Saturday 23 August 2014

Lidl has a cycling promotion starting Bank Holiday Monday!

Lidl is a "value" German supermarket chain with quite a lot of stores in the UK.
Periodically they have cycling promotions.
There is one in the UK starting on Bank Holiday Monday (the 25th August).

there are cycling jerseys, helmets, tights and bib tights, sports glasses (keeps the bugs out of your eyes!), a floor pump (the replacement model for the one I have), a set of battery bike lights, and an air-cushioned saddle (just like the one I have!)

What do I think of their stuff?
Well, I reviewed the previous model of their floor pump a while back, and gave it an 8,
It is a good, basic, pump for hybrid and mountain bike tyres. The maximum rated pressure is 6 bar (85 psi), but my recommendation is that it works best on tyres up to 5 bar (70 psi) - such as the 47-559 (26-inch) Marathon Plus tyres on Anna's bike.
So if you have a "road bike" with dead hard tyres, this pump isn't going to be able to inflate them fully, but for the rest of us, it is fine!
I reckon that my Revolution Track Pump Sport (that's a mouthful!) from the Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative is just that bit better, but it costs three times as much as the "Crivit"-branded Lidl pump is now priced at just £4.99 ($8, €6), which is about half what I paid for the previous model of the same pump!
So, for a fiver, you can't go wrong!
If you ride a "mountain" bike, a hybrid, or just a "classic"-styled bike, and you haven't got a track pump yet, this is a good one to start with!

I'll probably pick up a set of their bike lights, too.
They tend to have a rechargeable front light, with a rear light that takes disposable batteries. The front light is usually rechargeable because it uses more power because it is MUCH brighter than the rear!
We have a couple of sets of Lidl's previous bike lights, where the front light has a halogen bulb, and the rear has three little LEDs, but this new set is advertised as being an "LED" set, so I'm hoping for a front LED light as well!
LED lights are about three times brighter or last three times longer (or a bit of both) compared to Halogen lights, so they are a major step up in technology.
Anyway, not sure if these LED lights use rechargeable batteries or not - the picture on their website shows what looks like 4AA "regular" batteries with the light, so I suspect not.
I'll let you know when I see them in the shop!
At £6.99 ($11.20, €8.40), they are worth a look!

I'll be getting a new bike saddle too.
They are nowhere near as well made as, say a Brooks, - so screws etc., can come loose (and fall out and get lost - which is what happened to mine!) after a several years.
But the price is just £9.99 ($16, €12), and I find mine pretty comfortable.
Indeed, I have completed 100 miles of cycling in just one day with a saddle just like this one!
And I could still walk the next day!

Always worth keeping an eye out for the unadvertised offer, as well. It would not surprise me if they have some inner tubes or suchlike on sale at the same time.

Just bear in mind that all the stuff I have mentioned is "consumer"-grade equipment.
If you have a £1000+ bike, and you know what it weighs to within 10 grammes or so, and you like to think of your self as an "amateur pro", then you might be happier looking elsewhere.
But for us "normal" folks that ride 365 days a year, rain or shine, sometimes short distances, sometimes longer, folks that commute and shop and just get about on our bikes, then we are the market that Lidl is aiming for!

Everything is "subject to stock" of course, and, if you are in the Aylesbury baranch of Lidl on Monday, I might just see you there!

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