Do I live in a different world?

[cyberknight]

It is where people who are too poor to be able to drive a car buy clothes for their cycling.

I thought poor folk like me bought second hand clothes off ebay making sure the max bid was 99p..... or is it just me then .

 

[Sara_H]

I'm very happy with my main commuting/everyday bike, a specialized myka disc elite - cost me about £360 in a sale and on bike to work scheme - dont really know what I could achieve (apart from being afraid to leave it locked up anywhere) by spending more as it's perfect for me.

We've just bought a folding bike for the odd occasion when we're travelling by train, we bought a hoptown 5 at £249 which is fab for the money - but if I'm honest I do wish I could have afforded a Brompton, but ho hum!

 

[Peteaud]

I thought poor folk like me bought second hand clothes off ebay making sure the max bid was 99p..... or is it just me then .

I am poorer than you i get mine from the jumble sale for 50p

 

[chewy]

All about the 'VALUE' rather than the 'COST'

Whatever makes you happy!

 

[cyberknight]

I am poorer than you i get mine from the jumble sale for 50p

Obviously a higher class jumble than we get round here then, lucky if you see a BSO let alone clothing

 

[vickster]

Being a slightly unusual size for women's cycling clothing, I tend to buy Pearl Izum or Gore for bottoms, Altura for the tops, not Aldi/Lidl/Decathlon, but if something is comfy I am actually more inclined to wear it and I do try to find the best price for whatever it is I want to buy.

I haver bought stuff from Lidl & Decathlon but I never wear it, ok it was cheap but hardly good value for money on that basis

I could afford Assos if I wanted to, but it wouldn't fit me, nor could I really justify it (and the blokes in the ads are a teeny bit creepy to say the least)!

Ultimately, I go to work so I can afford nice stuff, holidays, eating out. I have no kids, small mortgage, decent salary with long hours and lots of travel with even longer hours. We all spend our money on different things, neither right nor young.

Frankly, I pay a s***load of tax and NI for what I get back out of the system so I am going to enjoy spending what's left (and pay the VAT on it)

 

[mcshroom]

All about the 'VALUE' rather than the 'COST'

Whatever makes you happy!

Exactly!

It's not that surprising that cycling mags review and advertise the more expensive stuff. They, just like any hobby mag will review what they can get from the manufacturers for free and the manufacturers always want their 'best' stuff on test. Walking mags like Trail and Country Walking are just the same. The money in cycling gear is not in the utility cyclists but in those who want to indulge themselves in their hobby, in the same way that most of the 'best in test' trail gear is seen more on Keswick Market Street than actually on the fells.

What you need to do is work out where the extra cost adds value and where it doesn't. For example I really like my karrimor jerseys which were about £7 from Sports Direct a couple years ago, but I also appreciate my Endura Humvee shorts which cost 7 times as much, because they work better than what I wore before hand.

Don't get hung up on price, try and get the best value out of what you want and get out and enjoy the ride.

 

[400bhp]

Frankly, I pay a s***load of tax and NI for what I get back out of the system so I am going to enjoy spending what's left (and pay the VAT on it)

It's not all about getting back what you put in.

 

[vickster]

No, perhaps not (although it does sometimes irk at the end of a 60 hour week ) , but then no one should judge others on what they do spend their disposable income on

 

[black'n'yellow]

I usually go for mid-range stuff like Lusso or BBB in terms of winter or training kit. All my team kit comes from Germany, so I have no say in that. Performance of the Lusso stuff is as good (or better in some cases) as the premium brands, while the quality & fit is significantly better than cheap stuff. So, you do generally get what you pay for - but by the same token, there is no need to pay double the price when you don't need the kit to perform twice as well - especially when it probably isn't twice as good. A couple of years ago, I spent £160 on a Giordana winter jacket which I ended up not wearing because I hated the fit and the performance. Most of my winter rides now are done in Lusso jackets and bibs which cost three times less, but (in my opinion) do the job far better.

Contact points like shoes, shorts and gloves are worth spending on, if necessary, for obvious reasons. As long as the rest of the kit fits, lasts and performs, then that's all that matters.

 

[Nebulous]

I'm a bit of a reverse snob. I am very reluctant to wear clothes with logos of any sort, or buy expensive branded gear. I became a cyclist with a mindset pretty much like the OP.

Yet I'm slowly but surely moving in a direction that is taking me away from stuff at the bottom of the market, which often isn't fit for purpose. I had a cheap lidl wired computer. It let me down on the biggest cycling experience of my life, to the point that I still dont know how many miles I did. I moved to an Aldi wireless one with HRM. The first two broke and the third is in my box of bike bits unopened. I then bought a Garmin 500 and it hasn't missed a beat in a year and a half.

I've gone through goodness knows how many bike lights. Two Lidl halogen rechargeable ones, that were actually reasonably good lights, have both bounced out of their mount and smashed. The second one had a different mount, and I thought oh good they've fixed it, but unfortunately not. I'm very close to buying this instead.

Don't get me wrong, I like a bargain, and would rather not pay for expensive stuff. Just about my favourite articles of cycling clothing are my lidl sleeveless compression baselayer tops. They just feel right and I'd hardly leave home on the bike without one on. Yet a lot of the pile them high and sell them cheap stuff just doesn't do the job its supposed to, and means too many compromises for my liking.

 

[Rob3rt]

I always bought cheap to middle of the road kit (Lidl/Aldi/Decathlon), but the day I tried on a pair of Castelli body paint bib short's my world was changed!

 

[Monsieur Remings]

I usually go for mid-range stuff like Lusso or BBB in terms of winter or training kit. All my team kit comes from Germany, so I have no say in that. Performance of the Lusso stuff is as good (or better in some cases) as the premium brands, while the quality & fit is significantly better than cheap stuff. So, you do generally get what you pay for - but by the same token, there is no need to pay double the price when you don't need the kit to perform twice as well - especially when it probably isn't twice as good. A couple of years ago, I spent £160 on a Giordana winter jacket which I ended up not wearing because I hated the fit and the performance. Most of my winter rides now are done in Lusso jackets and bibs which cost three times less, but (in my opinion) do the job far better.

Contact points like shoes, shorts and gloves are worth spending on, if necessary, for obvious reasons. As long as the rest of the kit fits, lasts and performs, then that's all that matters.

Yep, as above - the mid-range is the best stuff IMO.

Three years ago now I bought a Giordana winter jacket, it's been used then for three seasons and is as good as new. Likewise the Mavic shoes I paid about the same for have lasted over 12,000 miles and are still going strong. Both were around the £80 mark.

On the other end of the spectrum I have some Lidl and Halfords shorts which are a, literal, pain in the arse on the turbo. They're not comfortable in any shape or form for long enough - my Castelli bib shorts on the other hand (reduced from £80) are.

Someone once said that 80-90% of what is sold in regards to cycling is bling, but I don't think clothing is something I'd include in this, unless you go right for the most expensive kit, which isn't worth the extra IMO.

 

[EltonFrog]

Being a slightly unusual size for women's cycling clothing, I tend to buy Pearl Izum or Gore for bottoms, Altura for the tops, not Aldi/Lidl/Decathlon, but if something is comfy I am actually more inclined to wear it and I do try to find the best price for whatever it is I want to buy.

I haver bought stuff from Lidl & Decathlon but I never wear it, ok it was cheap but hardly good value for money on that basis

I could afford Assos if I wanted to, but it wouldn't fit me, nor could I really justify it (and the blokes in the ads are a teeny bit creepy to say the least)!

Ultimately, I go to work so I can afford nice stuff, holidays, eating out. I have no kids, small mortgage, decent salary with long hours and lots of travel with even longer hours. We all spend our money on different things, neither right nor young.

Frankly, I pay a s***load of tax and NI for what I get back out of the system so I am going to enjoy spending what's left (and pay the VAT on it)

This is a strange thread, people keep using words I'm not familiar with like tax, NI ( are the the Knights who say NI?) and VAT. what are these things and what do they have to with cycling?

 

[black'n'yellow]

This is a strange thread, people keep using words I'm not familiar with like tax, NI ( are the the Knights who say NI?) and VAT. what are these things and what do they have to with cycling?

'Tax' and 'NI' are phrases that people use to try to justify that fact that they value price over performance..