Replica Nation

[Arch]

Not exactly so. You are often looking to purchase the quality and/or the design that comes with a certain brand..

Sometimes, but not always. Some labelled stuff is no better made than relatively cheap stuff... I had a couple of pairs of Primark 3/4 length trousers that saw me through two summers of cycling, including hundreds of miles of touring in France, and cost £3 each.

And with food, you're often buying the same things with different labels. I gather Nabisco make Weetabix, and then they make Wheat Bisks for supermarkets. Much of the 'Basic' or Everyday Value stuff in supermarkets is the same as the 'normal' own brand, just repackaged as a loss leader.

 

[Noodley]

Vitrine - never seen that word before. Once I find out what it means I am gonna use it in a sentence in the coming days.

 

[ColinJ]

What's the point of buying a Rapha jacket when it actually is a Rapha?

I asked that question, but maybe Rapha themselves have the perfect response:

Test ride any of Rapha’s Classic products to destruction and if you are not 100% satisfied within 30-days you can return them for a full refund.

Fair enough!

 

[EltonFrog]

I'm not a big fan of brands for brands sake, but buying something with a brand that is a fake, knock off, counterfeit is frankly a bit odd.

If you want the brand buy the real thing.

 

[ColinJ]

I'm not a big fan of brands for brands sake, but buying something with a brand that is a fake, knock off, counterfeit is frankly a bit odd.

If you want the brand buy the real thing.

It's a sad fact that some people are more interested in what other people think, than what they themselves think! As long as others think that they are sufficiently well off to buy brand 'x', then it doesn't matter if they actually own cheap, poorly-made replica crap.

 

[EltonFrog]

It's a sad fact that some people are more interested in what other people think, than what they themselves think! As long as others think that they are sufficiently well off to buy brand 'x', then it doesn't matter if they actually own cheap, poorly-made replica crap.

Very odd behaviour that.

 

[Marshmallow_Fluff]

Vitrine - never seen that word before. Once I find out what it means I am gonna use it in a sentence in the coming days.

vitrine [ˈvɪtriːn]
n
(Fine Arts & Visual Arts / Furniture) a glass display case or cabinet for works of art, curios, etc.
[from French, from vitre pane of glass, from Latin vitrum glass]

 

[Arch]

It's a sad fact that some people are more interested in what other people think, than what they themselves think! As long as others think that they are sufficiently well off to buy brand 'x', then it doesn't matter if they actually own cheap, poorly-made replica crap.

I dunno. I wonder if even the most deluded person could imagine that carrying a 'Gucci' handbag makes people think they are well off, if all the other indications suggest they aren't. I wonder if it's a sort of way of sticking two fingers up to the wealthy - "Well, you can spend £300 on a handbag, but I've got one that looks just the same for a fiver!"

I guess people have all sorts of motives.

 

[Marshmallow_Fluff]

Sometimes, but not always. Some labelled stuff is no better made than relatively cheap stuff... I had a couple of pairs of Primark 3/4 length trousers that saw me through two summers of cycling, including hundreds of miles of touring in France, and cost £3 each.

And with food, you're often buying the same things with different labels. I gather Nabisco make Weetabix, and then they make Wheat Bisks for supermarkets. Much of the 'Basic' or Everyday Value stuff in supermarkets is the same as the 'normal' own brand, just repackaged as a loss leader.

Totally agree! I have no doubt that Muddyfox or dhb, for example, are selling (relatively) good value for money cycling goods. Why people spend the same amount of money to buy a chinese replica Bianchi from eBay, instead of buying a very genuine, not as fancy probably, but certainly better quality dhb or equivallent? That's what I can't get my head around..

 

[Arch]

Very odd behaviour that.

I don't think it's odd - in that it's probably a majority behaviour!

After all, why buy a piece of costume jewellery with paste jewels, because you can't afford diamonds? People have been emulating the look of the wealthy for hundreds, thousands of years.

We may all find it odd, but we're a rather small, self selecting section of society, and we're already slightly odd to the non-cycling majority!

 

[hoopdriver]

That's easy! They look and feel amazing! Their aftersales is unbeatable. They even repair pulled threads in their tights, so basically you buy a Rapha for life (or for a loooong long time) and I will not even bother with the "heritage" part..

I have had experience of the Rapha after sales service and it is indeed great. Their stuff might be pricey but it wears well and performs beautifully,looks nice and when you add in the enhanced longevity thanks to their after sales service, their stuff is ultimately a bargain.

 

[Marshmallow_Fluff]

But you have to be able to afford it in the first place in order to take advantage of the bargain.

Very true! But my frustration is with the people that cannot afford it (and that's the majority of the cyclists I know), yet instead of choosing from a number of very decent brands they can afford, they choose to buy the fake Rapha..

 

[Marshmallow_Fluff]

[QUOTE 2325180, member: 1314"]Well, I used to wear any old stuff. I started of as punk cyclist. There's a photo of me on a CC ride with ripped cheap shorts and my y fronts hanging out. Now I'm a cycling tart. The Tour de France green jersey is worn ironically.

My shopping last summer...those are my real feet, though.

View attachment 19373 [/quote]

Please tell me you are not matching the green shirt with the red cap G..

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Vitrine - never seen that word before. Once I find out what it means I am gonna use it in a sentence in the coming days.

vitrine [ˈvɪtriːn]
n
(Fine Arts & Visual Arts / Furniture) a glass display case or cabinet for works of art, curios, etc.
[from French, from vitre pane of glass, from Latin vitrum glass]

I think the English colloquial expression is "window dressing"

 

[hoopdriver]

Very true! But my frustration is with the people that cannot afford it (and that's the majority of the cyclists I know), yet instead of choosing from a number of very decent brands they can afford, they choose to buy the fake Rapha..

Yes, that's pretty weird.I don't get it either.