Rapha - did I miss something?

codie · 13-03-2014 01:38PM

I have a few Rapha items overshoes ,winter hat, neck scarf and my favourite item of all is a pair of Rapha condor bib shorts.They are the best shorts I have ever put on .Got them with a good discount as they were the last pair.I have Assos bib shorts but I find I reach for the rapha shorts every time and the Assos are left hanging.Never put them on last year.Stuff is expensive though would only buy their stuff with a discount .Postage I think is €15 but free if you spend €120 which is not very difficult to do.

omri · 13-03-2014 02:39PM

codie wrote: »

I have a few Rapha items overshoes ,winter hat, neck scarf and my favourite item of all is a pair of Rapha condor bib shorts.They are the best shorts I have ever put on .Got them with a good discount as they were the last pair.I have Assos bib shorts but I find I reach for the rapha shorts every time and the Assos are left hanging.Never put them on last year.Stuff is expensive though would only buy their stuff with a discount .Postage I think is €15 but free if you spend €120 which is not very difficult to do.

Where can you get their stuff with discount?

el tel · 13-03-2014 02:54PM

Did anyone see the Facebook chat with one of the Rapha desigers the other day? I thinks it was via Evans Cycles page.

It swiftly went downhill, people taking the piss for the **** quality and faults with the gear they had bought. The designer mostly ignored this line of questioning.

Wicklowrider · 13-03-2014 03:07PM

Harrybelafonte wrote: »

You wanna make money, target the richer aspirational market.

How right you are!

I read an interview with one of the founders when they started up.

He had worked in the advertising industry and was very successful. He said that he would go into bike shops and online looking for kit that was a bit exclusive, a bit retro and stylish and said all the right things(!) He didn't find what he wanted and thought that he had identified a place in the market that he could exploit.

One thing he said in the interview I thought was very true, he reckoned that if you thought Rapha prices were expensive then you were dead right and it was not marketed for you. That might sound snobbish or condescending but he was telling the truth. At the end of the day if you go into any business , a key component of success is identifying your place in the market - another good example of that would be the "Fat lad At the Back" company.

EDIT - couldn't find the interview I read, but here is one similar
http://99u.com/articles/7087/simon-mottram-on-passion-obsession-why-your-brand-should-take-sides

codie · 13-03-2014 03:23PM

omri wrote: »

Where can you get their stuff with discount?

There was a sale at that time plus I think I had a discount code that they mailed me but I haven't got any code for a long time.I t was the last bib shorts in the sale .See the free shipping is now with €220.Grazy

Bristolscale7 · 13-03-2014 03:59PM

Here's a piss take of the Rapha web site. ****ing brilliant
http://internationale.teamjva.com/

Ole Rodrigo · 13-03-2014 04:06PM

Lol, classic.

Push yourself to 100% of your assumed human limits, unless you get tired, and then we can pick you up and go eat some super expensive organic gluten free pizza.

doozerie · 13-03-2014 04:08PM

I have several pieces of Rapha gear, all of which I like. I bought none of it for full price, I availed of their sales over the years - they used to have very good sales once or twice a year, in the last few years there seem to have been fewer sales and less of their range included in them. I've been happy with the quality of all of my kit from them, I still consider it all good value for money at the sale prices (usually in or around 50% off) but for me they wouldn't be very good value at full retail cost. I dislike the crap that goes with Rapha though (messages on the kit for riders behind you to read - just, like, what??) so I've always avoided the most blatant of it. And unless they have some good sales again, I won't be buying any further Rapha kit in the near future.

I also have some pieces of Assos kit, most of that bought in sales too. Some of that kit I'd consider good value at full cost. It's all very subjective though, of course.

As regards price though, it's no longer a "battle" between Rapha and Assos for the title of most horribly expensive kit. There are many other competitors in that price range these days, and for quite a while in fact. Brands like Castelli, Pearl Izumi, Giordana, MCippolini, etc., all sell at least some items of kit for prices that would make your eyes water.

omri · 13-03-2014 04:18PM

So when B. Wiggins won TdF he became Sir B. Wiggins and that's when I kind of found out bout Rapha anyway - wonder how much would one need to spend on Rapha's stuff to become Sir Your Name...

Paul Kiernan · 13-03-2014 04:18PM

I've just read this whole thread and there isn't one comment from Raam. That doesn't seem right to me. Is he sick? I feel cheated.

omri · 13-03-2014 04:19PM

Paul Kiernan wrote: »

I've just read this whole thread and there isn't one comment from Raam. That doesn't seem right to me. Is he sick? I feel cheated.

Maybe it was him on that black boardman - from one of the earlier comments ? He just prefered to remain in the shadows ?

omri · 13-03-2014 04:24PM

€150...seriously... http://www.rapha.cc/eu/en/shop/team-sky-gt-gloves/product/GTG05

Seweryn · 13-03-2014 04:39PM

omri wrote: »

€150...seriously... http://www.rapha.cc/eu/en/shop/team-sky-gt-gloves/product/GTG05

That is taking the piece.

codie · 13-03-2014 04:40PM

omri wrote: »

€150...seriously... http://www.rapha.cc/eu/en/shop/team-sky-gt-gloves/product/GTG05

Do you know what the Africian hair sheep are making at the mart these days.

Brian? · 13-03-2014 04:57PM

doozerie wrote: »

As regards price though, it's no longer a "battle" between Rapha and Assos for the title of most horribly expensive kit. There are many other competitors in that price range these days, and for quite a while in fact. Brands like Castelli, Pearl Izumi, Giordana, MCippolini, etc., all sell at least some items of kit for prices that would make your eyes water.

The lifestyle choice nonsense doesn't go along with these brands though. All of my usual winter gear is Castelli, including my socks and head band. No one has ever passed remarks at it, even though some of it was horrendously expensive.

Whenever I see someone, particularly a MAMIL like myself, in Rapha gear the temptation to do an eye roll is almost overwhelming. Completely my fault.

By all accounts Rapha gear is great. But it's not any better than Castelli as far as I can make out, or at least not enough better to justify the price difference.

PS, I wouldn't be seen dead in Pearl Izumi.

Pinch Flat · 13-03-2014 05:46PM

nak wrote: »

The jerseys aren't as expensive as €200.

You're right, they're more (excludes P & P which is usually ridiculous). http://www.rapha.cc/eu/en/shop/brevet-jersey/product/PBP01. Maybe the 'complementary gilet' is priced into this.

omri · 13-03-2014 05:49PM

Pinch Flat wrote: »

You're right, they're more (excludes & P which is usually ridiculous). http://www.rapha.cc/eu/en/shop/brevet-jersey/product/PBP01. Maybe the 'complementary gilet' is priced into this.

Must be: A high-performance, high-visibility cycling jersey designed for brevet riding with specialist pocket layout and high-visibility vest.

Pinch Flat · 13-03-2014 05:53PM

omri wrote: »

and high-visibility vest.

Not any ordinary hi-vis vest though, this one is specially made by Rapha. So probably adds about €70 to the price.:rolleyes:

omri · 13-03-2014 05:56PM

Pinch Flat wrote: »

Not any ordinary hi-vis vest though, this one is specially made by Rapha. So probably adds about €70 to the price.:rolleyes:

for brevet riding

Pinch Flat · 13-03-2014 05:59PM

omri wrote: »

for brevet riding

yeah fair enough, I don't care what kind of riding it's for. For €220 - no way. Each to their own I suppose.

doozerie · 13-03-2014 06:03PM

Brian? wrote: »

The lifestyle choice nonsense doesn't go along with these brands though.

Yes it does, it just differs a little. Turn up at at a cycling event dressed from head to toe in Assos and you will get similar disparaging looks to those you'd get if you were dressed in Rapha. Assos was the Rapha of its day, as far as the cycling public were concerned, Rapha has just focused even more on the supposed exclusivity factor.

The same goes for the likes of Oakley, who used to be the Rapha of sunglasses. Etc. We in the cycling community have more prejudices than you can shake a stick at, Rapha just do a better job than most of unashamedly tapping into that and using it to their own advantage.

el tel · 13-03-2014 06:32PM

omri wrote: »

for brevet riding

Had to look that one up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randonneuring

Rapha are so far up their own arse they are as about as desirable as a perineal tear.

happytramp · 13-03-2014 06:53PM

doozerie wrote: »

Yes it does, it just differs a little. Turn up at at a cycling event dressed from head to toe in Assos and you will get similar disparaging looks to those you'd get if you were dressed in Rapha.

No way man. People in Rapha might think they're getting the same disparaging looks as the guys in Assos. But there's actually a whole different level of disparaging look they're not even aware of, chiefly because it's always aimed at their backs.

Brian? · 13-03-2014 07:39PM

doozerie wrote: »

Yes it does, it just differs a little. Turn up at at a cycling event dressed from head to toe in Assos and you will get similar disparaging looks to those you'd get if you were dressed in Rapha. Assos was the Rapha of its day, as far as the cycling public were concerned, Rapha has just focused even more on the supposed exclusivity factor.

Assos gear has a much different vibe about how it's marketed. In that it isn't really marketed that much, it's just excellent gear that's mad expensive.

Rapha plays on it's bespoke uniqueness and people swallow it whole.

The same goes for the likes of Oakley, who used to be the Rapha of sunglasses. Etc. We in the cycling community have more prejudices than you can shake a stick at, Rapha just do a better job than most of unashamedly tapping into that and using it to their own advantage.

I tried explaining all of the cycling prejudices to a mate recently. Carbon v steel v Ti, campag v SRAM v Shimano, group set snobbery, reverse snobbery and so on. They're actually hilarious. I've found lately that Rapha v non-Rapha is the most intense prejudice yet though. Especially if it's Rapha+ moustache, the addition of a moustache increases the hatred exponentially.

ROK ON · 13-03-2014 08:26PM

^
that's me fooked so.

Raam · 13-03-2014 08:38PM

omri wrote: »

Maybe it was him on that black boardman - from one of the earlier comments ? He just prefered to remain in the shadows ?

A Boardman? Are you kidding me?

Paul Kiernan · 13-03-2014 08:49PM

Raam wrote: »

A Boardman? Are you kidding me?

Whew!

mossym · 13-03-2014 10:22PM

Brian? wrote: »

Rapha plays on it's bespoke uniqueness and people swallow it whole.

so a company finds a unique position which people like and are willing to part with their money for, and that's swallowing it whole?:D

i hope no other companies are trying to do the same, shame on any company trying to stand out from the crowd. it'll never catch on. you'd think if it were going to work they'd teach it in business school or something;)

Brian? · 13-03-2014 10:26PM

mossym wrote: »

so a company finds a unique position which people like and are willing to part with their money for, and that's swallowing it whole?:
i hope no other companies are trying to do the same, shame on any company trying to stand out from the crowd. it'll never catch on. you'd think if it were going to work they'd teach it in business school or something;)

I think it's funny because there really is nothing unique about Rapha gear.

nak · 13-03-2014 10:29PM

Brian? wrote: »

I think it's funny because there really is nothing unique about Rapha gear.

Because other companies have now copied the clothes.

Rapha - did I miss something?

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