[Closed] Rapha - I think we need to have a chat.....

ACCESS DENIED We're sorry but this page can only be accessed by members of Rapha's Imperial Works programme. Imperial Works is an annual series of products available in extremely limited numbers and [b]created exclusively for Rapha's highest-spending customers.[/b]

Get you and your high spending ways

"Lets stay true to cycling's egalitarian roots" and "Rapha" in the same post. You on crack?

Rapha egaliatrian? No chance. Their "club" charges you more than any other for membership and their race entries (Smithfield nocturne) are a joke! Not saying their stuff isn't nice but there's no way I would buy into their brand ethos.

I didnt take up cycling to join some exclusive club

Rapha never cease to amuse.

Pah. It's for Americans who like being part of clubs that you can only be in if you've spent lots of money.

I like Rapha clothing, I own lots of it

Not enough though, obviously.

Sell your bike and your dog and buy more.

I rode their ride, ate their Frites and drank their beer without paying. And I'm a pleb.

"exclusively for Rapha's highest-spending customers". Crikey that's one of the most pompous things I've seen in a long time. Looks like Rapha as a brand has finally gone completely up it's own arse.

I accidently clicked on this:

And instantly felt the urge to deficate on any Rapha clothing that i could find in my cycling cloths drawer. It seems that you have to now look like one of the village people to wear that shite.

I'm out, screw you Rapha!

i should have access ... i bought one of their caps

exclusively for Rapha's highest-spending customers

If I was in charge of procurement at Aldi, I'd buy a whole lot of Rapha stuff on the sly - and then offer it at a massive discount.

Been up it's own arse since it was conceived.

Surely someone can do a screen-grap and share the horrors for us all to laugh at?

Been up it's own arse since it was conceived.

Surely someone can do a screen-grap and share the horrors for us all to laugh at?

If I was in charge of procurement at Aldi, I'd buy a whole lot of Rapha stuff on the sly - and then offer it at a massive discount

Have you seen Torm clothing by any chance?

Brilliant, bet the OP had no idea that he had posted a link to the special fanboi site that he was unwittingly a member of

Just checked the price of their clothing . Are they serious ?
Even Arcteryx don't charge that much and they are considered overpriced.

Rapha - from scratch to a £7m business in a few short years. There's a lot to learn about finding a niche and mining it furiously. They've done it very well.

However, I'm more likely to take a second claim with the National Clarion than I am ever to join a "club" based on expenditure and commerce.

I don'town any Rapha stuff but...

they seem to put a lot 'back in' in terms of sponsoring people, runnign events etc.

If people want to buy quality kit knowign it's a bit more thna it needs to be in order to pay for some of the peripheral stuff they do then I don't have a problem with that.

Rouleur is a lovely magazine too andit's nice to know that someone buyign a jumper probably helped start it 🙂

"Rapha" in the same post. You on crack?

If he buys Rapha stuff, then cocaine surely?

Crack is more for your Endura wearers.

Rapha clothing is fantastic but I'm not a member of your elitist club so am in no position to comment.

I don't get the Rapha bashing, I really don't. No one is forcing you to buy their stuff or join their exclusive club. OK, their advertising gets a bit grating at times but I also find the adverts for GoCompare very annoying - I just ignore them. It's nicely made kit but if you want to go and buy Assos, Gore, Aldi, Endura gear then feel free.

Yet they put a lot back into the sport. Sponsorship, publicity, branding, support, event organisation and a pro team. The sport would be a lot poorer without them.

Looks like Rapha as a brand has finally gone completely up it's own arse.

Then:

Been up it's own arse since it was conceived.

This. Rapha make some nice stuff, but it's a trendy poncy brand which appeals mainly to trendy poncy people. That said, some of their bits are really nice, and it's good to see a biit of proper style and consideration for aesthetics coming into cycle wear, as this area of 'fashion' has bin woefully lacking of much in the way of style for pretty much ever. Personally, I'd have some of Rapha's stuff over the hideous offerings from the likes of Altura and Endura etc, any day. If I could afford it... 😥

But some of it's embarrasingly shite. Like the Paul Smith range. Good Lord above, how truly pretentious and tossy. 😯

Wasn't some ponce on here going to buy one of these awful things?

[img] [/img]

I'd throw my own poo at someone I saw riding past with one of those. And my actions would probbly be condoned by all agencies of the Law, too.

Rapha
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I'm sitting here after an early morning ride wearing a pair of Rapha socks and a Rapha baselayer. Plus other garments to keep me warm and respectable.

It is seriously lovely stuff, and the seriously loveliest bit is that I get family & friends discount, due to the fact my daughter's boyfriend works there. I do think the Imperial Works is a laff. But I guess anybody who doesn't test the market to see just how much people are prepared to pay is missing a trick.

Their Clearance page is the only one I look at though - and currently the long sleeve polo shirt on there is a real beauty.

EDIT - My normal riding appearance (bike and self) is usually similar to MidlandTrailQuestGraham's second best shed.

it's just expensive cycling clothing slightly different than other expensive cycling clothing.
it's nice kit, got loads of the stuff but if you don't like it (or the people that sell/market it) then don't buy it.
it's not that hard to find other cycling clothing that might suit your desires and needs.

Polaris
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Hook, line and sinker.

Aldi
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Tell me if I'm boring you...the list goes on and on.

Either buy Aldi cheapo kit or the Rapha top end kit, it's all the mid priced "trying to be quality" stuff that's the real rip off.

Don't own none of their stuff but been tempted for a jersey. I just like the plain simple design and £100 for a jersey that should last a few years isn't that bad.

It's not really that much more expensive than many other brands out there and I think the quality is very good.
Compare it with Assos, Castelli, Mavic or other top end gear and you see the prices are in the same ball park.

Oakley
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I'm curious how much you have to spend to get invited to their club though. Over the years I have bought a lot of stuff from them, but as it all lasts, I don't need to buy 2 jerseys a year or several pairs of shorts and I haven't been invited.

Perhaps it's because I more or less only buy from the clearance page...

I realise that the above makes me sound bitter that I haven't been invited and perhaps I am...

I have an early version of that Merino Jersey. That too is beautiful. But I'm almost loath to wear it for riding. After a wash (and it can just be bunged into a normal colours 40C wash with the rest of the household clothes) you will want to wear it a few times as a casual top before riding in it. And being Merino, it really doesn't smell, however many sweaty rides it's gone between washes.

Has anyone else been in touch with Torm clothing ? i noticed their website showing"o ut of stock" on all items so i did some snooping. I believe Rapha are squeezing them legally so to speak.
i think this is disgraceful. However you look at it Torm is less than half the price for very similiar quality jerseys. I know some rapha fans dont agree with Torm but thats only because feel foolish spending so much more on identical jerseys. I have owned both brands and i wouldnt buy rapha again over torm BUT now I certainly will not buy rapha if this is how they act to competitors.
are they trademarking the stripe across the arm / front.
Its effectively bullying and more importantly its stopping people like me buying reasonably priced jerseys. What are Rapha saying " you pay our prices or take a hike" outrageous.
I wouldnt mind but by nature Rapha is retro through and through. their designs hark back to previous decades designs.
Anyone else feel the same way ? any Torm owners out there feel Rapha are dictating prices here ?

From Road CC

Yeh me too oddjob, been buying regularly since the first softshell jacket came out. Great kit though and I'm not bothered about being in a special club.

I have a torm jersey too oldgit, nice enough and good for the money but it's nowhere near a similar quality to rapha. Wear a rapha jersey regularly for a year and a torm one and you'll see where the differences are.

And I can't see why torm can't come up with their own brand identity rather than copying rapha

I just added something to the basket on the Torm site - seems to be showign stock?

i noticed their website showing"o ut of stock" on all items so i did some snooping.

Not for me it isn't

from the Torm Blog;

[i]After a period of not selling any jerseys we are now back in the jersey business. We have been in dispute with another manufacturer and we made a pragmatic decision to alter our current stock of jerseys.[/i]

the Torm / Rapha dispute has been resolved. to be fair to rapha, torm were copying their tops exactly.

I have rapha armwarmers and socks, their kit is very good. when I need a new jersey I will buy a rapha one.

Rapha are a business. Some people will pay to be part of an up-their-own-arse exclusive club. Some Rapha customers evidently fit into that bracket. I can't see a problem there, only with the people who think it somehow makes them special...

So will anyone admit to being in the 'special' club?

Rapha kind of reminds me a bit like Apple.

Rapha kind of reminds me a bit like Apple.

Go on then, how?

PS thanks for the heads up on the Torm kit - looks like an excellent alternative and some quick research suggests that the quality is basically a match for Rapha.

It's nice enough for the money clubber but not a match on rapha quality. Close enough though.

Has anyone else been in touch with Torm clothing ? i noticed their website showing"o ut of stock" on all items so i did some snooping. I believe Rapha are squeezing them legally so to speak.
i think this is disgraceful. However you look at it Torm is less than half the price for very similiar quality jerseys. I know some rapha fans dont agree with Torm but thats only because feel foolish spending so much more on identical jerseys. I have owned both brands and i wouldnt buy rapha again over torm BUT now I certainly will not buy rapha if this is how they act to competitors.
are they trademarking the stripe across the arm / front.
Its effectively bullying and more importantly its stopping people like me buying reasonably priced jerseys. What are Rapha saying " you pay our prices or take a hike" outrageous.
I wouldnt mind but by nature Rapha is retro through and through. their designs hark back to previous decades designs.
Anyone else feel the same way ? any Torm owners out there feel Rapha are dictating prices here ?

Torm were a blatant rip off of Rapha though. Cheaper quality but exactly the same design, right down to Rapha's little idiosyncratic trademarks like the stripes, the black-on-black embroidery etc. Any manufacturer of any product would do the same if someone else came in and copied their design. Imagine if you started selling an exact copy of an iPhone, Apple would be all over you in seconds...
Nothing wrong with what Rapha did there, Torm are the ones at fault for failing miserably to have an original idea...

Rapha kind of reminds me a bit like Apple.

Is it the moustaches?

To me it's up it's own arse seems to have a love/hate following a some what pretentious advertising campaign and a ferocious protection of it's image but who can blame them for that.

More of the nerdy look chakaping 😉

I really want to see the members club Rapha jersey. I've got a bit of their stuff and i'd wear it exclusively if i could afford it. I've probably worn my Rapha jersey a couple of times a month for the past four or so years and it still looks like new.

The Assos kit i have has lasted nowhere near as well.

Completey agree crazy-legs.

I think whoever posted the 'rapha reminds me of apple' line meant that they have turned what are generally ugly products into something beautiful

It would appear you have to look like the secret love child of Freddie Mercury to wear Rapha.

I have an Untouched World jersey. The pricing makes Rapha look cheap.

Which club do I get to join?

Yeh that untouched world kit is steep. What's the quality like, looks a bit 'silky' for my tastes but maybe the pics on the site are deceptive

Rapha feels like it was invented in marketing brainstorm, a bit like a fake czech beer from a bygone age, it's so romantically swathed in cycling nostalgia that it almost becomes a parody of itself. Not to be taken too seriously, by all means pay £140 for a hoodie if you wish.

Jersey prices of Untoched World ain't much different to Rapha.

Um, I've looked at Rapha and IMO there's nothing that sets it apart from Assos or Gore. In fact, I'm more impressed with my recent Gore stuff that Assos TBH. The Rapha gear seems a tad pretentious and unnecessary, along with the obvious homosexual nuance.

Gary - It's very nice. I have to admit that it was a gift and is reserved for decent weather use only. Cut is close - I suspect I'd struggle to fit in it right now - and the material has reasonable heft to it. Not sure I'd describe it as "silky".

along with the obvious homosexual nuance.

eh?

Jersey prices of Untoched World ain't much different to Rapha.

You're right - they're cheaper now than they were.

Am going to stick some cash aside for a Rapha jersey as a treat if I manage to shift this two stone of lard I'm carrying round.

Rapha kind of reminds me a bit like Apple.

Its the fact they sponsor U2, didnt you know about that ? We all know exactly what Bono is, dont we.

homosexual nuance.

Yep, full on Rapha cyclist in the new Village People, took over from the Red Indian.

Am proprly wiping up my spat out lunch at some of those awesome moustaches.......

I got an invite, I like some of the stuff, wouldnt be seen dead in Assos, and been have buying it since they started, mainly via the sales.
Not that much to get excited about to be honest, at the moment the collection consists of a reissue of the Blue Brive-Agen and the Pink Mortillo Jerseys from 2005, a Black and Gold rainjacket (sold out) and some crochet gloves (that look very similar to the £3.99 ones I wore as a junior in the 80's, but not costing £3.99).
Having an original Brive Jersey I bought a new one and the pink one to boot, the jersey is a different design, it has side panels now and different lettering on the front, I dont like it as much as the old style one. The new Pink one went straight back to them as it had a hole right in the front of it, so must have slipped past quality control.

As per previous posters I like the classic styled stuff, the early merino shirts a la coppi and the wool trainers made in Hawick.
The new merino casual stuff is worryingly thin, made in china and expensive to boot, not been impressed with it, but the Merino Long Sleeve in black in clearance is a cracking shirt.

Great thread. More pics please oldgit.
(Rewski has it right)

Yeh rapha threads are always great, I'm just surprised no one has used the hackneyed phrase yet.

All the hate over a clothing brand is funny, I just don't get why people get so stressed about what others wear. I see some riders in hideous kit, that's up to them though.

Okay then...hope no ones offended but heres Assos

[img] [/img]

I really want to see the members club Rapha jersey. I've got a bit of their stuff and i'd wear it exclusively if i could afford it.

the collection consists of a reissue of the Blue Brive-Agen

You've just made my day Shak47 - that's the jersey i've already got 🙂

Endura
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I see some riders in hideous kit, that's up to them though

I like making a point of wearing it. I have one of these (far more garish in the flesh):

[img] [/img]

BigJohn - Member

I'm sitting here after an early morning ride

I really wish I could up early....

Kits weird stuff. I look at it and think most of it's dreadful. So I tend to wear just club kit, or a simple bike manufacturers jersey if I'm riding that bike brand.

Back to Rapha, I like their stuff actually. I hear the jackets and jerseys are excellent, but the bottoms are to be avoided? But the thing that puts me off is this almost sense of 'we'll say who can wear our kit' if that makes any sense.
Of course the big issue with me is spending £200 on a top and crashing in it the next day, there has to be a line drawn with me.

spending £200 on a top and crashing in it the next day

Of course the big issue with me is spending £200 on a top and crashing in it the next day, there has to be a line drawn with me

Yup. My Mortirolo top and full finger gloves were given to me to do the national madison championships in 2006. Needless to say as it was a madison there was a crash (involving Alex Dowsett, how's that for a name drop) which led to me sliding along the boards at 50+ kph. The kit held up reasonably well but I'll only wear the top on MTB rides now, luckily I didn't pay for it...

I on the other hand didn't fare as well. I will probably never reach those dizzying heights again too 😥

If there are people around who want to pay for it, then fair enough IMO. And there seem to be a quite a few. Ive got a mate who wears it, succesful small businessman, kids left home, loves his bikes, still in reasonable shape, has the money and likes to spend it on his bikes and bike clothes. Why not?

When they were starting out I worked in Marylebone and they had a stand in Selfridges which I went to have a look at, as one of the guys was a mate of some designers working for me. He was keen to hear what old farts into road bikes thought of it.

I went and had a look at the stand and I reckon they were far more popular with the pink pound than old roadies. And tbh if you want to make money flogging slim fit expensive clothes that is not a bad place to be. But that was then...

All their graphics and brochure design are spot on for their target market - but sometimes for me they do try to be a bit too exclusive. Which is a bit of a dichotomy when that hardman roady 50s/60s Italian vibe is working class to the point of being communist. 🙂

I prefer Castelli. Or my brother in laws shop kit cos that is free 😳

I have only bought Rapha stuff to wear off the bike, you know, all the Hipster stuff. In fact I am wearing the Plus Fours now; dead comfy to ride to work in.
I must say it did smart a bit when you read it was made in China. Their margins must be massive, even considering the beautiful photography and ****y marketing.

I do have to agree with the sentiment above about the working class hardman. What also irks me is that it is a British brand with no feking British themed stuff. They love the French, Belgian and Italian.

Oldgit the only rapha 'bottoms' I have are the touring shorts and they're spot on.