Lidl

[fastpedaller]

I bought the trekking style saddle for £6 this morning. I think it's a great buy - showing on Amazon at between £20 and £25. I haven't done a long cycle yet but was happy with all aspects of my purchase on a short hop around the town centre. Firm but pliable. 28 cms long x 16.5 cms wide at the widest part. Bracket included to fit old style seat posts. Only time and distance will determine the real value of this German-sourced saddle but for the price of a single portion of cake and coffee, I'll give the Wittkop seat 5 stars (out of 5). There is a wider (city) version and a narrower (race) version.

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Yeah, I also had a look at the saddles and they actually looked fairly OK, and very cheap. Slightly too spongy for my preference perhaps but otherwise looked like a real bargain. They also had a mini bike tool kit for about £5, which I already have from a previous year and is very handy, plus a saddle bag & micro tool kit, which looked OK.

Conversely the bike gloves, phone mount & mini pump looked like the kind of unreliable rubbish you'd get with unbranded ebay or Ali Express stuff. There was also a handlebar bag that looked a bit odd, like a roll out pannier and I couldn't quite see how it fitted. They also had discounted track pumps for £5 a few weeks ago that were really good (if I didn't already have a couple I'd have loaded up)!

I note the mini pump has a gauge, so it wouldn't appeal to me, but I'd like to say if it's the same standard as the mini pump they were selling previously (no gauge) then it IS a good item. When searching for a mini pump to fit inside my Brompton seatpin I looked at a £30 branded pump in a LBS, and ended up with the £5 Lidl one which was almost identical. The Lidl one is comparable quality and a steal at £5.- I suspect they come out of the same factory!

[fastpedaller]

I bought one of the mini tool kits today. It's not something I'd usually consider, but at £4.99 It is pretty small but packed with good quality tools which have been designed well. I'm confident that it would be more use for a roadside breakdown than other mini tools I've seen.
ETA I also saw they had cycling shorts at £5, and have always been pleased with their shorts. As one of the packages had been opened I took the opportunity to examine the shorts, and decided not to buy because they had no waist cord to tie them tighter - my previous (and indeed current) Lidl shorts had this feature. I didn't want to buy shorts that could fall down!

[AndyK]

I bought one of the mini tool kits today. It's not something I'd usually consider, but at £4.99 It is pretty small but packed with good quality tools which have been designed well. I'm confident that it would be more use for a roadside breakdown than other mini tools I've seen.

It's probably well designed because somebody else designed it! It looks like a blatant rip-off of the venerable Topeak Alien II, right down to the two sections that clip together, the case and the (possibly now illegal?) locking knife blade.

It's obviously based on an old design because it doesn't have a valve core tool, which every self-respecting new multitool has these days.
Having said that, the Alien II would set you back £35 or so, so if this one does the job for occasional use...

[Eyebrox]

That Topeak chain tool is a sturdy bit of kit for its size within a packed multi-tool. I have a range of chain tools at different price levels but always reach for the Topeak one. It's 20 years old now and I fear they maybe don't make them as well these days. Hope it continues to work as well as it does.