Cycling + Style: Friends or Enemies?

[Pat "5mph"]

Who here wears any of this stuff?

Not me: very pricey
For a short, say under 10 miles journey, normal clothing slightly adapted for the bike works fine imo.
For long rides probably the more expensive gear performs better, makes you feel more comfortable.
Chique price tag or not, it's still casual gear.

 

[theclaud]

Pretty certain thom was

Perhaps, but (Rapha or no Rapha) @thom cuts something of a dash on a bicycle. I'm fairly sure his kit is not from Poundstretcher...

 

[Flying_Monkey]

*sigh* Another Rapha bashing thread.

No, it's not and it certainly wasn't intended that way. I'm actually very interested in style, and started the thread for that reason. I'm aware that many people are not so, you know, it's a discussion...

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

I hate normal cycling tops, don't care what you pay they stink and I won't wear a full zip top if I can avoid it either.

Out of curiosity, can I ask why? Admitted, a lot of tops/jerseys are over the top, but there are occasionally some nice ones out there too. I mean, I don't wear shorts or lycra, but that's just a self conscious thing (who'd want to see my 'chicken legs'? ), I don't think there is anything wrong with them.

For the record, yes, I want to smarten up on the bike too, although (as others have said) the cost can be a bit prohibitive. Also, it all matters what bike one is going to ride and what sort of style it requires. Certainly when I finally get my Humber restored, I'll need to go all vintage sartorial with it just to look the part, so I want to start finding out about things now!! I saw somewhere a Bowler Hat helmet for example, but I think that might just be taking it too far!!

 

[srw]

No, it's not and it certainly wasn't intended that way. I'm actually very interested in style,

You might want a different avatar then.


(Yes, yes, I know. My excuses are (a) it was a long time ago; (b) I was a very poor and overweight student who relied on Oxfam; (c) I don't particularly care about style most of the time)

 

[s7ephanie]

I perfer Prada or Roberta Cavillia

 

[thom]

Who was bashing Rapha?

Pretty certain thom was

No, it's not and it certainly wasn't intended that way. I'm actually very interested in style, and started the thread for that reason. I'm aware that many people are not so, you know, it's a discussion...

I bash Rapha because I dislike the style of clothing and their advertising. I think it is soulless.
I can understand people wanting practical clothing for wearing on and off a bike.
I can understand people wanting good quality cycle clothing.
But I find the style reeks of a uniform for the "cognoscenti", the tribes of cyclists who need to be told what to wear on a bike because they worry about what they look like too much to forget they're just a person on a bike. They're typically seen taking Instagram pictures of themselves on their iPhones looking tragic or trying to spot which "early adopter" trend to follow next...
For me, one of the great things about cycling is it can be a leveller of people - Rapha's branding is about class structure. I prefer Assos. ;-)

 

[EltonFrog]

I bash Rapha because I dislike the style of clothing and their advertising. I think it is soulless.
I can understand people wanting practical clothing for wearing on and off a bike.
I can understand people wanting good quality cycle clothing.
But I find the style reeks of a uniform for the "cognoscenti", the tribes of cyclists who need to be told what to wear on a bike because they worry about what they look like too much to forget they're just a person on a bike. They're typically seen taking Instagram pictures of themselves on their iPhones looking tragic or trying to spot which "early adopter" trend to follow next...
For me, one of the great things about cycling is it can be a leveller of people - Rapha's branding is about class structure. I prefer Assos. ;-)

Interesting. I don't care what people wear, I don't care what people think about what people wear, as a long as its not sandals, just ride the bike.

 

[swansonj]

You might want a different avatar then.

Like his previous one - but I for one prefer the current FM avatar.

 

[Sandra6]

I wear clothes, I cycle in those clothes, so they are cycling clothes.
I do own some cycle clothing, a couple of tops, two jackets and a very nice pair of long shorts. One of those Rapha jackets would probably cost more than all my cycle clothing together!
Mr6 would benefit from the jeans though as he's put holes in two pairs of levis already and is now far too fussy about what he'll wear on the bike.
It's like any clothes, fashionable or not, some of us will pay £60+ for a pair of jeans and others (me!) will want a whole summer wardrobe for that.

 

[broadway]

Interesting. I don't care what people wear, I don't care what people think about what people wear, as a long as its not sandals, just ride the bike.

I don't even mind sandals, but high heels are a bit silly

 

[User169]

I don't see much Rapha here, but I do pass quite often a bloke commuting in the other direction sporting a Rapha jersey. He's just about the only commuter I ever see wearing a helmet.

 

[Rob3rt]

Prompted by this piece in The Guardian about Rapha, Vulpine and now the mainstreaming of clothing designed for cycling that looks good off the bike. Is this ridiculous or a sign of cycling's growing popularity? Who here wears any of this stuff?

Not me. The £££, the style or the image, it doesn't really bother me, but the Watts wasted do!

 

[MacB]

Out of curiosity, can I ask why?

1. personal preference, being of the larger variety a full zip top never looks as good as a 1/4-1/3 zip or buttons.
2. I don't like tooling around looking like a billboard
3. if you sweat a lot, and I do, then even the most carefully washed top can be immediate BO once you put it on. I've tried a few of these 'miracle' style treated tops over the years and they've all failed after a while, some faster than others. I admit they've come a long way since the minging stuff of the 70s but then so has the production of wool and smartwool.

 

[smutchin]

No, it's not and it certainly wasn't intended that way. I'm actually very interested in style, and started the thread for that reason. I'm aware that many people are not so, you know, it's a discussion...

Have you considered the influence of Rapha on current jersey design in the pro peloton? That would make a far more interesting article, imo. Designers of team kits seem to be paying more attention to the marketability of their designs, and Rapha's retro shtick seems to be very much the in thing (either that or the Belkin kit was designed in five minutes because they were on a deadline to get it ready in time for the Tour).

As Thoreau once said: Mistrust all enterprises that require new clothes. Accordingly, I dress for the destination, not the journey (unless the journey is for its own sake, ie training, racing etc). However, I was given a pair of Swrve cycling jeans a while ago and they were lovely - very comfortable on and off the bike, looked good (well, they looked good on me but YMMV ), and they were a good cut for cycling in (they didn't leave the kidney area exposed like traditional jeans tend to). But the pocket linings tore quickly and despite supposedly being reinforced in the gusset, they eventually wore out in that area just like traditional jeans do. So I won't be buying them again. Not at that price.