I bought a set of these to cover the family bikes to protect them from the elements of the weather. The basic attraction was that they are really cheap, at only £5.99 each from Argos. So even at that price, if they were rubbish, it wasn't too much to lose.

The cover itself is marketed by Argos as a Motorcycle/Cycle Cover, since it is designed to fit cycles and most scooters and motorcycles up to 500cc. Size wise it is 185 cm long, by 98 cm high and 74 cm wide. It is made from a water resistant PVC material which is semi-opaque with a slight bluish tinge to it, and the material itself does seem to be fairly strong and robust. The edges are reinforced for durability, and the front and rear areas of the edge are elasticated and have an additional Velcro supporting strap to ensure and provide a nice snug fit around the bike.

In use, it doesn't really get much simpler - drop it over your bike and pull it down around the frame and the tyres, and pull the Velcro straps around the front and the rear tyres to ensure a snug fit. This ability to provide a snug fit is particularly useful because it stops the wind getting underneath the cover and blowing it off. And that's it - fitted and functioning in a matter of seconds. The size means that we can actually accommodate 2 adult bikes under the one cover, providing that you fit the bikes close together. However, the large size also means that it can be too big for some children's bikes in terms of length and height. So you'll need to consider the size of the bike that you actually want to cover.

Durability wise, the PVC material does seem to last well. We've used our covers for about a year now in all weathers and the material still seems to be like new and still flexible. In the past when I used cheap covers on BBQs and benches, I've found that the weather elements tended to dry out the PVC, making it brittle, and hence causing it to crack. But that doesn't seem to be the case with this bike cover PVC material. It's proven itself to be totally waterproof, and when we've taken the covers off, they've been scrunched up in the corner somewhere for storage and then unfolded again when we've wanted to fit them. So they've had a fair amount of flexing around and still seem to be ok.

One point of note though is that you need to be careful when fitting and removing this cover from your bikes. Whilst the PVC material is durable, it isn't significantly strong or rip proof because it is only really designed to keep the rain off of whatever, rather than being strong enough to actually hold or contain something. We've managed to cause a couple of minor tears in the material when we've caught it on some aspect of the bike during a removal or refitting process, which was a bit of a nuisance. However, we did manage to repair the rip by applying some tape to the inside of the cover, and that seems to have lasted thus far.

In summary, for the price I am really pleased with this cover. Other cheapo covers didn't seem to last the test of time against the elements, but this one is still going, and despite a few self-inflicted tears, still seems to have plenty of life left in them after over a year of use.

5 star recommendation.