[Closed] Rapha MTB wear

Enduro or XC/gravel?

The owners have built some really good trails at Bentonville (and soon in Colorado), which is more than most clothing companies...

It will be interesting to see if they offer the free crash repair service. Most of my damaged cycling gear is the result of off road mishaps.

They’ve signed Eliot Jackson too.

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Well my Rapha road kit looks good and is good fit and quality.  I buy used and in sales so don’t pay a fortune for it.  If I can get similar form their Mtb kit then all good.  To be honest their simple aesthetic appeals more to me than some of the heavily logo’d Mtb kit out there.

That font is awful. Is it supposed to look as if it could be stitched by pre-war technology? Looking forward to seeing what they can do though… I love their base layers for mtb already.

Lost all interest in Rapha these days. I have a few bits and pieces and they are good, but there are others now that would get my money before them.

Endura shorts. Galibier for most other stuff. Rapha for treating myself.

Their MTB kit is coming out in June I believe. I am a fan or their road kit so intrigued to see what they come out with.

I think their is a definite gap in the MTB market for some Rapha styled and quality riding kit.

Will their be RCC mountain bike kit though? That’s what the real Rapha fan boi in me wants to know! 😆

Well my Rapha road kit looks good and is good fit and quality. I buy used and in sales so don’t pay a fortune for it.

My approach as well. Haters will hate

I use my Rapha kit on the mtb anyway, just clothes innit

“ I use my Rapha kit on the mtb anyway, just clothes innit”

This

Interesting. I sometimes use the Rapha (road or cx) stuff on my MTB. It’s good kit. I’d welcome a restrained style, fitted-but-not-skintight aesthetic. Which I’m guessing they’ll do.

I still tend to use Gore for the MTB and Rapha for road/gravel. Not sure why.

To me mountain bike clothing is very different from road clothing. No exposed Lycra on the MTB or roadie style jerseys off-road either.

My Rapha shells/jackets are a bit delicate for being dragged through bushes or crashing into rocks etc.

Suspect they might need to review sizing if they want to sell much of it ;0)

Rapha sizing is not too bad.  I size up a large in their riding kit and medium in the casual wear.  It’s the euro brands like Castelli that really want to make you feel like you’ve eaten too many pies.

Though I’m sure this will still mean most of the average ebike crowd are out of luck (-;

I’m sure they’re used to the cyclists’ thighs all MTBers have.

I’d say if you like it and want to spend your money on it, there are worse things in life to buy.

I don’t look at myself when I’m riding so function beats form for me. And it’s not hard to get plain colours from pretty much every clothing brand.

Been getting the tech T-shirt’s in the sales there pretty good for mtb’ing and the core Lycra padded shorts but I use them road and mtb, be interesting to see price to quality as they can be a tad expensive.

Rapha used to make a knee length "baggy" (actually quite tailored fit) short which was brilliant for MTB. Some of their CX kit is very hard wearing.

Be good to see what they come out with.

Rapha used to make a knee length “baggy” (actually quite tailored fit) short which was brilliant

the touring shorts, that's what I wear to MTB in, with bibs under, unless im racing or doing a fast lap, that and the tech t-shirt or the crit t-shirt (same thing, different colour)

Suspect they might need to review sizing if they want to sell much of it

Rapha sizing changed when they went for the American market - I went from XL to L for the first time ever 🤣

Rapha confuses me, even at RRP they're not *that* expensive, I'm definitely not a kit whore but I have shorts from Castelli, Endura, Morvelo and Bioracer that all cost more than my Rapha shorts.

The Raphas are the best fit/cut/material out of all of them, just a shame I can't tolerate the pad for more than an hour, is literally the only chamois I've ever ridden which gets that uncomfortable, weird.

I'd buy more of their kit if they swapped out their own chamois for the same ones virtually everyone else uses (EI?)

This thread got me looking at the Rapha website for the first time in years. I'm not particularly anti Rapha but it did amuse me that they have an offer where you get 50% off a smaller jersey if you loose weight from training and find your existing jersey too big. I need the offer where you can upsize after eating all the pies at Christmas

Looking forward to see what they bring out. Like others all my rapha kit fits well and has proved to be very hard wearing. Pretty sure they’ve had Bryn Atkinson on board with testing and design so it’s not just going to be a road rider’s interpretation of mtb.

I was expecting loads of replies along the lines of “bloody Nancy Rapha, I ain’t wearing that overpriced guff”

They've made some great stuff over the years... why wouldn't we welcome them trying to make some mtb specific kit?

I only ever wore roadie kit on my MTB, think I tried baggies / loose T shirt once but it just felt like riding around in clothes which didn't fit properly.

Rapha make some nice kit, I have quite a few bits, bit you do pay a brand premium. Comfiest bib shorts I've found though..

They’ve made some great stuff over the years… why wouldn’t we welcome them trying to make some mtb specific kit?

I agree with you and was lucky enough to live near the archive store before it closed but a few years ago there was quite a bit of reverse snobbery around Rapha.

I don't think the MAMIL Team Sky replica kit craze did much for their image a few years ago.  Round my way (SW London, so lots of people with plenty of cash) it's by far the most popular roadie kit I see.

Comfiest bib shorts I’ve found though..

This, by miles. Pretty much all I wear, under baggies, on the MTB.

I do worry they might jump the shark, we’ll see.

Rapha confuses me, even at RRP they’re not *that* expensive, I’m definitely not a kit whore but I have shorts from Castelli, Endura, Morvelo and Bioracer that all cost more than my Rapha shorts.

Fair point. Their marketing/image certainly polarised opinions. Maybe it was the Sky/Rapha/mamil thing as well. Though round here, if you saw someone on a Pinarello in full Sky kit it might have been Dave Brailsford 🤣

The owners have built some really good trails at Bentonville (and soon in Colorado), which is more than most clothing companies…

this is interesting. i’d assumed that rapha was a british company

Founded in the UK (London) by Simon Mottram but bought (sorry, invested in) by the Waltons, owners of Walmart and based in Bentonville, Arkansas. The Walton boys are big mtbers so they built one of the best trail centres in the US (not visited but friends have).

I moved onto other brands like Albion & Isadore due to their sustainability credentials.

Still wear my Rapha kit though, it was always an experience to go into the clubhouse in Manchester - always found it strange that they've never opened one in Dublin.

Also amusing when my girlfriend questioned my sanity after she saw the price of a jersey and bib shorts!

They seem to have problems with stock online - few of the core items always out of stock.

I don’t think the MAMIL Team Sky replica kit craze did much for their image a few years ago.

Rapha ultimately did quite well out of that partnership and it brought in a load of new customers (very much the "I only watch the TdF and the Olympics" brigade but still new money).

However it did also create/nurture a lot of the reverse snobbery so common in cycling and some (not all but certainly some) of their core market got put off the brand by association with this "new wave" of cyclist.

Genuinely interested to see what they come up with. Their CX/gravel range has been very good and it's not too much of a leap from there into MTB.

I think it's a very British thing to dislike a British successful company, I couldn't imagine an Italian doing the same about Castelli.

There are plenty of very expensive cycle clothing companies out there other than Rapha but the few bit of kit I've had of their's over the years has always been decent quality. I do think over £100 is a bit too much for a short sleeve jersey though.

I'll have a look at their new MTB range but can't see me buying any unless discounted in the sales.

Founded in the UK (London) by Simon Mottram but bought (sorry, invested in) by the Waltons, owners of Walmart and based in Bentonville, Arkansas. The Walton boys are big mtbers so they built one of the best trail centres in the US

the mention of arkansas trails had me thinking of walmart. now i know why.

the anti rapha thing i believe comes from the overly stylized marketing. it certainly made me cringe.

edit: just looked at their website. far more normal.

I think the Rapha clothing seemed expensive when it first came out but in todays market seems almost mid range. I've bought a couple of road tops , a jersey and a set of bibs which have all been great . My mate takes care of his rapha clothes turning them inside out and washing properly. Ive thrown them in with manky mtb shorts and they still seem in decent nick.
Look at how Endura has got better and their customer service has become so good but the price has also went up . I'd not hesitate to spend good money on either brand.

I love their videos on Youtube, they really seem to capture the fun / adventure in cycling.

I like their road stuff, and have a few of their merino jumpers that I wear casually off the bike. Only item I’ve not got on with is a Transfer jacket, where the armpits are too tight, must get round to selling it...

must get round to selling it…

Easy to sell on Ebay and Rapha stuff gets very high prices second hand!

Only item I’ve not got on with is a Transfer jacket,

I pretty much live in my Transfer Jacket from about October to March!