Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction

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drubie
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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction

Postby drubie » Tue Jan 04, 2011 10:03 am

rkelsen wrote:
aldifan wrote:I think perchance the disk brake has bent the forks.
No kidding.
...
Of course, you realise that this makes the naysayers right? The amount of time and effort you've put into making this thing work properly has surely reached the point where you would have been better served by a proper bike by now?
This thread is easily one of the best on BNA - aldifan opened himself up to a lot of unwarranted criticism by trying out the Aldi offering and I reckon he needs to be applauded for being so honest.

Having said that, it's time for a proper bike Aldifan. I can't believe that fork bent from the action of the brake - that's just wrong. Good luck with the warranty claim.
So we get the leaders we deserve and we elect, we get the companies and the products that we ask for, right? And we have to ask for different things. – Paul Gilding
but really, that's rubbish. We get none of it because the choices are illusory.

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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction

Postby jet-ski » Tue Jan 04, 2011 11:39 am

I enjoyed it too. :) thanks aldifan !
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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction

Postby CommuRider » Tue Jan 04, 2011 11:52 am

Nobody wrote:It's satisfying to be right in the end. But I'm glad Aldifan shared his journey with us. This thread spells out the pros and cons pretty clearly. :)
RIP Aldi bike: April 2010-January 2011.
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SeanB
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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction

Postby SeanB » Tue Jan 04, 2011 12:52 pm

somehow i don't think aldifan is finished with this bike just yet.

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Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction

Postby Comedian » Tue Jan 04, 2011 2:28 pm

Do we know how many k's have been covered to date?

I also applaud someone doing the experiment and sharing the learning. :)

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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction

Postby CommuRider » Tue Jan 04, 2011 3:22 pm

SeanB wrote:somehow i don't think aldifan is finished with this bike just yet.
"Lazarus with the triple bypass" bike?
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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction

Postby aldifan » Wed Jan 05, 2011 5:42 pm

:cry: Sadly the saga of the Aldi Bike has been ended by the warranty company IGC Dorel, who upon inspecting the photos instructed me to take the Aldi Bike back to the Aldi store and get a full refund. As my goal was to test the bike itself and not a suped up version of same I have not spent a cent on upgrades but have spent some money on consumables like oil, grease and patching inner tubes, some money on accessories like a luggage rack and lights I also invested in the toolkit sold by torpedo7 when it was on special.

However - I can not let you go without filling you in on what happened with the rear axle and making a few observations.

The rear axle Saga
I discovered that my rear axle was slightly bent so I thought I might be able to improve the touchyness of the gear changing at by fixing that so I contacted the warranty people and expected a replacement rear axle assembly. What they sent me was a whole rear wheel including, rim, liner, inner tube and tyre (but not the freewheel). Unfortunately the axle on this new wheel was bent worse than the axle on my bike so I contacted them and politely told them about it. For some reason this prompted them to send me two replacement wheels, of which, one was acceptable, for which I thanked them.

Observations.
I now have a full wallet but cannot shake my heavy heart. I liked that bike and I miss it already.
Lots of people buy bicycles from the likes of toysisus Wmart, and Big K. If these bikes are not good they will not ride them long But they are not returning them and getting their money back or the stores could not afford to sell them. I think one of the reasons why more people are not riding bikes is that they are keeping poorly made bicycle shaped metal sculptures in their garages with flat tyres and badly adjusted brakes.
I will try and take all of the information I have gleaned from the fun I have had and write it up as a review in the reviews section - (too many professional bike reviews are written on the basis of an afternoon's ride and a pint of lager shared with the sales rep)

I will soon be tearfully bidding my bicycle Aldifan alter ego farewell but reserve the right to maintain my aldifanness for their blue vein cheese, chocolate and coffee.

P.S. My wife is not likely to let me get away with doing this myself - but I am sure there must be at least one Repcofan or Huffyfan out there.

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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction

Postby CommuRider » Wed Jan 05, 2011 6:06 pm

aldifan wrote: I now have a full wallet but cannot shake my heavy heart. I liked that bike and I miss it already.
There, there Image. I'm sure Aldi will be selling a 2011 version of the bike in a couple of months' time.
Last edited by CommuRider on Wed Jan 05, 2011 7:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction

Postby mocha_latte » Wed Jan 05, 2011 6:59 pm

Kudos & thanks to aldifan!

I have been watching this thread after I recently bought two Aldi bikes (one for myself and one for my girlfriend) for light recreational use. I don't expect them to last but aldifan did give me some tips on at least what to look out for and how to prolong its life. Also I now know about the 5 year statutory warranty thing and who to contact for warranty purposes (which I hope I do not need).

PS. Took the bike for a 7km ride last weekend down South Coast NSW and encountered no problems yet.

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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction

Postby drubie » Wed Jan 05, 2011 8:22 pm

aldifan - don't change your nick when you buy a new bike. No need for "repcofan" if you buy an eighties era Olympic 12 / Tri-A (or even one of the original Travellers). All of them were far more durable than the Aldi bike and can be ridden home from the tip safely. It's a sad indictment of the bicycle industry that it can no longer produce a cheap, durable bike. Even the worst 1980s Big-W $98 Road King was a capable (if heavy) bike.
So we get the leaders we deserve and we elect, we get the companies and the products that we ask for, right? And we have to ask for different things. – Paul Gilding
but really, that's rubbish. We get none of it because the choices are illusory.

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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction

Postby weemac » Sat Jan 08, 2011 4:56 pm

It's funny, My Aldi special is still holding up really well.... :!:

emac.

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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction

Postby Comedian » Sat Jan 08, 2011 5:40 pm

weemac wrote:It's funny, My Aldi special is still holding up really well.... :!:

emac.
How many k's have you done?

It's only since starting back in cycling and racking up the k's that I've realised how hard regular use is on bicycles, and how annoying downtime is.

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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction

Postby weemac » Sun Jan 09, 2011 10:39 am

Comedian wrote:
weemac wrote:It's funny, My Aldi special is still holding up really well.... :!:

emac.
How many k's have you done?

It's only since starting back in cycling and racking up the k's that I've realised how hard regular use is on bicycles, and how annoying downtime is.
I don't have a computer on my aldi bike, I sure I have not done that many Ks on it. I have changed a few things on it, not because they broke but I just had some items floating around the shed that made the bike fit me a bit better.
Where I ride I'm either riding up a hill or down one. There is a long hill that starts steep and slowly flattens out which really tests out the drive train well. And so far it has held up.
I probably need to lube the rear axle as it sounds a little dry but it shows no sign of bending yet (and I have bent/broken a few in my time)
The forks were sticky but I dissasembled them and lubed them properly and they function quite well. However as folks have pointed out the 1" threaded steerer limits options if/when the forks fail....
I did change the front caliper as the original was a bit hopeless. The new one is remarkable. (It cost me $11)
I got mine on special for $50ish and it is a spare bike and for I want to travel on gravel roads (as my hybrid has more roady tires)
I know how to use a spanner (Its my trade) so adjustments to things are no problem. And the frame has a nice dynamic.
For the money its a great bike.
I also purchased a couple of steel frame aldi bikes for my kids, however the drive trains were dire and I soon fitted Nexus7 coaster brake hubs to them (using velocity rims).
The kids have now got really durable (although heavy) comfortable bikes with plenty of braking power and easy to use gears...

Eden.

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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction

Postby alf » Sun Jan 09, 2011 11:13 am

aldifan wrote: Lots of people buy bicycles from the likes of toysisus Wmart, and Big K. If these bikes are not good they will not ride them long But they are not returning them and getting their money back or the stores could not afford to sell them. I think one of the reasons why more people are not riding bikes is that they are keeping poorly made bicycle shaped metal sculptures in their garages with flat tyres and badly adjusted brakes.
This is probably the hidden gold in this thread. If only I understood this before I bought the kids their current bikes about 18 months ago.

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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction

Postby CommuRider » Thu Feb 10, 2011 5:17 pm

It's on again!

http://www.aldi.com.au/au/html/offers/o ... z_src=main

MTB specials with $5 fingerless gloves. Their indoor trainer is priced at $59 and valet stand at $69.
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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction

Postby Nobody » Thu Feb 10, 2011 6:28 pm

Haven't seen a quick release saddle before.
http://www.aldi.com.au/au/html/offers/2827_17008.htm

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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction

Postby meku » Thu Dec 01, 2011 11:00 am

I was glued to the screen in this topic and was saddened by the premature end to aldifan's BSO journey.

I came here looking for reports about the quality of Aldi's BSOs (they have an $80 MTB sale coming up). Whilst it sounds like the BSO was taking every opportunity to fall apart within a year, at least the after sales support and warranty held strong.

I guess that is the silver lining on the cloud shaped object.

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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction

Postby Nobody » Thu Dec 01, 2011 5:26 pm

meku wrote:I was glued to the screen in this topic and was saddened by the premature end to aldifan's BSO journey.

I came here looking for reports about the quality of Aldi's BSOs (they have an $80 MTB sale coming up). Whilst it sounds like the BSO was taking every opportunity to fall apart within a year, at least the after sales support and warranty held strong.

I guess that is the silver lining on the cloud shaped object.
Not much of a silver lining if you have to waste time and effort chasing a warranty while your bike is off the road. However, if you have plenty of time to waste and have a spare bike, then...

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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction

Postby AndrewBurns » Fri Dec 02, 2011 8:55 am

I've posted a few times about it before but I got the $130 Aldi 700c hybrid at their last bike sale (a few months ago) and it's not fallen apart yet. It's extremely heavy and the rims are very soft and low quality, I've had to do a fair bit of tightening as things work themselves loose but that's happening less and less now. I've done about 650km on it now, including lots of commuting to work (about 24km each way). I'm having to take it off the road to strip it down and clean it now as it's a little noisy and dirty, I think the one time I road it through a storm wasn't so good for it, a lot of grit seemed to have been kicked up into the running gear.

I'm happy with it overall but I wouldn't recommend it unless you wanted a junker bike to thrash around and you had a good idea of how to clean and repair bikes (and the time to do it a fair bit). I'm considering upgrading the aldi bike running gear when things start to wear out because I'm currently building a very nice carbon road bike but I still want a junker to take on crappy cycleways or commute on bad days with.
Image

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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction

Postby Comedian » Sat Dec 03, 2011 4:49 pm

AndrewBurns wrote:I've posted a few times about it before but I got the $130 Aldi 700c hybrid at their last bike sale (a few months ago) and it's not fallen apart yet. It's extremely heavy and the rims are very soft and low quality, I've had to do a fair bit of tightening as things work themselves loose but that's happening less and less now. I've done about 650km on it now, including lots of commuting to work (about 24km each way). I'm having to take it off the road to strip it down and clean it now as it's a little noisy and dirty, I think the one time I road it through a storm wasn't so good for it, a lot of grit seemed to have been kicked up into the running gear.

I'm happy with it overall but I wouldn't recommend it unless you wanted a junker bike to thrash around and you had a good idea of how to clean and repair bikes (and the time to do it a fair bit). I'm considering upgrading the aldi bike running gear when things start to wear out because I'm currently building a very nice carbon road bike but I still want a junker to take on crappy cycleways or commute on bad days with.
It's interesting that and shows how much use it's intended for.

My commuter sometimes goes over a thousand k's between maintenance (apart from tyre pumping and chain cleaning).

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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction

Postby piersg » Wed Jan 04, 2012 7:37 pm

Well, I have to add a postscript to this. (I found the thread as I'm selling (and/or giving away) my Montana and it contained the least amount of Lycra snobbiness)

I bought mine in Jan 2010, paid the full $149, and have ridden it most days to work since then. Mostly on roads and certainly not down hills with the front brakes hard on.

That's 70 km/week on Sydney roads over, what, 90-odd weeks. Well, over 50km on average, if it's bucketing down in the morning I take the train. But I've certainly ridden through some big rain home and plenty of drizzle. I have to lubricate the chain after the rain or it squeaks.

I have replaced the tyres with 1.25" 100 psi Innova slicks from torpedo7 and added mudguards. I've replaced the rear brake pads once. In the past 2 months or so, the chain has become stretched enough that it slips in 7th gear when I'm out of the saddle, but 6th is still fine.

I've adjusted the gears once or twice and play with the barrel shifters now and then, usually after a puncture (mercifully rare after the Innova's). I also adjust the brake lines as they wear. I have not tightened anything else ... maybe gave the BB a slight turn about 6 mnths ago. (Actually, to be fair and fully accurate, I have loosened the handlebar neck thingy but it looks like it has seized)

The only part to actually fail was the freewheel (it became free in both directions).

It's a smallish, heavyish, very cheap bike, appropriate to a wide range of everyday biking, particularly for someone like me who was just starting with cycle commuting and may not have stuck to it. I'm selling it because I'm moving countries, and I'll probably get a slightly more serious bike (I think my legs would really like to fully extend from now on) but I have no regrets.

And the freewheel? I replaced the cassette with the one from my previous Huffy (got my LBS to remove both from the rear wheels (AT) $5/ea)

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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction

Postby Nobody » Thu Jan 05, 2012 9:17 am

piersg wrote:Well, I have to add a postscript to this. (I found the thread as I'm selling (and/or giving away) my Montana and it contained the least amount of Lycra snobbiness)

I bought mine in Jan 2010, paid the full $149, and have ridden it most days to work since then. Mostly on roads and certainly not down hills with the front brakes hard on.

That's 70 km/week on Sydney roads over, what, 90-odd weeks. Well, over 50km on average, if it's bucketing down in the morning I take the train. But I've certainly ridden through some big rain home and plenty of drizzle. I have to lubricate the chain after the rain or it squeaks.

I have replaced the tyres with 1.25" 100 psi Innova slicks from torpedo7 and added mudguards. I've replaced the rear brake pads once. In the past 2 months or so, the chain has become stretched enough that it slips in 7th gear when I'm out of the saddle, but 6th is still fine.

I've adjusted the gears once or twice and play with the barrel shifters now and then, usually after a puncture (mercifully rare after the Innova's). I also adjust the brake lines as they wear. I have not tightened anything else ... maybe gave the BB a slight turn about 6 mnths ago. (Actually, to be fair and fully accurate, I have loosened the handlebar neck thingy but it looks like it has seized)

The only part to actually fail was the freewheel (it became free in both directions).

It's a smallish, heavyish, very cheap bike, appropriate to a wide range of everyday biking, particularly for someone like me who was just starting with cycle commuting and may not have stuck to it. I'm selling it because I'm moving countries, and I'll probably get a slightly more serious bike (I think my legs would really like to fully extend from now on) but I have no regrets.

And the freewheel? I replaced the cassette with the one from my previous Huffy (got my LBS to remove both from the rear wheels (AT) $5/ea)
I'm glad you ended up with a good result, but you can still get '90s MTBs for < $100 secondhand that would also do the job with a minimum of maintenance. My current MTB I bought for $30 on eBay, then swapped many parts from my other MTB as I was mainly interested in the correct sized frame. I have another which I got for $79 on eBay. It needed little work and I still have it also.

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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction

Postby piersg » Thu Jan 05, 2012 11:01 pm

bastard bike has made me a bit more of a liar of me by breaking a spoke today on the very last time I need to ride it. That's going to make it harder to sell!

eBay's a good idea. I usually use it to get terrible prices for my good old stuff, I should go the other way.

PG

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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction

Postby Crittski » Tue Oct 23, 2012 2:24 pm

Lol, my $3200 mtb frame only has a 2yr warranty!
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Re: Aldi Bike: Assembly or minimising self destruction

Postby mattwilkinson » Wed Oct 31, 2012 1:37 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-unb8tUalY" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
:lol:

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