Please keep doing these. I own a lot of Rapha sfuff along with other brands and I love your approach. I have sent your channel information to those that follow my cycling channel because I have been recommending these products but have not put them through the wringer like you do. Great job.
I got your reply. Sometimes youtube does not allow the replies to post directly under the video and you have to use your creater studio where you see all your message to reply there. Please keep up the good work, I am a Rapha fan, but I am also for keeping business accountable. I recommend a lot of cycling stuff to my subscribers, so i am glad I found your site so they can be aware. I had the same issues with the super lightweight jerseys because in Houston where I alive the summers are brutal. I sent them all back because the pockets were useless. They have since reissue new lines with 'improved pockets' but I am not trying them at retail prices.
well done mate another great review! I have their core range jersey's and bib shorts and although not light weight they've faired pretty good. Again great work keen to see if the new improved model has those short falls in quality addressed
Cheers! Yeah I reckon it is pretty much simple physics that means the heavier stuff lasts longer. And yeah, I am looking forward to seeing what they update with the new one. Whatever happens, I'll keep hammering out the long term road testing honest reviews!
Hey, honesty is refreshing! All the cycling stuff is so tied into advertising. I like GCN but you will never hear an honest opinion from them. People spend hard earned money and cycling gear isn't cheap, they deserve a full rounded opinion!
Cruz er That is exactly it. I was extremely poor when I was young, and got ripped off a few times by false advertising bullshit. I am only interested in the reality of the products and not the fairytale invented soft filter back story they attach to it and want to tell people the truth.
+d aach I thought that too, so when I was in the shop I compared the pink jersey to another medium. It was not the same size as the medium either... so the size quality control is totally off.
I'm 173cm tall and own the Rapha pro team climber orange (coral) jersey. I don't have the issue with the fitting. The jersey is still in good shape. (may be I'm lucky) However I have issues for the Classic jersey 2 and the windblock Brevet jersey, they are couple cm shorter at the front panel
Ha, well as I show later in the video, Rapha can't seem to make two identical items the same size, so the sizing issue might very well be per-item, rather than something inherently wrong with the model. When I am wearing cycling shorts my belly doesn't stick out, but it is close. I just wanted to highlight the issue in the video.
I have both Rapha Pro Team Climber and Castelli Climber Jersey. I have to say Castelli is a much better jersey. 1. Ventilation on casteli is like baselayer, I never need to unzip the jersey when climbing, fully mesh. Rapha only have mesh panel on the side of the jersey, and their mesh is really delicate. 2. Castelli provides a better fit, longer and have elastic sleeve which don't roll up like rapha 3. Both Size S, castelli is 27g lighter than Rapha Let's not forget Rapha cost at nearly twice as much to anything on the market. Don't really understand why would anyone buy Rapha stuff, especially when Rapha's performance are inferior.
dindin duckduck Yeah Castelli stuff does seem like the better alternative, certainly from a structural standpoint. The colours just don't do it for me though, but that is totally subjective of course.
I agree the rapha have a better graphic design than castelli, but black with white strip, just medicore. Nothing like the design of VOID, MAAP, Blacksheep cycling...etc
Yeah I agree with you. If Castelli could get a good graphic designer on, who didn't make stuff that looked like it is from 2008, they would be on to a winner.
What is your height? I am 177 cm and got pro team climber jersey (small). The front panel just like your video, couple cm below belly button. When I rise my hand, unless i wore baselayer it definitely will reveal my belly button. Does it supposed to be like that or I picked wrong size?
This is a great review. The Rapha website reviews are frankly quite useless. I'm a huge fan of Rapha but honestly, most of their reviews are just first-impressions which say little about the longevity and quality of the products. If Rapha truly wants to be a respected cycling clothier, it needs to address the issues outlined here. From my perspective, i have experienced several poorly QA'd products myself here in the NYC shop.
+Mike Hua Hey, thanks for the comment. Yeah you are right; first impression reviews are pointless. I'll keep making these long term reviews and maybe one day they will listen...
I live in a country (not china) where rapha, poc, mavic and some other companies outsource their production. Interestingly all of them work with the same factory. I don't know the details but I guess they supply fabric and designs, then the guys here do the sewing and the rest. Anyways, the products that have really small defects and even no defects are sold by the producers here (without permission, illegally obviously). I got a long sleeve pro training jersey for about 30 euros. Most probably the guys selling it here profit about 10 euros or 15. The profit that rapha, poc makes is staggering.
my pro team navy blue jersey has faded on the back from the sun! not worth the money they sell for. assos is better quality, but have shit graphic designs.
Please keep doing these. I own a lot of Rapha sfuff along with other brands and I love your approach. I have sent your channel information to those that follow my cycling channel because I have been recommending these products but have not put them through the wringer like you do. Great job.
Thanks for the super detailed review
I got your reply. Sometimes youtube does not allow the replies to post directly under the video and you have to use your creater studio where you see all your message to reply there. Please keep up the good work, I am a Rapha fan, but I am also for keeping business accountable. I recommend a lot of cycling stuff to my subscribers, so i am glad I found your site so they can be aware. I had the same issues with the super lightweight jerseys because in Houston where I alive the summers are brutal. I sent them all back because the pockets were useless. They have since reissue new lines with 'improved pockets' but I am not trying them at retail prices.
well done mate another great review! I have their core range jersey's and bib shorts and although not light weight they've faired pretty good. Again great work keen to see if the new improved model has those short falls in quality addressed
Cheers! Yeah I reckon it is pretty much simple physics that means the heavier stuff lasts longer. And yeah, I am looking forward to seeing what they update with the new one.
Whatever happens, I'll keep hammering out the long term road testing honest reviews!
TheDarkInstall that's why I love watching and look forward to new content.
thanks again !
Love it when you get pissed. I just want to hear you rip into products for pure entertainment value :)
+Cruz er Haha, I have got an absolute stormer in the works...
Hey, honesty is refreshing! All the cycling stuff is so tied into advertising. I like GCN but you will never hear an honest opinion from them. People spend hard earned money and cycling gear isn't cheap, they deserve a full rounded opinion!
Cruz er That is exactly it. I was extremely poor when I was young, and got ripped off a few times by false advertising bullshit. I am only interested in the reality of the products and not the fairytale invented soft filter back story they attach to it and want to tell people the truth.
Preach, brudda man!
A: The pink one's a medium that got the wrong size label put on it. I won't buy spend stuff like this anymore cause of issues like construction.
+d aach I thought that too, so when I was in the shop I compared the pink jersey to another medium. It was not the same size as the medium either... so the size quality control is totally off.
I was thinking of getting a Ralpha kit, but if its on the delicate side Im not sure.
I'm 173cm tall and own the Rapha pro team climber orange (coral) jersey. I don't have the issue with the fitting. The jersey is still in good shape. (may be I'm lucky)
However I have issues for the Classic jersey 2 and the windblock Brevet jersey, they are couple cm shorter at the front panel
Ha, well as I show later in the video, Rapha can't seem to make two identical items the same size, so the sizing issue might very well be per-item, rather than something inherently wrong with the model. When I am wearing cycling shorts my belly doesn't stick out, but it is close. I just wanted to highlight the issue in the video.
I have both Rapha Pro Team Climber and Castelli Climber Jersey. I have to say Castelli is a much better jersey.
1. Ventilation on casteli is like baselayer, I never need to unzip the jersey when climbing, fully mesh. Rapha only have mesh panel on the side of the jersey, and their mesh is really delicate.
2. Castelli provides a better fit, longer and have elastic sleeve which don't roll up like rapha
3. Both Size S, castelli is 27g lighter than Rapha
Let's not forget Rapha cost at nearly twice as much to anything on the market. Don't really understand why would anyone buy Rapha stuff, especially when Rapha's performance are inferior.
dindin duckduck Yeah Castelli stuff does seem like the better alternative, certainly from a structural standpoint. The colours just don't do it for me though, but that is totally subjective of course.
I agree the rapha have a better graphic design than castelli, but black with white strip, just medicore. Nothing like the design of VOID, MAAP, Blacksheep cycling...etc
Yeah I agree with you. If Castelli could get a good graphic designer on, who didn't make stuff that looked like it is from 2008, they would be on to a winner.
Rapha's zips aren't proprietary, they're just a rebranded/tagged zip made by a large company that a lot of other brands use.
Have you bought all new or got them repaired/ replaced by rapha?
When you were showing the difference in the size of the two jerseys I couldn't help but start pissing myself with laughter... Sorry!!! :-)
If you think Japan is bad, you wouldn't live through anywhere else in east Asia xD
Nice review, not sure if I'm gonna buy Rapha or not.
What is your height? I am 177 cm and got pro team climber jersey (small). The front panel just like your video, couple cm below belly button. When I rise my hand, unless i wore baselayer it definitely will reveal my belly button. Does it supposed to be like that or I picked wrong size?
It is the right size. It sits into position properly when you are on your bike. I am exactly the same height as you (177cm)
This is a great review.
The Rapha website reviews are frankly quite useless. I'm a huge fan of Rapha but honestly, most of their reviews are just first-impressions which say little about the longevity and quality of the products. If Rapha truly wants to be a respected cycling clothier, it needs to address the issues outlined here. From my perspective, i have experienced several poorly QA'd products myself here in the NYC shop.
+Mike Hua Hey, thanks for the comment. Yeah you are right; first impression reviews are pointless. I'll keep making these long term reviews and maybe one day they will listen...
£120 insane.
palmer3977 Yeah that is very silly, I agree.
Well to be fair to Rapha they replaced it 3 times for free
I live in a country (not china) where rapha, poc, mavic and some other companies outsource their production. Interestingly all of them work with the same factory. I don't know the details but I guess they supply fabric and designs, then the guys here do the sewing and the rest. Anyways, the products that have really small defects and even no defects are sold by the producers here (without permission, illegally obviously). I got a long sleeve pro training jersey for about 30 euros. Most probably the guys selling it here profit about 10 euros or 15. The profit that rapha, poc makes is staggering.
+heyhey Haha where do you live?
turkey :)
my pro team navy blue jersey has faded on the back from the sun! not worth the money they sell for. assos is better quality, but have shit graphic designs.
You're a medium not small. That's part of the problem imo.
+adriboff1 LOL.