Another Lidl Bike Day!

Only three weeks after their last "Bike" event, Lidl are holding another!

Different gear, same theme.

• Helmets - a new design, judging by the picture, with a slighly more "rounded" shape
• Panniers - that yellow and black one looks IDENTICAL to the one I got from Aldi (Lidl's main German competitor) last year - it is 5 quid less than I paid for a pair, too! A number of other designs are also available, so I might try one of them! For serious shopping though, I would recommend the Pacific Outdoor pannier or the Bike Bins pannier, both of which Anna adores, and keeps attached to her bike all the time.
• Lights - look like the "no charger version" I bought last year that didn't do very well ...
• Bike baskets - aluminium and fabric designs that I might give a try - be handy for the water bottles for the Summer's upcoming charity events! If you want to do much "proper" shopping on your bike, though, I would recommend something more like this Basil basket (and yes, it does cost a good bit more)
• Mini Tool
• Mini Pump
• Gel Saddle Covers - although my advice, after me and Anna both tried them for an extended period, is to save your money and get a better saddle (!)
• Chain Cleaning Kit - although one should avoid over-enthusiastic cleaning of almost new chains, because one just strips out the grease the manufacturer put in there in the first place!
  Add up the costs of all that cleaning every week, and unless you are running a !high-end" gear set, you could just get another chain and front and rear sprockets for less ...
• Bike Lock - just a cheap "cable lock" - fine for a low-priced bike, but I wouldn't recommend it for bikes worth more than about 250 quid, and I certainly would get a better lock if I had something like a Brompton (!) Having said that, despite all the extra parts I have fitted, it is hard to value my bike at more than about 100 quid ($150) - after all, those "new" parts are no longer "new", and all have some wear on them :-)