Rapha haters - do NOT read!

Barry Roubaix

damage36 wrote:

When my money exceeds my sense, I'll be buying rapha

Do you have that same reasoning when you buy bikes, or other equipment?

idaviesmoore

Barry Roubaix wrote:

damage36 wrote:

When my money exceeds my sense, I'll be buying rapha

Do you have that same reasoning when you buy bikes, or other equipment?

If I'd used that attitude I'd be riding around on me dad's old BSA, wearing woollen roll neck sweaters with a spare tyre strapped around me torso

Monty Dog

There was an articles in last weekend's times about cycling sub-cultures, including a bunch of pseudo-toffs riding Mercians in Tweed - perhaps who Rapha's aiming this jacket at? (Nowt wrong with Mercians BTW) I couldn't help think you'd need really thick skin to turn up on the Sunday ride in one of those too. I'm really please with the Castelli Espresso and thinking of splashing out on the reflective gilet for when it gets chilly. The Castelli isn't as Euro gimp or ubiquitous as Assos. Comobike in Italy have good prices on Castelli.

Brixtonbiker

Have seen lots of trendy cyclists round the west end wearing tweed kit, Fixed wheel guys/ couriers. Some home made stuff or maybe US imported.

I think rapha have spotted this trend and can make some money from it if it takes off.

Its Like any fashion, more that wear it the more popular it becomes.

Tweed and similar stuff, mixed up with cycle gear, it can look quiet cool on certain people.

andyp

Has no one posted this up yet;

http://www.dashingtweeds.co.uk/dt/?page_id=43

unclemalc

andyp wrote:

Has no one posted this up yet;

http://www.dashingtweeds.co.uk/dt/?page_id=43

See - I told you I'd fish out my grandad's old stuff. Whadya think...? (the socks are mine...).

DavidBelcher

Monty Dog wrote:

There was an articles in last weekend's times about cycling sub-cultures, including a bunch of pseudo-toffs riding Mercians in Tweed

Presumably the megabucks Paul Smith-styled Mercian at that (although I do agree, nowt wrong with Mercians themselves)?

David

McBain_v1

AndyP - that link made my eyes hurt :shock:

DavidBelcher

DavidBelcher wrote:

Monty Dog wrote:

There was an articles in last weekend's times about cycling sub-cultures, including a bunch of pseudo-toffs riding Mercians in Tweed

Presumably the megabucks He Whom We Do Not Name-styled Mercian at that (although I do agree, nowt wrong with Mercians themselves)?

David

Hmm....seems my original post has been edited without me knowing. I was of course referring to the fashion designer and one-time amateur racer (now Sir Paul, I believe), not that Safespeed bloke!

David

jimmythecuckoo

I like it, but not for cycling!

il_principe

Monty Dog wrote:

There was an articles in last weekend's times about cycling sub-cultures, including a bunch of pseudo-toffs riding Mercians in Tweed - perhaps who Rapha's aiming this jacket at? (Nowt wrong with Mercians BTW) I couldn't help think you'd need really thick skin to turn up on the Sunday ride in one of those too. I'm really please with the Castelli Espresso and thinking of splashing out on the reflective gilet for when it gets chilly. The Castelli isn't as Euro gimp or ubiquitous as Assos. Comobike in Italy have good prices on Castelli.

Seconded, I love Castelli's stuff. Works very very well, equal quality to Assos and it looks much better than a lot of Assos stuff. The Free bibs and tights are ace as is the Solo jacket.

cougie

Hmmm - dont think I'd be buying that from Rapha.

I do like their kit - but only on sale prices.

Assos jackets make me think of Captain Scarlet. At least I can wear my softshell to the pub.

DavidBelcher

cougie wrote:

Assos jackets make me think of Captain Scarlet.

Does that make them indestructible? Although having the Voice of the Mysterons following you around all the time must be a bit irritating.....

David

Jez mon

I've got matching red Assos tights and Jacket. How I love them, there is nothing better in the winter. Unfortunately, I look like a skinny Lycra clad Santa

cougie

DavidBelcher wrote:

cougie wrote:

Assos jackets make me think of Captain Scarlet.

Does that make them indestructible? Although having the Voice of the Mysterons following you around all the time must be a bit irritating.....

David

Hmmm - and i thought those lights were from my torches - I may have been mistaken !?

mwo

Saw the tweed softshell at the cycle show today. You couldn't try it on, so I can't tell you what a 450 quid jacket feels like. It didn't look too bad, but I shan't be buying one. The new fixed jerseys were nice though and the black softshell is still a quality piece of kit.

DavidBelcher

cougie wrote:

DavidBelcher wrote:

cougie wrote:

Assos jackets make me think of Captain Scarlet.

Does that make them indestructible? Although having the Voice of the Mysterons following you around all the time must be a bit irritating.....

David

Hmmm - and i thought those lights were from my torches - I may have been mistaken !?

You should've known when you bought the stuff that there would be some strings attached.

I'll get me non-Assos coat... :oops:

David

cougie

Grroooooooooaaaannnn !

giant_man

Love Assos all the way me, Captain Scarlet was always my fave show, but I checked out the classic Rapha Softshell at the show and was pleasantly surprised.

Nice bit of kit and possibly better value than the new Castelli insulation jacket with detachable 'Nasa rocket lining' inner at 300 quid.

The tweed thing is quite ridiculous imo.

Jez mon

I was more of a Thunderbirds man myself!

When Rapha started I could see what they were aiming for. Lets be honest here, standard bike kit looks ridiculous to non cyclists. So along comes Rapha, a company who make kit which works well on the bike, but doesn't make you look like some sort of weird fetishist! Rapha also priced itself into the "exclusive" range of kit and there was no problem with this, because the quality was good and the service was top notch.

However, gradually Rapha's become an unfunny parody of itself. It has produced pointless side products, the riders journal, the leg shaving kit. It has started charging some eye poping prices or garments (£50 scarf anyone?). And now this...

mwo

+1 for Thunderbirds.

I guess it depends why you like Rapha. If you buy their stuff because you think it looks good, is good quality and the customer service is first rate, then none of that changes just because they also sell nonsense like the silk scarf or the tweed jacket.

As long as they continue to sell things as good as the classic softshell jacket and softshell gilet then I couldn't care less if they also sell some stupid silk scarf. I don't stop buying Assos shorts because I don't like their jerseys.

bigflangesmallsprocket

Not seen rapha stuff up close. Obvious aimed at cyclists into retro fashion, which would mostly be fixed gear riders I'd assume, no probs there as I do like old style clobber myself, HOWEVER, what I do find annoying is the very obvious bumping up of prices in order to give some pseudo 'exclusivity'. Levi's (and others presumably), which sell dirt cheap in the USA, even took suppliers to court in the UK in an attempt to keep prices artificially high here. Well, you could make a certain profit by selling stuff at an affordable price and making it widely available, OR you can make the same amount of profit by making half as many items, doubling the price, and shoving some black and white and sepia photos out to the press: less work, more profit. Oh, and it's exclusive, so that makes it all right. I'm not saying I wouldn't ever buy Rapha, though it's actually well out of my budget, but I think the intentional image of 'exclusive' and the often realworld perception of 'money to burn' are not quite the same thing.

Theres some very naff and cheap looking clobber out there, with the ONLY thing to distinguish it from market stall quality being the label, and it probably comes from the same sweatshops, yet folks will pay double or more the price just for the label, as if thats more important than what the item actually looks like.

Coriander

I'd never seen Rapha in real life until the other day. A roadie overtook me on the way to work and as he passed I admired his trousers. When we both stopped at some lights I complimented him on them. 'Rapha,' he said, 'a present. And yes, I do rather like them, thank you'.

Funny, but nobody ever seems to buy Rapha for themselves.

But they were gorgeous breeches.

mwo

I've already confessed in this very thread to buying Rapha for myself. I got called a tart. Not unreasonable, but it might explain the "present" defense.

Monty Dog

I was lucky enough to pick up a Rapha jersey a few years ago for £25 and stupidly turned down a softshell for £50! I've got a cap too - which was the same price as the jersey! I was slightly envious of the Rapha Condor boys when they first showed up at races with the bikes, jerseys and stuff, but we did chuckle at the ridiculous £250 kit bags, ignominiously tucked under the plastic chairs in the church halls at race HQ. The problem is that that I don't see the real enthusiast cyclists wearing the stuff, and the times I've seen the 'gold card specials' Rapha'd top-to-toe on their too-new top end bikes and bad riding technique already makes me associate it with pseuds - and this was before they came up with this.

mwo

I think a lot of people make the same association between Rapha and 'gold card specials' and apparently it isn't far from the truth:

So who is Rapha’s average customer? Mottram replies with great precision, citing a questionnaire they issued to customers earlier this year. “He – and it is a he - is a 37 year-old male, married with two kids, white collar professional with an annual income of €100,000 or more.”

The full interview is here: http://www.cnbceb.com/Articles/2008/September/45/re-visiting-start-ups---rapha.aspx

I will defend myself as a Rapha wearer by saying that I don't match that profile, but when I read that I can understand why people make the 'gold card special' assumption.

Barry Roubaix

Monty Dog wrote:

I was lucky enough to pick up a Rapha jersey a few years ago for £25 and stupidly turned down a softshell for £50! I've got a cap too - which was the same price as the jersey! I was slightly envious of the Rapha Condor boys when they first showed up at races with the bikes, jerseys and stuff, but we did chuckle at the ridiculous £250 kit bags, ignominiously tucked under the plastic chairs in the church halls at race HQ. The problem is that that I don't see the real enthusiast cyclists wearing the stuff, and the times I've seen the 'gold card specials' Rapha'd top-to-toe on their too-new top end bikes and bad riding technique already makes me associate it with pseuds - and this was before they came up with this.

I've been cycling for over 20 years, organise events, commute nearly everyday on my bike, and will start racing again next year after a year off. I would call myself an 'enthusiast'. And I also wear Rapha gear (albeit I'm not decked head to toe in it - but a little item here and there looks good). I like the quality and love the understated look. i'm not into lurid graphics everywhere on clothing, so when Rapha came along I was pleased. I'm lucky that I can afford the gear though.

Rob Sallnow

They should feature Rapha stuff in Marcus' shop in Harry and Paul.

Hiiii

Hiiiiii my friend told me about your new shop, I've just started cycling and I need a jersey.

Well we've got some wooly sh1t here...

Oooh woooow, it looks really retro, how much is it?

Well I'm afraid saw you coming, it's £120

Excellent, and I think I need a small notebook to make a note of my 1/2 mile weekly ride to Starbucks

Yes I thought you probably would, well we've got this little book type b0llocks, it's got papery sh1t in it.

Ooow woooow it's very traditional, how much is it

Well I bought it in Rymans and wrote Rapha on the front so basically it's a unique item, and as I said, I saw you coming...it's £135

Ohh wooow

etc etc etc

Barry Roubaix

Rob Sallnow wrote:

They should feature Rapha stuff in Marcus' shop in Harry and Paul.

Hiiii

Hiiiiii my friend told me about your new shop, I've just started cycling and I need a jersey.

Well we've got some wooly sh1t here...

Oooh woooow, it looks really retro, how much is it?

Well I'm afraid saw you coming, it's £120

Excellent, and I think I need a small notebook to make a note of my 1/2 mile weekly ride to Starbucks

Yes I thought you probably would, well we've got this little book type b0llocks, it's got papery sh1t in it.

Ooow woooow it's very traditional, how much is it

Well I bought it in Rymans and wrote Rapha on the front so basically it's a unique item, and as I said, I saw you coming...it's £135

Ohh wooow

etc etc etc

Oh bless - can't you afford it.

bigflangesmallsprocket

From that article linked to:

"So who is Rapha’s average customer? Mottram replies with great precision, citing a questionnaire they issued to customers earlier this year. “He – and it is a he - is a 37 year-old male, married with two kids, white collar professional with an annual income of €100,000 or more"

So that'd be like poor white trash like me going to Aldi and picking up a Rapha item up for a tenner. Nice, I'm not jealous, not me, no sirrree, nope, never..fluckit, who am I kidding?