Papa Tom

Thanks, Rage. I was going to be that guy, but you beat me to it and saved me $20.

2old

BTW, my friend has used many of the tools in his kit without a problem, but some people can break or strip anything (I prefer not to, so don't).

Rage

I’m one of those people, 2old!
So I might be eminently suitable for this test. If those tools can handle the abuse I am most likely going to subject them to, well, good on them lol.

That said, I was unable to procure a set today. Went all the way out to the Lidl on Staten Island but couldn’t find it. There was a sign advertising the tool kit but the space was filled with bike shorts. Asked an employee and he said if they ain’t there then they’re all out.
Will try to find it at another Lidl.

We know they’re at least selling even if we still know nothing about the quality of the tools in the kit.
I did find three of those bike repair stands there, tho. Was impressed with how small the box was. But could not ascertain its quality through the packaging. Also, the small size of the box may not necessarily be a good thing. Did not purchase it as I am hoping to get it on close out. Have an old minoura “back-up” stand that can serve if it doesn’t ever go on sale so gonna hold off for lowest possible price.

Test pending. Hope to get one by next weekend. Will update.

Papa Tom

'Looks like the tool kit has come and gone. As of tonight (Tuesday, March 10), the Lidl Market in Plainview, NY is sold out and not expecting the item to return anytime soon. This week, they are featuring pet supplies instead.

Rage

Test postponed, I guess?

Papa Tom

Huh? I put YOU in charge of testing.

2old

Hey Rage; thanks for your comment. It's not that I've never broken anything, but really try hard to keep my stuff (and generally purchase the best affordable). My friend hasn't needed the chain tool in his set, which seems the one that is vulnerable. I've been using my Park chain tool for 25 or so years (sometimes rather vigorously since cassettes can be difficult to remove at times and I had an old time Mountain Tamer - look it up; neat product - that basically became welded to the crankarm) and it keeps coming back for more.

Rage

Hi 2old, I try not to wreck tools but am not always super successful at it. I‘ve got the finesse of a gorilla. It’s a curse...

Which is why I do appreciate quality tools. Got a dedicated bike tool box in the basement of the house and one at the apartment in the city. Pretty decent assortment, a smattering of Park tools, Pedro’s and stuff from Home Depot. If I’m going to be using it a lot, I want it made well.

I also didn’t skimp when assembling the items in my tool roll.

But I think it’d be nice to get an inexpensive, pretty comprehensive, dedicated bike tool kit that I could throw in the car and break out in the parking lot before a ride or a tour or whatever. You know, for that guy that shows up with his bike in a bike case lol.

You know who you are...

Rage

The mainstays of my tool roll are these BikeNashbar levers which I’ve had since 1994. Indestructible and have never failed me.
If I recollect correctly, they were two or three dollars for both. So inexpensive doesn’t always mean cheap.

Rage

On it, PT!

coffeesnob

I bought a kit like that it was not a bike kit but allen wrenches, drill bits, socket heads..etc. My biggest complaint is the allen wrenches and drill bits are very cheap. No tensile strength at all. Rather brittle and break easily.

game_player_s

I've already bought all of the tools this kit has in the previous two or three years out of necessity and paid a great deal more than that $19.99, paid $15 just for my pedal wrench. Questionable quality of this kit set aside, I think it's a really nice starter package for someone who's new to cycling, on a tight budget (most of us these days), and is willing and confident enough to give working on their on bicycle a go. Are their superior quality bike tools out there? Absolutely! But is this kit a deal for someone who owns few or no bike tools already? Most certainly.

game_player_s

Update: Ladies and Gents, I went to my local Lidl Tuesday late afternoon on a mission (accomplished) to secure doughnuts. Seriously,a doughnut craving is no respecter of pandemics.

Checked out the merchandising aisles at Lidl, and for the record, they're just like Aldi in regards to marking things down one to two weeks after the week in which the products were advertised. The bicycle toolkit was sold out, but they have other cycling gear, and the discounting has begun, though was told next week the discount will be even better for anything remaining.

Notable items sighted:
$23.99 - Folding Bike Maintenance Rack - Very similar to the Aldi bike rack, but not as good as the Lidl rack has only four legs, the Aldi racks have five legs giving much better stability.
$10.95 - Pair of rear rack Panniers (various colors and style) - Per the product label, each bag has a maximum recommended cargo weight of, err trying to remember, believe it was 17 pounds. These are really a bargain.
$ 3.99 - Front & Rear LED light set, with batteries! - Front runs on 4 "AA" and the rear runs on 2 "AAA" batteries, and the batteries are included. Again, a bargain price. I bought one of these sets to mess with since my high-end headlight is rather a pain to setup.
?.?? - Mens' and Womens' Cycling Jerseys - Couldn't locate the price for these, and at that point the only employee I could find not manning a register had two other customers pestering him already.
$55.95 - Bike Helmet with Integrated Remote Controlled Signal Lights - Honestly don't know if this is a bargain or not, but they are pretty cool, turn signals and warning lights built-into the helmet, with a handlebar mountable remote controller.

game_player_s

Went in to the same Lidl again today (it's the only one in my area) No panniers, no folding bike maintenance racks, no LED light sets, and for some reason the crazy indicator signal bike helmets went up in price to $69.99.

Rage

Thanks for the update, game player s!
I only had the guts to dip into a supermarket real quick yesterday for the first time in like a month. And have not been to Lidl since I went searching for the tool kit that last time.
Around here, these days, it’s best to avoid any sort of indoor environment loaded with people like a grocery store.
Not sure I would have done it if supplies weren’t perilously low. And certainly not for donuts lol.
You are either pretty gutsy or, hopefully, live somewhere things ain’t so bad.
Either way, my hat is off to you, sir.

game_player_s

They're doing it again! Scans of this weeks Lidl ad, which went into effect today attached.

FastJake

Cheap tools are expensive. First you have to buy them, then you have to buy replacements of the parts you ruin with them, and finally you have to buy good tools. I'd rather skip the middlemen and go straight to a good quality tool.

With a well assembled bicycle these "emergencies" simply don't happen. If I want to make an adjustment I have my multi-tool but even that is probably overkill since the only tools I ever seem to use are the 4-6mm Allen keys.

coffeesnob

so you are saying this isn't a good deal?

mrrabbit 

Wonder how much lead, mercury and other toxic heavy metals are used in this cheap stuff.

Kinda like when Congress mandated CFL's so all the American manufacturers of CFLs in China could help China with their environmental problem by shipping their mercury to us for our landfills.

=8-|

Cute Boy Horse

The perspectives in this thread are strange to me.

LIDL is like ALDI, a common german supermarket where the business model is selling good quality products but at razor thin margins as quickly as possible. They do this by almost never stocking brand names, buying direct from farms and manufacturers, running stores with only three people working there in a shift, using cheaper types of shelves, less lighting etc etc.

In europe this gave them reputation of being cheap and unpleasant, even though what they were selling was actually good, and very high value. People thought you were poor if you shopped at such a dirty and cramped looking place, and ate unbranded cornflakes instead of Kelloggs etc. It used to be common you could sit in front of LIDL or ALDI and see people take the groceries out of the LIDL plastic bags and put it in another supermarket's bags so their neighbors couldn't tell where they shopped.

So to get over that reputation they run these promotions. They'll stock some €100 item in their shops for only €15 or so, put a leaflet through everyone's letterboxes. Enough people run in, buy the impossible cheap thing, see that it's actually pretty decent, and then figure they'll try buying groceries there now. They usually sell out within two days, and never bring it back again. They even do it for computers sometimes, those sell out within hours. People will sleep outside in tents for the more crazy deals. I bought a couch for £25 there once.

So I'd never doubt something like this toolkit being good, because the whole point of them having it is to lose money in the short term to impress you. Is it park tools? Nah. is it worth a lot more than $20? definitely.

Russ Roth

I'm going shopping for the repair stands, need to pick up several and these get decent reviews. Personally I found shopping the Lidl to be unpleasant, I've got to shop for 5 people and they start checking me out before I've loaded the belt and somehow I'm expected to bag or fill my cart after. I just don't move that fast and every time I've had the line backed up while trying to fill my cart by myself. Just too annoying. Aldi has less variety but they fill my cart for me at checkout and I can just bag at my car which I'm fine with so I'm not stuck with people staring at me.

Cute Boy Horse

You're supposed to put it in the cart then take it over to the window where there's a big table to pack it.

When I was in America I never liked going to a "normal" supermarket there at all. The cashiers have to scan AND bag, which is slower, and they're forbidden to sit down. I don't understand the mindset, it seems like making the job an unnecessarily difficult slog is more important than an efficient and profitable business. Even in a non-german european supermarket they at least get to sit down.

I remember when walmart tried to open up here; when they were asked to follow labour laws they publicly accused people of being communist agitators. Yes, really.

robertorolfo

Yeah, er, no. LIDL is well known, and well ridiculed in Italy, where there are many "discount" supermarkets and "Chinese Stores." Overall, they sell crap. Yes, you can find some things that aren't that bad, but nothing is "good quality," unless your perception of quality is seriously skewed.

Just to be clear, there is nothing wrong with shopping there or the items they sell, but let's be realistic about what they are. I'd definitely by one of those work stands for $30, and even the two bike floor stand for $20. For those prices, and with very little to go wrong, they are fine as long as you always remember they are cheap. That's the point.

Papa Tom

As I've said before, if this is the same repair stand I got at Aldi a couple of years ago (listed for $29.99, but I walked out with it for, i think, $13) it was worth A LOT more than that. While it isn't quite as sturdy as my Ultimate Support bike stand, it is functional -- if you can figure out how not to trip over the awkward quad-legged stand every two minutes.

game_player_s

The stand that Aldi sold repeatedly the past few years, which I bought two of, is much nicer in my opinion as it has five legs, giving it superior balance. However, one leg less does appear to be the only difference between those Aldi stands and these Lidl stands, everything else, color aside does make it seem likely that it was manufactured by the same Chinese company. And if you are in need of a stand, $29.99 for a stand is still pretty fantastic. I don't know what's happened with Aldi this year, either I missed the week they had cycling goods this year or perhaps they didn't offer cycling goods yet this year, not sure as there've only been a couple weeks so far this entire year I didn't shop with them.

Going back to the Lidl ad. I bought one of those Saddles for $9.99 and a pair of the cycling gloves for $4.99. Have been wanting a pair of cycling gloves for a long time now, but both times I ordered a pair off of Ebay in recent years they ran far to small to fit, so was nice to actually get to try them on before I bought them

No verdict on the saddle other than it appears to be decent quality, but I've never ridden on one that has such odd orthopedic contours, so only time will tell whenever I get around to mounting it. The box it comes in claims it was designed by a German orthopedic doctor.