Bargain Alerts - THE MEGATHREAD!!! - DON!! DON!!! DONNNNN!!!! READ Mod Note in OP

padyjoe · 29-09-2014 2:11pm

Mix and match on inner tubes in Halfords 1 for 4.99, 2 for €7.49, 3 for 9.99. ( I must go back because I've bought 2 tubes but noticed the full price on invoice no discount applied! Argghh!)

Alek · 29-09-2014 2:31pm

padyjoe wrote: »

Mix and match on inner tubes in Halfords 1 for 4.99, 2 for €7.49, 3 for 9.99. ( I must go back because I've bought 2 tubes but noticed the full price on invoice no discount applied! Argghh!)

Also 5 for €12.49

Are they any good from your experience?

stecleary · 29-09-2014 4:24pm

Alek wrote: »

Also 5 for €12.49

Are they any good from your experience?

I've used Halford tubes loads had no issues. They hold 110psi no problem

JMcL · 29-09-2014 4:27pm

bwalsh1983 wrote: »

Are the mounts for the moon 60 just the 'clip onto a saddle bag' sort or is there a direct mount for seatposts, stays other options etc.

It can clip onto a saddlebag in theory but I wouldn't recommend it in practice. I clipped it on to mine last week on a foggy morning as it's own mount (with clip broken in same way as smokeyskelton's - they're too fragile) was awkward to get to. I fortunately heard it clatter off the ground as I went over the last speed bump into work, and it also somehow managed to avoid being run over by the car behind me.

Great light, but you won't want to be riding behind one

Inquitus · 29-09-2014 4:28pm

stecleary wrote: »

I've used Halford tubes loads had no issues. They hold 110psi no problem

Aye I bought 3 the other day and they do what tubes do!

padyjoe · 29-09-2014 6:09pm

I've no experience either but I think it's only a tube shouldn't be that much different. I was afraid of posting it but if it's ok might get a 3rd one for the missed discount.

brownian · 30-09-2014 4:07pm

PlanetX have great prices at the mo, on a fair range of merino stuff.

Bambaata · 30-09-2014 4:15pm

Whats their Merino like? Ive gotten different brand merino and find ti sometimes a bit hit and miss

brownian · 30-09-2014 9:13pm

Bambaata wrote: »

Whats their Merino like? Ive gotten different brand merino and find ti sometimes a bit hit and miss

I'll let you know in a few days 8-).

The PX stuff seems quite heavy (200g and more) - it might be scratchy...but I'll have to see. It's certainly very well priced.

CramCycle · 30-09-2014 9:21pm

Wiggles merino is smooth, planet x is a little less smooth but not enough to cause irritation IMO kept me warm on the winter morning commute for three years and still holding up well.

wanderer 22 · 30-09-2014 9:31pm

brownian wrote: »

I'll let you know in a few days 8-).

The PX stuff seems quite heavy (200g and more) - it might be scratchy...but I'll have to see. It's certainly very well priced.

Good price on the merino alright, although 10 sterling shipping is pretty steep.

Alek · 30-09-2014 11:46pm

although 10 sterling shipping is pretty steep

If you use free UK delivery + Parcel motel it is only 3.95 eur.

doozerie · 01-10-2014 12:34am

Bambaata wrote: »

Whats their Merino like? Ive gotten different brand merino and find ti sometimes a bit hit and miss

I got some a few years back, some of it was 200gsm some of it 120gsm. The heavier weight was scratchy and not very comfortable and didn't hold its shape well at all. 120gsm is arguably too light for merino, kind of tips the fragility/comfort balance the wrong way - I quickly relegated it entirely to being my top layer on the turbo trainer so it hasn't seen a whole lot of use but it still lost its shape very early on but surprisingly hasn't torn or disintegrated. Now that I think of it, I think the set I bought also included a 150gsm piece, also scratchy.

Overall I was not impressed by the quality, it fell *very* far short of what I would consider good quality merino. It was cheap, but I use it so rarely that I can't even say it was good value for money. Factor in other considerations like environmental impact (poor quality merino is heavily processed), animal welfare (there are some horrible practices in the sheep industry e.g. mulesing, hopefully less prevalent in well regulated countries), air miles (the cheapest merino is sourced and knitted in China), etc., and for me at least it rules out ever buying the cheapest of merino products ever again.

In my experience, merino is one of those products where you have to pay for quality. It's tough to find "good" sources of merino though. I've been very impressed by Rapha merino base layers (less impressed by their merino jerseys mind you) but they manufacture in China and it's not clear to me where they source their merino from - it feels good quality but that's a very subjective measure of course. I bought a lot of merino from ChocoloateFish in the UK, but they no longer sell the range I liked because their suppliers moved manufacturing to China so on ethical grounds they stopped stocking it. They have lots of info on merino here, here, and here.

I have some Icebreaker merino which is good, but not as good as either ChocolateFish or Rapha, and is made in (and the wool sourced from) China from what I understand. I'm currently waiting on a delivery of Devold merino, a Norwegian manufacturer who also doesn't provide much info on where they source or manufacture their merino but they claim that they care about ethics.

So for me the search continues for a good ethical source of quality merino products. ChocolateFish fitted the bill exactly so it's a real shame they felt obliged to stop selling it, but I can sympathise with why they made that choice. No other supplier I've found provides as much info as they do and I continue to measure retailers by that - for example, if a retailed doesn't provide such basic info as the weight and fineness/softness (the micron figure) of their merino products, I will not buy from them.

In short, I certainly would never buy merino from PlanetX again. Having experienced good quality merino I could never go back to their poor quality stuff, and that's before I even consider the ethical side of things.

mosstin · 01-10-2014 12:43am

doozerie wrote: »

I got some a few years back, some of it was 200gsm some of it 120gsm. The heavier weight was scratchy and not very comfortable and didn't hold its shape well at all. 120gsm is arguably too light for merino, kind of tips the fragility/comfort balance the wrong way - I quickly relegated it entirely to being my top layer on the turbo trainer so it hasn't seen a whole lot of use but it still lost its shape very early on but surprisingly hasn't torn or disintegrated. Now that I think of it, I think the set I bought also included a 150gsm piece, also scratchy.

Overall I was not impressed by the quality, it fell *very* far short of what I would consider good quality merino. It was cheap, but I use it so rarely that I can't even say it was good value for money. Factor in other considerations like environmental impact (poor quality merino is heavily processed), animal welfare (there are some horrible practices in the sheep industry e.g. mulesing, hopefully less prevalent in well regulated countries), air miles (the cheapest merino is sourced and knitted in China), etc., and for me at least it rules out ever buying the cheapest of merino products ever again.

In my experience, merino is one of those products where you have to pay for quality. It's tough to find "good" sources of merino though. I've been very impressed by Rapha merino base layers (less impressed by their merino jerseys mind you) but they manufacture in China and it's not clear to me where they source their merino from - it feels good quality but that's a very subjective measure of course. I bought a lot of merino from ChocoloateFish in the UK, but they no longer sell the range I liked because their suppliers moved manufacturing to China so on ethical grounds they stopped stocking it. They have lots of info on merino here, here, and here.

I have some Icebreaker merino which is good, but not as good as either ChocolateFish or Rapha, and is made in (and the wool sourced from) China from what I understand. I'm currently waiting on a delivery of Devold merino, a Norwegian manufacturer who also doesn't provide much info on where they source or manufacture their merino but they claim that they care about ethics.

So for me the search continues for a good ethical source of quality merino products. ChocolateFish fitted the bill exactly so it's a real shame they felt obliged to stop selling it, but I can sympathise with why they made that choice. No other supplier I've found provides as much info as they do and I continue to measure retailers by that - for example, if a retailed doesn't provide such basic info as the weight and fineness/softness (the micron figure) of their merino products, I will not buy from them.

In short, I certainly would never buy merino from PlanetX again. Having experienced good quality merino I could never go back to their poor quality stuff, and that's before I even consider the ethical side of things.

So that's a no, is it?

doozerie · 01-10-2014 12:47am

mosstin wrote: »

So that's a no, is it?

Are you inviting me to write an even longer post to clarify? Really?

...right then, brace yourself...

triggermortis · 01-10-2014 8:58am

doozerie wrote: »

So for me the search continues for a good ethical source of quality merino products. ChocolateFish fitted the bill exactly so it's a real shame they felt obliged to stop selling it, but I can sympathise with why they made that choice. No other supplier I've found provides as much info as they do and I continue to measure retailers by that - for example, if a retailed doesn't provide such basic info as the weight and fineness/softness (the micron figure) of their merino products, I will not buy from them.

Have you tried Patagonia?

http://www.patagonia.com/us/product/mens-merino-wool-baselayer-2-lightweight-baselayer-crew?p=36720-1

doozerie · 01-10-2014 10:18am

triggermortis wrote: »

Have you tried Patagonia?

http://www.patagonia.com/us/product/mens-merino-wool-baselayer-2-lightweight-baselayer-crew?p=36720-1

I’ve not looked at Patagonia options in many years. I had a merino top from them many years ago which didn’t work out well, but at least some of that was because I didn’t look after it properly - I washed it with regular detergent, for one thing, and I may even have inadvertantly used fabric softener on it too which would certainly have hammered it - and it lost its shape and fell apart before long.

Thanks for the link, as they look a lot more interesting now. I’m not a fan of merino/polyester mixes though, in my experience they are prone to getting smelly much faster than 100% merino, but I’ll certainly explore whether Patagonia sell 100% merino stuff too.

fat bloke · 01-10-2014 10:31am

What the fcuk is merino anyway?

godtabh · 01-10-2014 10:32am

fat bloke wrote: »

What the fcuk is merino anyway?

Wool

Alek · 01-10-2014 10:37am

godtabh wrote: »

Wool

FCUK YEAH.

fat bloke · 01-10-2014 10:47am

Kee ryst.

Wool on skin on a bike? How bout some barbed wire socks and a nice asbestos helmet.

Lovely.

godtabh · 01-10-2014 10:48am

fat bloke wrote: »

Kee ryst.

Wool on skin on a bike? How bout some barbed wire socks and a nice asbestos helmet.

Lovely.

Wimp

lennymc · 01-10-2014 10:51am

aldi/lidl were selling merino base layers last week. i picked some up - have yet to try them on the bike tho.

CramCycle · 01-10-2014 10:55am

Alek wrote: »

FCUK YEAH.

It's like buying cake. The difference between Merino wool and regular joe sheeps wool is the same as the difference between Iceland and M&S. They sell the same cake but because M&S are willing to charge a minimum of twice the price, you know it's better. FACT.

godtabh · 01-10-2014 10:59am

CramCycle wrote: »

It's like buying cake. The difference between Merino wool and regular joe sheeps wool is the same as the difference between Iceland and M&S. They sell the same cake but because M&S are willing to charge a minimum of twice the price, you know it's better. FACT.

I like cake.

You should check out sportpursuit.com. They have merino on sale regularly

and still ricky villa · 01-10-2014 11:32am

Outletinn with NetApp Endura kit for dirt cheap. They are rebranding next season but this is cheaper than I've seen anywhere else
Not allowed post links

Kav0777 · 01-10-2014 11:38am

godtabh wrote: »

I like cake.

Reminds me of Brass Eye

CramCycle · 01-10-2014 11:48am

The cake is a lie

Invincible · 01-10-2014 11:51am

and still ricky villa wrote: »

Outletinn with NetApp Endura kit for dirt cheap. They are rebranding next season but this is cheaper than I've seen anywhere else
Not allowed post links

Any chance you will pm link?

doozerie · 01-10-2014 11:53am

CramCycle wrote: »

It's like buying cake. The difference between Merino wool and regular joe sheeps wool is the same as the difference between Iceland and M&S. They sell the same cake but because M&S are willing to charge a minimum of twice the price, you know it's better. FACT.

M&S cake is software and doesn't smell as bad, it's also made using the happy tears of happy sheep as opposed to the sad tears of abused sheep. Depending on your sensibilities this makes either no difference whatsoever, or a significant difference.

Bargain Alerts - THE MEGATHREAD!!! - DON!! DON!!! DONNNNN!!!! *READ Mod Note in OP*

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Bargain Alerts - THE MEGATHREAD!!! - DON!! DON!!! DONNNNN!!!! READ Mod Note in OP