worth it. And your example of the cricket bat is a little redundant as you cannot compare the independant bat maker to ALDI/LIDL lol! But I get what you are saying.

arran77

goonz wrote:

ilovegrace wrote:

goonz wrote:

PHILATHAM wrote:

Frankly, although I'm not made of money (which is my main reason for buying from Aldi) I'd much rather get stuff which is very useable, value for money than be someone who is a walking advert for Assos or Rapha and is afraid to get their stuff dirty or wet. I'have two softshells , gloves bibi tights and a full toolkit all of which are still going strong after several seasons riding.

I do agree with some if this, as I do have to think twice about wearing my best kit on a wet day and again about washng care but the fit is spot on and looks great and I like fitting clothes and to look good so I am happy to pay a bit extra. Im not made of money, I am the only earner at home so I have to save or buy off ebay but I'd rather buy second hand rapha then brand new aldi.

Please tell me where I can get a secondhand rapha top for the £15 I paid last year at Aldi and I would snap your hand off.
Even second hand rapha is £80 - 100 or more .
I used to buy the pro level top of the range cricket bats £300 or more from the top manafucturers , No doubt the performance of these bats was far supeior to the cheper ones .This was what I was after ,performance , however it slowley dawned on me that a big chunk of that £300 was not going on the willow , or the crafstman to make it but for sponsering the big name players.
I contacted an indipendant bat maker in Halifax and bought the top of his range for £150 , same top class wood same craftstmanship same performance , no sponsership ,half the price.
A south African test player who had a contract with a big name manafacturer loaned one of my bats liked it so much swaped me for two of his pro bats.
I have no problem paying for the good craftmanship , good materials etc but I do not want pay over the top for costs (not directly) ie sponsership added to the final cost of the equipment/clothing etc.
One Rapha top at £150 or 10 aldi at £15 the chice is yours.

Obviously not going to get it that cheap, but as an example, I paid £200 for both the winter jersey and softshell gilet off ebay and saved £100. So for me thats the sponsorship I saved on and paid for the performance. Still overpriced yes, but for the comfort and performance and pleasure those items give me, I was happy to pay it.

I bought a s/s jersey for £60 so half price so getting bargains like that for me is worth it. And your example of the cricket bat is a little redundant as you cannot compare the independant bat maker to ALDI/LIDL lol! But I get what you are saying.

I dunno, the Aldi one looks pretty good to me

https://aldi.ie/ie/html/offers/special_buys2_22350.htm

ilovegrace

https://aldi.ie/ie/html/offers/special_buys2_22350.htm
Doesnt look a good quality willow !!!

littleprawn

ilovegrace wrote:

https://aldi.ie/ie/html/offers/special_buys2_22350.htm
Doesnt look a good quality willow !!!

Got myself the LS jersey Gilet/ removable sleeves.... will be useful for the early commutes in the cold mornings we have been having. Not as good value as the autumn Aldi softshell from last year but should do the job. Size was weird....S was a snug fit and medium was a comfortable/ looser fit. A couple of pairs of socks too after recommendation from someone on this forum on another thread.

Other items that looked good value were the rucksack, raincoat and short sleeve jerseys...not essentials since i have those already and missus is complaining about my cycle kit!

goonz

ilovegrace wrote:

https://aldi.ie/ie/html/offers/special_buys2_22350.htm
Doesnt look a good quality willow !!!

Don't know, to the untrained eye that could pass off as a kookaburra or whatever is a decent brand these days

arran77

ilovegrace wrote:

https://aldi.ie/ie/html/offers/special_buys2_22350.htm
Doesnt look a good quality willow !!!

Synthetic willow

edhornby

some of the aldi stuff is tat - I've had mitts in the past and thought they were dire (odgy stitching) but they may be different now

some is good for daily commuting cos it can take multiple washes and then you can bin/replace when it gets trashed

socks are good

navrig

triban wrote:

that is an interesting business model!

But i'd have agree with goonz that Endura/Gore and similar companies will have high operational overheads so big mark-ups are required to make the business viable.

i know i've sold products and services in the past that would appear to have excessive mark-ups, but to sell them any cheaper would be prohibative to the company because of the relatively small customers base and therefore the product wouldn't exist at all.

Low volume of customers = high mark-ups. Only way to reduce cost is to reduce quality.

(EDIT: Obviously i'm not talking about supermarket types that can buy stock at massive volumes and sell worldwide to a large customer base, i just mean the smaller, specialist companies.)

Can't argue with that however if you consider that the sale price of,say, Gore products includes an element of cost for R&D, sponsorship, marketing and advertising and that in relative terms the Lidl stuff doesn't then it could be argued that the relative difference in quality and performance is a lot less than difference in price suggests. So 5 times the price doesn't equate to 5 times better quality/performance. All the more reason for challenging Gore etc on their markup.

That said I wouldn't regard cycling as a small market and hence having proprtionally high R&D costs. Globally it is a huge market AND many of the materials used are developed for other markets - walking, climbing, ice skating and so on. The R&D is shared across an even bigger market. The difference is possibly in the fit and cut of the clothing. I have a Gore s/s jersey and it fits like a glove. I have an Edin Bike Co-op Revolution s/s jersey and the fit is abysmal. They are cut differently.

cookeeemonster

BelgianBeerGeek wrote:

CookeeeMonster wrote:

Avit5 wrote:

I popped in Aldi this morning and it was only me looking at the cycling gear. Lots of people milling about the gardening stuff though. I purchased a cycling jersey at £14.99 and some fingerless mitts at £3.99. Jersey seems decent enough quality . Looked at the light jacket and had I realised it had removable sleeves to also use as a gilet I would have got one. Might go back later. Only thing I find odd are the sizes - you really need to try on before buying as my jersey was an XL and normally I am a medium.

what are the mitts like? I was thinking of getting a spare pair

Good. I bought a pair as back up for when my others are in the wash and they have been good for 2 years use. Well worth getting.

cheers, if theres any left tonight I'll get some

goonz

I wonder how difficult or more expensive it must be to be able to get sizes more accurate and a better fit?

junglist_matty

In my honest opinion, Endura, Altura etc.... Are really not worth the money, they are the same quality as Aldi gear, if not, worse.... I had a pair of Altura summer bib shorts for about £40, less than 2 months of use (around about 8 hours a week), they had fallen apart, stitching came undone, material was ripping and getting very thin in the contact areas, and the pad became completely useless..... Last year I picked up a pair of Castelli Team Garmin-Barracuda summer bib shorts (in the sale after they became Garmin-Sharp) for £46.99. I've worn them daily (out in all weather) for the final warm three months of last year and they still look brand new and the pad is still perfect, hundreds, if not thousands more hours left in them yet.

cougie

I treated myself to a nice Rapha rainjacket one year. I think I've worn it about twice- its too bloody nice to get it messed up.

The aldi rain jackets are good value - for the days when you just need an extra layer if it turns worse. 90% of the time they stay in my back pocket - but invaluable when you actually need them.

The jackets are good too. Very hard wearing.

confused@BR

Popped in the local Aldi this A M, it was heaving! Full of people using discount vouchers from a newspaper Promo.

There was plenty of cycling stuff and the mitts seem better than the last pair I bought (which, despite a label saying 'gel' felt & worked like foam). To me the best stuff they do is their underwear, very high quality, good fit and comfortable. The jerseys and jackets seemed fine, not a current need, the Lightweight top (£9.99) will replace a £50 similar function jacket that has served for some seven years. Socks are great VFM and good luck with all the rest.

For the majority the Aldi / Lidl cycling wear is 'good enough', for those displeased.... don't buy.

Avit5

CookeeeMonster wrote:

Avit5 wrote:

I popped in Aldi this morning and it was only me looking at the cycling gear. Lots of people milling about the gardening stuff though. I purchased a cycling jersey at £14.99 and some fingerless mitts at £3.99. Jersey seems decent enough quality . Looked at the light jacket and had I realised it had removable sleeves to also use as a gilet I would have got one. Might go back later. Only thing I find odd are the sizes - you really need to try on before buying as my jersey was an XL and normally I am a medium.

what are the mitts like? I was thinking of getting a spare pair

Mitts are fine and decent padding on palm. Can't complain for only £4.