New Sky 2013 kit photo's

jimmythecuckoo

yourpaceormine wrote:

Dodgy copies on a certain auction site yet?

Have looked on Monton and they are not there yet... very slow for them

trek_dan

Will probably buy a copy one off Monton once available. I refuse to line Rapha's pockets, leave that to the folk who drive Audi estates and play golf.

Ben6899

trek_dan wrote:

Will probably buy a copy one off Monton once available. I refuse to line Rapha's pockets, leave that to the folk who drive Audi estates and play golf.

I don't drive an Audi or play golf. Do I need to return my Rapha kit? Please let me know ASAP.

iPete

Ben6899 wrote:

trek_dan wrote:

Will probably buy a copy one off Monton once available. I refuse to line Rapha's pockets, leave that to the folk who drive Audi estates and play golf.

I don't drive an Audi or play golf. Do I need to return my Rapha kit? Please let me know ASAP.

Yes please cc me in.

I love the romance of monton clothing, copies and replicas I hear people say, last I heard they are fakes and counterfeits but if that's who's pockets you'd rather line, by all means...

mroli

+1 - Rapha put a lot back into the sport through their cross stuff and the RC JLT and the Smithfield Nocturne. Not to mention their UK "base" and employment (acknowledging manufacture is overseas) Monton (as far as I know) do not reinvest in the sport.

I hope that Rapha do a "two tier" kit - for the etapes, they do a plain subliminated (correct word?) shirt at a reasonable price that is available. Then they also do a "pro-kit" kit which has all the bells and whistles. That way Team Sky "fans" can buy the kit, but people who want all the performance enhancements (and have the money) can buy the more expensive kit.

I guess we'll see on Friday....

jimmythecuckoo

Agreed, I hope they do a proper structured range too that suits all pockets and doesn't alienate fans.

Looking at the RCS team shop though their cheapest item was a £30 t-shirt.

If they knocked one out with limited features for say £60 and a rider issue standard one for £140 then I dont think people would care.

The interesting thing for me is that the stuff like gripper tape round the bottom and breathable mesh can be done for a reasonable price.

I have this jersey and its bloody marvellous. has both of the features above and a windproofed zip for £30



http://www.ridebosh.com/mens_clothing/j ... ersey.html

TimB34

With regards to availability, someone posted this over on stw:

"Sky/Rapha kit will come in 3 flavours - normal Rapha quality in smartwool at normal Rapha prices; "supporter" kit which will be of similar quality and price to every other replica kit on the market; and the stuff the actual racers will wear. The normal Rapha quality stuff was too heavy and warm for them so requested mostly mesh. With the exception of one rider in the team it also has to be custom made as they are too thin to wear off the peg sizes!"

I have no idea if they know what they are talking about or not.

pete54

TimB34 wrote:

"Sky/Rapha kit will come in 3 flavours - normal Rapha quality in smartwool at normal Rapha prices; "supporter" kit which will be of similar quality and price to every other replica kit on the market; and the stuff the actual racers will wear. The normal Rapha quality stuff was too heavy and warm for them so requested mostly mesh. With the exception of one rider in the team it also has to be custom made as they are too thin to wear off the peg sizes!"

Rapha already do a Pro Team jersey which is entirely synthetic. The fabric keeps you very cool and I imagine that this is what the Team Sky pros will be wearing. It's a superb jersey, I have one.

thegreatdivide

I find it very doubtful that Rapha would even consider going to Sky with ‘normal’ sports wool when they already have the excellent Pro Team kit.

As for the kit itself I think it looks really good. It's no Colombia Coldeportes but it's still one of the nicest out there.

Pross

iPete wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

trek_dan wrote:

Will probably buy a copy one off Monton once available. I refuse to line Rapha's pockets, leave that to the folk who drive Audi estates and play golf.

I don't drive an Audi or play golf. Do I need to return my Rapha kit? Please let me know ASAP.

Yes please cc me in.

I love the romance of monton clothing, copies and replicas I hear people say, last I heard they are fakes and counterfeits but if that's who's pockets you'd rather line, by all means...

Yep, I have never owned Rapha stuff and probably never will as I'm not a big fan of the brand but I'd rather pay them more for a jersey knowing they invest back in British cycling than buy a cheap version from some knock off merchants who do no R&D for themselves.

EKIMIKE

It's a clean, safe design. Stylish in an understated manner. It's what Rapha do and will always do. It's the perfect antidote to the European fashion culture of pushing stylistic boundaries. Considering continental European brands dominate the cycle clothing market it's no wonder Rapha do extremely well.

Really, did anyone expect the new Sky kit to be any different. It works, whether you like Rapha or not.

The fact that both Rapha and Adidas get their cycle clothing made by MOA is quite amusing. But it emphasises a key point in modern manufacturing and marketing respectively. Specialisation. If you want a good product then let a manufacturing specialist make it. If you want big retail margins and strong brand identity let a marketing company market it.

Rapha are a superb marketing organisation. Simply look at the goodwill they have garnered from a few well targeted sponsorship contracts. That goodwill means people will pay the prices, as a few people above have said they would. Fantastic marketing.

Of course it doesn't have to be that way. A company like Assos or Santini do the manufacturing and marketing, right? That's fine if you've been around for several decades. Rapha had to crack the market. Not an easy task if you want to do everything in house, unless you have a lot of money behind you.

As much as i dislike the brand, it is a fascinating case study of modern commerce.

Richmond Racer

Have to echo what another poster was getting at: the fact that Rapah and Addidas use the same manufacturer is immaterial. That's standard practice across most brands/retailers etc, whether you're talking cycling kit or packaged sarnies.

Different specs, different materials, different demands in the manufacturing and quality checking processes = different cost of production. And then on top of this of course the Rapha brand adds more $$ at the point of sale.

emadden

Richmond Racer wrote:

Have to echo what another poster was getting at: the fact that Rapah and Addidas use the same manufacturer is immaterial. That's standard practice across most brands/retailers etc, whether you're talking cycling kit or packaged sarnies.

Different specs, different materials, different demands in the manufacturing and quality checking processes = different cost of production. And then on top of this of course the Rapha brand adds more $$ at the point of sale.

More the Rapha brand premium than anything else.. just like those branded off-the-shelf cups going for 10 times the price as we discussed few weeks ago..

jimmythecuckoo

All that hype about a 4th Jan launch and there is nothing on Rapha's site...

Or is it at mid-day or something?

jimmythecuckoo

Oh apparently there is a secret link for regular rapha customers to shop first?

Oh I am being wound up

durhamwasp

Will be the standard £28 Jersey n Bibs on that auction site, so if i was to consider buying a Sly kit it would be from there.

jimmythecuckoo

Samewood kind of have it but its still branded Adidas...

http://www.samewood.com/product-2080-1.html

Ben6899

jimmythecuckoo wrote:

Oh apparently there is a secret link for regular rapha customers to shop first?

Oh I am being wound up

I just logged into my account and there it all is. Some nice gear, too!

jimmythecuckoo

Hmmm ok.

inkyfingers

To me that falls just the wrong side of that fine line between being understated and being dull.

Richmond Racer

question is, would you have been a buyer, Inky?

frenchfighter

You guys getting all hot under the collar? Have you sent your Birthday wishes to the Team on their 3rd Birthday today?

inkyfingers

Richmond Racer wrote:

question is, would you have been a buyer, Inky?

No, i'm not really the team kit wearing type, luckily my club has a very nice kit.

The only exception is a replica Z team jersey which I have, but is too small for me these days!

I'm probably smack bang in Rapha's target market, and I like some of their stuff but just can't justify the price and also wary of looking like a generic Rapha wearer!

thegreatdivide

I’ve got an Imperial Works membership (yeah, yeah, I’m a fat dentist/stock broker/fool and his money) and I can’t see no Sky kit. Unless there’s some extra level Rapha Scientology Works thing that I don’t know about...

jimmythecuckoo

I simply dont think its on there

thegreatdivide

There you go!

And a big two fingers up to the naysayers and their predictable Rapha price moans ;-)

It looks boss. Not my cup of tea but a really nice kit.

Richmond Racer

thegreatdivide wrote:

There you go!

And a big two fingers up to the naysayers and their predictable Rapha price moans ;-)

It looks boss. Not my cup of tea but a really nice kit.

*bangs fists on desk* Why cant I get in and see it via my log-in!

thegreatdivide

Really? I just opened the shop up and it was all there. Popped up a couple of mins ago (not that I've been checking every 5...)

Richmond Racer

A-ha! New Arrivals section

Ta

ddraver

On the site now... http://www.rapha.cc/team-sky-supporter-wiggo-jersey/

Looks quite reasonable in terms of price to be fair to them...