Is Rapha clothing worth it?

Chip \'oyler

PeteinSQ wrote:

I've seen someone wearing a colomba jersey in SE London a few times. It looks good on him.

I have a few Rapha things (all bought at sample sales for bugger all e.g. Criterium gloves for £15 rather than £90) and they've all been pretty good.

I don't think I would buy everything they make; I'm not convinced that you really need to spend a great deal on a jersey or armwarmers or even a gilet. I would really like one of their jackets though as they have had fantastic reviews and I like the way that they look.

I suspect that Rapha products are slighlty overpriced but once you get into the luxury/premium end of the market you start to pay more money for smaller increase in performance/quality. So Rapha gloves are excellent quality but whether they are 300% better than Specialized BG gloves is debateable.

I think that what attracts people to Rapha is that until very recently they were the sole occupiers of a particular aesthetic niche and that they do make genuinely good quality items. A sort of cross over between fashion and cycling. There is nothing wrong with liking Rapha things even if they don't necessarily give the best ROI in terms of bang for buck.

The same can be said of certain makes of car, regular clothing brands etc.

I wear suits from M&S but they can't ever be said to be as good as a Saville Row suit but then whether the suit from Saville Row is 1000% better than an M&S suit is debateable.

yes it would because it would fit you perfectly

carbonfiend

Hi I'm thinking of smoking some crack I have worked hard for the money to pay for it just wanna see if you think I'm being shafted up the shi**er with the false idea that it will turn me into something I'm not. I am also thinking I could quite easily go down the pub and get exactly the same results but for half the price. Any thoughts

Anonymous

antfly wrote:

Bloody hell you don`t waste any time.Have you ever seen one in the flesh before?

I never waste any time, you are only here once!

I haven't seen one in the flesh but I've got some extra cash burning hole and wanted another jersey so why not give it a go?

I like the looks and it looks like it has the features I like about my Rapha jersey.

I will report back...

pabloweaver

softlad wrote:

pabloweaver wrote:

rant over

or maybe i should say im getting bored now
zzzzzzzzzzz

obviously too bored to actually undestand what I've written then.....because if you had, you would see that I have not actually criticised anyone for buying Rapha.

But don't let the facts get in the way of a good moan, eh...?

lets not eh ....

the FACT is i didnt say you did


the FACT is people do get flack for spending

the FACT is your zzzzzzzzz post came across in a brusque manner

not trying to cause an argument here , maybe its the way I read your posts . The ones i have read and been involved in have come across a touch sardonic ....

apologies if that is not the case , it is a forum after all and people will debate as they see fit .

Im sure other people are now bored of this ,

so with respect , lets call it crossed wires and move on .


moving on ..............

pabloweaver

carbonfiend wrote:

Hi I'm thinking of smoking some crack I have worked hard for the money to pay for it just wanna see if you think I'm being shafted up the shi**er with the false idea that it will turn me into something I'm not. I am also thinking I could quite easily go down the pub and get exactly the same results but for half the price. Any thoughts

its your money 8)

sampras38

softlad wrote:

dennisn wrote:

Right, you buy it because it's "stunning". People see you in it. They know it's yours. It ups
your status. You like having people know it's yours. You enjoy the compliments you get
about it.

Absolutely not. I would buy the car for the pleasure of owning it - not as a status symbol. I own a few classic motorcycles for the same reason - and they have done sod all for my 'social status'....

I have a feeling that if you're as pedantic in your social life as you are in this thread, having a couple of classic motorcycles is the least of your worries..;-)

I mean, just get over it.

Some like it, some don't, and you're never going to get a tangible reason as to why that is. And tbh it really suprises me that you have pushed so hard to get a reason.

PeteinSQ

yes it would because it would fit you perfectly

Not 1000% of additional value though. Maybe 300% or possibly even 500%, but they get to charge double because they're the only way of getting that particular service.

As are Rapha. [/quote]

pabloweaver

Value - Taken from the Ocksfud Inglish Dixshunori

"that which is desirable or worthy of esteem for its own sake; thing or quality having intrinsic worth"

think that makes things worse !

antfly

I await Napoleon`s review with great interest.

Anonymous

As do I!

I'm always open minded about these things and will be perfectly honest in the review.

It's a shame they only do jerseys.

antfly

Funnily enough I was just reading this http://www.roadcyclinguk.com/news/article/mps/uan/3965
It says they are expanding their range.

softlad

antfly wrote:

Funnily enough I was just reading this http://www.roadcyclinguk.com/news/article/mps/uan/3965
It says they are expanding their range.

reading some of the reviews on that page, looks like Rapha quality, but without the price tag. Which kind of brings me back to my original post - but let's not go there again....

DaSy

I have 5 Rapha jerseys, and also have a Colomba Peace jersey.

The Colomba jersey is slightly heavier weight sportwool, and the fit isn't as tailored as the Rapha jerseys. Rapha use a multi panel design, with side inset panels that make the fit a little more tailored than that of the Colomba.

The Colomba is quite boldly designed, with the name featuring very largely across front and back which make the design a bit too loud for my liking compared to the subtle Rapha designs.

It lacks the nice little features that I really like in Rapha designs, ie, the pump sleeve inside the centre rear pocket, and the bottom hem is held in place with an elastic type band rather than the Rapha silcone gripper, and isn't quite as efficient in operation.

For the price, the Colomba is a well made jersey, but I will still be buying Rapha jerseys, as those little details all add up to making jerseys I just really love wearing.

DaSy

Gloves now -

I have experience of Castelli, Endura, Specialized and Altura gloves, as well as Rapha.

All gloves I previously purchased were in the region of £20-£30, and all seemed to be a bit of a compromise between road and MTB as far as pad placement goes. They mostly lasted a season, and would start to split around the seams between fingers or thumb, also they would get smelly and discolour quite a bit.

Rapha gloves are in the region of £90 -£100, and I have 2 pairs. The padding is very well placed and purely designed to be in the right place for a road rider, which it acheives very well. It is a very thin but dense foam that is low profile in feel but resilient and comfortable in operation. The quality of leather and workmanship is excellent, meaning that one of the pairs of mitts is 3 years old, and the leather now has a lovely patina, they fit better than ever as they have moulded to my hand shape, and are just a pleasure to wear.

I started buying Rapha kit a few years ago after I was given a merino baselayer for a Christmas gift, it worked very well and fitted just right. I started to look more closely at their other kit, and bought a jersey, that turned out to be my favourite jersey, and all my other jerseys became redundant, and so the story goes.

The bibshorts have been the only item I haven't been very happy with. The material is very nice, cut is okay (not as nice as Assos), but the pad is nowhere near that of Assos S5 pads.

blu3cat

DaSy wrote:

Gloves now -

I have experience of Castelli, Endura, Specialized and Altura gloves, as well as Rapha.

All gloves I previously purchased were in the region of £20-£30, and all seemed to be a bit of a compromise between road and MTB as far as pad placement goes. They mostly lasted a season, and would start to split around the seams between fingers or thumb, also they would get smelly and discolour quite a bit.

Rapha gloves are in the region of £90 -£100, and I have 2 pairs. The padding is very well placed and purely designed to be in the right place for a road rider, which it acheives very well. It is a very thin but dense foam that is low profile in feel but resilient and comfortable in operation. The quality of leather and workmanship is excellent, meaning that one of the pairs of mitts is 3 years old, and the leather now has a lovely patina, they fit better than ever as they have moulded to my hand shape, and are just a pleasure to wear.

I started buying Rapha kit a few years ago after I was given a merino baselayer for a Christmas gift, it worked very well and fitted just right. I started to look more closely at their other kit, and bought a jersey, that turned out to be my favourite jersey, and all my other jerseys became redundant, and so the story goes.

The bibshorts have been the only item I haven't been very happy with. The material is very nice, cut is okay (not as nice as Assos), but the pad is nowhere near that of Assos S5 pads.

I like some Rapha gear and have some shorts which I love, but £100 for a pair of gloves. I'd want them to be made out of panda for that!

Anonymous

The Rapha Chamois is the top Gore one IIRC. The material the shorts are made out of is mega comfy but they just don't do it for me in terms of overall comfort compared to Assos.

airone

IMO, it's the greatest kit ever, for its functionality (doesn't smell like a half-dead body after a 2 hours ride) and the sobriety of its design. And to these reverted snubs (or whatever the terminology is), if you recognise the rapha kit on someone else on the road, it's only because you spend so much time on the rapha web site drooling in front of their products, cause I don't hink you'd have seen a huge Rapha logo in the middle of their chest, now would you?!

But then I have never tried Assos, because wearing most of their gear is revulting. Are cyclists colour blind or maybe even totally blind?!

PS: I agree with the absurdity of some of their prices, especially anything that's limited edition...

sampras38

Personally I love the Assos bib shorts and I have a couple of gilets that a friend gave me for peanuts, but other than that I'm not much of a fan of the assos tops. The colours and designs don't do it for me at all.

zaxthackray

Pearl Izumi Pearl Izumi Pearl Izumi Pearl Izumi

donnie murdo

I think Rapha kit is exceptionally well made and designed and very stylish IMO too. But I also think that other kit is very well made aswell Assos and Pearl Izumi to name a couple make great cycling gear also. Assos is probably around the same price point as Rapha as well but does not seem to attract the same level of derision possibly because of the syling more than anything?

To each their own!

The only issue I have with spending large sums on clothing is that horrible feeling you get when you are sliding along the road after not seeing that manhole on the wet corner and thinking #1 wonder if my bike is getting scratched #2 that's a big hole on my sleeve. #3 hope no cars are coming. even worse when it's the first time out in your new jersey, shorts, jacket etc.. I prefer to avoid that feeling of dissapointment so generally wear gear that I wont miss or mind getting wrecked in a spill.

badhand

Yesterday I finished the London to Brighton and was still wearing my new Rapha jersey eight hours later thanks to my girlfriend forgetting my spare clothes. As well as being stupidly comfy on the ride, it kept me feeling warm and dry and not at all whiffy for all that time.

The only problem I have with the top is that the logo is bigger than I thought, and I've always hated wearing 'designer' stuff off and on the bike, so I would happily unstitch it. I bought the top to serve a purpose on the bike - something it is doing beautifully.

I can't help it if it does happen to make me look damn sexy though... 8)