The "Lidl Bike"

Ruprecht

Have been cycling my hybrid for exercise/fitness/leisure and even enjoyment since moving out from the city to the hills. Through necessity have started to master (or should I say manage) the local hills now and feel that the current bike is possibly limiting me in terms of improving times and distances. I have a short sharp 25km extremely hilly road circuit (all up and down - very little flat) I do a couple of times a week - it used to take me about an hour when I started but now its about 45mins.
Every bike shop I go into recommends a different road bike (budget around €800 ) depending on what they are trying to flog or have in stock at the time but there is nothing I have really seen that I have liked. I like the look of this bike - it seems a very good spec, alot lighter and seems competitevely priced - any opinons on it as I have not seen many around?
If you dont think its suitable for what I am doing any alternative suggestions appreciated.

http://www.lidl.ie/ie/home.nsf/pages/c.o.20092750.Road_Racing_Bike

happygoose

Do a seach on the site here there's a thread or two on it already with plenty of discussion.

ednwireland

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055526405&highlight=lidl+bike

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055583775&highlight=lidl+bike

more than enough discussion on this already

search function on this forum you know

also http://lmgtfy.com/?q=lidl+bike

Lumen

To save you the bother of ready eleventy million posts I'll attempt to summarise...

The components are good. The frame is somewhat of an unknown quantity.

No-one who has actually ridden it has anything bad to say about it.

You will have difficulty finding anything with the same components for the money.

You could spend a little bit more and get something with a better frame and slightly lower spec components, or spend a bit more again and get something with equivalent or better components and a better frame.

Ruprecht

New to this - thanks for info

ednwireland

bad question to start with (just everyone on every forum has done it to death)

welcome to the cycling forum BTW

DirkVoodoo

You are also in a great location to start cycling, right next to the mountains

Lumen's post is spot on.

Captain Havoc

Now over 2,000 kms done on Lidl bike and bike and rider are still in one piece.

Ruprecht

Thanks to all - will look forward to joining in on some of the Tour treads here

Cheers

roadmanmad

how many actually purchased a Lidl Bike?

Captain Havoc

1) Jerseyeire (could be alone here)

Acoustic

avoid like the plague

we had 4 in the shop last week with bb noises , 3 the bb had colapsed and the other was ceased in the frame , it wouldnt come out , plus all of them had knocking noises in the frames , i know u will get some noises from a new bike , but these were loud

plus as far as i know u have to assemble them urself

scottreynolds

jerseyeire wrote: »

Now over 2,000 kms done on Lidl bike and bike and rider are still in one piece.

Someone passed me on one of those lidl yokes so they must be awesome. :rolleyes:

Captain Havoc

They come assembled

72hundred

Acoustic wrote: »

avoid like the plague

Yes because 2000km is always a sure sign of trouble.

Terry,

jerseyeire wrote: »

Now over 2,000 kms done on Lidl bike and bike and rider are still in one piece.

Cheers

**Timbuk2**

Acoustic wrote: »

avoid like the plague

we had 4 in the shop last week with bb noises , 3 the bb had colapsed and the other was ceased in the frame , it wouldnt come out , plus all of them had knocking noises in the frames , i know u will get some noises from a new bike , but these were loud

plus as far as i know u have to assemble them urself

Yes but it's true that in a bike shop you only see the Lidl bikes that don't work.

No-one is going to take in their bike to show the LBS that the bike works perfectly!

fletch

I see it's dropped to €799

smilingeyerish

fletch wrote: »

I see it's dropped to €799

I think you are probably looking at the Northern Ireland page there, the price is still 899.99, Ah well!

Caroline_ie

smilingeyerish wrote: »

I think you are probably looking at the Northern Ireland page there, the price is still 899.99, Ah well!

it's been 799 in the rest of europe all along.

Interesting fact, in Germany lidl offers holiday packages ...

Jumpy

Only shortarse frame sizes left.

alfalad

Think they maybe sold out as a friend try to buy one a couple of weeks back and told there were none in his size.

fletch

My bad....think that's the Northern Ireland site alright.

Captain Havoc

Jumpy wrote: »

Only shortarse frame sizes left.

I can still extend my foot long enough to reach your arse

Acoustic

buckets of sh1te

stay the hell away from em

we have 4 of them currently in our shop for repairs , all 4 have creaking noises from the frames and bottom brackets ( notorious for problems )

they are pure muck and they look terrible

kona

Acoustic wrote: »

avoid like the plague

we had 4 in the shop last week with bb noises , 3 the bb had colapsed and the other was ceased in the frame , it wouldnt come out , plus all of them had knocking noises in the frames , i know u will get some noises from a new bike , but these were loud

plus as far as i know u have to assemble them urself 30-6-2009

Acoustic wrote: »

buckets of sh1te

stay the hell away from em

we have 4 of them currently in our shop for repairs , all 4 have creaking noises from the frames and bottom brackets ( notorious for problems )

they are pure muck and they look terrible 21-09-2009

Good god how slow are your dads mechanics?,


Or are those four bikes back again because of a shoddy repair:p:p:p:p

:pac:;)

bcmf

kona wrote: »

Good god how slow are your dads mechanics?,


Or are those four bikes back again because of a shoddy repair:p:p:p:p

:pac:;)

I think his brother is the mechanic.

ROK ON

Not sure how the BB creaking could be the fault of the bike, given that the bike is marketed as having a full Ultegra group, would the BB not also be a Shimano Ultegra?

Know, I am not a bike mechanic and may well be talking out my proverbials. If so, just ignore.

Acoustic

bcmf wrote: »

I think his brother is the mechanic.

yep he is the mechanic

these are completely different bikes from the earlier ones

they have oversized nipples on the spokes aswell which i think is unusual

only decent part is the groupset and even that is last years

ud get new ultegra for just over €500 and pick up a decent second hand frame , u wouldnt be too far off the 899 and have a decent bike

set of mavic aksyiums €180 , ultegra €525 , frame u could find somewhere for a good price etc

kona

Acoustic wrote: »

yep he is the mechanic

these are completely different bikes from the earlier ones

they have oversized nipples on the spokes aswell which i think is unusual

only decent part is the groupset and even that is last years

ud get new ultegra for just over €500 and pick up a decent second hand frame , u wouldnt be too far off the 899 and have a decent bike

set of mavic aksyiums €180 , ultegra €525 , frame u could find somewhere for a good price etc

They are very loose estimates.

Anybody with experience has noticed the glaring ommissions from that list.

Add into the mix the stem, bars, headset, pedals, tyres, tubes, rim tape, grips, saddle, seatpost, fork. These will add on a easy e300.

Then unless you are competant and have a good set of tools, you could budget in around 4 hours labour, or about e200 in tools and the willingness to accept shoddy work on your e1000 bike.

mloc123

Acoustic wrote: »

yep he is the mechanic

these are completely different bikes from the earlier ones

they have oversized nipples on the spokes aswell which i think is unusual

only decent part is the groupset and even that is last years

ud get new ultegra for just over €500 and pick up a decent second hand frame , u wouldnt be too far off the 899 and have a decent bike

set of mavic aksyiums €180 , ultegra €525 , frame u could find somewhere for a good price etc

You wouldn't be able recomend a good local bike shop to buy these in would you?

kona

mloc123 wrote: »

You wouldn't be able recomend a good local bike shop to buy these in would you?

:pac:

Raam

Acoustic wrote: »

ud get new ultegra for just over €500

Ultegra is over 680e on any of the websites I've seen. Can you get it anywhere for just over 500e?

kona

Raam wrote: »

Ultegra is over 680e on any of the websites I've seen. Can you get it anywhere for just over 500e?

Acoustics dads shop:

Boards.ie offer, full ultegra e500:D oh yea!

Raam

kona wrote: »

Acoustics dads shop:

Boards.ie offer, full ultegra e500:D oh yea!

I'll take two, please.

ROK ON

@Acoustic.
Are you definitely selling the new Ultegra group for that price.
If so, youve got a sale.

I am looking to buy a new groupset.

By any chance do ye have any Ultegra SL left?

Quigs Snr

Acoustic you you really hate this bike. Yeah, I prefer buying local, and no I am not a big fan of the look of the bike (although its by no means ugly). But I think you don't give it a fair hearing. The groupset as you say is good even if it is last years Ultegra 6600 (you certainly will not get the new 6700 for anything approaching 500 euro retail).

If the BB is creaking in these its usually a case of the threads in the bottom bracket or cups not being greased or tightened correctly. I have to re-do this on a Cervelo and a Trek every few months. Its not an issue with the frame, its a known issue (albeit very, very minor) with the cup design of the Shimano Hollowtech II BB. Sometimes they dry out and become very, very slightly loose thus causing a creak or ticking/cracking noise which reverberates throughout the bike (handy tip for those of you with a creaking bike - take out your BB cups, clean, grease and tighten to the correct torque with a proper torque wrench).

I assembled one with a Shimano Octalink 7700 BB and that one has gone approx 3000k (under the brother who is heavy rider) with no creaks or problems, then again, as its not using the aforementioned newer 6600/7800 outboard bearings I wouldn't expect any. The one thing I will say is that the headset bearing gave up pretty quickly, though I probably over torqued the compressor cap when I was assembling it in a hurry.

I know two people with the Lidl bike, or at least the same frame as it, thats JerseyEire and my brother. Both are very happy with them.. Ok, I assembled my brothers one, I just had the frame, so perhaps the each Lidl bike does not have the same care taken over it, but if thats the case I don't believe that the issues are related to the parts. More likely the assembly has been done incorrectly, fundamentally the bike itself seems sound. Also if the frame itself is creaking on the 4 you have in the workshop I would consider throwing them out. Aluminium frames creaking usually means that catastrophic failure such as a split weld or hairline fracture has already occured.

Captain Havoc

Yes, I'm very happy with mine.

I don't think my LBS gives a rats ass where I got the bike, I still shell out a good bit in his shop, so long as I'm cycling to work and doing sportives, he's still going to get more profit from me than someone who buys a bike and leaves it sitting at home. Between buying extras like shoes, lights, pedals, repairs and the odd bit of bling I do drop a good few quid into him.

cosman9373

Here's ultegra for just over 500e, it's ultegra sl too for those of you after that.

http://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=91&idproduct=17454

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/campagnolo-and-shimano-groupsets/shimano-ultegra-sl-groupset.html

Lumen

cosman9373 wrote: »

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/campagnolo-and-shimano-groupsets/shimano-ultegra-sl-groupset.html

Damn that site is good value. SRAM Red for €1008!

cosman9373

yep sure are, bought my group and brother bought a group of them too in the last couple of months. You'd be mad not too!!

Raam

cosman9373 wrote: »

Here's ultegra for just over 500e, it's ultegra sl too for those of you after that.

http://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=91&idproduct=17454

Out of stock

Nietzschean

Raam wrote: »

Out of stock

its 08 ultegra anyway, other site has 09...

cosman9373

try merlin then raam, they've extra discounts now cause they've a new site. some good value there.

Acoustic

if your a person who's very into your cycling ie races , long spins , proper decent cyclist you won't even go near them bikes , you'd be after trek , giant , cervelo , pinerello etc and dura ace or campag chorus or the likes ....

if your not really in the know , you'd be better getting a good aluminium/carbon bike with shimano tiagra complete groupset from your lbs for around €1000 and get it properly fitted for you by your lbs

and for the smartarses i dont mean my old man's , i mean any local bike shop , get it measured up for size and start from there

these 4 in the shop that we have , each of them is too big for the rider , saddles 2 inches above cross bar , i mean wtf , least if you get a slightly lower spec groupset from your lbs least it will fit you properly

ROK ON

@Acoustic:
(1) do you have the Ultegra group at the mentioned price, or are you completely spoofing.
(2) The saddle on a road bike is meant to be above the crossbar, to enable the rider adopt a more streamlined position.
(3) Very few cyclists need a Dura ace group, even if racing.
(4) Anyone who spends 1000k on an alu bike with Tiagra needs head examined IMO.

Acoustic

ROK ON wrote: »

@Acoustic:
(1) do you have the Ultegra group at the mentioned price, or are you completely spoofing.
(2) The saddle on a road bike is meant to be above the crossbar, to enable the rider adopt a more streamlined position.
(3) Very few cyclists need a Dura ace group, even if racing.
(4) Anyone who spends 1000k on an alu bike with Tiagra needs head examined IMO.

1. i'll find out tommorow and post on here
2. i know its meant to be higher , but generally more than 2 inches
3. your right they dont need dura ace or even ultegra , but a good cyclist
usually wants higher end stuff
4.alu frame with carbon rear triangle and carbon front fork , tiagra , multi
spoke wheels is not a bad price , ok when u compare to focus cayo or
others when there bought in 100's or even 1000's of course your going
to get it a bit cheaper , but least you can go to lbs for warranty and
least a bike that fits you properly

BostonB

What bike would ye get instead for €799.

Considering in City Cycles they are selling a Raleigh U6 Pro with 105 for €1299.

cosman9373

do you need to get fitted or do you know your sizing already??

Acoustic

people will usually say if your 6ft u should be on this or that

but diff people have longer bodies or shorter legs etc

ur best to go to lbs and they will advise the proper size for you

for €799 id probably wait a few weeks and save a little extra and get a decent bike with at least 105

Captain Havoc

cosman9373 wrote: »

do you need to get fitted or do you know your sizing already??

I just went by the size guide, I'm 1m60 so I ordered the smallest bike and it's perfect.