[_Darragh_]

I'm thinking of getting into biking and have my IBT session coming up at the end of the month.

I'm on the lookout for some biker gear. If I don't have it by the end of the month, its okay. The guy I'm doing it with supplies me with everything ( even the bike! ) .

So I was in Lidl and Aldi this weekend. I seen loads of biker gear. What do you think about all the gear they have?

I was thinking of getting the Helmet, Jacket, Trousers, Gloves and Kidney belt. They seem like really good value compared to the stuff I was looking at on the cotters website.

[Linda]

Some people love the stuff others don't. Make sure that all the armour and helmet is CE approved or don't buy it.It's a good startout range of stuff and over time you can replace it with other stuff. Try the helmet on I presume your going for a full face, make sure that the helmet dosen't have much movement and fits snugly. A badly fitting helmet is worse than no helmet so you don't want up/down movement and only a small amount of sideways movement.

Good luck with the IBT

[YamFZX750]

What ever about the gear, spend some money on the helmet, it could be the differance. For myself, I have a set of the gear, and its fine for riding a cruiser but for anything like a sports bike I don't think it'll hold up to an off. Compared to other gear out there the armour is flexable which isn't great.

[Inadzuma]

YamFZX750, on 18 April 2011 - 10:31 AM, said:

its fine for riding a cruiser but for anything like a sports bike I don't think it'll hold up to an off.

I'm not being smart but what's the difference between an off from a cruiser and an off from a sports bike?

zuma

[Shinwacker]

Darragh,

You could try the sale range in shops. I know RPM in Drogheda have one, jackets etc going cheap. They have some gloves at about €30 a pair. These wouldn't be on a web site. Lidl stuff is ok, but you will be changing it sooner rather than later.

Shins

[fabio]

I have a pants I got in Lidl and it's better than a similar Richa item for waterproofness. Though I have other Richa stuff and in general find it a quality brand.

I wouldn't go with a helmet from Aldi/Lidl, wouldn't have said this before mind you but the last time I saw them in there I saw kids trying them on and then battering their heads and throwing them back...not good for any lids!

You can pick up a decent helmet with a good Sharp test rating for under a hundred quid now so you'd be better off going to a bike shop, asking for help with fitment and buying one of these.

Here's some top quality ones for over the hundred quid mark but Shark lids are good for 5 years so it's an investment... http://www.cottermc....Path=11_210_208

[_Darragh_]

I'm kinda leaning towards getting the cheap Lidl/Aldi stuff and then buying new more decent gear after a while.

I just feel like I haven't a clue what makes good gear and how to shop for it. For instance I just bought a cheap pair of Lidl hiking boots. So after a while in them I'll know pretty much exactly what I want in a hiking boot before I go spending the guts of 150 euro on a set.

Are there any biker gear shops around dublin? I've seen lots of shops selling bikes but they dont look like they sell the gear.

I tried on the helmet in Lidl. It fits my head snugly but I'm not sure about the movement inside it. Must check that out again. It's a fullface helmet too. Not sure about CE ratings.. so that's another thing to check for.

Thanks for the tips!!

[John Bulleteer]

Welcome Darragh,

Over the years, I've replaced quality gear with LIDL specials.
Heres the honest review.

LIDL
- Boots - 3 yrs old. They were good but leak now.
- Jet Helmet €30 (CE marked) - 3 yrs old. Still good, no scratches on visor, due replacement.
- Gloves - Terrible, to hot in summer (Liner sticks to fingers) and to cold in winter.
- Textile Rain trousers - 3 yrs old. Very waterproof (I spayed them with proofing)better than my old trousers.
- Textile Jacket - 2 years old. Fair quality (Summer use only)
- Bask Protector - 3 yrs old. Great, I never leave home without it.

ALDI
- Textile Jacket - 4 yrs old. Better than my old Quality Jacket. Waterproof, large so I can put layers on. great for winter.

[YamFZX750]

Inadzuma, on 18 April 2011 - 10:38 AM, said:

I'm not being smart but what's the difference between an off from a cruiser and an off from a sports bike?

zuma

After been down the road myself in the last year twice, once with cheap gear from a cruiser and once with full race leathers boots gloves and helmet off an race R6 I can tell ya the cheap gear wouldn't have stood up at all under the same conditions as the leathers did. But saying that I still have a set of the Aldi gear for when I'm out on the FJR and as stated by a few others, they are far more waterproof then some of the other big named brands that claim to be waterproof.

[_Darragh_]

That's exactly what I've been searching these forums for! It seems like people buy the stuff but never get a chance to give their opinion on it.

The Aldi jacket is the one I'm interested in. It has a split in the plastic protectors which lets my arms bend easily, has a nice big reflector colour on it and it has a back protector build into it.

Well I can't get the boots in mysize so I'll be buying them from a store like cotters or the likes.
The Jet helmet I think I seen. It's a fullface one. "Full protection helmet with one-hand flip-up chin system safety tested to ECE-R 22.05 standard, impact-proof ABS outer shell – reinforced by EPS inner shell Built-in, tinted sun shade, shield lifter & multi-level visor mechanism with quick-release, anti-fog/scratch-proof face-shield with sun visor". So that sounds like a CE standard?

I took some pictures of the gear on my phone. I'll try upload it on here later.

[YamFZX750]

_Darragh_, on 18 April 2011 - 01:31 PM, said:

That's exactly what I've been searching these forums for! It seems like people buy the stuff but never get a chance to give their opinion on it.

The Aldi jacket is the one I'm interested in. It has a split in the plastic protectors which lets my arms bend easily, has a nice big reflector colour on it and it has a back protector build into it.

Well I can't get the boots in mysize so I'll be buying them from a store like cotters or the likes.
The Jet helmet I think I seen. It's a fullface one. "Full protection helmet with one-hand flip-up chin system safety tested to ECE-R 22.05 standard, impact-proof ABS outer shell – reinforced by EPS inner shell Built-in, tinted sun shade, shield lifter & multi-level visor mechanism with quick-release, anti-fog/scratch-proof face-shield with sun visor". So that sounds like a CE standard?

I took some pictures of the gear on my phone. I'll try upload it on here later.

One other thing, try to budget for a proper back protector, chances are the one in the jacket is just a bit of foam, I got one of those b-square ones that either Aldi or Lidl had for sale a few years back. I won't get on a bike now without it on.

[CafeRacer]

Darragh,

Always good to see another biker coming on board hope you get off to a good start and you get the bug.

Like anyone starting off it is hard to get all the best gear at first as good branded bike gear can be expensive. I would say Lidl trousers and jacket are probably fine.

Gloves can be a very personal choice some people like winter gloves others find them to thick and like more feel on the throttle.

Helmets are the same, people like different brands. Check out these websites usually good prices on gear.

http://www.cottermc.com/

http://www.thevisorshop.com/

My other recommendation as you said you are not in any rush would be to drop along to one of the meetups in the cage no one will care introduce yourself and have a chat with the lads about the gear they have what they think.

You might even find someone has some old gear they will let you have as it is just gathering dust in a press.

[syllabus]

on the subject of pricing on Cotters web -

go into the shop

always stuff on sale

simons always willing to do deals

i've never paid full price for anything in there

[_Darragh_]

I think the back protecter could be foam alright. Another thing to check on my list. Bit odd if it is foam because surely that would just fall apart on the tarmac.

I have no pictures of the Jacket I seen in Aldi.

Gloves which didn't appear great and Bulleteer said he wasn't impressed with
 gloves.jpg (523.98K)
Number of downloads: 3

The helmet which I really like.
 helmet.jpg (560.41K)
Number of downloads: 4

Kidney belt
 kidneybelt.jpg (591.66K)
Number of downloads: 2

Leather pants. I'm not sure about these. I can't remember if they had any padding or protection in them.
 leather trousers.jpg (644.17K)
Number of downloads: 1

Waterproof overalls
 overalls.jpg (424.47K)
Number of downloads: 6

Waterproof overshoes
 overshoes.jpg (438.56K)
Number of downloads: 2

[proinnsias]

Get a good pair of boots, and you won't need the waterproofs ..

I've a nice pair of Akito boots I got from Cotters when I was starting - fairly waterproof, and comfortable

I started out with

• Buffalo textile trousers - inexpensive, but variable quality (two pairs, one was good until crashed, the other wasn't too waterproof at all)
• Duchinni textile jacket with zip-out liner (again from Cotters) - Cheap and cheerful ... comfortable enough too but got hot sometimes
• Caberg Justissimo GT helmet (cheap 'n' cheerful lid, flip front was a nice to have, but by GOD, the weight of the thing !)
• Aldi Gloves ... warm, but not overly so except in high summer (both days !) ... lasted 2 years commuting before they were replaced

Over time, they've all been upgraded as funds allowed and wear required - I'm a daily commuter though, so can be harder on gear than some... waterproof helps, but sooner or later everything leaks, except maybe Giller jackets.

Budget for a good pair of waterproof over-trousers (hiking shops do reasonably cheap ones), if you're going to be an all-weather rider.

Can't say I agree on Cruiser versus Sportsbike crashes ... sure, on track ... but 30mph onto tarmac is 30mph onto tarmac regardless .. .

Last thing :
CE refers to the armour in the trousers / jacket (none is legally required)
ECE 22.05 is the minimum required certification for Road Legal helmets across the EU. The Lidl/Aldi ones are fine if you can find one that hasn't been abused by kids (per Fabio's post) - most motorcycle shops will sell some gear too, and budget brands like Duchinni etc are quite reasonable and well priced if you can't afford high-end gear. Being in a bike-shop means there's a slightly-better chance they've been respected.

Oh ... Enjoy biking !!

P

[YamFZX750]

_Darragh_, on 18 April 2011 - 01:51 PM, said:

I think the back protecter could be foam alright. Another thing to check on my list. Bit odd if it is foam because surely that would just fall apart on the tarmac.

Waterproof overalls
overalls.jpg

Waterproof overshoes
overshoes.jpg

Can't praise these waterproofs enough, I've gone through some really siht weather in a set of these overalls and was kept warm and dry. As for the boots, good idea but I found that they just fall apart.

This post has been edited by YamFZX750: 18 April 2011 - 05:15 PM

[nobodylikeskev]

i actually found cotters great, only started into biking this year and bought all my gear there. got a buffalo textile jacket and trousers for E130, great stuff for starting out with, spent alot on the helmet and boots but cotters always have stuff on clearance and goin fairly reasonable. theres a deadly foreign girl there (pardon me for sayin foreign but i dont know her name and i am gonna sing her praises) just tell her your budget and she'll kit u out in no time with gear that'll fit u properly. i went back there on saterday again and spent my hard earned pennies on a 2 piece leather suit. its a great service up there and safety gear is always worth spendin money on, its an investment

[eamon]

I've found Cotters to be great value. Well worth a look. I kitted out the missus there.

Aldi do socks that are very comfortable in boots. I wear them all year round.

The kidney belt is cheap but you should only wear it on long trips in cold weather. If you wear it all the time it weakens your back as I found to my cost on a 10 day trip around Scotland last year.

This post has been edited by eamon: 18 April 2011 - 07:47 PM

[John Bulleteer]

Whats the advantages of a kidney belt ?

[golly]

Bulleteer, on 19 April 2011 - 03:01 PM, said:

Whats the advantages of a kidney belt ?

Keeps you warm, and supports your back on long journeys, also small bit of protection if you land on your back!