Rapha fans - how does this make you feel?
Comments
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You wouldn't spend an extra £20 on a pair of socks just because said 'CK' in tiny writing on the underside of the sole.
Errm, there are many who would!0 -
I own a merino wool belgian cycling hat made by rapha ... I bought it when the temp reached minus seventy five 2 winters ago ... £45 ... It will never be worn on the bike but was worth every penny the last 2 winters ...
My point ... A useful, well made product at a decent price ... No downside for me ...0 -
Crankbrother wrote:I bought it when the temp reached minus seventy five 2 winters ago
really - siberia, or antarctic..??0 -
For me personally I just don't think it looks that good.
I had a purple Paul Smith merino wool jersey and it was good but not fantastic, If i'd have bought it myself i would have paid £50.
I just think there's stuff out there that looks better, works just as well and costs less.
I may buy some shorts and see if the hype is justified.
My assos ones became see through after a few months, Hopefully Rapha will be better.0 -
I actually think the Rapha shorts are not that good, I prefer Castelli and Assos. In fact I prefer my Shutt ones.0
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I don't understand the animosity towards a brand though, unless it's for, for example, ethical reasons.
Why are people so vocally abhorrent at Rapha stuff? I'm in the 'If you don't like it, don't buy it' camp.
The thing is, these discussions always go the same way, without fail. To coin a phrase off teh interwebs, haterz gonna hate.
I'm sure Rapha themselves don't really care.0 -
Pseudonym wrote:EKIMIKE wrote:They're savvy, very savvy. An excellent example of how to market your product well (in the context of a premium product).
if they were that 'savvy' they wouldn't have developed a brand which creates such extremes of polarised opinions...
"I know - let's create a brand which alienates half our potential audience.."
I'm with EKIMIKE here. That's all part of what sets them apart and lets them cultivate an air of exclusivity and the sense that you're buying more than just a jersey. Their target isn't to make affordable, decent gear for the masses. They do what they do very well, and good luck to them.
The question of whether it's 'worth' it is similarly about more than whether the kit will do a better job than the equivalent from (say) Gore, dhb, Pearl Izumi or whoever. I wouldn't think the performance difference is anything like the price difference but again, that's not the point- if everything was about what something was 'worth' in purely cost/performance terms everbody on here would be riding Boardmans and wearing Aldi kit. Like everything else though there are other factors at play which means most of us look for something a bit extra, and that's what Rapha are riding.
I don't own any Rapha stuff and doubt I ever will, but it looks like good kit and I don't see what's wrong with people paying a bit more if it's worth it to them and they can afford it.0 -
MattJPaul wrote:That video was actually incredibly inspiring, though the fact that it was essentially a long ad for Rapha clothing kinda took the shine off it.
My girlfriend and I travelled NZ from top to bottom in a van and I saw countless numbers of cyclists clearly stocked to be travelling a similar distance. I was more jealous of them.
what I find objectionable is that our philosophical inner lives are being branded as a "thing" to be sold back to us as thou the way to experience "life" was buying overpriced cycling apparel"If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm0 -
Don't look at their website then!0
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Pseudonym wrote:NapoleonD wrote:Yet seeing as there's a recession they are doing remarkably well...
you've seen their financial accounts then..?
Created in 2004 , turn over in excess of £7.5 million, sales up 75% in 2009 when the rest of the economy was on a go slow ... not to shabby
Think that backs up NapD's post quiet well0 -
Aaaah crap, Now I want some Rapha stuff!...
This thread has turned me, I want to be in an exclusive club, I want to feel special.
My BMC US road race champions jersey will be replaced by Rapha (it never did look right on my cervelo anyway)
It probably started a few months ago when I subscribed to Rouleur magazine (still hasnt turned up).
Okay so what are the best Rapha products to buy?0 -
warrior4life wrote:Aaaah crap, Now I want some Rapha stuff!...
This thread has turned me, I want to be in an exclusive club, I want to feel special.
My BMC US road race champions jersey will be replaced by Rapha (it never did look right on my cervelo anyway)
It probably started a few months ago when I subscribed to Rouleur magazine (still hasnt turned up).
Okay so what are the best Rapha products to buy?
Winter jersey is very good, the stowaway or windproof jacket is excellent.0 -
Rapha clothing is fantastic. If you can afford it, buy it. If you can't then buy what you can afford. Don't cry though because other people have more disposable income then you - that's childish.0
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orbeaorca wrote:Pseudonym wrote:NapoleonD wrote:Yet seeing as there's a recession they are doing remarkably well...
you've seen their financial accounts then..?
Created in 2004 , turn over in excess of £7.5 million, sales up 75% in 2009 when the rest of the economy was on a go slow ... not to shabby
Think that backs up NapD's post quiet well
no offence fella - but turnover and sales figures don't mean shiit without some indication of profit. Three-year old figures do not exactly vindicate the argument, either...
It's a bit like saying that Focus DIY must be doing great because they had sales of £450m last year - actually, they just went bust.0 -
Does it really matter? I'm sure they're doing ok. If not, well, they'll go bust.
They are a very niche product in an already niche market.
Some people like the kit, some are indifferent, some are very vocal about how terrible the company is without having tried it.
The fact is, it's just a company selling stuff. These threads really do end up the same!
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mididoctors wrote:MattJPaul wrote:That video was actually incredibly inspiring, though the fact that it was essentially a long ad for Rapha clothing kinda took the shine off it.
My girlfriend and I travelled NZ from top to bottom in a van and I saw countless numbers of cyclists clearly stocked to be travelling a similar distance. I was more jealous of them.
what I find objectionable is that our philosophical inner lives are being branded as a "thing" to be sold back to us as thou the way to experience "life" was buying overpriced cycling apparel
Yet, apparently it works and people spend £100 on a pair of gloves.
I wish I could figure out how to make people overpay by 150%. Well done Rapha I say.0 -
P_Tucker wrote:mididoctors wrote:MattJPaul wrote:That video was actually incredibly inspiring, though the fact that it was essentially a long ad for Rapha clothing kinda took the shine off it.
My girlfriend and I travelled NZ from top to bottom in a van and I saw countless numbers of cyclists clearly stocked to be travelling a similar distance. I was more jealous of them.
what I find objectionable is that our philosophical inner lives are being branded as a "thing" to be sold back to us as thou the way to experience "life" was buying overpriced cycling apparel
Yet, apparently it works and people spend £100 on a pair of gloves.
I wish I could figure out how to make people overpay by 150%. Well done Rapha I say.
I think that sums it up quite nicely.0 -
Anyone can see that a very substantial aspect (the main aspect?) of Rapha's business is their brand management. The cost of this must be very substantial and obviously has to be recovered in prices, which pari passu, must be (substantially) higher than they would otherwise be. That's their business model - good luck to them. Some punters respond very well to this sort of branding - other punters get turned right off by it.
Personally, I prefer to buy from people whose skew is more on product R&D than branding, to get more bang for my buck.
But each to their own.0 -
rdt wrote:Anyone can see that a very substantial aspect (the main aspect?) of Rapha's business is their brand management. The cost of this must be very substantial and obviously has to be recovered in prices, which pari passu, must be (substantially) higher than they would otherwise be. That's their business model - good luck to them. Some punters respond very well to this sort of branding - other punters get turned right off by it.
Personally, I prefer to buy from people whose skew is more on product R&D than branding, to get more bang for my buck.
But each to their own.
Yep, they're the Oakley of the bike world.ie high margins allow high marketing investment. Or is it the other way round.0 -
morrisje wrote:There are Rapha alternatives
www.torm.cc
Even people I know, that own the Rapha stuff, have to admit there really is no difference and its less than half the price.
No vast marketing spend = much lower price point feasible. If the demand's there, the market will eventually be swamped with classic-styled sportswool-type striped clothing companies, all after a slice of the pie, cutting margins ever tighter. Vive la Market!0 -
APIII wrote:rdt wrote:Anyone can see that a very substantial aspect (the main aspect?) of Rapha's business is their brand management. The cost of this must be very substantial and obviously has to be recovered in prices, which pari passu, must be (substantially) higher than they would otherwise be. That's their business model - good luck to them. Some punters respond very well to this sort of branding - other punters get turned right off by it.
Personally, I prefer to buy from people whose skew is more on product R&D than branding, to get more bang for my buck.
But each to their own.
Yep, they're the Oakley of the bike world.ie high margins allow high marketing investment. Or is it the other way round.
Aren't Oakley the Oakley of the bike world?
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Can't remember who it was but I remember an american guy on telly recently saying Cadillac are the Rolls Royce of cars.0
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NapoleonD wrote:Can't remember who it was but I remember an american guy on telly recently saying Cadillac are the Rolls Royce of cars.
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+1RC856 wrote:NapoleonD wrote:Tbh, I've had a look at the range and it's ok.
There's a jersey made from sportwool but the lamb from which it comes has been genetically bred to produce a perfect 60%/40% ratio of wool/polyester. They are also mainly black with a White band on one leg and a little pink nose.
There is a mahogany presentation box of Rapha energy gels, two different flavours, 'beluga' and foie gras.
The new bibshorts have a tweed chamois so you too can enjoy the nostalgic suffering, evocative of the third week of a grand tour in the days before chamois cream. 0 -
NapoleonD wrote:I don't understand the animosity towards a brand though, unless it's for, for example, ethical reasons.
Why are people so vocally abhorrent at Rapha stuff? I'm in the 'If you don't like it, don't buy it' camp.
The thing is, these discussions always go the same way, without fail. To coin a phrase off teh interwebs, haterz gonna hate.
I'm sure Rapha themselves don't really care.
Actually, Rapha should care (and probably do).
Polarisation of opinion around fashion brand helps hugely. The more the fan boys and the haters argue the more set in their position then become.
They get more brand exposure and a hardening of their own customer base.
The haters weren't going to buy anything anyway, so all they succeed in doing is spreading the word. There's no such thing as bad publicity...
As to why people dislike Rapha, that's obvious. They do not have the heritage they trade off and their adverts all look like they try a bit too hard. That stuff annoys me. However, if they make decent products at a fair price I'm not going to knock them. I've never tried their stuff.0 -
You are actually saying what I felt, I probably didn't put it across well at all. Rather than don't care, I should have said don't mind.
It's all very good publicity for them...0 -
Used the Rapha chamois cream this weekend on the tour of wessex, with new assos shorts. Not sure about the cream but the shorts were great. I really do like the raphia kit on line but when you see some one decked head to toe I am afraid to say it does look rather like someone is trying hard (and not at turning their legs over). If its good buy it, and thats why my raphia arm warmers do the job as does my lidl gillet for £7. that said if i could afford it . . . . .0
