Rapha has launched a limited edition collection of clothing. It’s a collaboration with ‘Brain Dead’, a trendy LA-based international fashion collective.
With its disruptive, graphic-led approach, Brain Dead takes its cues from post punk, underground comics, and the spirit of subculture as a whole. Not defined by a singular style or person and combined with Rapha’s mission to inspire the world to live life by bike, the all-new range is designed to push the boundaries and disrupt.
Rapha PR
This collaboration was born from a mutual love for being outdoors and an understanding of nature’s role in shaping the experience of mountain biking. the resulting collection captures the spirit of the subculture of mountain biking, merged with the playful vibe of the Brain Dead universe.
John Roberts, Lifestyle Director
Uh OK then. Hold on, it’s not time for the comments section yet!
One of the items is a pair of Trail Maintenance Pants. Trousers specifically for fixing trails in. They are £165. They appear to be sold out. But wait, it’s still not time to head to the comments!
Surely it’s a good thing, if a big brand like Rapha is signalling that maintaining trails is part of mountain biking culture? Does this not plant the seed that maybe you should buy a pair of these pants and get down to your nearest dig day to get your hands dirty (no trail maintenance gloves are, as yet, available)? This isn’t a cynical ploy to try and make the brand seem a little bit street-cool, is it? There wasn’t a marketing meeting where someone had too much kombucha and said ‘I’ve seen these kids in the woods, I think I’m having a midlife crisis, dress me like them, I’m off jibbing!’ These are, surely, highly practical and technologically advanced pants, full of useful design features? Let’s see…
These pants are baggy, with loops of elastic pull chords at the bottom to tighten the ankles – probably good for keeping scorpions out. They’ve got cargo pockets, for carrying stuff, and a pull chord elastic waist ‘for a customisable fit’. They’re 100% cotton and look like they’re a fairly thin fabric – good perhaps for hot and dusty digging.
I think if you want to ride to the trails you’re maintaining, you’d better tuck your pants into your socks, or you’re going to be in a whole world of chainring/chain/trousers interface trouble. Maybe don’t put too much stuff in those cargo pockets either, or at least remember to wear some publicly acceptable undergarments.
And where are the tool loops for hooking on a saw, or secateurs? The belt loops to keep the pants up when you’re loaded down with a pocket full of nails for trail signs, or screws for your latest north shore creation? Where are the reinforced knees, the nettle resistance zones, the catch-no-bramble tie backs? There’s a whole world of Tactical Extras that’s been a missed marketing opportunity here. So, OK, maybe these are just marketing, and not going to do anything for the state of our trails.
What they do look like they’d be very good for, is dancing in the 90s. In fact, my 14 year old daughter thinks these look amazing. She would, like, totes wear them, innit.
Perhaps instead of buying these trousers, you should just pause on your next ride – or walk – in whatever you happen to be wearing, and snip that bramble, kick that drain, or pick up that rubbish. We don’t need special trousers, we just need to put in the effort.
OK. Now you can head to the comments. Well done for resisting this far.
