El-Cheapo Biker Gear – The Germans have invaded!

It’s that time of year again, when Aldi and Lidl have just gone through the DIY and gardening themed products, and out comes the motorcycling gear. As you are aware, whatever Aldi and Lidl sell is always limited stock, so if you’re late, everything will be sold out!

Let’s have a look at what we’ve got here.

How about Lidl first.

Their range came into the shops last week, and is quite comprehensive actually. You can choose from two types of helmets (Jet style and Flip up / Modular) and a good selection of clothing, though unfortunately only for men!

They have Trousers, Jackets, Rain Suits and Boot covers. Also there are gloves and a quite large bavaclava, a kidney belt, bike cover, disc brake lock and tank bags. Last year when they sold these items my husband and I had absolutely no gear yet, having just moved to the UK! The rain suits proved very useful, surprisingly enough they are actually pretty waterproof. And during our first little ride (to Stonehenge) we were very glad to have them as it was pouring down quite heavily. We also bought the gloves last year, and I must say that I might look for other ones as these let through more water than I would want them to.

But for me the most useful items this time were the gadgets; they are carrying two types of intercom systems this time, a very basic one (I’ve already got that; a little box with two plug in head sets, so a rider and pillion can communicate even at motorway speeds). And this time they also have a wireless one which can be used by multiple riders travelling together! I’m probably going to pick one of those up, they were reasonably priced at just under £30 and since the last one worked fine as well, I’m expecting this one to be quite useful too, minus the pesky wires that always seem to be in the way!

As for Aldi, their range is a bit smaller. They have a full face helmet, gloves, a jacket and trouser and a chain lock. They are also selling a very insect like backpack with a hard outer shell, making it not only look like a mutant beetle, it is also supposed to be very aerodynamic. I guess only true speedfreaks would appreciate that one. I hardly ever go fast enough for my backpack to get in the way due to speed!

Overall verdict:

The stuff Aldi and Lidl sell is quite reasonably priced, and the quality is decent enough. Especially the rain suits were quite a good deal, considering after a year of use they’re still going strong. If you’re in a tight spot financially, or just a newbie biker without any gear at all, it’s definitely worth looking into! However I would expect that most people who take this hobby seriously, would’ve collected better gear by now – although maybe that wireless intercom could still be of interest to them! Or perhaps a replacement for that old tank bag that has seen better days…