Rapha, dissapearing up their own success pipe.......?

Rapha, dissapearing up their own success pipe.......?

Author
Discussion

MadDad

Original Poster:

3,834 posts

260 months

Friday 28th November 2014
quotequote all
I like Rapha stuff. I admit it is on the expensive side but the few bits I have are well made, comfortable and durable - and specifically designed for cycling. Plus, their jerseys and bibs have a free crash repair service that makes it worth the extra couple of quid if you fall off from time to time.

This evening I received the 'Rapha Black Friday' eMail so thought that I would take a quick browse and see if I could bag myself a 1/2 priced pair of bib's, or cut price jersey (bringing the price in line with Assos or similar).

Aside from the odd bit of cycling gear the majority of kit in the sale seemed to be massively overpriced 'tat' with the Rapha logo on, £21 bottle opener, £56 belt, £63 leggins, £38 for a 'man-bag', £28 for a plain t-shirt......

As much as I like Rapha stuff on the bike I would not pay £28 for a t-shirt that looks like it's a free give-away from a company that make hair products!

Am I alone in thinking that Rapha may have taken a step too far in pushing over-priced stuff to the masses? Would you blindly pay £21 for a bottle opener because it had Rapha stamped on it? Am I missing something......?

Get Karter

1,934 posts

200 months

Friday 28th November 2014
quotequote all
Many 'brands' make branded goods fairly unrelated to their core business. Park Tools even make a pizza cutter shaped like a penny-farthing.

Rapha has a certain market demographic. They know that many of their typical customers will lap up such overpriced branded stuff.

louiebaby

10,651 posts

190 months

Friday 28th November 2014
quotequote all
I was expecting this thread to be about the Rapha Cycling Club, which I was invited to join a coue of days ago...

There wasn't a lot in the Black Friday sale though, I'll give you that!

MC Bodge

21,551 posts

174 months

Friday 28th November 2014
quotequote all
Aldi Special Buys all the way.

Rapha? Hmmm...

Gruffy

7,212 posts

258 months

Friday 28th November 2014
quotequote all
The fact that the tat is in their sale probably suggests it doesn't sell well and will probably be knocked on the head or replaced with a different flavour of tat next season.

Roman

2,031 posts

218 months

Saturday 29th November 2014
quotequote all
£550 for a jacket - makes Rapha seem cheap!:

http://www.paulsmith.co.uk/uk-en/shop/mens/paul-sm...

Matt_N

8,900 posts

201 months

Saturday 29th November 2014
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I'm half tempted by the hard shell for £180 but then I got looking and found with wiggles current offers you can get a Gabba 2 for just over £130 so think I'm gonna go down that road.

okgo

37,841 posts

197 months

Saturday 29th November 2014
quotequote all
Yes. Embarrassing really.

Assos all the way when I went quality goods. They don't give a fk about fashion, beards, or black and white photos so more power to them.

SoliD

1,112 posts

216 months

Saturday 29th November 2014
quotequote all
My Sky Rapha Jersey is by far the best jersey I have, (except the Gabba) Yes a lot of their stuff is overpriced crap, but the main cycling bits are great bits of kit, and their free repair service on the majority of items they sell is part of what you're paying for.

I recently got one of the sky merino jerseys from the Ride Like a Pro, and its a lovely jersey, could easily be worn normally it is so comfy and not so ott with branding that most people wouldn't notice.

Rich_W

12,548 posts

211 months

Saturday 29th November 2014
quotequote all
I'm sure they love the whole Marmite thing.

But as they are just a 10 year old start up with no heritage. Trading on pics from the 60s makes them massive cocks in my opinion. Whereas Assos and Castelli WERE there in the older days and choose not to harp on about the old ways.


Saying that the tie in with Sky is genius. Makes it super obvious who I don't want to ride with.



(I'm not anti Sky. I like the marginal gains slightly silly mantra. I consider Bradley to be a bloody hero. Just that there are rules proper cyclists understand about wearing team kits. And those that don't know the rules tend to be best avoided biggrin )

Dammit

3,790 posts

207 months

Saturday 29th November 2014
quotequote all
That makes me an improper cyclist then- I've picked up a couple of jerseys, winter tights and a race Cape in the team sky colours/livery- they were dirt cheap, extremely useful bits of kit, and I can't see the logo's when I am riding.

keith2.2

1,100 posts

194 months

Saturday 29th November 2014
quotequote all
I'm going to have to admit here that I bought the team sky casual Jersey - I'd never wear it on the bike but i will say it's a bloody lovely bit of clothing.

On the bike I wear Castelli.

numtumfutunch

4,704 posts

137 months

Saturday 29th November 2014
quotequote all

In my opinion Rapha jumped the shark around 2008

I have many bits of stuff I bought before then mainly on the strength of utility and their sponsorship of JLT Condor

Fair play to them they absolutely did their bit for grass roots and the kit was beautifully made and designed by people who knew what cyclists wanted

Now they are the ubiquitous choice of the middle aged man on a bike with money Im less thrilled
Moreover the recent kit I bought (in the sale) is badged as made in China and has demonstrably lower quality

The final nail was when I emailed for advice on how to resurrect the previously excellent performance of a £200+ softshell jacket to which I was told they werent sure and could I let them know what worked!

Cheers

ALawson

7,814 posts

250 months

Sunday 30th November 2014
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I get Assos stuff at 50-60% rrp from someone I know, I think that is expensive! Rapha, not likely!

paulmon

2,127 posts

240 months

Monday 1st December 2014
quotequote all
okgo said:
Yes. Embarrassing really.

Assos all the way when I went quality goods. They don't give a fk about fashion, beards, or black and white photos so more power to them.
Neither do they give a st about customer service which is something no one can say about Rapha regardless of everything else. I agree some of the stuff is cringe worthy but maybe they are just making hay while the sun shines.

okgo

37,841 posts

197 months

Monday 1st December 2014
quotequote all
paulmon said:
Neither do they give a st about customer service which is something no one can say about Rapha regardless of everything else. I agree some of the stuff is cringe worthy but maybe they are just making hay while the sun shines.
Don't Assos repair shorts if you send them back?

Sounds good to me.

What customer service are you after? They're clothes, you buy the ones that fit and that is that surely?

paulmon

2,127 posts

240 months

Monday 1st December 2014
quotequote all
okgo said:
Don't Assos repair shorts if you send them back?

Sounds good to me.

What customer service are you after? They're clothes, you buy the ones that fit and that is that surely?
OK here is an example of the difference between crap customer service and outstanding customer service.

A 4 month old pair of top end Assos bibs developed a fault in the material. I contacted the supplier who asked how far I had rode in them. I said I had probably done around 300 miles. At this point the supplier said there was nothing else they could do as the Assos warranty is only valid for 300km. End of discussion.

A pair of Rapha Sky pro bibs bought in the sale for £75 showed signs of premature wear after 2 months (a small hole). I contacted Rapha who asked to see a photo of the bibs. They looked at the photo and said they would replace them. Problem was they had sold out of the Sky Pro Team bibs and only had the Condor Pro Team ones or the normal Pro Team bibs both of which were full price (£150 and £200). They offered my the Condor ones for no extra cost which I took. The other problem I had was I was travelling to Geneva in two days and needed them for the trip. The bibs arrived the next morning, again at no cost to me. When I asked about returning the Sky bibs they told me I could keep them for training for the inconvenience I had been caused.



okgo

37,841 posts

197 months

Monday 1st December 2014
quotequote all
Great stuff.

Doesn't change my mind one bit though.

paulmon

2,127 posts

240 months

Monday 1st December 2014
quotequote all
okgo said:
Great stuff.

Doesn't change my mind one bit though.
That wasn't the intention. The intention was to show how differently two companies competing for the same customers treat them after they have bought their product. For me a product is only as good as the customer service you get when you have a problem and I reward good service with loyalty and repeat business. That's why my next frameset will be a S-Works and not some other brand and why I now drive an Audi instead of a BMW.

I get you don't like the Rapha image, that's fine but you bleat on about how superior Assos is compared to anything else when in reality they hide behind really crappy warranties. I'm not the only person who has fallen foul of the 300K nonsense. Its all well and good having clothes constructed from space age materials but if you are going to make a big song and dance about it then you need to stand behind the product when it fails.

AyBee

10,522 posts

201 months

Monday 1st December 2014
quotequote all
paulmon said:
okgo said:
Don't Assos repair shorts if you send them back?

Sounds good to me.

What customer service are you after? They're clothes, you buy the ones that fit and that is that surely?
OK here is an example of the difference between crap customer service and outstanding customer service.

A 4 month old pair of top end Assos bibs developed a fault in the material. I contacted the supplier who asked how far I had rode in them. I said I had probably done around 300 miles. At this point the supplier said there was nothing else they could do as the Assos warranty is only valid for 300km. End of discussion.

A pair of Rapha Sky pro bibs bought in the sale for £75 showed signs of premature wear after 2 months (a small hole). I contacted Rapha who asked to see a photo of the bibs. They looked at the photo and said they would replace them. Problem was they had sold out of the Sky Pro Team bibs and only had the Condor Pro Team ones or the normal Pro Team bibs both of which were full price (£150 and £200). They offered my the Condor ones for no extra cost which I took. The other problem I had was I was travelling to Geneva in two days and needed them for the trip. The bibs arrived the next morning, again at no cost to me. When I asked about returning the Sky bibs they told me I could keep them for training for the inconvenience I had been caused.
FPKW? wink