The Rapha hater thread

[Damiano Machiavelli]

Wow, now you're angry about my avatar. May I ask what you are NOT angry about?

You are fuming about me expressing an opinon. I guess we can call it even.

 

[Damiano Machiavelli]

Wow, now you're angry about my avatar. May I ask what you are NOT angry about?

"You have a hard lip, Herbert."

 

[RDV4ROUBAIX]

The one thing that you must give the brand some credit for are their willingness to bring new products to the market. Good or bad, it challenges the market and keeps it interesting.

They have certainly provided inspiration for us to create a truly European Brand Born in Switzerland and Made in ITALY. Check us out cervorosso.com.

The weirdest thing about this thread is not the love or hate relationship, but that the moderator has lost his objectiveness....great support for a brand but a true departure from effective moderation!

CR Switzerland

I'm not trying to effectively moderate anything, all I did was call BS on the OP's stance, yet he continues to try and bait me into this foolishness by calling people I've met, ridden with, whom I genuinely like, "d0uche bags" and "phonies". What if you were chilling at a bar and some peeon like the OP started going off on you about your friends, started b!tching at you like an uptight schoolgirl about the clothes you're wearing, would you sit there and take it, or would you smash a pint glass in there face? Already bowed out of this long ago, because arguing with flaming fashion critics isn't my style. Have fun girls.

I like those Cervo Rosso threads, maybe I'll buy some for next year....

 

[Spider1964]

The one thing that you must give the brand some credit for are their willingness to bring new products to the market. Good or bad, it challenges the market and keeps it interesting.

They have certainly provided inspiration for us to create a truly European Brand Born in Switzerland and Made in ITALY. Check us out cervorosso.com.

The weirdest thing about this thread is not the love or hate relationship, but that the moderator has lost his objectiveness....great support for a brand but a true departure from effective moderation!

CR Switzerland

No c'mon Cervo old chum... Pot Kettles etc... You've posted here 6 times and 2 of them are spruiking the Cervo Rosso brand... 2 of them about Sportwool? and now one in the Rapha thread where you list the Cervo Ross website?

And then you go and pot a (super) moderator about being objective! Mmmm.

 

[Damiano Machiavelli]

I'm not trying to effectively moderate anything, all I did was call BS on the OP's stance, yet he continues to try and bait me into this foolishness by calling people I've met, ridden with, whom I genuinely like, "d0uche bags" and "phonies". What if you were chilling at a bar and some peeon like the OP started going off on you about your friends, started b!tching at you like an uptight schoolgirl about the clothes you're wearing, would you sit there and take it, or would you smash a pint glass in there face? Already bowed out of this long ago, because arguing with flaming fashion critics isn't my style. Have fun girls.

So people who are turned off by Rapha's phony marketing are flaming gays and you would like to smash a pint glass in their faces. Nice.

 

[RDV4ROUBAIX]

So people who are turned off by Rapha's phony marketing are flaming gays and you would like to smash a pint glass in their faces. Nice.

I only hope you stick up for your friends, maybe not. Did I mention that a guy I wrenched with for most of my bike shop years, whom I consider a dear friend works for Rapha? All the other info I gave you should have sufficed enough to maybe back of a bit and civility grab hold of you a bit. Maybe not. Not to expect a reaction is really, really weak. Like I said before I'll back off and let you continue to make a total fool of yourself here. Have fun dude. Last words form me on this stupid @ss thread, seriously. This forum is an open book into personalities, and you're really making an impression. Good luck...

 

[ultimobici]

100% agree with you on SRAM. I've learned that lesson well. It's all well and good being light - cheap, strong, light, pick two as Keith Bontrager said.

On the other hand, whilst Rapha clearly have significant margins on their product because of where they manufacture, in my experience the quality is far higher than most other brands including those that have apparently earned their pedigree over 50 years or more. My Rapha bibs and jersey are going strong after 3+ years of regular use. I can't say the same about my team kit made by an Italian company in Croatia that fell apart at the seams after less than a seasons use. You pay your money...

To slate any manufacturer for using cheaper labour to maintain their profitability in this day & age is virtually nonsensical. Shimano is in the main made in Malaysia & Indonesia, Campagnolo in Romania & some of the former Yugoslav nations, SRAM in Taiwan, Cervelo & Cannondale in China etc, etc.....

Point is most of the products we use are made using cheap labour in countries where employment conditions are lower than we would consider acceptable for our worst enemy. If you slate Rapha for their ethics, I suggest you put all your kit on ebay and with the proceeds buy an old SLX with original Super Record and start wearing 80's Assos. The stuff made in house or at least in the country the company is from is the rare exception now and has been for many years.

To treat Rapha in the same way as Nike, Adidas or any other Label is frankly ludicrous & highly hypocritical, unless you only wear homemade cloths, shoes etc & only have appliances made in the 70's!

 

[blutto]

To slate any manufacturer for using cheaper labour to maintain their profitability in this day & age is virtually nonsensical. Shimano is in the main made in Malaysia & Indonesia, Campagnolo in Romania & some of the former Yugoslav nations, SRAM in Taiwan, Cervelo & Cannondale in China etc, etc.....

Point is most of the products we use are made using cheap labour in countries where employment conditions are lower than we would consider acceptable for our worst enemy. If you slate Rapha for their ethics, I suggest you put all your kit on ebay and with the proceeds buy an old SLX with original Super Record and start wearing 80's Assos. The stuff made in house or at least in the country the company is from is the rare exception now and has been for many years.

To treat Rapha in the same way as Nike, Adidas or any other Label is frankly ludicrous & highly hypocritical, unless you only wear homemade cloths, shoes etc & only have appliances made in the 70's!

...this may be the way of the current state of affairs in the world today but that doesn't require that people really have to like it...another way to looking at this situation is that trumpeting acquiescance as the only logical response is like stumbling onto parade celebrating cowardice and walking away saying it was a good time because the beer was free and it was the only game in town...

...and what is this ridiculous line about frankly ludicrous & highly hypoctitical.....Rapha is exactly the same as Nike,Adidas et al ...the only difference is the better shine they have courtesy of their nauseatingly slick ad campaign....but the bottom line on that shine is you can't polish a turd...

Cheers

blutto

 

[blutto]

I only hope you stick up for your friends, maybe not. Did I mention that a guy I wrenched with for most of my bike shop years, whom I consider a dear friend works for Rapha? All the other info I gave you should have sufficed enough to maybe back of a bit and civility grab hold of you a bit. Maybe not. Not to expect a reaction is really, really weak. Like I said before I'll back off and let you continue to make a total fool of yourself here. Have fun dude. Last words form me on this stupid @ss thread, seriously. This forum is an open book into personalities, and you're really making an impression. Good luck...

...no word of a lie...and yes, we are getting a very clear picture here, not even remotely pretty but quite clear...you represent your position of Super Duper Moderator very very well...you should be very proud of your work in that regard and I'm sure, off in the distance, I'm hearing a loud round of supportive applause from your fellow mods....

...and by the way very nice touch with the comment about smashing a glass into someone's face...

Cheers

blutto

 

[Damiano Machiavelli]

I only hope you stick up for your friends, maybe not. Did I mention that a guy I wrenched with for most of my bike shop years, whom I consider a dear friend works for Rapha? All the other info I gave you should have sufficed enough to maybe back of a bit and civility grab hold of you a bit. Maybe not. Not to expect a reaction is really, really weak. Like I said before I'll back off and let you continue to make a total fool of yourself here. Have fun dude. Last words form me on this stupid @ss thread, seriously. This forum is an open book into personalities, and you're really making an impression. Good luck...

Good gawd, man, get a grip. It is only a thread on the internet. One of my friends in high school worked for Enron. I will not get hopping mad if someone says that those guys were snakes and d-bags that ripped people off. It is natural that people associate the behavior of a company with the employees that work there. If you do not like the taint then find another job. You can bet the ex-employees of Madoff Securities have some explaining to do during job interviews.

You can prattle on all you want about the passion of Rapha employess, but I am not buying it. I am a cynical person. I just am. When someone tells me how passionate he is and he is trying to sell me something, my BS meter gets pegged. When I find out that what he is selling is a $200 pair of gloves made in China for a buck, the needle does not just get pegged, it breaks off. When that "passion" is accompanied by all sorts of nostalgic phony baloney from a company that is not even a decade old, I am offended that the company thinks I am stupid enough to fall for the con job.

It is quite perplexing that you cannot accept that the less gullible among the public will be turned off by Rapha's marketing. You seem perfectly willing to accept Rapha's side of the story at face value. Somehow alleged passion makes it okay to conscientiously manipulate the public to sell overpriced goods, but if someone is turned off by the manipulation then they are flaming fashion critics and should shut up.

If the only opinions posted here were in support of companies then there would not be much of a forum. People might as well spend their time reading companies' ad copy.

 

[Benotti69]

It is quite perplexing that you cannot accept that the less gullible among the public will be turned off by Rapha's marketing.

well then there is a lot 'less gullible' out there if they are going 10 years.

Dont care much for any company's advertising as by its very nature advertising is BS.

They aren't the worst out there. Look at the price of bicycles made in china and flogged in europe.

Bout time someone found the chinese factories making these cycling clothes and doing a Chapha website (China + Rapha) or Chastelli, Chantini and chavic to suggest a few....

 

[Damiano Machiavelli]

well then there is a lot 'less gullible' out there if they are going 10 years.

I seem to recall something from a couple years ago where they claimed that they were not yet profitable. They have probably turned the corner since. It would be hard not to when selling at the ridiculous gross margins they get.

Bout time someone found the chinese factories making these cycling clothes and doing a Chapha website (China + Rapha) or Chastelli, Chantini and chavic to suggest a few....

Chapha! I love it. It would go well with a Chinarello.

 

[Damiano Machiavelli]

This cracks me up. Rapha's “performance denim for city cycling." You can almost see the smug that must trail off the back of this guy.

 

[LugHugger]

a $200 pair of gloves made in China for a buck

All Rapha's leather gloves are hand-made by craftsmen in Somerset, England per your and Blutto's approved sourcing method. Burfield's have been established since 1944. I only see manipulation coming from one side here.

 

[Damiano Machiavelli]

All Rapha's leather gloves are hand-made by craftsmen in Somerset, England per your and Blutto's approved sourcing method. Burfield's have been established since 1944. I only see manipulation coming from one side here.

If they are all made in England then I will give them props for that, but the point stands. Rapha stands for phony baloney marketing designed to sell dramatically overpriced goods by pretending to have connections to the sport's past. Heck, the name itself was stolen from a 1950s or 60s cycling team.

 

[LugHugger]

If they are all made in England then I will give them props for that, but the point stands. Rapha stands for phony baloney marketing designed to sell dramatically overpriced goods by pretending to have connections to the sport's past. Heck, the name itself was stolen from a 1950s or 60s cycling team.

Look, when Rapha started their product line was limited to (I think) leather gloves hand made by British craftsmen, a leg shaving kit again hand made by British craftsmen and a Rapha Smythson training journal (British and hand bound). Whether a cyclists needed these products at the prices they were asking is another question. I'm not even sure of there were any bibs or jerseys at that time. Somebody will though, I'm sure. The product line was quintessentially British and the branding tied in nicely. Sure, it harks back to a heritage that the brand does not own but certainly they tried to pay their dues by using craftsmen. Since then the brand has diversified with some questionable products along the way. But there's no doubting the quality.

'Rapha' was never a cycling team name - St Raphael was the team you're thinking of.

 

[luckyboy]

lol at those jeans.

 

[pedaling squares]

No doubt. Just when I thought Damiano had no point, he puts up a photo of those 'jeans' and, dammit he kind of has a point!

I still disagree with his premise, but my God those are awful.

 

[kuoirad]

I only hope you stick up for your friends, maybe not. Did I mention that a guy I wrenched with for most of my bike shop years, whom I consider a dear friend works for Rapha? All the other info I gave you should have sufficed enough to maybe back of a bit and civility grab hold of you a bit. Maybe not. Not to expect a reaction is really, really weak. Like I said before I'll back off and let you continue to make a total fool of yourself here. Have fun dude. Last words form me on this stupid @ss thread, seriously. This forum is an open book into personalities, and you're really making an impression. Good luck...

We could always start talking photography again.

 

[marathon marke]

We could always start talking photography again.

I'd Leica that.

 

[kuoirad]

I'd Leica that.

Yeah, but I Canon imagine that our illustrious OP would appreciate that.

 

[Martin318is]

Yeah, but I Canon imagine that our illustrious OP would appreciate that.

nor the mods

Now that things have settled back into general Rapha discussion - lets all try to keep it that way!

 

[alberto.legstrong]

That is a project? It reads like the typical d-bag's blog about his ride or what his cat did that day except that most d-bags are not vain enough to have their own personal photographers follow them around to take pictures for their blog. This reminds me of Bear Grylls surviving in the wilderness, braving danger, drinking elephant pee, and all the while with a camera and production crew fifteen feet away. Yeah, way to keep it real...real phony.

How long before the founders of this scam sell it Salomon?

Whoaaaa......slow down a minute folks....the last thing we want anyone to do is to get excited to actually go out and and actually ride an actual bicycle. And if the OP doesn't give his explicit approval for the basis for such activity, then permission is NOT GRANTED!

That which is acceptable cycling marketing, manufacturing practices, pricing, margins, sourcing, design, fabrics, ad copy, marketing materials and use of all revenues and profits shall be solely determined by the OP and those who agree with him.

So sayeth the OP. Huzzah!

 

[kuoirad]

nor the mods

Now that things have settled back into general Rapha discussion - lets all try to keep it that way!

Awwwwww.... you guys are no fun!

 

[Damiano Machiavelli]

Look, when Rapha started their product line was limited to (I think) leather gloves hand made by British craftsmen, a leg shaving kit again hand made by British craftsmen and a Rapha Smythson training journal (British and hand bound). Whether a cyclists needed these products at the prices they were asking is another question. I'm not even sure of there were any bibs or jerseys at that time. Somebody will though, I'm sure. The product line was quintessentially British and the branding tied in nicely. Sure, it harks back to a heritage that the brand does not own but certainly they tried to pay their dues by using craftsmen. Since then the brand has diversified with some questionable products along the way. But there's no doubting the quality.

Now we are getting somewhere. How real was the start of the product line? The company was not set up by a couple of cycling pals with no money that started small and slowly grew the company into what it is today with the company's image following the products that were sold. It was set up by brand management experts who from the very beginning had a detailed plan to manipulate the public. Starting with a few products made in Britain sounds suspiciously like a plan to buy credibility before offshoring or a way to test the waters and tweak the marketing message.

It reminds me of the Jeff Bezos' story. He quit his job as a financial analyst to start Amazon, but he would have you believe that he wrote the business plan while driving from New York to Seattle, as if he did not know exactly what he was going to do when he quit. He then bought a house with a garage just so he could say he started the company in a garage. Essentially the whole story is phony. It is Bezos appropriating the imagery of the poor starving entrepreneur who starts his company with no money in some spare space in his house in order to make his start in business sound like a true garage startups such as Apple..