Rapha Archive store, Shepton Mallett

jameses

Anyone been out there yet? How 'significant' are the savings? Quite like the look of Rapha (older lines, anyhow; the new jerseys are all a bit garish for me), but could never justify the price. I'm heading out to a race on top of Cheddar Gorge in a couple of weeks, thought I might make a short diversion on my way home.

dr11

The stock is pretty much the stuff that was in the sale in the main stores after Christmas so nothing really old in terms of styles - plus there were quite a few current items that are still full price in the stored like pro-team bib shorts, pro team jackets etc. There was plenty of stock but mainly in sizes XS, S, XL, XXL - they did get me a few medium bits out of the stock room though when I asked.

Prices varied between 40% and 60% discount on RRP...
Pro Team Shorts - £110
Pro Team Jackets - £100
Pro Team Jerseys - £60
Gilets - £50 (they were selling the brevet jersey/gilet combo as separate items)

markyone

Not far from me bought long sleeve pro team jersey £60 busy at the moment thou, I will wait until it dies down and they have more stock then visit again.
They reckon 200 people were waiting outside for it to open on the 1st day.

itboffin

I rode over on Sat. no queues every size in stock, had long chats with a few of the staff, watched a bit of PR 2014 on TV. I do love it when the employees love what they do, like when you speak to a really passionate barista

I took a little food break in the somewhat rubbish expensive onsite restaurant (dont go there) then went back in for seconds, picked up a rain jacket some merino gloves and another tool roll. Not a massive haul but to be honest i wasnt really in need of anything other than the jacket.

I think i'll pop back once a month of so, its a good training ride for me.

PS. the coffee van is okay but not excellent, then again the coffee in the Rapha store London is good but not excellent. :twisted:

matt_n-2

Me and a mate took a trip over today, seemed to have a decent range of stock but limited numbers of medium / large items.

Grand tour shoes have a hefty discount £300 down to £150.

I came away with just two bidons but did get a free cap!

jameses

Sounds like it's at least worth a visit, seeing as I will be pretty much there anyhow. Tend to fit a small/medium depending on the cut, so I may find something in my size. Cheers all.

dirtymonkey1985

there was loads of small when i was there at the weekend. I was told they get fresh deliveries often though so whatever your size it's worth a look

crikey

Loving the development of the English language.
Who would have thought that 'archive' meant 'the stuff we made and couldn't sell'...

matt_n-2

Loads of small when I was there, they also had a boat load of stock out the back too according to the staff, even the staff room is full of stock!

Good buys IMO were:

Hardshell £130
Pro team bibs £100
Pro team jacket £100
Some imperial works jerseys £40
Country jerseys £80
Grand tour shoes £150

bendertherobot

Anyone been recently and, if so, what hardshells do they have?

dirtymonkey1985

I went last weekend and they had orange, gold and navy blue in a good range of sizes

bendertherobot

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19669190#p19669190]dirtymonkey1985[/url] wrote:

I went last weekend and they had orange, gold and navy blue in a good range of sizes

Yep. They respond well to emails. Right, is it worth the visit? Did you see any winter jerseys?

dirtymonkey1985

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19669855#p19669855]bendertherobot[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19669190#p19669190]dirtymonkey1985[/url] wrote:

I went last weekend and they had orange, gold and navy blue in a good range of sizes

Yep. They respond well to emails. Right, is it worth the visit? Did you see any winter jerseys?

I think there were a few. They definitely had a good selection of the pro team winter jerseys when I was there, in fact they had a good selection of winter kit which is what I went for. I imagine it'll start dwindling soon though. It's always worth a visit for a coffee and a piece of cake from the cafe alone, but I may be biased as I'm only 20 minutes away

Philly8mt

Def worth a visit ... Was pleasantly surprised at how much kit there was.
Picked up a casual merino polo shirt & lightweight jersey for £80.00 (RRP £180.00).

Problem was the boy spending my cash on Paul Smith & Jack Wills!!

bendertherobot

Anyone remember how much the pro team jackets and winter jerseys were?

stevie63

Went there yesterday and the winter jerseys were £60 to £80 although they mainly had XS, S and XXL in stock. Don't know about the jackets but I think they were half normal price.

bendertherobot

Ta, I emailed them, they're very nice. They said they had winter jerseys in my size. £80 as you say. One of those and a hardshell makes it worth going. Particularly since I want to try on a hardshell to see if an XL may be a better winter fit than the snug L I used to have.

They say no pro team jackets. We'll see. This could be expensive, but cheap in the long run.

DrLex

I plan to pop by on Wednesday; I'll see what's on the rails.

bendertherobot

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19670432#p19670432]DrLex[/url] wrote:

I plan to pop by on Wednesday; I'll see what's on the rails.

I was planning on Tuesday. It'll all be gone by Wednesday :evil:

DrLex

Ha!
At XL, you won't be competing with me for purchases and will find a better range. I suspect they probably restock on Thursday for the weekenders.
Driving or train to Castle Cary and bike over?

bendertherobot

Ponders Grand Tour shoes..........

stevie63

I would say that you should go for the Grand tour shoes. I tried some on in a 43 on Friday and I am since regretting not buying a pair. Unfortunately as I live over 200 miles away popping back in to get a pair is not really an option

bendertherobot

Yeah, I had just bought SLX's but, the more Factor shaped shape of the GT's will suit my feet better. I can say this with some confidence as I used to own a pair of Factors. 2 pairs in fact.

stevie63

They are a really special looking shoe in the flesh. Also my instinct tells me that a shoe with a real leather upper is going to wear in better than the plastic ones that everyone uses nowadays.

dirtymonkey1985

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19671725#p19671725]stevie63[/url] wrote:

They are a really special looking shoe in the flesh. Also my instinct tells me that a shoe with a real leather upper is going to wear in better than the plastic ones that everyone uses nowadays.

I bought some a month or so ago and they just get better with every ride, it also made me realise i need high arch support with the inserts that they come with. I'm now half tempted to grab a pair in black so i have a choice!

bendertherobot

Got what I went for, GT shoes, Winter Jersey and Hardshell. Hardshell is blue, which is nice.

Winter Jersey is a purple Imperial Works one. I see, from Ebay, that they are super rare and worth £200.

They don't seem that rare. There's loads on there.

I confess I could have spent a lot longer there. But I set out wanting those two items. Bit of a censored to get to.