Rapha, nice but a bit pricey?

im spending five days in london next week. Would you consider a quick visit to kilver worth it both in terms of the average offerings (mens size medium-large) over there and the amount of money saved in discounts vs the train ticket prices?

Thanks

Kilver Court is a bit of a trek from London

No.

@Clownshoe & @JB

cheers. Ill stick with the flagship store then!

There is no rail service to Shepton Mallet for a start, you'd probably be best getting a train to Castle Cary which is 10 kms to the south, but then you'd have to ride/get a bus/taxi to get there.

Castle Cary is 1 hour 45 mins from London Paddington.

all that to find out they only have ride to the sun jerseys in XS and long sleeve mesh jerseys in XL :D

It is however excellent riding country.... so you could go early and spend a beautiful day around there and cheddar and then go shopping...

They once sent me three consecutive pairs of thermal bibs that had an identical hole in the same place each time. They eventually said they'd found a fault with the stitching machine (after asking me to send them a picture of my saddle when I sent the second pair back - despite the hole being on the top of the thigh!). So I did eventually get a pair without a hole in. Just in time for summer obvs..

1. Buckingham Palce
   
2. Tower de London
   
3. Tower bridge
   
4. St Pauls megadome
   
5. Kilver Court
   

sounds like a solid plan

na were planning to see some stuff at tate and drink beer

There's actually a very good range of lightweight kit at Kilver at the moment, great for getting your summer / holiday kit in order.

And Eyebrows isn't wrong; if you email or ring up, they'd be more than happy to suggest/provide some great routes for you. Also, they are looking to have regular weekend rides going from the shop, you could join one and not have to even think about the route.

Discounts at Kilver are roughly 40% and sometimes more, though the nature of past season stock means that popular items sell out in popular sizes rather quick. However, National Rail prices are pretty bloated, so I can't guarantee that it would be worth the trip for just a few items.

I'd suggest making it part of a day trip.

They removed their classic wind jacket? Was looking to buy a new one. What other jacket has great breathability and is sprinkle proof?

Also. Shameless plug. Selling some limited edition Rapha La Centiéme posters on the bay.

Given the updated classic jerseys, bibs, softshell &c. I presume they're slowly overhauling all of the classic collection so a new one should be on the way?

Follow up on defect lightweight Bibs. Rapha refused to upgrade to a better pair of bibs in similar colour and left me with the choice of getting a pair of black/white bibs instead or getting my money back. I end up with the hassle of sending my bib shorts back to them and a pair of bibs I didn't want in the first place. Plus the probability of the new bibs being defect after a while is quite high.
I have had issues with Rapha before where they send me a wrong size and the original size ordered was out of stock. They dealt with it much better then.

They have sold me a shit product and won't stretch to keep me happy riding in their gear. I don't get that.

I bought the wrong size base layer. PT sleeveless size small in Canyon colours. Unworn in bag. £25 n15

But they sent you new ones?

Yes, but not I the colour I initially wanted.

Wait, so you wanted a more expensive garment than the one you paid for when the equivalent of what you ordered (albeit slightly different colours) was readily available? And you're complaining?

I fear for the future of retail...

no, I think he means that he's being exchanged for the same item but one that's not the same colour than he'd ordered, and probably most importantly, is likely to suffer from exactly the same quality issues as the one he's sending back.

I too fear for the future of retail if that's seen as a positive solution-they could at least offer a pair of Core bibs that will actually hold up for more than three rides for the same price or the a discount the equivalent of the sum paid on the sale lightweights against some classics?

I asked for same quality pad in an all black model. I don't care how much it is or what it is called. They didn't have one for the same price. Fair enough. I bought a sale item.
But this is a £155 pair of bibs. What am I supposed to think about Rapha if these new lightweight bibs end up being defect?

EDIT: I can see that my previous post sounds like I am moaning. I did except their offer of same bib but with white details. And I understand that running a business is difficult. But if I sold products that failed I would try and make it right. If customers are treated great, they will stay loyal and as Rapha is marketing themselves as high quality performance clothing with repair guarantee I find it weird they wouldn't upgrade me away from a known-to-be-faulty item. The Rapha guy even tells me it is a known fault in his email.

What am I supposed to think about Rapha if these new lightweight bibs end up being defect?

that your being conned by super high prices with super low paid Chinese labour and Quality?

never used to be that way tho. I compared the new city rain jacket to the old Rapha Paul Smith one and I don't think the quality of construction is anywhere near the same. I still have a few things like the proteam softshell jacket that I love but I'd probably just go for Classic only items now, although that's as much to do with the fact that a lot of the designs getting put out are fucking stinking now too.

I agree - when Rapha first started i bought quite a few of their initial range - and still have most of them and they are still pretty good and outlasted a few other items i got at the same time (assos i'm looking at you!) but a few things since then have not been great - and when i say great i mean , "is it worth such a high premium...." the result for me is no, and even in the Sales i've decided my principle still holds.