The Great Rapha Roll Swindle

t4tomo

I saw a chap wearing one of these last night (he was also wearing the trousers with one leg rolled up revealing the pink writing on the inside).


Now this jacket costs £165. One hundred and sixty five frigging quid for what is effectively a pink school girls anorak, the sort my 9 year daughter would love. This is not a jacket for a fully grown adult.

The most surprising thing is that people are buying them. The poor deluded sods think it makes them look trendy and ride faster.

Good commuters of this forum - these people need our help and we we need to act now.

I think we should set up a foundation to support these "form-above-function-fashion-victims" and help them through their rehabilitation. With careful surgerey and rehabilition we can remove their heads from their arses and help them see beyond the end of their noses.

Whose in?

Wrath Rob

I think we need to set up a foundation entitled "Helping t4tomo be more comfortable in his own sexuality and be less scared by the colour pink"

FWIW, I only own 1 item of Rapha, from the sample sale 2 years ago. I can't say I'm that taken by it so haven't been tempted to go back and spend more.

asprilla

I rolled in this morning in a Rapha ss jersey, Rapha armwarmers and carrying a large pink covered Rapha shoulder bag and for that reason I'm out.

jds_1981

Can I keep my pink rapha cap?

keyser__soze

Asprilla wrote:

I rolled in this morning in a Rapha ss jersey, Rapha armwarmers and carrying a large pink covered Rapha shoulder bag and for that reason I'm out.

Full Rapha today: socks, Pro Team bibs, Country jersey, gloves and armwarmers. All bar the bibs from the sample sales (the shorts being a birthday present from the missus) so cheaper than almost all my other kit. Wore the same last week and got complimented on my kit by a guy in pink socks. Thought he was taking the pee so pointed out it was almost all from the sample sale, then he tried to sell the Rapha cycling club to me so thought he was prob being serious.

mroli

A bit of High Viz pink, breaks up all that high viz yellow that dominates my commute in.

People don't think it makes them ride faster. People buy it because they like it. I haven't seen a single forum post pro-Rapha that says "if I wear my Rapha [x] I ride faster".

Its a "luxury brand" that puts a lot back into cycling at all levels. Try to not let it annoy you.

walkingbootweather

Asprilla wrote:

I rolled in this morning in a Rapha ss jersey, Rapha armwarmers and carrying a large pink covered Rapha shoulder bag and for that reason I'm out.

.... of the closet?

t4tomo

Wrath Rob wrote:

I think we need to set up a foundation entitled "Helping t4tomo be more comfortable in his own sexuality and be less scared by the colour pink" .

You've missed the point Rob, Its not the colour I have a problem with, I have a number of pink shirts in my wardrobe, none that cost me £165 though.

well actually you haven't missed the point......

Wrath Rob wrote:

FWIW, I only own 1 item of Rapha, from the sample sale 2 years ago. I can't say I'm that taken by it so haven't been tempted to go back and spend more

il_principe

Woah there, calm down fella. I own a fair bit of Rapha kit - along with Castelli I reckon it's pretty damn good on the whole. Snagged a pink gilet on ebay the other day as well - it's great for 7am starts on winter training rides and I'd rather wear pink than yellow - particularly as IMHO pink stands out better in the Autumnal lanes. Yep it's expensive, but then so is Assos/Castello/Extenodo etc. If it does the job then people will pay, and IME it does the job (especially the soft shell jacket and the winter jersey). There are always discounts to be found as well so usually no need to purchase at full whack. Also nice to support a British firm who do put back into cycling (yes I know its all made abroad).

t4tomo

My word from some of the replies above this is a bigger problem than I first thought, I might need to apply for EC funding to help get this off the ground.

mrolifashionvictim wrote:

People don't think it makes them ride faster. People buy it because they like it. I haven't seen a single forum post pro-Rapha that says "if I wear my Rapha [x] I ride faster".

I've conducted extensive surveys at traffic lights (i've had to to prepare the groundwork for the foundation) and 63% of Rapha wearers believe it makes them ride faster.

itboffin

oooo pink! #WANT

daviesee

Some people are happy with the products and comfortable with the prices*.
Some aren't.
Moving on.........


* I suspect mostly sale items which are well below Assos prices. Why doesn't Assos get the same flak? Could there be more to the objections than purely prices?

itboffin

So basically what you're saying is the more Rapha you wear the faster you go ...?

I like it 8)

getprg

Who are Rapha and what has the Royal Air Phorces Association to do with cycling anyway?

spasypaddy

After buying the small shoulder bag a few weeks ago, my first rapha item i can appreciate why people like their gear. If i could afford it I would have some more rapha items for the winter as i've heard brilliant things about their jackets.

However I cant afford it so I'm going to stick with what works for me at a price point for me whilst i wait for my xmas bonus....

notsoblue

I like Rapha kit, I'm umming and ahhing about the rain jacket at the moment. If it had a front pocket I'd have already bought one. Such a nice fit, brilliant quality.

Not keen on the pink though, doesn't match my bikes...

bigmat

Seems like nice kit but the prices do take the p**s a bit. £165 for a nylon jacket? O-kay :roll:

You could say the same about most cycling kit to be honest, tends to be massively overpriced. Supply and demand though I guess.

notsoblue

BigMat wrote:

Seems like nice kit but the prices do take the p**s a bit. £165 for a nylon jacket? O-kay :roll:

You could say the same about most cycling kit to be honest, tends to be massively overpriced. Supply and demand though I guess.

It feels like very good quality though, I've compared jackets and theres very few other brands that come close. Thats changing though, the price/quality ratio is getting better and I think thats partly down to premium brands like Rapha.

daviesee

BigMat wrote:

Seems like nice kit but the prices do take the p**s a bit. £165 for a nylon jacket? O-kay :roll:

You could say the same about most cycling kit to be honest, tends to be massively overpriced. Supply and demand though I guess.

I think the point about the aforementioned jacket is that it is not simply a nylon jacket. It is a jacket which while not fully waterproof, it is rain resistant, and most importantly, breathable. That mix usually costs money to avoid the boil in the bag effect.
#Out of serious mode#
I like how the forum rules in the banner above match the jacket. Rapha sponsored rules?

Torvid

I like it, would I wear it? no

Good kit costs but for the most part it's worth it, is there a £100 difference between this and the endura one I use, I doubt it but you pay the name.

Wrath Rob

t4tomo wrote:

Wrath Rob wrote:

I think we need to set up a foundation entitled "Helping t4tomo be more comfortable in his own sexuality and be less scared by the colour pink" .

You've missed the point Rob, Its not the colour I have a problem with, I have a number of pink shirts in my wardrobe

Does your daughter like them too

meanredspider

I've never seen any Rapha kit - it's banned north of Perth for being "soft southern nancy wear"

DrLex

meanredspider wrote:

I've never seen any Rapha kit - it's banned north of Perth for being "soft southern nancy wear"

Yet you're happy to dress like Travis out of Blake's 7 in Assos?

il_principe

I'll never understand what Assos were thinking when they designed these:

daviesee

meanredspider wrote:

I've never seen any Rapha kit - it's banned north of Perth for being "soft southern nancy wear"

Just cos you don't see it doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
Or is this more of a "Perth is South" statement?
What if someone travels from south of Perth to north of Perth?

All rhetorical and redundant of course.......

mroli

Il Principe wrote:

I'll never understand what Assos were thinking when they designed these:

I'm presuming - that one of the things that traps water from "rolling off" sunglasses is the frames and therefore, frameless sunglasses are the way forward?

I wouldn't buy a pair. Unless Assos girl came and sold them to me.

meanredspider

DrLex wrote:

meanredspider wrote:

I've never seen any Rapha kit - it's banned north of Perth for being "soft southern nancy wear"

Yet you're happy to dress like Travis out of Blake's 7 in Assos?

Absolutely 8) 8) 8)

Funnily enough, whilst you do see people in Assos up here, I've never yet seen anybody in Rapha. I think that's possibly because Assos is almost totally about function whereas Rapha has a definite nod to style. I'm not knocking it - if I still lived in Cambridge, I might be tempted but a pink shoulder bag in the Highlands would be like - well, the time I ordered a Pimms up here - the bottle was behind the bar but no one knew what it was...

the_fuggler

On a related note, the 20% discount code for Rapha seems to have expired, much to my annoyance. Was just about to pull the trigger on a winter jersey.

The Rookie

My total commuting kit (2 baggies, one long baggies, 4 base layers, one soft shell and a waterproof) probably cost £100 - beware of expensive copies!

meanredspider

The Beginner wrote:

My total commuting kit (2 baggies, one long baggies, 4 base layers, one soft shell and a waterproof) probably cost £100 - beware of expensive copies!

Have you tried the expensive stuff? TBH, if Assos didn't deliver, I wouldn't buy it. I don't see anybody on my commute so I'm not trying to impress anybody or "fit in". I buy it because it works. I tried the cheaper stuff first and frankly feel I wasted my money.

pangolin

meanredspider wrote:

The Beginner wrote:

My total commuting kit (2 baggies, one long baggies, 4 base layers, one soft shell and a waterproof) probably cost £100 - beware of expensive copies!

Have you tried the expensive stuff? TBH, if Assos didn't deliver, I wouldn't buy it. I don't see anybody on my commute so I'm not trying to impress anybody or "fit in". I buy it because it works. I tried the cheaper stuff first and frankly feel I wasted my money.

To be fair he is only a beginner.