Lidl Let me (tyres) Down

I had a track pump from Lidl about seven years ago. It was efficient and well designed and reliable until now. It could switch from Schrader to Presta by reversing the nozzle components. Understandably, the rubber hose began to perish and eventually it had to split. So that works out at £1 per year of use which is a good bargain.

I could see the end was coming for the hose so I got another track pump in anticipation. The new Lidl pump has a lot more metal in it but it cost less than £4. Unfortunately, while the pump is mostly OK, the delivery nozzle is utter rubbish. When I needed the new pump it failed to deliver anything. The nozzle has a dual head and it failed to fit both Schrader and Presta. The Schrader is too shallow and pops off when pressure is applied. The Presta is far too narrow and you fear that you will pull off the valve core because it is too tight. So I took the old nozzle off and fitted it to the new pump.

Dear Lidl please take note: The next time you look to stock bike goods, please take a real cyclist with you to test them first.

Another bit of useless Lidl kit was the pannier set that I took around Ireland. How can they think that Velcro can secure fully laden panniers? The liberal use of double sided Velcro straps managed to stop them from falling off the bike but I dumped the bags as soon as we got home.

And their crank extractor tool fell apart the first time that I used it.

Not all is bad news from Lidl. The cycle clothing is pretty much as perfect as you can imagine and mitts, shirts, base layers, shorts, socks and jackets all perform really well.

And on the food front the bread mix for Bauernbrot is miraculous. Out in the West country a loaf of Bauernbrot isn't easy to find. Maybe the Polish shop stocks something similar but I haven't tried. Just add water and mix, and after bit of kneading and rising it turned into a very sticky mess. After baking it emerged as an authentic looking loaf. It tasted authentic too. Hurrah for Lidl!