Category: Cycling Clothing

On the last two rides I’ve ended up with cold and wet hands. The Aldi Winter Cycling gloves are OK untill it get really cold (see your breath cold). They are not waterproof either. It’s not a complaint just a fact. For £2.99 they are a stupendous bargain. Seen some on Ebay for double that and postage.

To get around this problem I’ve invested the grand sum of £4.99 on Aldi,s Latest Offer Ski-ing gloves. I gave up ski-ing when I piled on the weight as my knees wouldn’t hack it. Plus I would have looked like Father Christmas in a red ski suit.
Well the knees are fine now I’ve lost the weight so look out Livigno.

I’ve bought these gloves for cycling, everything else seems to be around the £30 mark that I’ve looked at.

The gloves: Ski-ing gloves, Thinsulate lined for warmth. With a “Hipora” breathable, waterproof inner membrane. First impressions look good. Orange flashes don’t match anything other than the ski jackets on offer. From memory Hipora was used in the C&A “Rodeo” Ski Wear. C&A dressed Skiers used to be called “Rodeo Riders” by the holiday reps, that was the last time I wore C&A (not been in the UK for a few years now).

I’ll let you know how I get on, I’ve some motorcycle gloves that are just too bulky to operate Shimano Ultegra STI shifters, Sora button maybe but not Ultegra inner levers.

Just to let you know I fell off my bike wearing these gloves, there is a very small hole were a crease probably wore through and the nylon on the back of the hand is marked but thats it. I cracked a bone in my shoulder and my arm was badly bruised but I’m still using the gloves. Once the weather bucks up I may try something different. I’ve got a enough gloves lying around unused now!

The hat and Headband were recently sold as winter Running Headbands and Hats. Last winter I tried various fleecy hats and caps with mixed results. A fleecy hat proved to be too warm when cycling, especially the part where there is a double fold of material. Not only that try finding one at a reasonable price. Some I saw in the likes of Snow and Rock were over £20. Assos ones were just as steeply priced if not more.

I was on the lookout for something to fit under a helmet (Bell) and keep my ears warm. I ended up paying about £12 for a skull cap that if I took my Helmet off made me look like I had taken Holy orders from a Medieval Monastary.

The recent Aldi offers for runners had me buying some running tops, running trousers and the hat and headbands. The hats and headbands are made of TechTex material. It is a deep navy blue with orange piping and matches the running tops. I saw a running club out the other day, two of them were wearing this clothing and looked good in it.

The inside of the hats and headbands is lined with a terry towelling material to wick away the sweat and it does an excellent job. The area around the forehead is a stretchy windproof material that has reflective piping down the temples. More to the point it fits under my  Bell cycling helmet.

I was out in it today when the temperature was about 3 degrees C with a bitter wind in exposed places. The only thing that I was wearing that didn’t have a Crane Sports logo on it was a Biemme jacket that turned out to be less windproof than I would have liked.

The hat did an excellent job in wicking away away the sweat from a brisk by my standards training ride. (they are leisure rides really I just like to think I am training)

The price of this excellent piece of kit £2.99. 5 stars on my Rating system.

I’m sorry I only bought one each of them.

Aldi are selling winter cyling clothing this Thursday 28th Sep. If your thinking of kitting yourself out with some kit you’d better be early as I need a complete new set of kit.
As I’ve said in a previous post I now buy in multiples if it fits, one can go in the wash while I wear the other one.

It’s all been good stuff in the past, I’ll be looking at the winter overshoes too as your feet can get really cold if you venture out in winter.
I don’t need any lights as I run a pair of Sigma Lights on the now winter trainer, these are really bright (15 watts) and you can actually see where you are going with these.

28 Sep 06

Just got back from Aldi after being first in the queue, I’ve literally got a bootful of stuff and doubled up on most of it, this kit is going to see me through the winter no problem.
I might even wear one of the yellow tops. It’s an extensive list maybe for another post and  product reveiws.

This blog post came up on the first page if you Google   Aldi and Cycling.
which I thought was pretty amazing, I’m just about coming to terms with how many hits the site gets and whats brings you to the site.

17 Oct 2006
Been out a few times in various items. The bib tights are proving to be excellent with good padding and a thicker layer on the front of the tight. If your going to go out in these with the temperature creeping in to double figures (10 deg C) you may find them a bit too warm. The winter gloves at £2.99 are really good for the price and its easy enough to put a fingerless pair in the back pocket if you think the weather is going to buck up.

09 Nov 2006
Just thought I’d add a comment about the bib tights. They have a zip built into them around the fly so you can have a call of nature without having to strip off completly.  The double layer on the front offers excellent wind protection. Unbeleivable value but like I have mentioned maybe too warm if the temperature is in double figures.

It’s hard enough getting everyday clothing thats going to fit you if your overweight but trying to get cycling clothing in the largest sizes possible is fraught with difficulties.

Your going to need a set of cycling shorts with padding and for a bloke he should be looking for a pair of bibshorts. The reason for getting bibshorts is they are not going to roll down over your gut or catch on the nose of your seat when you go from a standing to a seated position. Either way it’s not a situation you want to get into.

If youve got a problem with body image wear tracksuit bottoms over them, they keep you a bit warmer in winter too. Sizing between different manufactures remains a mystery but they are all on the small size.

To cut to the chase on shorts try Decathlon Sports in Stockport they have a blue tag range thats cheap and go up to XXXXL in some ranges, they have changing facilities too.

Aldi and Lidl have cycling clothing and equipment at various times of times of the year under their weekly offers. I started out with this kit, it well made most of it and very cheap. Just be at the front of the queue when the doors open. If it fits buy two of them, as one of them is going to be in the wash.