Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

I went in and had a look at the latest Aldi cycling stuff they currently have on sale. They tend to change designs and possibly suppliers for a lot of their stuff which can be good or bad. Bad if you get something that is good (say a jersey) and wait a few months until they come back only to find they are now different and crap as well (not saying the jerseys are crap just giving an example). Good if you got something a while back and it was crap and the latest version has changed for the better.

I liked the quality of the softshell jacket though sizing seems quite generous, I normally take a medium but need a small in this. It has 2 pockets in rear as well as a smaller pocket with a zip for small valuable stuff like a phone or perhaps keys. Downside (to me) is the main colour of the jacket is black which doesn't make a cyclist very visible on the road, especially at night or early in the morning.

The leg warmers look quite similar to Pearl Izumi ones. I didn't get to try them on but just lookong at them they look to be short, more like knee warmers rather than leg warmers.

The spray jacket seemed quite heavy and I'm sure you if you wore it while riding hard would be wetter on the inside from perspiring so much.

The glasses look to be great value for $10. they come with either a red (sort of metallic maroon) frame or black and have a zip up fabric case and 3 lenses. I would of loved them to have some decentish photochromatic glasses rather than having to fumble around on the side of the road and try and swap lenses. For the price I guess you could buy 3 pairs and set each up with a different lens but that would mean carrying 2 or 3 pairs or glasses on your ride which could be a bit inconvenient.

Hard to tell what the knicks are like until you try them on which is difficult because Aldi has no change-room facilities. Not sure what their refund/exchange policy is on used knicks...

Picked up some socks, seem OK and a jersey for my daughter, she seems quite happy with it. Got the work stand last year and that has been great.

I picked up arm warmers and arm sun protector, the quality seems pretty decent for the price

My mum was doing some shopping and grabbed the last spray jacket for me. My size but black (which seems silly for something that's designed to be worn in poor weather), i'll bung some reflective stripes on the back. Looks pretty reasonable quality, almost (ALMOST ) wanting it to rain so i can try it out.

ldrcycles wrote:My mum was doing some shopping and grabbed the last spray jacket for me. My size but black (which seems silly for something that's designed to be worn in poor weather), i'll bung some reflective stripes on the back. Looks pretty reasonable quality, almost (ALMOST ) wanting it to rain so i can try it out.

MAYBE next week. possible showers

went into aldi tonight and picked up the last toolkit.
here are the photos:



dont know what half of them do but all seem legit.
interestingly the lockring tool doesnt fit in well and the tyre levers looked like they were breaking when i was taking a tyre off for a test run.

Personally, Lezyne Tyre levers are the way to go...

Aldi Specials.Fold up bikes: No. Bike stands,yes: Glasses yes: Latest gloves no: They leave large uncovered patches on the
backs of the hands. Aldi helmets ,yes: Very comfortable and very effective.See my post: The Shed:July 02 2012.
The previous Aldi was totally demolished, my brain was totally unscathed. I thunk( sic).

So, I just tried to use the lock ring remover(named the freewheel remover) in the Aldi Bike Tool Kit, to remove the cassette on an old mountain bike that was collecting dust in the garage. The trouble was it didn't fit. It was just a little too big and wouldn't slip in as it should, so I used a soft hammer to give it some incentive to go in, but no joy. Given that the bike is a BSO, could this be the reason it didn't go in, are there different sizes of lockring tool, or am I just missing something?

My two guesses are:
a) When you say old, it is some variant of the old-school Uniglide freehub?
b) The axle is hitting the inside of the tool and won't let it go all the way in.

I started with an identical kit to that (but blue with Brand-x on it) and although it did get me out of many a jam, its biggest benefit is that it shows you which tools you really need so you can buy usable quality ones. You get from 2 to 5 uses from most of them before they are stuffed and just wreck components.

- David.

Hi,
Noticed that aldi have a torque wrench for sale on Saturday for only $25 , anyone had any experience with it? And would anyone know if it would be suitable for a bike?
Thought it might be good for the carbon bike.....

Cheers

DavidL wrote: its biggest benefit is that it shows you which tools you really need so you can buy usable quality ones. You get from 2 to 5 uses from most of them before they are stuffed and just wreck components.

- David.

+1

i bought the pro brand cassette removal kit after the one in the union set only lasted a few uses
got the torpedo7 torque wrench, decent allen key set (finally bought a metric set), decent screw driver set, decent pliers.

ozzymac wrote:Hi,
Noticed that aldi have a torque wrench for sale on Saturday for only $25 , anyone had any experience with it? And would anyone know if it would be suitable for a bike?
Thought it might be good for the carbon bike.....

Cheers

No, "torque wrench" and $25 doesn't work in the same sentence. From Aldi or anywhere a $25 torque wrench is just scrap metal.

If you care enough about your carbon to want to correctly torque bolts, you will get a proper name brand item.

- David.

DavidL wrote:

ozzymac wrote:Hi,
Noticed that aldi have a torque wrench for sale on Saturday for only $25 , anyone had any experience with it? And would anyone know if it would be suitable for a bike?
Thought it might be good for the carbon bike.....

Cheers

No, "torque wrench" and $25 doesn't work in the same sentence. From Aldi or anywhere a $25 torque wrench is just scrap metal.

If you care enough about your carbon to want to correctly torque bolts, you will get a proper name brand item.

- David.

Trouble here is $75 and "torque wrench" in the same sentence gets you exactly the same torque wrench at a tool supplier. These are 'OK' for general use on engine blocks, casings etc etc.
David is correct here that if you want exact measurements you have to go for a good brand item and unfortunately they cost serious bucks.
Cheers
Richard

WyvernRH wrote:

DavidL wrote:

ozzymac wrote:Hi,
Noticed that aldi have a torque wrench for sale on Saturday for only $25 , anyone had any experience with it? And would anyone know if it would be suitable for a bike?
Thought it might be good for the carbon bike.....

Cheers

No, "torque wrench" and $25 doesn't work in the same sentence. From Aldi or anywhere a $25 torque wrench is just scrap metal.

If you care enough about your carbon to want to correctly torque bolts, you will get a proper name brand item.

- David.

Trouble here is $75 and "torque wrench" in the same sentence gets you exactly the same torque wrench at a tool supplier. These are 'OK' for general use on engine blocks, casings etc etc.
David is correct here that if you want exact measurements you have to go for a good brand item and unfortunately they cost serious bucks.
Cheers
Richard

I am curious as to what constitutes a BRAND NAME type?

I have seen tools etc being sold by brand name so and so, but then you come across the exact same tools unbranded, made by the same manufacturer.

So because one has a BRAND NAME on it, does that make it better?

Not saying the aldi branded tools are any good, as the only tool thing I have bought has been the stand, which has been only ok for the money.




Cheers

What makes it better is actually the calibration certification that comes with it that states it is at least reasonably accurate. Any wrench that doesn't come with this certification isn't worth buying as it is just an expensive ratchet that goes "click". The actual name on it doesn't matter all that much but if you go to an automotive/industrial tool supplier just about everything they have will be calibrated.

If your serious you are suppose to get it re-calibrated each year, but for us mere mortals just release all the tension on the spring and it should last a good many years before calibration needs to be done.

They do come on special some times and c r c/Wiggle etc are also reasonable sources. But a small one (up to about 15nm which is fine for carbon) will be in the low $100 if you are going to get one. Which is going to be cheaper than destroying a piece of carbon anyway.

A torque wrench is an expensive pill to swallow if you like carbon, but worth it.

- David.

DavidL wrote:What makes it better is actually the calibration certification that comes with it that states it is at least reasonably accurate. Any wrench that doesn't come with this certification isn't worth buying as it is just an expensive ratchet that goes "click". The actual name on it doesn't matter all that much but if you go to an automotive/industrial tool supplier just about everything they have will be calibrated.

If your serious you are suppose to get it re-calibrated each year, but for us mere mortals just release all the tension on the spring and it should last a good many years before calibration needs to be done.

They do come on special some times and c r c/Wiggle etc are also reasonable sources. But a small one (up to about 15nm which is fine for carbon) will be in the low $100 if you are going to get one. Which is going to be cheaper than destroying a piece of carbon anyway.

A torque wrench is an expensive pill to swallow if you like carbon, but worth it.

- David.

+1 - good summary.
Re the previous post - with the brand/unbranded thing, that's where I was coming from with the $25/$75 comment. The tool you buy at Aldi is often the same tool from the same factory as the one you buy at the tool store for 3 times the price. BUT for precision tools there are several manufacturers known to produce top quality, calibrated kit and it tends to be expensive but lasts almost forever. I am still using my father-in-laws SidiChrome torque wrench for example, which must be 50 years old at least and has seen extensive use as he was a mechanic.
Cheers
Richard

The 2nd Womble wrote:And now available for a short time only, crap coffee.

Life is to short to drink crap coffe

WyvernRH wrote:

DavidL wrote:What makes it better is actually the calibration certification that comes with it that states it is at least reasonably accurate. Any wrench that doesn't come with this certification isn't worth buying as it is just an expensive ratchet that goes "click". The actual name on it doesn't matter all that much but if you go to an automotive/industrial tool supplier just about everything they have will be calibrated.

If your serious you are suppose to get it re-calibrated each year, but for us mere mortals just release all the tension on the spring and it should last a good many years before calibration needs to be done.

They do come on special some times and c r c/Wiggle etc are also reasonable sources. But a small one (up to about 15nm which is fine for carbon) will be in the low $100 if you are going to get one. Which is going to be cheaper than destroying a piece of carbon anyway.

A torque wrench is an expensive pill to swallow if you like carbon, but worth it.

- David.

+1 - good summary.
Re the previous post - with the brand/unbranded thing, that's where I was coming from with the $25/$75 comment. The tool you buy at Aldi is often the same tool from the same factory as the one you buy at the tool store for 3 times the price. BUT for precision tools there are several manufacturers known to produce top quality, calibrated kit and it tends to be expensive but lasts almost forever. I am still using my father-in-laws SidiChrome torque wrench for example, which must be 50 years old at least and has seen extensive use as he was a mechanic.
Cheers
Richard

Like buying a unbranded cheap carbon frame...fine for most people but you probably wouldn't use it in TdF and there are better frames available but at a much higher cost, but are they worth 3x or 4x or more the price of the unbranded frame?

bradman wrote:So, I just tried to use the lock ring remover(named the freewheel remover) in the Aldi Bike Tool Kit, to remove the cassette on an old mountain bike that was collecting dust in the garage. The trouble was it didn't fit. It was just a little too big and wouldn't slip in as it should, so I used a soft hammer to give it some incentive to go in, but no joy. Given that the bike is a BSO, could this be the reason it didn't go in, are there different sizes of lockring tool, or am I just missing something?

Yeah, there are different sizes, though I'm not sure that any cassette lockrings use the old size—is it possible the old MTB has a freewheel? See Sheldon Brown on freewheels vs cassettes.

Apparently it took a while for the standard to settle down after Shimano 'borrowed' the splined design but slightly changed the sizing... My 1990-odd Repco Traveller and two 1970s Peugeot folders have the 'old' sized splines, though another Traveller of similar vintage had a two-notch freewheel.

m@ wrote: Apparently it took a while for the standard to settle down after Shimano 'borrowed' the splined design but slightly changed the sizing... My 1990-odd Repco Traveller and two 1970s Peugeot folders have the 'old' sized splines, though another Traveller of similar vintage had a two-notch freewheel.

Just to excite you, I have nine different freewheel/cassette removal tools on my tool rack, ten if you include the Maillard Hyperglide specific tool and I am pretty sure I don't have them all.
Cheers
Richard

Thank you all for your responses, especially m@ with the link. I now know I have a freewheel and not a cassette and although the box for the toolkit says I have a Freewheel Remover it is just the wrong size. I even tried to use a pin punch just to get the lockring started without success. I really only wanted to remove the plastic disc that sits between the gears and spokes, as there is nothing wrong mechanically with the bike at all.
Edit; just tried the exact same procedure on my current model mountain bike and had the job done in five minutes with the same tools.

Looking at the torque wrench, I would think it doesn't go low enough for bikes anyway. Has a 17, 19 and 21mm socket and is marketed as auto gear.

Aldi have more specials next saturday (24/11/2012)

Bike repair stand for $39.99
Pannier rack and bag set for $39.99
Helmets $12.99
Some bikes not worth mentioning.

Thanks mate, I'll have a look...

Loitered around my local Aldi until closing time and picked up a repair stand and two pannier rack/bag sets.

The pannier bags seem to be nice quality and the rack is quite sturdy and weighs just under 1kg. One problem with the rack is the mounting holes for circular reflectors, they are in the right spot but there is no way to fit and tighten the screws from the back unless you have a 40cm long magnetic screwdriver.

I was also looking at the 26" bikes for $70, not to buy one but was wondering how much Aldi buys them for and how much they cost to make?