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TECH NEWS

Rapha update City range

New and updated clothing for commuters and other urban riders

As well as the new spring/summer Training and Racing range that we told you about recently, Rapha have just launched their 2014 City clothing lineup aimed at commuters and other urban riders.

This Hooded Wind Jacket (£190), beautifully modelled by our man TR when Rapha came visiting last week, is a new addition to the range. As you’ll have guessed from the name, it is made from a windproof fabric. It has been given a DWR (durable water repellent) finish to add some protection from the rain and road spray.

You get two zip-up front pockets, woven cuffs, and reflective logos and piping to get you noticed by other road users. Pit-zips allow you to adjust the ventilation.

The hood can be rolled up and fastened in place with a buttoned tab so it won’t flap about when you’re not using it.

The Merino Hooded Top (£160) was in the range before in old gold and black colour options. Now it comes in blue/grey and the dark purple/dark grey shown here. The main fabric is 90% merino wool (the remainder being synthetic) and the front panel is windproof polyamide (nylon).

You get two zipped pockets at the front and a patch pocket around the back. That hi-vis tab back there is detachable so the top looks a lot less conspicuous off the bike.

As you can see, the hood is stowable: you roll it up and button it down, a lot like you do with the Hooded Wind Jacket (above).

The Short Sleeve Merino Polo (£110) now comes in new colours, including this blue. It’s a slim fit with offset shoulder seams, the idea there being to prevent your bag straps from rubbing.

In fact, there are new colours all over the place in the City range. The Short Sleeve Shirt (£130), for example, now comes in this blue option. It’s made from a new Italian cotton-mix fabric with plenty of stretch in it.

Over on the women’s side of things, the Lightweight Bomber Jacket (£190) is a polyester option with a DWR treatment. The band on the left arm is the same colour as the rest of the jacket but with embossed polka dots. It’s available in blue and orange.

Rapha are also offering women’s jeans that, like the men’s, contain nylon and elastane to add stretch and durability. They’re cut higher than normal at the back to keep you covered when you’re leaning forward on the bike.

This women’s belt (£80) is another new offering. It’s very similar to Rapha’s men’s belts, made for them by Anderson’s of Italy, but it’s slimmer.

For more info on the Rapha City range go to www.rapha.cc.

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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12 comments

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Kadenz | 9 years ago
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I'm in the market for a smart cycle friendly shirt I can wear to work, but can't find one.

Rapha's attempt would be fine if it weren't for the gimmicky and unsightly back pocket.

I don't work in an especially formal setting, but would be laughed at and teased remorselessly if I turned up for work in Rapha's shirt.

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Leviathan | 9 years ago
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Can I commend Rapha on using a more realistic model. Someone who has always bought medium tops and isn't going to start buying larges now even if the doing the zip up is a little bit harder these days. The sort of person who has money to buy Rapha products, the latest kit, and cake.

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dunnoh | 9 years ago
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This clothing just doesn't look stylish or particularly functional the "fastened in place with a buttoned tab" thing looks particularity daft. Maybe its better in the flesh

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gbzpto | 9 years ago
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Bet Rapha will be pleased with those photos ! Not !

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Scoob_84 | 9 years ago
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With the prices they charge, they could have at least afforded a slimmer model.

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Joselito replied to Scoob_84 | 9 years ago
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Scoob_84 wrote:

With the prices they charge, they could have at least afforded a slimmer model.

This Hooded Wind Jacket (£190), beautifully modelled by our man TR

Claws in.

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StantheVoice replied to Scoob_84 | 9 years ago
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Scoob_84 wrote:

With the prices they charge, they could have at least afforded a slimmer model.

In fact they couldn't afford to bring along a model to road.cc Towers; as the piece said "as modelled by our man TR" one of road.cc's very own. We'll make sure we pass your comment on to him  3

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bikebot replied to StantheVoice | 9 years ago
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fatsimonstan wrote:

In fact they couldn't afford to bring along a model to road.cc Towers; as the piece said "as modelled by our man TR" one of road.cc's very own. We'll make sure we pass your comment on to him  3

That's terrible that they couldn't afford a model, maybe they should raise their prices a little.

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Yennings | 9 years ago
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That's exactly it - Rapha for all its sins isn't actually that much more expensive than the brands it competes with. Compare the price of their rain jackets with top-end climbing/hiking gear, for example, let alone high fashion brands or even some of the high street fashion brands. Check the prices of Levis 'Commuter' range or that new Giro kit. They're not competing with DHB or Endura.

I really liked Rapha when they first arrived on the scene. They were just the breath of fresh air the cyclewear market needed - same way that snowboard gear gave skiwear and long-overdue kick up the arse and skiwear is now far more tasteful as a result.

Shame their marketing is so increasingly elitist and indeed pretentious. I find the whole Team Sky partnership a massive turn-off, too. Now far more interested in less flash b@stard brands like Vulpine.

The problem I guess is that Rapha started off as a fashion-inflected cycling brand but became a cycling-inflected fashion brand...

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zzgavin | 9 years ago
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The thing is, rapha aren't competing against other bike brands, they're competing against other fashion brands, where £90 for a cotton shirt is completely normal (eg Ted Baker)
Seen as fashion clothes with bike features they look saner, fashion isn't about value, it's about desirability, which Rapha generate in spades.

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bashthebox | 9 years ago
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Quite nice looking, costs a lot.

The end.

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farrell | 9 years ago
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Well. we've not done this in a while....

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