Aldi special buys starting from 30th September has Indian cooking products and motorcycle gear on sale.
Motorcycle tank or tail bag $39.99
Motorcycle disc alarm lock $29.99
Motorcycle socks $9.99
Motorcycle base layer top or pants $19.99
Chef's choice bulk spices $3.99
Samosa Maker $39.99
Pure Vita Sunflower Oil 4L $8.99
Frooti Mango drink 1L $1.99
Have a look on ebay. The last one I bought was just a generic one from ebay and it's been fantastic - and was only about $110 IIRC. Most of the cheap ones come out of the same factories in South Asia.
Yeah no chance. The ALDI ones are CE rated and independently crash tested.
Your eBay one probably has fake ce rated armour only and wouldn't be crash tested
Silly question but how does Aldi products rank for a noob motorcyclist. I'm on my Pre-Learners.
@OzCheapo: Great value for a beginner. Safety wise they meet the standards, comfort is not the best but for this price well worth it. Also great back up gear in case your riding gear is still rain soaked
@OzCheapo: You mean you're on your learners? (You take the pre-learners course to get your learners :) )
I was in your position this time last year. I got the carbon fibre knuckle gloves and jeans, as well as the boots and leather jacket (neither on sale this year). The gloves have been mostly good. The knuckles and other protective plastic bits feel very sturdy (thankfully I haven't had to put them to the test yet though). I did find the velcro strap doesn't really stick very well any more (like it's a bit worn out), and one of the plastic loops on the wrist strap has partially broken (still usable for now). The jeans seemed fine quality wise but just weren't a good fit on me so I ended up returning.
A year on, I'm pretty much looking to replace everything, not because of any particular issues but simply because I've learnt what I like and don't like so much. So it's a good entry point for figuring that out.
@PurchaseAnxiety: You're right Reddich and DangerStomp, I'm on my learners. Done Pre-Learners. Only two months left to go. Glad to see the gear is robust.
Good point with Aldi's generous return policy. Shouldn't need to use it but it'll help get me the basics til needing to upgrade.
@OzCheapo: Only thing I'd spend more on is the helmet if you're going to use it often. Without considering safety, just the fit and finish of better helmets is well worth the extra. Things like Pinlock inserts that stop the visor fogging up and micrometric strap buckles are things I'll never buy another helmet without. Weight, noise, comfort of padding, notches for glasses, space around the ears or room to fit intercoms - all things that are done better (or done at all) in more expensive helmets. But if your uses are infrequent then you probably can't do better than the Aldi helmet for the price. The notable step up in quality generally starts around $200, under that isn't much better than the Aldi one usually. Do try helmets on if at all possible, fit is important and they can have different shapes that may or may not work for you.
As for the rest of the gear, I've had my gloves (carbon knuckle style) for 3-4yrs now with about 1.5yrs of daily use and they've been great, only just beginning to wear out but probably have a year left in them. I don't think recent years were built quite as well but this year they went up by $5 so it will be interesting to see if the finish has improved any. In general you probably won't find better value than their gear, equivalent at best but likely not tested to the same degree.
@ethan961: +1 on the micrometric buckle on the helmet. Makes it so much easier to do your helmet up, even when you've already got your gloves on.
@ethan961: Adding to this, my advice for helmets would be to try it on at Peter Stevens and buy from helmet warehouse. Much better prices and quality is good. Also a good rule of thum is to stay away from Peter Stevens in General
@OzCheapo: Honestly mate spend the money and get something better. You'll be safer and more comfortable.
Not missing out on much. Worst quality bike jacket I've had.
Probably had too many returns. I returned mine and spent a little extra.
Glad I did too.
Disagree.
I've had mine for about six years and worn it daily for about 4 years. It's still in perfect condition despite about 1800 hours of wear.
That may not be the same stock/quality as the more recent ones.
Its one thing to look cool.. its another to be safe.
Same. I've got the jacket from 3(?) years ago and whilst heavy and hot, it's been brilliant. The fit, zippers, armour, stitching and resistance to degradation under all weather conditions is great. I have no reason to think i won't get 10yrs of daily use out of it.
Me too, it actually seems to be wearing better than the custom handmade on I had in the UK
Another pair of thumbs up from me after wearing the thing for five years.
Certainly not the fanciest jacket but full CE homologation with what feels like better protection than some more expensive ones.
Or boots. They've been good as a cheap pair for commuting
I got the leather jacket from the last year's sale, its a bit heavy, but I'm used to it now.
Eggs, milk, full face helmet…
any better multi snack maker
Perfect for that 5km ride
You must be going really slow to only cover 5km in 2 hours…
5km track. Could do many laps in 2 hours.
No leather jacket or textiles? wtf
Ashame, not much gear on sale this year.
Where are the hardware items? Rear stand?
jeans any good?
Like most of the Aldi apparel, they are tested and certified.
A big difference this year is that the jeans include CE armour for the hips, as well as the knees which has been included in previous years. A common complaint of earlier years is the funky cut, but these look to be different. I have two pairs and think they're great for the price.
thank you. Really need a pair of moto jeans and this price is too good. Hope it fits ok
Last year's had the hip armour as well. It comfortable.
I have to ditch the knee pads every year due to the length of the legs vs mine. They become uncomfortable shin pads. First pair I got they kept slipping out as well due to the opening for them being at the bottom rather than top of the pocket. Shitty design TBH.
anyone used one the helmets before?
Might grab one for car track day since they are 1698 certified.
I had similar thoughts re track day, be interested to hear thoughts
I heard from someone that motorcycle helmets are generally not fire proof, whereas car track ones need to be. Check for this.
By all assumptions, I trust this will be used for casual track days. It is not a requirement to be fireproof and you would also need to wear a fireproof balaclava aswell to properly protect yourself.
In a tin top car, it's a very rare event that you would be on fire. Also you would need to have a fire extinguisher mounted in car + there are track Marshall's.
Unless it's an MA or Cams event etc you don't need fireproof gear.
I have an $80 open face helmet for track days which has never been an issue for street registered vehicles.
This is a ABS helmet, the cheapest of the cheap.
I don't even think they allow ABS helmets at tracks, will find out next month when I take my bike to Eastern Creek.
You'll want a good quality helmet made of Aramid fibres at the minimum for the track.
EDIT - Just realised you said car, the problem with ABS plastic is it's very hard and brittle, i.e shatters and won't provide much protection in a hard impact.
They are very relaxed with helmets on car track days, so long as it's certified + does not look physically damaged it will pass. Heck you can even use an open faced helmet.
I've only ever had one incident on a track day when the helmet came into the equation, I was passenger in a friends car and I bumped my head on the jeasus handle on a corner, that gave me a nasty headache for the rest of the day, but I doubt that would be much different with any other helmet.
I use a HJC RPHA11 on my bike and would not recommend cheaping out on helmets if you do commute on a bike often.
thanks dude
It will be fine for car track days. I used a $100 RJays helmet for years.
In the very unlikely event you'll get into a major accident you are in a caged vehicle and the majority of impact should be taken by the car as opposed to a motorcycle where it's helmet meets road.
I'd say a cheaper certified helmet i.e. $100 would do 95% of the job of a more expensive one in a track day scenario. What you pay for in a more expensive helmet is the foam padding quality, i.e. emergency release for padding, visor quality, pin locks, aerodynamics of helmet, cooling etc. most of this is not applicable when you are in a car.
If you are after proper safety gear for track days, take a look at hans devices + suitable helmets. This is in a completely difference price range but you would see a tangible difference in "safety".
What I paid more for my Arai is the Aramid construction, not just the foam, padding.
But as you say; it's fine for a car, were it's definitely not fine on my gixxer. Wouldn't trust a ABS helmet when it meets the road.
Absolutely agree, I use a HJC for my roadbike, not top of the line but circa $700 helmet.
Weight, aerodynamics, sound insulation, pinlocks, removable foam, cooling etc. becomes major considerations and I wouldn't want to cheap out on a helmet as I value my skull being intact.
I'd take a gamble on these helmets for a pillion passenger for a once in a while ride, but I wouldn't use this for a daily commute.
Fortnine has good videos explaining helmets + also basic gear for motorcycling
@fillit: hahahaha I was just going to post my Canadian brethern Ryan at Fortnine.
Agree with everything else you said. If there is one thing you don't cheap out on, it's a helmet………also boots.
What was it, 46% of all motorcycle accidents are actually lower body. I wear my Alpinestars SMX boots to work and be damned what anyone else says.
@he11bent: I think he mentioned, helmet, "full length boots", gloves being most important. Then you can somewhat gamble on the rest if you are on an absolute budget.
Personally it's ATGATT, albeit I use a* drystar boots so shins are unfortunately exposed.
@fillit: ATGATT here, would never ride without full protection. Highsided once at 75KM/H wearing everything but the pants, I've got a nice road rash on my knees from it to remind me to ATGATT.
Get some boots to protect ya shins :)
@he11bent: It's the logical thing to do, but I find full length boots an inconvinience. I do have a pair of Dainese Ponys and they have shin guards inbuilt.
I'll likely pick up a 2nd hand pair of full length boots with toe sliders when I find a good deal.
cool thanks
I hope the cover is compatible with a 1000 cc leader bike .
What is a leader bike?
The one that leads the way on the roads.
Does it have to be 1000CC to be a leader bike?
@Brick Tamland: I don't know if this is a joke that's gone over my head, replying anyway.
The guy probably meant to say litre bike (maybe auto corrected to leader).
Litre as in, 1000 millilitres which is equivalent to 1000cc.
@Brick Tamland: I think they call 1000cc super sports bike a leader bike. not sure why. Perhaps a fellow biker can enlighten us.
@Trioboy: It is technically and originally litre, but over time people just call them leader bikes for obvious reasons.
Personally I would prefer a smaller bike riding harder than a 1000cc barely being able to stretch it's legs on public roads.
There are some great videos on exactly this. People who have switched from e.g.. r6 to r1, r1 loosing out on the tight corners and r1 smoking it on the straights. Not many public roads where you can ride 250km/h +
Is the helmet better than a cloth mask to prevent flu / covid transmission?
Yes. You can wear it with the tinted visor into the bank and not have to worry about the virus spreading
Are the helmets different year on year or are they always the same model?
Lockdown is certainly taking a mental toll.
Lol
Is the auto eject a feature of the roti maker or just the puff of the roti forcing it out?
it ejects as it puffs, thats how they design, u can read the instructions. u just need to close the lid.
NOTE: it took 5 days to figure out that i need to mix dough soft to make it puff :P
I'd rather make it manually the old style way and still save time and effort.
trust me, this saves you lot of time, its easy to make the dough flat and circular with a press. may be its not for people who have experience in making roti.
do i have to dick around with yeast and proofing dough, or can I just shove some baking soda or self raising flour in a bowl and mix?
@salem: To make roti, you don't need baking soda or self raising flour or anything like that. Just wholemeal flour only from Coles. If you want to make it perfectly Indian style, mix it with 20% white plain flour from Coles. You can make dough and it usually lasts 3-5 days in fridge. Although fresh is always better.
How long to make 4 rotis?
Took me 2 years to learn how to make good roti. Trust me, it's not easy.
do you just put in a ball of dough and it smooshes into a circle?
Yes, they have clear instruction inside. I just followed this video
Note : its in Hindi, hope you can make the meaning out easily
FROOTI - taking me back to my childhood memories :)
aldi goes bolly
Frooti at $1.99/Litre is an absolute bargain.
Motorcycle tank? Sounds like something that Batman would ride.
Aldi bike gear have been great. I've been using the textile winter jacket I bought on clearence for $40 for years and it's quality is comparable with textile jackets worth $300+
Shame they don't have the leather / textile jackets for sale this year.
Wondering the quality of the cinnamon. Bought a bulk pack a while ago from a spice shop for coffee, porridge toppers and it tasted like saw dust.
I do not know how sawdust tastes like. I might try Aldi cinnamon!
Good to see this gear back again.
Last year I bought the tail bag, both sets of gloves, the boots and socks.
Tail Bag - changed my life. No more wearing back packs, and fits a six pack, or dinner supplies on the way home. If you don't own one of these, and you don't pillion, just get one.
Summer gloves - great protection, nice feel on the bars still, though the plastic piece that holds the little wrist strap snapped on both sides, although it doesn't effect the gloves really as they are quite tight around the wrist. I wear these as my daily gloves.
Winter gloves - Comfortable as to wear, but give less feel on the bars, and aren't overly warm. protection is far less than the summer gloves. I'd personally give these a miss if you're buying them purely for warmth. Having said that, I spent over double on a pair of brand name winter gloves, and they aren't any warmer than these.
Socks - looked to have changed from last year, though last years were very long (think knee length), and very warm, with a tight fit.
Things I wouldn't buy on the cheap, helmet.
Doesn't have to be super expensive either, for example the Airoh Valor helmet ranks in the top 3 on crash.org.au and it's under $300:
https://crash.org.au/mobile/listing.php?type=fullface-curren…
Most people think that the note they spend on a helmet the safer it is.
Many people aren't aware of the crash.org.au independent crash tests as well as sharp and Snell ratings.
Glad to see you posted this link
Is this the correct helmet you mentioned?
https://amawarehouse.com.au/products/airoh-valor-solid-helme…
It appears to be correct,
Another one you can find with a decent price and safety rating (prior to 2017 crash.org.au list) is the Nolan N64. Note this is made in Italy.
If you don't mind eBay:
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NOLAN-N64-MADE-IN-ITALY/25472610…
In this case you'd want to contact the seller to ensure the helmet comes with the Australian safety rating stickers. I suspect it would considering it posts from Sydney.
Meets appropriate standards. Probably just not as light, comfortable or stylish as an Arai/Shoei/AGV or whatever else.
Check the weights on the crash.org.au site, the two models I posted both are as light.
In terms of comfort, that's rated also and you can see that some reasonably priced models also beat out more expensive helmets in the comfort ratings.
So you really need to do model specific research and you can't just go based on brand or price.
Style is subjective, I prefer a plain black helmet. But I'm sure for a lot of people they would prefer a fancy label. For example these days I think AGV is made in China and the quality is no longer there. But people still pay almost $1K:
https://www.600rr.net/threads/agv-corsa-made-in-china.553474…
What are thoughts on the lock?
The lock looks like it's got a better key system than the Abus lock I'm using now, looks more difficult to pick. It's a good price for an alarmed disc lock. It's got the usual vibration sensors, just make sure the holes in your disc brake are big enough, this one seems to have a 10mm pin.
Usually the goal is to deter, bikes can still be stolen with disc locks, it just makes your bike less attractive than the bikes that don't have disc locks.
No leather jacket :(