I wear my Rapha cyclocross jersey on my MTB quite often. It’s comfy, fits well and I like the colours. I also use it for commuting, or road rides when it’s cool but not cold enough for a Gabba.

I don’t really understand why Rapha appears to instil so much hatred. It seems unfounded.

I’ve used the Rapha touring shorts for mtb for the last 6 years and absolutely love them (as much as you can love a pair of shorts). Nursing them a bit now though, hoping they’ll last a couple more years before falling apart.
It does seem odd though, for a company struggling financially with high levels of stock, to reduce discounting, close their discount outlets and expand their product range into mtb.

I must be incredibly lucky.
I’ve more than a dozen items of Endura kit, some ancient, all heavily used. I’ve never had a single item of theirs self destruct. Some I’ve even gone out of my way to try and destroy, like an old pair of singletrack baggies, used for thousands of miles of muddy commuting. Yet nothing has failed early.
I can’t comment on Rapha, it’s too expensive for me; The most expensive kit I’ve bought has been Assos bib shorts, although Endura’s FS260 are now just as good.

Just here to put in a PSA for these shorts: https://www.rapha.cc/gb/en/shop/limited-edition-transfer-shorts/product/LES01XXUBC

Wow. Even Lachy Morton looks confused as to how they could possibly cost £250! Still, they are at least ‘breathable’. Quite possibly because they have a hole at the bottom of each leg. They also have two ‘hand pockets’ – thanks for the clarification. I was going to stick another appendage in one of them.

I’m sure it’s items like these that get Rapha derided on here. Fair enough.

I wonder if the Rapha club will start doing MTB rides? The road rides come my way so MTB rides near me would be welcome! The cross guys do it already

They’re probably annoyingly fast though!

I need some decent shorts

Get bib shorts instead and you’ll get a much more comfortable fit.

Yeah, Rapha are gonna do a Nikki Minaj fit Molly, you’re sorted.

😀

I must be incredibly lucky.
I’ve more than a dozen items of Endura kit, some ancient, all heavily used. I’ve never had a single item of theirs self destruct. Some I’ve even gone out of my way to try and destroy, like an old pair of singletrack baggies, used for thousands of miles of muddy commuting. Yet nothing has failed early.

Same here. Endura kit, the shorts in particular, have been great for me.

I can’t imagine having £15 spare for a pair of socks. That’s multi-pack money 😀

Just here to put in a PSA for these shorts: https://www.rapha.cc/gb/en/shop/limited-edition-transfer-shorts/product/LES01XXUBC

Wow. Even Lachy Morton looks confused as to how they could possibly cost £250! Still, they are at least ‘breathable’. Quite possibly because they have a hole at the bottom of each leg. They also have two ‘hand pockets’ – thanks for the clarification. I was going to stick another appendage in one of them.

I’m sure it’s items like these that get Rapha derided on here. Fair enough.

Seems cheap when you look at the Byborre website (not for the easily infuriated)

I purchased some Endura Pro SL shorts a couple of years ago for a cycling holiday. I bought 4 pears in total in a regular and long length. The design of the silicone leg grippers was different between the leg lengths and the glue used on the leng length failed on both pairs.

Sent back to wiggle and as told I’d washed them incorrectly and they wouldn’t replace them. I pushed back as teh regular length ones which had as much use hadn’t fallen apart and they provided a credit rather than replacements. Not impressed as I’ve had some mtn bike shorts fall apart too.

I’ll not be purchasing any Endura kit again in the future.

Sent back to wiggle and as told I’d washed them incorrectly and they wouldn’t replace them. I pushed back as teh regular length ones which had as much use hadn’t fallen apart and they provided a credit rather than replacements.

So had they are hadn’t they been washed wrongly? The others not falling apart seems beside the point

So they size as they fit rather than vanity sizing. That’s a good thing, right?

so long as they don’t assume everyone who takes a medium is 6’4” otherwise their below the knee shorts would fit like trousers.

I don’t really understand why Rapha appears to instil so much hatred. It seems unfounded.

I think it may have been the over-stylized marketing

. I bought 4 pears in total

And that my friend is where your problems started.

FWIW you should just wash pears in water, no Persil or Lenor.

I don’t really understand why Rapha appears to instil so much hatred

I think a lot of us are more amused/bemused by them. Personally I kind-of admire their chutzpah selling stuff like those quilted shorts.

I’m with chakaping. I just find the marketing spiel amusing and I’m bemused by the fact that adults would spend so much on clothes for what amounts to playing out in.

I’m bemused by the fact that adults would spend so much on clothes for what amounts to playing out in.

Eh?

Four or five hours pedalling in wet conditions can be unpleasant for your arse, with chafing and pressure, so you need the kit that makes it as comfortable as possible. I want comfort as cheaply as possible, however I’ve found that for example Assos are very comfy for me and whilst initial outlay is high, they last a long time donuts acceptable.

When I go bike riding it’s usually not like playing out.

And for the record I think Rapha are a bunch of nobs and I have never bought any of their kit.

For me it is literally the closest thing to playing out I do as a grown man. Hence why I find it bemusing that people would spend what I consider to be extravagant amounts of cash on clothes that are going to get abused. Operative word here is I.

Edit – that reads quite negatively, not the intention. Just different opinions I guess.

For me it is literally the closest thing to playing out I do as a grown man. Hence why I find it bemusing that people would spend what I consider to be extravagant amounts of cash on clothes that are going to get abused. Operative word here is I.

There are two schools of thought to kit like that (and indeed most outdoor kit).
Buy cheap and treat it as disposable.
Buy quality and hope they’ll last longer and be generally higher quality so you get the same equivalent value for money.

Option B falls apart a bit if you crash on the first outing and wreck it. Option A loses out if you find on the first ride that it’s nowhere close to being capable of what you’re asking of it. Cheapo waterproof vs Gore Shakedry for example.

Just that each person will find their own compromise point along that line of cost. Peronally I wouldn’t buy a £300 waterproof because I simply don’t ride in the rain often enough to need one. However for someone who has no other means of transport and has to cycle commute 15 miles each way every day, it might be invaluable and represent excellent value for money.

There’s a sensible middle ground for me though. I bought an Altura jacket in the sale for about £40 and it has lasted years. Still going in fact and was used for commuting for a long spell.

Haha will they be doing snowboarding gear next. Roadies trying to be cool just doesn’t work!

I don’t really understand why Rapha appears to instil so much hatred

I think a lot of us are more amused/bemused by them. Personally I kind-of admire their chutzpah selling stuff like those quilted shorts.

I think a lot of you are bemused by life in general TBH 🤡 🤷‍♂️ (and thats not aimed directly at you, but more generally speaking)

If people want to spend £’s on clothing that makes you want to ride more and be comfortable then let them do it, it’s not your money their spending is it? or maybe it is… Only you know.

Rapha have been through a massive transformation over the years, form small self funded outlet and online to stores to clubs and now into more cycling markets. I see no reason why they wouldn’t want to keep expanding and keeping the money flowing in, do you?

Admittedly the MTB market isn’t actually where I thought they’d go. But hey, there are plenty of folks riding Swinley who chug up in T5’s and pop out some flagship/premium branded MTB to roll down some gravel track neatly groomed that you could ride out on a CX’er as easy. But hey, people like riding what they like don’t they. Or are they forever in a quandary what to ride and decide on a bike based on a forum half full of naysayers whose only comments seem to mock anyone spending money on kit which enables them to ride out on a bike once a month.

We all know you hate the marketing, frankly that’s not a surprise in the slightest. Anything “insta’d” in off grey pallet and you’d choke on your shreddies or a morning. You may hate the lengthy landscape shots of people riding bikes up an Alp, complete with missle and drizzle and neck scarfs pulled tight around the chin… But hey, it was cold when they took the shots, and they rode up the Alp whilst some photographer shouted at them from a window of an estate car.. so almost like real life riding on the road then…

If you feel it’s too expensive for you to warrant spending money on clothing, ride in what you wear now. No one cares about you nor what you ride in. Care less about what others wear and get on with pushing MTBs up hills.

This place is right on the edges of sanity, sometimes bordering insane.

Hence why I find it bemusing that people would spend what I consider to be extravagant amounts of cash on clothes that are going to get abused.

They aren’t being abused though. They’re doing exactly what they are designed to do.

My MTB clothes are made of much tougher nylon type fabric than my casual clothes, and I wouldn’t wear that kind of fabric for casual use – too uncomfortable and it doesn’t look great. If I were to wear my normal casual shorts whilst biking they’d be a right soggy mess in no time. They also aren’t cut for pedalling so I find them uncomfortable to ride in. And a wedge of heavy cotton getting wet via sweat or mud spray in my crotch is unpleasant – I know from experience. I didn’t start out riding with fancy cycling clothes, I used to go out in jeans when I was young. It wasn’t as good as dedicated riding gear, for me.

I have a pair of Endura Humvee 3/4s I bought in ooh, 2006 for something like £40 on sale – they are still going, and have outlasted many pairs of casual shorts. So it works for me.

I’m not bemused by anything other than the fact Rapha have been generating multi page threads on forums since their inception. This is like being on the road forum on bikeradar in 2010.

Roadies trying to be cool just doesn’t work

True, as long as you don’t kids yourself that MTBers look any cooler. The only cyclists who look cool are at the very top end of the sport (people just riding around in normal clothes notwithstanding), and they look cool in Rapha, B/Twin, and anything in between.

This place is right on the edges of sanity, sometimes bordering insane.

No, it really isn’t.

wouldn’t buy a £300 waterproof because I simply don’t ride in the rain often enough

Alternatively, I’ve got a rain jacket that cost about that (not Rapha) I bought it about 5 years ago, and I expect it to last easily another 5, so £30 a year… which for me represents acceptable value for money. Sure, it might get torn to shreds in one crash, but I’ve never managed that with any other bit of kit before, so the chances seem low. I’m not a massive fan of riding in the rain either, but sometimes there’s just no avoiding it and for me at least it makes sense to have a good bit of kit for it.

This thread remains me that I need to list a load of MTB clothes in the classifieds.

I have a pair of Endura Humvee 3/4s I bought in ooh, 2006 for something like £40 on sale – they are still going, and have outlasted many pairs of casual shorts. So it works for me.

The normal Humvee is pretty much my go to short. Two pairs, one bought second hand and one in the sale. Not extravagant and can also be worn off the bike. Both pairs have lasted years. Another pair didn’t survive a crash. Sensibly priced though