[Closed] Dear Fresh goods Friday........

Dear gohan

Please tell us what shop you work in so we can assess whether or not you offer good value for money.

Dear gonad,

So they shouldn't tell people about the cheap stuff?

What if somebody only wanted to spend £15 on a top? Should they be made to ride in a T shirt instead?

Dear gohan,

Please remember that small, independent companies make their own market through innovation.

If you're good at that, then you won't have a problem with competition from "supermarkets copies of other peoples designs made down to a price that only the internet sellers can match"

Cheers,

zokes

Reminds me a bit of this thread,

http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/lbs-owners-snobs

How dare they sell cheap gear!

Two words.........

Tuesday Treats.

Dear Deidre,

My fella is getting all stressed up at work about some magazine or something and it's affecting our bedroom antics.

What do you suggest ?

[quote=allthepies ]Dear Deidre,
My fella is getting all stressed up at work about some magazine or something and it's affecting our bedroom antics.
What do you suggest ?

see the milkman

Srsly?

As others have said, if you're good you'll be fine, if not then you won't. A website highlighting the fact cheap kit is available, which virtually everyone knew anyway, is not going to make a difference!

http://singletrackmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/fresh-goods-friday-147/

fair play to Aldi marketing for getting them attention, not that they need it, it'll sell out within the day from previous experience.
TBH I shall be wandering down and trying for a softshell (with zip off arms for £16!), t-shirt and shorts (got some short last time, and though they aren't brilliant, they'll do to replace some of my worn kit)

A note to aldi: as long sleeved top with full zip would be excellent next time.

Porter's Five Forces.

And so the previous ones advertising hand carved wooden handled taste the difference track pumps and all other kinds of poncy shit I will never buy don't allow them to throw some affordable stuff in there too?

There's clearly a market for it as shown by all the PSAs that go up with Aldi get their stuff. You sir are a troll, and I am bloody well crossing this bridge whether you like it or not!

Gohan you were making a valid point until you resorted to some abuse. Lost me then.

Fresh goods friday aka s*** people send us.

Do you actually sell kit that is in direct competition with the likes of Lidl and Aldi in terms of pricing then? Curious to hear which brands they are?

Or do you really think that every £5 top sold in Lidl/Aldi is geniunely a lost Endura/Assos/Castelli/Rapha sale in an independent store?

Have you considered that cheap kit might entice or introduce casual cyclists into the idea of actually buying sport-specific clothing, and that some of these may upgrade bikes and kit as their interest develops?

Or do you just make knee-jerk reactions and blame others for your poor performance?

I suspect that this thread may not be taking the OP's originally intended route.

[b]This independent magazine[/b] which has been helped along on its way to becoming what it is is now by the mountain bike community and independent bike dealers alike is advertising the fact that Aldi sell bike gear?

[u]Independent magazine, in unbiased reporting shocka![/u]
Love the idea, that they shouldn't review stuff that 'bike dealers' wouldn't like... does that smack of self serving elitism?

On the subject of FGF it has gone a bit rubbish recently
Not the mags fault they can only put up what is sent to them
Take note small independent companies and dealers- send some of your more interesting stuff, get free publicity

Some of the Aldi kit is pretty good-socks and base layers especially! Some good jerseys from time to time too. OP you come across as just the type of 'member' that stops me from shopping at the lbs that is a five minute drive from my house.

Well you can tell Mark has not logged in today yet...... 😆

Surprised the OP didn't mention the testing of mail order only bikes. Perhaps they don't read the actual comic

**** this is a troll right?

Or do you just make knee-jerk reactions and blame others for your poor performance?

I've said this on the trade forums, but if some shops spent as much time improving their own businesses as they do moaning about what other people are doing, they'd be a lot happier.

Well you can tell Mark has not logged in today yet......

I'm right here 🙂

Cheers for the PSA Gohan, hadn't realised Aldi were selling this again. 🙂

Last year was hard for some of our local retailers, but there is a trend. You can tell the shops on our high street who spent the year moaning and bitching to customers about the people who's fault it was, supermarkets, life the universe and everything.

They're the ones which aren't there any more. There's a lesson in there somewhere...

I'm a bike shop employee.
I still buy stuff from Aldi and Lidl
And Merlin
And CRC
And eBay
And from forums
And even from OTHER bike shops

🙂

I can sort of see his point, magazines are hardly known for pointing out cheaper versions of brand products that we regularly discuss on the forum. Or 'group tests' missing out obvious contenders.

So why have they gone out to buy Aldi stuff (I cant imagine it was sent in for review?) and mention it now?

I doubt they went out and bought it as the stuff isn't in the shops till tomorrow.
Good to see your not living up to your name 😉

Mark - Resident Grumpy
Well you can tell Mark has not logged in today yet......
I'm right here
POSTED 1 HOUR AGO #

😀

Good to see your not living up to your name

(I cant imagine it was sent in for review?)

I asked a question. Pretty sure they have went out and bought some in a past year.

Having spent £99 on a softshell (zip off arms) top and then also £16 on the aldi version - I think I can safely say most of the big bike brands (and to some extent the LBS who sell them) are taking the piss with their prices...

Magazines are supposed to be there for independent consumer advice and to promote choice, not make sure you earn a nice profit.

Personally I cannot believe people pay the prices they do for cycling clothes

it is proper cheap shit and yet they will charge £50 + for it

If aldi can sell it at that price point for a profit just think how much the mark up is on each sale in your shop

Apart from my proper winter endura stealth stuff all my cycling gear is aldi stuff tbh as it is just such a rip off
I think I would stop buying special stuff before I would pay those prices tbh

The corollary, of course, is that if Aldi can sell it for £16 then it cost them about £5 to make, including materials, which means some poor sod in Outer Mongolia is getting paid peanuts to make it.

Not saying more expensive brands are necessarily more ethical, but if the pie is bigger then those at the bottom at least have the chance to get a bigger slice.

True but i very much doubt that is there business model - are there any fair trade or ethical cycle brands? { genuine Q given your trade ]

Thanks for pointing it out to me - don't often visit the frontpage, so might have had to buy expensive kit at a bike shop if you hadn't mentioned it 😉

Dear bike shop
You wouldn't see me dead in any shite from Aldi. Cheers.

Try it is not bad stuff....seriously it is brilliant for the money and my stuff has lasted years as well [ may get slightly less use than yours mind]

I went in once when they got some cycling stuff in. urgh. place was wall to wall smelly cyclists elbowing each other and buying gloves for like, a quid....

😉

So why have they gone out to buy Aldi stuff (I cant imagine it was sent in for review?) and mention it now?

It was sent to us by their very proactive marketing dept.

are there any fair trade or ethical cycle brands?

Loads of hipsterish bike clothing brands claim fair trade eco credentials - Howies etc. No idea how valid they are.

It was sent to us by their very proactive marketing dept.

Lights touch paper and runs away

place was wall to wall smelly cyclists elbowing each other and buying gloves for like, a quid....

It was sent to us by their very proactive marketing dept.

In that case apologies, with the tags still on i assumed you'd bought it. Im sure i read a review of the stuff in the past where the mag/website had bought it and was convinced it was STW, so assumed it was same again.

Try it is not bad stuff....seriously it is brilliant for the money and my stuff has lasted years as well

If you want good gear at a good price have a look at this stuff... [url= http://www.encove.co.uk/ ]Encove[/url]

I was a bit wary at first as it looked a bit 'cheap' but they offered to sponsor me and a few mates on a ride from London to Newcastle. We went to their warehouse in Sunderland (another thing to put you off 😉 ) and after looking at the gear we were really impressed. We had white jerseys so they looked a bit grubby at the finish after 3 days riding, but when washed they have came up like new! no 'brand' white top has ever come up as clean and they are a really good fit and comfy too. My favourite bit is the pocket are sewn a little higher so when stuffed full the jersey hem still sits against your back, wish my fancy merino jerseys did that!

If you want good gear at a good price have a look at this stuff... Encove

Ooooooh, that looks quite tempting. Shall give them a whirl. Cheers OP, wouldn't have seen this otherwise!

indeed that looks good value

What if somebody [s]only wanted to[/s] could only spend £15 on a top? Should they be made to ride in a T shirt instead?

Not every can afford or justify the price of the top line kit, and the cheap kit might work like a stepping stone to the more expensive stuff.

the top end stuff will be no better than the cheap stuff as it is just material - not had any come apart at the stitching ever

My Ron Hills did get so baggy you could not get behind the saddle due to crotch sag

I think [ waterproof aside] £15 is my top price ever paid for cycling clothing- oh got some animal shorts in the sale for £17

there really is nothing there to justify the price IMHO

seadog101 - Member
Not every can afford or justify the price of the top line kit, and the cheap kit might work like a stepping stone to the more expensive stuff.

In that case apologies, with the tags still on i assumed you'd bought it. Im sure i read a review of the stuff in the past where the mag/website had bought it and was convinced it was STW, so assumed it was same again.

I thought the whole point of review stuff was that it was sent in.

No matter how you try and work it, if you go out and buy something, you're then (mostly) very favourable about it - you've spent your own money so you kind of need to justify to yourself that you've made the right choice - in other words you put up with minor niggles and you also want to keep it looking nice or not break it. So any testing is intrinsically biased right from the start.

So any testing is intrinsically biased right from the start.

Not necessarily when it comes to professional journalists, it's not their money. (OK, in the case of STW it probably is their money, but if The Sun decided to review bike clothing I don't suppose having to spend a bit of Murdoch's money on the review items would have a massive influence on the results...)

I thought the whole point of review stuff was that it was sent in.

Once you've crashed and ruined an expensive garment, cheap but good and just as functional begins to make a great deal of sense.

We don't buy review kit. It's sent to us for review and I'm not going near the 'review/advertising ' comment. No siree. It's a lovey day and I'm not going to spoil it 🙂

I went through my kit last week trying to tidy some stuff up. I realised I had "expensive" shorts and tops in there that date back to 04/05 all still fine no stitching coming out all well made etc. Happy to keep buying stuff I like and not feel ripped off. I buy new kit every so often but rarely have to throw anything out.

I went through my kit last week trying to tidy some stuff up. I realised I had "expensive" shorts and tops in there that date back to 04/05 all still fine no stitching coming out all well made etc. Happy to keep buying stuff I like and not feel ripped off.

This. But then my aldi stuff that predates my 'nice' gear is also in remarkable shape given how many muddy welsh winters it went through.

Well a mag buying something to review is very different to me and you buying it and posting on a forum that its great.

I don't know that would depend if the poster has say been sponsored to do a ride by the clothing company it could be argued that they are advertising the products.

Aldi stuff isn't bad but I think it lasts so well because its fairly 'agricultural' with thicker fabric and less complexity (panels etc) compared to the high end stuff.

Firstly, good on STW for actually including the ALDI stuff in FGF.

I wear a lot of their stuff and it's surprisingly good.
If I had to spend a fortune on kit, I might not be able to afford the cost of keeping four bikes running.
I buy my spares from my LBS by the way, so I like to think I do my bit to keep them going.

And RonHills are great!

I don't get why a good LBS would be that worried about Aldi kit - but then I guess it is the Tesco effect.
I also did not like the insults being thrown.

terrahawk - Member
I went in once when they got some cycling stuff in. urgh. place was wall to wall smelly cyclists elbowing each other and buying gloves for like, a quid....

From what I saw this morning, it was wall to wall people doing their shopping. Doing a reasonable trade in bike kit too. Glad the world isn't full of snobs.

I don't know that would depend if the poster has say been sponsored to do a ride by the clothing company it could be argued that they are advertising the products.

bigblackshed - Member
From what I saw this morning, it was wall to wall people doing their shopping. Doing a reasonable trade in bike kit too. Glad the world isn't full of snobs.