You better line up early next Saturday (August 19, 2017) for the annual Aldi motorcycle gear sale as it usually sells out of popular products very quickly.
The annual sale kick starts at 8am with a wide range of cheap and good quality gear.
Among the offerings is this gear from Torque: Helmet $79.99, leather gloves $29.99, summer Jacket $139, motorcycle cover $29.99, tank or tail bag $39.99 and boots $89.99.
It appears there is a smaller range of goods and no female-specific items available this year. Check the “special buys” site here for a full list.
Just because Aldi gear is cheap does not mean it is necessarily bad quality.
In 2015, Neuroscience Research Australia’s Dr Liz de Rome, a rider since 1969, told the NSW Parliament’s Motorcycle Safety Inquiry that there “is no association between the cost of garments and their protective value, when you look across the spectrum of what is available”.
“Cost and brand name is no indicator of whether the garment is fit for purpose,” she told the Inquiry.
“We have to find a market mechanism to force the manufacturers to improve their products, and to enable that through what the riders buy.
“The best quality product in the market in Australia today is probably the stuff in Aldi.”
(Liz is NOT an employee of Aldi, nor a paid spokesperson.)
This year Aldi will stock the usual range of open and full-face helmets, leather and textile jackets, leather and denim pants, socks, bluetooth intercom, but no women’s clothing.
An Aldi spokesperson says their motorcycle products are “top quality” and “properly certified”.
“The majority of the Aldi Torque motorcycle protective clothing adhere to strict European safety standards for abrasion, impact and cut resistance,” the spokesperson says.
“Our motorcycle jackets and non-denim pants meet EN 13595 Level 2 Certification and have an abrasion resistance of between 12 and 19 seconds. Our carbon knuckle and padded leather motorcycle gloves are both EN 13594 Certified. The full-face and open-face motorcycle helmets meet Australian and New Zealand safety standards and are AS/NZS 1698 approved, and SAI Global stickered.”
Euro labelling can be confusing, but riders should look for is EN13595 (level 1 and 2) for clothing where the abrasion resistance for level 1 clothing is 4 seconds and above, and level 2 is 7 seconds and above.
The number for the armour approval standard is EN1621-2 (previously EN1621-1) followed by a letter which corresponds to the location such as S for shoulder, E for elbow, K for knee etc.
The prices are so cheap and the number of items so low, you can guarantee most of the good stuff will be gone in short time.
We’ve had a range of Aldi gear over the years and found they are good quality and long-wearing.
Aldi does not stock motorcycle gear permanently, but holds their annual sale to encourage new customers into their shops.
Aldi opened in Australia in 2001 and now has 484 stores, up from 429 stores last year and 365 stores in 2015 in all states and territories except Tasmania and Northern Territory. Find your closest store.
The Aldi spokesperson says all products come from overseas. “The innovation and quality of our international products cannot currently be matched here in Australia.”
They say their prices are kept low by eliminating all “costly extras and overheads by selecting only the best products in each category, displaying products in reusable crates and not giving out plastic bags, which also encourages customers to recycle”.
They also don’t have customer loyalty programs or expensive point-of-sale displays.
- This article is provided as a free information service to readers who can choose what they want to do with that information. It is NOT paid for by Aldi or any other company.