[Closed] Rapha MTB kit

Love a lot of Rapha stuff. This all looks... well.. boring.

I like boring, boring is a good look. I hate multi-coloured, neon, lairy, logo clothing.

Just ordered a couple of pieces to try...

Don't see the point in any riding tops that don't have a zip or some way to improve ventilation.

Disappointed really. It's pretty megre for a "collection" that they announced a whole year ago.

Our club kit is bright orange and blue, less likely to get shot at.

<looks at size guide>

I'm oot. Definitely a drawback to taking up weightlifting was having to sell all my Rapha kit. 46in chest as the biggest size, ffs.

Their waist pack looks pretty decent, I have a soft spot for them. Actually priced fairly too

Generally not a fan of MTB jerseys, I prefer roadie style jerseys that have a zip for venting. Also prefer the less flappy option up top, and pockets on the back are handy when not using a waist pack or backpack

Looks good to me, I like that they have bib liner shorts but my experience of wearing bib shorts under baggies is that the baggies waist slips down a lot. Maybe it's just me but having a few silicon gripper dots on the waistline of either the bibs or inside the baggies would be good (I think I found some models of Oakley shorts had this and it worked great).

I thought their "go harder, go again" strapline was already taken?

Good to see them using pink for the women. Or white if they'd prefer for a muddy sport.

Dickheads.

Or white if they’d prefer for a muddy sport

Erm, look at the last promo photo, it makes you mud proof, that chap is pushing his bike out of a boggy hole and his tyres are still shiny, let alone his kit.

@johnx2 I'm pretty sure the point of that is less hard, I think you're confusing erectile and ejectile dysfunction.

Our club kit is bright orange and blue, less likely to get shot at.

I thought they were all so pissed they just shot at anything moving!

Or white if they’d prefer for a muddy sport

It's okay, they've realised their mistake... but are using marketing to fix it...

The pink option has been named "purple", and the white option has beed named... er... "black".

👏🏼

For some reason I thought Rapha were a UK brand. Not sure why I thought that but wouldn’t have guessed their HQ was in Arkansas

There were bought out by members of the family who owned Walmart (and are keen mountain bikers).

For some reason I thought Rapha were a UK brand

They are really, bought out my another company a while back IIRC.

A brit, Simon Mottram, founded them. Think he's still the CEO.

Sure some of the gravelers will be interested for a bit of posing, but non of the cool kids will go anywhere near it and trail riding is all about being an individual.

Ah, right, thanks.

I'm sure this is all top quality kit . . . but can anyone explain why so many cycling jerseys (not just Rapha) have different coloured sleeves? Is it a roadie thing?

Raglan? Comes from USA North American sports.

I’ve had their stuff since trying samples in the 2000s and it was genuinely exciting but that all looks ultra conservative. Went from innovative, thru jumping the shark (man bags, leg shaving kits, espresso cups) to catering for the Audi drivers.

Wish them well though, have ridden with a couple of their guys and they’re good people.

What is the point of 3/4 length sleeves? They just look stupid.

I like Rapha kit for road riding and some of this stuff is quite nice but I don’t feel hugely inspired to actually buy any - might get some short sleeve tops to try out but they don’t appear much different from their gravel range.

Bit underwhelmed given the development lead time.

What is the point of 3/4 length sleeves?

Brushing off undergrowth without making too much of a mess of your arms, I suggest. That's one feature I quite liked. Airy but protects from sun and thorns.

I like Rapha gear, but that advert on youtube makes me want to bab in my hands & rub it in my eyes.

Interesting angle that stuff comes with a repair kit, and is eligible for their repair program.

Plus it's not even that expensive! Baaaah!

It's also funny how their models suddenly got body hair and tattoos

Not knocking though, their stuff is quality, I've bought some. It will be sold out this time next month too.

but can anyone explain why so many cycling jerseys (not just Rapha) have different coloured sleeves? Is it a roadie thing?

Raglan?

It’s not an American thing as such - Raglan sleeves are named after the First Baron Raglan and a coat made for him by Aquescutem  after the battle of Waterloo.  Raglan Is the construction of the sleeve - with the sleeve extending from the collar - useful for mtb because when you’re wearing a backpack the straps don’t sit on a seam and favoured by baseball players because it articulates well for swinging you arms around with a bat.

The contrasting sleeve colour detail often seen with raglan sleeves is a baseball uniform thing.

I might be totally missing the point, but I thought Rapha was the roadies choice of quality but expensive riding gear. As such, being solely a mountain biker, it feels like just another money making exercise rather than creating a product in a sport that they've evolved in. Even reading this back to myself makes not a lot of sense (I've had a few pints) but I'd rather wear something by a company like Fox who have roots in this type of riding gear. I guess if you ride road and mountain bikes then paying the extra for Rapha makes perfect sense.

It’s not an American thing as such

It comes to casual/sport wear from baseball, yes. Used in North American sports. I know where the name comes from… but there where no tops that looked anything like this at Waterloo.

As such, being solely a mountain biker, it feels like just another money making exercise rather than creating a product in a sport that they’ve evolved in.

The new owners are mountain bikers. Make and sell stuff you want for yourself.

Looks nice. A lot of road riders myself included getting into mtb

Rapha are masters at making trendy but very basic/plain looking kit - which appeals to many!

I like the look of it, more casual and less enduro pajama.

@maccruiskeen
Thanks, I learned something today and it's only 5am!

No hybrid bib/baggy shorts

No hybrid bib/baggy shorts

All the ones I've ever tried have been "wrong" in some respect.

I'd much rather have a separate liner short and a decent pair of baggies over plus it's much more versatile in terms of using baggies as regular casual shorts.

I might be totally missing the point, but I thought Rapha was the roadies choice of quality but expensive riding gear. As such, being solely a mountain biker, it feels like just another money making exercise rather than creating a product in a sport that they’ve evolved in. Even reading this back to myself makes not a lot of sense (I’ve had a few pints) but I’d rather wear something by a company like Fox who have roots in this type of riding gear. I guess if you ride road and mountain bikes then paying the extra for Rapha makes perfect sense

Meh, you're over-thinking things. It's cycling, this is kit for cycling - if it suits the type of cycling you do, you like the look and you can afford it then why not? Anything about companies having history in one branch of the sport so sticking with them is just bollocks IMO - they're all just companies trying to make money at the end of day.

more casual and less enduro pajama.

TBH I thought, apart from the arm band (rather than the awful pink) which is their trademark, the tops (and shorts*) are indistinguishable from pretty much everything else. I just think it's weird that given a year to come up with stuff (some of which they already make) it's a bit of a poor show. They've clearly been watching too many 50:10 jibbing videos and I wonder if they have any idea what the rest of do?

* I get that it's hard to do anything new or revolutionary with shorts.

It’s cycling, this is kit for cycling – if it suits the type of cycling you do, you like the look and you can afford it then why not?

I've been using Rapha kit for mountain biking since their first black sports wool jersey (which is still in regular use). As you say, it's all just cycling.

I want to hate Rapha due to their ****y branding but the two items of clothing I own of theirs are really nice. Nothing massively inspiring in the new stuff but I'd potentially be interested if I was buying new MTB stuff (and preferably if it was on sale 🙂 ).

Too bright and you’d all be moaning.
Too bland and you’re all moaning.
Too expensive and you’d all be moaning.
Too cheap and you’d all be moaning.

It’s probably just an initial release to see how it sells, if it goes well then no doubt more stuff will follow.

I was surprised at the price, I was expecting it to be a lot more. Now, if only they did proper pink in men’s stuff.

Too bright and you’d all be moaning.
Too bland and you’re all moaning.
Too expensive and you’d all be moaning.
Too cheap and you’d all be moaning.

I think you're stuck in the noughties. Meanwhile in the real world I see cyclists wearing it all time, mostly as it's pretty good kit it's reasonably priced given how it performs, and people like how it looks. My complaint (for what it's worth) with it is that I was expecting maybe a bit of a wider range, given that they're owned by mountain bikers now, and have had a year to organise themselves

It’s probably just an initial release to see how it sells

I think you're right, I'm just surprised that they appear not to have done their homework, as they've mostly got the road-market nailed

Far from being stuck back there, most of the cycling kit I wear is rapha.

Don’t forget when they initially release other collections (especially cross and gravel) they only do a few different pieces

Yeah, it's a start... not an end... they're a "seasons" brand, so we'll probably get a few drops a year now that they've started. I hoping future offerings interest me more.

Looks nice.

But the real question is, will there be Rapha sales any more for us to buy it without losing our street cred? Or are they a thing of the past now we're in bike boom 2.0?

I was surprised at the price,

Their core range stuff is priced very competetively and their 'normal' stuff is pretty similar to Castelli etc. Assos makes Rapha looks positively bargain basement.

Rapha is incredibly popular around here, by far the most common make I see out on the bike. Although in the cooler months the Castelli Perfetto totally dominates, nearly everyone is wearing one!

My complaint (for what it’s worth) with it is that I was expecting maybe a bit of a wider range, given that they’re owned by mountain bikers now, and have had a year to organise themselves

When they first launched, they had about 5 items.

I think it's a carefully planned release - there's nothing in there too outrageous that would offend the current roadie / gravel clientele, there's nothing too offputting for MTBers new to the brand. But at the same time it looks to be decent quality and reasonably priced.

If it goes well, it'll probably be that start of a more comprehensive range. Although as noted previously, it's all just cycling - nothing to stop anyone wearing a "roadie" jersey for MTB.

I was surprised at the price,

Price needs to be viewed along with quality, materials etc,. I have a Rapha long sleeve core jersey from 5 years ago. It is very comfortable, made of nice materials and to me looks very nice.
I wear it 9 months of the year either on it's own or underneath another layer (even wearing it this week as I always cycle early morning) and have done for 5 years. It still looks like new after all that time. It probably cost about £20 more than in my mind lesser alternatives so £20 very well spent.

When they first launched, they had about 5 items.

Yep, but they aren't the same company now, and they're owned by a pair of guys determined to make Bentonville into "The home of mountain bikes" I understand about the marketing ploy of "here's some stuff to whet your appetite, and there'll be more coming along". But they've essentially made MTB-usable stuff already (just called it gravel), this just feels kind of like a really timid extension of that.

That first signature sport-wool jersey that Rapha released all that time ago felt kind of ground breaking and new, where's the MTB version of that? Because this doesn't feel like it. This just seems the same as everyone else's stuff, if it was a new couple of jerseys by TLD, or Fox they'd look like this.

Have they regained their old quality of manufacture? I stopped buying Rapha a couple of years back because the last two items didn't last.

I think they peaked with the Brevet range around 2014!  They are the best pieces of cycling kit I own and still going strong.

In my opinion Rapha kit excels for gravel,bike packing,commuting and touring.

For high energy road cycling I prefer Castelli and Aussie Grit is my go to for mtb now as I basically bought 3 of everything in the sale!

". . . but can anyone explain why so many cycling jerseys (not just Rapha) have different coloured sleeves? Is it a roadie thing?"

Apologies, I didn't explain myself properly. I meant why is the right sleeve different to the left sleeve on so many cycling tops? For example:

(That said, Rapha is fairly discreet, with just a coloured hoop on one sleeve)

That first signature sport-wool jersey that Rapha released all that time ago felt kind of ground breaking and new, where’s the MTB version of that? Because this doesn’t feel like it. This just seems the same as everyone else’s stuff, if it was a new couple of jerseys by TLD, or Fox they’d look like this.

Yeah but they launched in what, 2004? When your choice of "roadie jersey" was limited to what your cycle club sold you or a range of polyester pro-team replica stuff. There was very little else out there other than the budget end stuff like Altura which again was largely just polyester.

So something that wasn't a garish billboard, made to a high standard with "new" (or at least "not commonly used in that market") materials WAS groundbreaking.
I think now, 17 years later, you'd struggle to do anything as groundbreaking as that since the range of kit now is exponentially greater than back then.

Is it a roadie thing?”

I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you.

 you’d struggle to do anything as groundbreaking as that since the range of kit now is exponentially greater than back then.

If you're talking about Roadie Kit, then yeah, I'd agree with you, Rapha essentially made all that "keep away from naked flames" stuff; old tat literally overnight, Now in roadie gear, you can't move for really nice, well made, thoughtful stuff ...meanwhile in the MTB world, we're still in square cut massed produced polyester PJs (only we like to kid ourselves that it's "technical" fabrics)

I was hoping that Rapha would offer a version of their most famous bit of kit as their first release into 'proper' MTB kit, y'know? A proper sport wool based heritage made-to-last, good looking timeless well made well thought-out bit of kit.

Instead they got marketing to hash up some Troy Lee copies...Mleh, at least I've saved myself some cash

I have a merino long sleeved jersey of theirs, 14 years old, still going strong!

I’m thinking, I might try the lightweight bib shorts (as I like the rapha pads) and the shorts.

S'alright. Would consider it half price in a sale. Wouldn't buy though, cos of the Rapha badge.
Always reminds me of that Spandau Ballet bloke saying he got into cycling just cos he liked Rapha kit.

I like it. What more do you need for a core MTB range?
Liner Shorts
Baggies (3 colours)
t-shirt (4 colours)
3/4
Jacket
socks
Helmet
Glasses
Bumbag

Only thing missing seems to be gloves? What else do people ride in (especially in Summer)?

Fits their style - simple, "refined", discreet branding. Like the look of that 3/4 top with 'abrasion resistant' sleeves.

I have a merino long sleeved jersey of theirs, 14 years old, still going strong!

Exactly my point, could you imagine keeping either of these two jerseys for 14 years?

Always reminds me of that Spandau Ballet bloke saying he got into cycling just cos he liked Rapha kit.

You say that like it's a bad thing, imagine taking up a sport just because you like the kit!  **** it, it worked for HebTroCo, it can't be that hard,

Prolly not the jersey, but I like the shorts and bibs.

I’d like to see a zipped jersey in Marino with a slightly looser fit than their roadie stuff.

I’d like to see a zipped jersey in Marino with a slightly looser fit than their roadie stuff.

Take my money! The sleeves could do with being looser for mtb, for sure. I'm sure there are other additions/changes they could make as well, without it becoming just another tech tee (although their ones are really good).

I’d like to see a zipped jersey in Marino with a slightly looser fit than their roadie stuff.

I've wanted one of those since I bought one of the really early Rapha roadie tops. I bought a new one last year and the newer, lighter, version of the merino mix is even better. That's what I'd hoped the body of those new Trail tops would be made of.

I’d like to see a zipped jersey in Marino with a slightly looser fit than their roadie stuff.

Go for their Brevet or Brevet Lightweight jersey. Both looser fitting than regular road tops. My Brevet must be about 7 years old now, it's slightly faded but still in perfect condition, one of my most used tops.

I am really just waiting for the RCC trail wear... 😬

I am really just waiting for the RCC trail wear…

Yes, stand out from all the plebs in non RCC attire...

I was in London yesterday and popped into their Spitalfields store to have a look. Don't bother, apparently only their Soho branch has it in stock!

Don’t bother, apparently only their Soho branch has it in stock!

Is that the one behind nationwide?

Don’t bother, apparently only their Soho branch has it in stock!

I imagine it will sell out pretty quick, they seem to do small batches of stuff now, completely sell out then re-order more if it was popular. I'm always finding stuff on their website that I'd like to buy is out of stock.

I was in London yesterday and popped into their Spitalfields store to have a look. Don’t bother, apparently only their Soho branch has it in stock!

They're closing that store shortly, moving everything to the newly refurbished and expanded Soho site so it's logical that they're not putting new stock into the place.

The soho shop has always been pretty hit and miss regarding stock. Seems a strange business model to have a store which consistently doesn’t have a full range of stock whereas the Assos shop has always been pretty good in that resort.

Just like a lot of others have said, I'm a little disappointed in the new range. I was hoping for more innervation.

It does make sense making their first launch in the summer to test the water then they don't need to use any expensive water proof/windproof fabrics that you often find on winter kit.

I'm in the market for a long sleeve lightweight mountain bike jersey as I'm getting sick of scratching my arms on bushes etc. I think I'll have to look elsewhere.

Fwiw I bought a pair of their trail shorts and the bibs that sit underneath. The trail shorts are very well finished and cut, baggy without being flappy and a good length. The design thought matches other rapha kit I’ve had, for example there’s no stretch in the waist band so they don’t slide down once adjusted and the phone pocket is unobtrusive when riding. If they last as well as other rapha stuff then I’d put them ahead of my 7mesh shorts at the moment. Bibs are good too, cooler (as you’d expect) under baggies than my other rapha grinduro cargo bibs and the cargo pockets are cut so they sit above the waist band of the shorts. It’s not cheap kit but I don’t feel I’ve paid for name over substance.

The trail shorts are very well finished and cut, baggy without being flappy and a good length.

Good to hear. Tested for twit gap?

TBH I thought, apart from the arm band (rather than the awful pink) which is their trademark, the tops (and shorts*) are indistinguishable from pretty much everything else.

As a part time roadie with some rapha bibs and jerseys. Their stuff is really good quality with a plain aesthetic which appeals to lots of people. There is a "rapha ****er" image that goes along with it but roadies are generally pretty thick skinned. Their merino blend classic jersey, which is what they built the company on, is comfortable and has a more "normal" feel and look to it than a tighter fitting man made fibre jersey.

The bib shorts designed to be worn under baggies look good, Rapha bibs are great and fit me really well so I'm certainly tempted by them. The hip bag looks really well made and thought out, also the trail jacket packing away with a strap to attach to your frame looks great. Not sure exactly what amazing innovation people were expecting.

I think people are really just a bit put out that the prices aren't higher, so they can't go "HOW MUCH!?!?!?" etc.

Not sure exactly what amazing innovation people were expecting.

TBH, I was expecting them to use the material that they're most famous for in innovative ways to suit  mountain bikers...In the same way that they did with roadie gear all those years ago.

I can buy any number of copy cat 'techincal' tee-shirts and waist packs and pertex lightweight jackets from a hundred or so stores trying to be the next TLD or Fox, and now I can add Rapha to that list...whoopee. What I can't order on lie is an MTB-ised version of the sport-wool jersey, which is one of the best bits of cycling kit I've got. I want one without a zip, without pockets, some re-enforcement and a bit less fitted, May be I should just do it myself.

I quite like the look of the new MTB stuff. It's pretty toned down, which I like, unlike loads of MTB kit.
I've just ordered some shorts, bibs and a top to see if they're any good. If it's as good as Rapha road kit then I'm sure it'll be worth the slightly higher price.

Tested for twit gap?

Yep, not a problem for me, I find them spot on length wise and being 6ft 3 I often find the gap issue an errr issue.

I've just had an email with their updated Brevet / gravel range as well. Us posh RCC types get 48hrs exclusive access before the plebs are let loose on it. 😉

Nothing massively new though, more a re-working and some updated colours.

Took delivery of a jersey this morning, quality is good, as you would hope from Rapha. The 3/4 sleeves come to midway on the forearm, enough room for pads. The repair kit is interesting, several stick on patches, think of the old cut to size rubber inner tube patches and you get the idea. The left sleeve band doesn’t go completely around the upper arm. Certainly worth its money and welcome now the warmer weather has arrived.

“. . . but can anyone explain why so many cycling jerseys (not just Rapha) have different coloured sleeves? Is it a roadie thing?”

Apologies, I didn’t explain myself properly. I meant why is the right sleeve different to the left sleeve on so many cycling tops? For example:

Apologies for trying to answer a 6 day old question... but i had always assumed it was to put brighter more visible colours/patterns on the road side to make you more visible. But this would only hold true if the opposite sleeve has the colour in other countries.