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Rapha’s flagship Clubhouse reopens in London today – and it’s been expanded

Extension of Soho premises provides new space for events and exhibitions – starting with a look back at 17 years of Rapha jerseys

Rapha’s flagship Clubhouse in London’s Soho reopens today, with the upmarket cycle clothing firm taking the opportunity of its closure during lockdown to completely refurbish and expand the premises, including a larger café area, as well as a new events and exhibition space.

Open from 8am-7pm Monday to Saturday and from 11am-5pm, due to current restrictions, there are limits for now on the numbers of people allowed inside, and takeaway coffee only is available.

As well as showcasing the company’s range of clothing and accessories, the Clubhouse will, as before, act as a focal point for Rapha Cycling Club rides, with  rides taking place daily, including beginners’ laps, women-only rides, and high-tempo sessions, as well as annual challenge rides.

Rapha In Store_214

A full programme of exhibitions and events is also planned for the coming months, starting with the opening today of Stitches In Time, a retrospective tracing the Rapha jersey from its creation in 2014 through the brand’s relationship with Team Sky and Sir Paul Smith to last year’s collaboration with Palace Skate for the EF Pro Cycling’s one-off Giro d’Italia kit.

Rapha In Store_051_

Details of all rides as well as forthcoming exhibitions and events at the Clubhouse can be found in a dedicated section of the Rapha website.

rapha.cc/raphalondon

Rapha Founder and CEO, Simon Mottram, said: "While the news recently has been all about shops closing I’m really excited that Rapha is bucking the trend and expanding our London Clubhouse.

“Rapha was launched in London in 2004 and the Clubhouse in Soho was one of our first physical spaces, so it’s always been special for us.  For many of our customers buying Rapha products is just part of their relationship with us.

“Rapha Clubhouses exist for them to find the products they want but also to help them get closer to the cycling community and closer to the sport itself. So it’s great that we will now have more space to host exhibitions and events and a better appointed cafe for London’s cyclists to enjoy, along with room to show our entire product range.

“Weekly rides will head out from the Clubhouse again – we are delighted to have them back after recent lock-downs!

“Our hope is that Brewer Street will become a home from home for experienced riders as well as offering a warm welcome to people who are considering cycling for the first time.”

He added: “The most satisfying thing about our growing business for me is that Rapha often plays a part in creating wonderful memories and friendships for our cycling community. I’m confident that the new London Clubhouse will help us to do that even more effectively.”

Rapha Clubhouse London April 2021

Caroline Crosswell, Rapha’s Chief Retail and Development Officer, commented: “Although the traditional high street has been under threat for many years and particularly so in the last year, we are more confident than ever that the right kind of physical brand presence still has a powerful role to play in delighting customers and building long lasting brand relationships.

“We have rarely chosen the easiest path and none more so than with our retail concept journey. We have strived to place community at the heart, confident that commerce would follow if we truly engaged with our customers. We knew that if we prioritised our passion for the sport and our community, we were ensuring that the Clubhouse would be a true home for our customers.

“Investing in our location in the heart of Soho was an easy business decision to make and we are son proud of our newly expanded Clubhouse which will connect our founding RCC members with the newer cyclists who have fallen in love with the sport during the pandemic,” she added.

“We can't wait to extend a warm welcome to all cyclists with a more inviting space than ever before.”

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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16 comments

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tulip_girl100 | 3 years ago
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What I would find exciting is if Rapha had the courtesy to respond to my club's emails regarding the club kit we designed and ordered one year ago and have been chasing final pricing figures for approximately 6 months now. We've had an influx of new members following covid and given Rapha's continued disengagement from us we have had to return to our old supplier to kit new members out. It appears that recently they care about how they are perceived rather than actually living up to that perception. I hope they have gotten rid of that stupid Soho changing room that is partially open to others walking past. 

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Prosper0 replied to tulip_girl100 | 3 years ago
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There are so many other club kit providers - Miltag, Santini, Bioracer...

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tulip_girl100 replied to Prosper0 | 3 years ago
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Prosper0 wrote:

There are so many other club kit providers - Miltag, Santini, Bioracer...

 

I appreciate that but thats not the point of my comment. We've been with other providers before but decided to try out Rapha. We are also now having to contact our old supplier just to get kit. 

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brooksby | 3 years ago
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So its a Rapha shop with a cafe attached?

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Fmorgagni | 3 years ago
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I wish Italy had a Rapha Club house!

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Yorky-M replied to Fmorgagni | 3 years ago
1 like

Really! You want an army of drone buy-your-way to-acceptancebikers to be taking pictures of themselves on their 23km spin  and highlighting the key points of the spin around your vinyards in just 66 instagram posts. I weep.

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Chris Hayes replied to Yorky-M | 3 years ago
1 like

I guess its yearning for what you don't have.  I would trade my 10 minute ride to Rapha Spitalfields (20 to Soho) for rolling Tuscan hills, strade bianchi, surprise coffee stops in cafes that would have queues around the corner if they were in London (though coffee here is very good), and rides down to a blue sea (Eastbourne in winter doesn't cut it).  I also yearn for sunshine.

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Hirsute replied to Chris Hayes | 3 years ago
1 like

Eastbourne has loads of sunshine !

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Chris Hayes replied to Hirsute | 3 years ago
1 like

It also has its fair share of wind and rain..and then there's that sign en route 'Newhaven for the continent, Eastbourne for the incontinent'..

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Glov Zaroff replied to Yorky-M | 3 years ago
4 likes

Yorky-M wrote:

Really! You want an army of drone buy-your-way to-acceptancebikers to be taking pictures of themselves on their 23km spin  and highlighting the key points of the spin around your vinyards in just 66 instagram posts. I weep.

And here we have a textbook example of inverse snobbery. Bore off cretin. 

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EddyBerckx replied to Glov Zaroff | 3 years ago
2 likes

Monty Fark wrote:

Yorky-M wrote:

Really! You want an army of drone buy-your-way to-acceptancebikers to be taking pictures of themselves on their 23km spin  and highlighting the key points of the spin around your vinyards in just 66 instagram posts. I weep.

And here we have a textbook example of inverse snobbery. Bore off cretin. 

this

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TheBillder replied to EddyBerckx | 3 years ago
0 likes
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Dnnnnnn replied to Yorky-M | 3 years ago
1 like

I'm not a great fan of either Rapha or Instagram but many people are, and that's fine. I'm happy to see more people on bikes.

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Rapha Nadal | 3 years ago
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I wish Brighton had a Rapha clubhouse.

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Yorky-M replied to Rapha Nadal | 3 years ago
0 likes

Really, Ive cycled with the Brighton Mitre when on hoils from the garden cafe and it is a real spin with good people. You should be happy with what is on your stunning doorstep

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Rapha Nadal replied to Yorky-M | 3 years ago
1 like

Long serving Mitre member here, hi.  It's become a truly awful club in recent years and for numerous different reasons.

Wanting a Rapha clubhouse in close proximity is bad how? There are plenty of RCC members down here, even more Rapha wearers.  How you've gotten to the point where you think I'm unhappy with what's on my "stunning" doorstep is quite beyond me!

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