Welcome to a new weekly series that we’re calling ‘stuff we noticed on the web’ – so named because it features stuff that we noticed on the web. In this first and almost certainly final instalment, the stuff in question is the Rapha inner tube.
The Rapha inner tube’s been in the Repair Essentials Case since at least last Christmas. We’re not sure how long it’s been a standalone item.
What’s so special about it? Well, firstly it says ‘Rapha’ on it – although weirdly it’s not absolutely eye-wateringly expensive despite that fact.
Secondly, and more importantly, it’s imprinted with the words “Patience, s’il vous plait.”
The main benefit of this is that you get to feel all Gallic and cosmopolitan as you thumb your tyre for thorns with a crestfallen look on your face while your smug mate looks on making unwelcome observations about your methodology.
We’re wondering whether you can send it back punctured and get a free repair like you do with their clothing.
26 thoughts on “Stuff we noticed on the web: the Rapha inner tube”
Congratulations you’ve just
Congratulations you’ve just won… Article of the week!
peted76 wrote:
Winning prize, an inner tube.
Perhaps its available under
Perhaps its available under the Cycle-to-Work scheme….
Chris Hayes wrote:
Not sure about that. Isn’t the normal scheme limit £1,000?
what we need now is some
what we need now is some rapha air from a rapha pump
petertoth wrote:
I’m running tubeless- Rapha air would be just the thing.
So if I get a greyish paint
So if I get a greyish paint marker and write “Rapha” on my Wiggle 10-for-£1 tubes they’re suddenly worth $6 each?
Man of Lard wrote:
Word to the wise: if you’re getting an offer for 10 inner tubes for £1 at “Wiggle” it just might be a phishing scam.
Here we go, reverse snobs
Here we go, reverse snobs hating on Rapha, again. What they don’t know is that Rapha inner tubes last ten times longer than ones from cheaper manufacturers. I’ve personally had one in the saddle bag of my summer racing bike for five years, while over the same period the no-named cheapo ones on my commuting bike have had several punctures. Sure, they’re probably made in the same factory in the Far East, but they’re designed by teams people with beards in a converted ex-industrial warehouse loft space in London, and tested on rides so epic they have to be filmed in black and white. So they must be better, stands to reason. You don’t come up with genius ideas like printing a French slogan on something while working in a business park on the outskirts of Kettering.
handlebarcam wrote:
I have a continental race 28 tube that I’ve been carrying around for over 10 years though – they do tend to last longer if you don’t actually use them
beezus fufoon wrote:
I have a continental race 28 tube that I’ve been carrying around for over 10 years though – they do tend to last longer if you don’t actually use them— handlebarcam
I think he was being Tongue in cheek
beezus fufoon wrote:
I have a continental race 28 tube that I’ve been carrying around for over 10 years though – they do tend to last longer if you don’t actually use them— handlebarcam
i’ve had a condom in my wallet since I was 14, just in case… fairly sure there are no punctures in it. Fingers crossed.
ConcordeCX wrote:
are they Rapha ones with ““Patience, s’il vous plait” inscribed on them?
beezus fufoon wrote:
that was a rib-tickler!
ConcordeCX wrote:
wait… I had something for this…
something something french letters
beezus fufoon wrote:
perhaps it’s time I got a new one, like this Durex Protector on Velobase. In, ahem, Small Parts & Accessories
http://velobase.com/ViewComponent.aspx?ID=084385df-0fb8-4238-b1d6-0ab233a170cb&Enum=103
handlebarcam wrote:
Can confirm this is accurate
Souce: I have a beard and have walked down brick lane a few times…
These are just the common-or
These are just the common-or-garden rapha inner tubes. I’m running the Rapha 1964 Giro d’Italia stage 14 intermediate sprint commemoration inner tubes.
Celebrating the tubes of
Celebrating the tubes of yesterday that overcame times when we had no tubes on our wooden rims – but now we can have a coffee and sit in our £200 shorts that cost $20 in China to create and thank those tubes for making it possible for our Italian bikes to be also made in China but by legends who road in time when we had no tubes and ……….
typical rapha product – black
typical rapha product – black! how can you expect to be seen?
time rapha riders realised style isn’t everything, I’d encourage everyone to use hi-viz inner tubes, cyclists will get more respect from drivers that way
antigee wrote:
wining post
Really ! Seen it all now.
Really ! Seen it all now.
Really ! Seen it all now.
Really ! Seen it all now.
Do you have to buy the Rapha
Do you have to buy the Rapha Talc for installing these tubes?
Hope it smells like their chamois cream, one wouldn’t want a mish mash of smells coming from one’s ensemble…
The _Kaner wrote:
i am hearing the air from the new rapha pump will smell like mount ventoux
petertoth wrote:
Excellent, hope it comes out in time for my trip to Ventoux in july so I can get my tyres aclimatised to ventoux’s magical air …