Biker's gear

LIDL


I've "Ahem" outgrown, my waterproofs, so I'll be along there on Monday, looks like some decent gear....

 

Aldi is doing it as well seemed to be clearing out fast so cant be that shit if it's sold out within a few hours

 

I've had a look at the jacket and trousers this week and they really look quite good considering the price.
I'm moving to Scotland in 3 weeks and plan to buy myself a motorbike there. So I'll probably have a look at Lidl or Aldi's offers for clothing.
I'm not sure about the quality of Lidl's helmets (Crivit?) though. Has anyone expierence with those?

 

Got one of the waterproofs today with one of there undershirts. Been biking for years and it looks like good kit to me, even the helmet!

 

I came off a ZX7R wearing Lidl bike gear in Nov 2003 (boots, trousers, gloves and jacket). I hit a stray traffic cone doing about 60 at about 2 in the morning near J34 on the M4. Cartwheeled me down the hard shoulder. Good gear-walked away from it (broke my thumb!). Never tried the helmets though...

 

The wet gear seems fine, but I wouldn't risk spending 40 quid on a lid. That's the one bit of kit I make sure is top Gucci. Crivit gear seems good enough from what I've heard (It has the euro safety marks), but a bit noisy.

Jacket looks good though, cheers for the tip Vinnie. My jacket is a fecking oily filthy and needs replacing.

 

I got the lid for my missus. Not as good a a Caberg but not too bad either. Not suitable for track use but then neither is the Caberg. Has a 3 year warrenty and all the EU markings. Vents feel a bit lose, so might be a bit noisy. Came complete with spare visor, spare cheek pads and a neck wind deflector. For 40 quid not bad.

 

Got the waterproof suit yesterday, looks pretty good, plenty of room, easy to get into with boots on.

If you don't get offers regularly from Aldi or Lidl, you MUST remember they are special offers to get you in the door and the good stuff goes fast, sometimes the first morning, I couldn't get an XL suit so had to get the XXL, so it's a little generous, but WTF.

 

Lidl helmets should be fine for a scooter/125 rider. They pass the same safety tests as a £200 helmet!
The main difference is likely going to be comfort and noise so I wouldnt recommend them to anyone doing motorway miles.

The most important thing about a helmet is how it fits so try one on and see.

 

Alsacien,

I would agree that some cheap helmets may have inferior comfort linings etc. But this is not a market where there is an automatic price/quality link. Unless you have independent test results, you are relying on the word of the marketing department of the expensive helmet brand for their claims of additional tests over and above the standard ones. After all, how many different helmets have you personally crashed in in order to be certain the claims are not bunkum? Very few I hope! I have crash tested a small number of helmets (not intentionally) over the years and the cheap ones worked as well as the expensive ones - perfectly well in every case! Added to which, a helmet has a relatively short useful life (maybe around 5 years max for a well cared for helmet) before the more important impact absorbing core has lost its efficiency (the core shrinks gradually but continuously due to various environmental effects) and technology moves forward so it may actually be beeter to own a cheaper helmet and replace it more often. This wil be particularly true if you are careless with helmets but reluctant to replace something expensive that has only suffered a small impact. If I want to be absolutely certain that a helmet is safe, I check that it has passed a variety of other tests such as SNELL/DOT as well as being E approved. Each test is limited in its own way but they are all different and, in combination, indicate a helmet that has been designed well rather than designed to pass a specific test. But generally, for everyday riding, I dont worry about it that much for everyday use. I wear a helmet more for considerations of comfort and to comply with the law!

Based on the general quality/price ratio of LIDL goods, a £40 LIDL helmet might be expected to measure up to a helmet costing anything up to around £80 at a normal retail outlet. It will almost certainly be TUV certified as well as E certified and while not the hight of comfort or style, will be adequate for the more modest user. Not everyone can afford a £300 Arai.

On a more general note, LIDL bike gear almost always sells out quickly, ditto for ALDI, because the quality/price ratio is very good. It may not be the absolute best but then, when on 4 wheels, I can no longer afford to drive a Mercedes either!

 

Went down to the Poole Lidl yesterday, they actually had a lot of kit on sale there. Gloves, boots, scooters, bike covers, jackets, thermals etc.

I took a couple of the lids out of the boxes, gave them a good shake and tap. They look okay, but the vents rattle. So I didn't like them.

The jackets were pretty good for 60 quid. They don't come with any back protection, but there is a slot there to insert some if you want. I bought one of the jackets, removed all the armour and replaced it with the better kevlar out of my old jacket.

 

A colleague of mine has just bought one of the helmets. He is an experienced biker of over 30 years and has declared it perfectly satisfactory.

T-B, are you sure Kevlar? Most E compliant removeable armour for motorcycle jackets is made of some sort of foam, occasionally with a plastic hard shell but never, in my experience to date, with Kevlar as part of the equation. The jacket fabric itself is often kevlar reinforced or sometimes uses Kevlar reinforced thread in the stitching.

That lack of a fitted back protector but provision of space to put one is quite common with cheaper jackets. As is the fitting of non E approved armour. I didnt check but I would be surprised if Lidle were not using E approved armour (where fitted).

 

I purchased one of these helmets at the weekend and have to say that i found it perfectly suitable for purpose, no increase in wind noise and no problem with loose air vents.
although i found that the sizes are not to generous and i have had to go up to an XL for a good fit. came with spare visor and winter collar and as an added bonus it has a built in sun visor.
on the whole not to bad for £40