-
it's probably true, and probably also a conscious decision in some ways. i have not bought rapha in ages but i am still wearing my classic merino jersey bought in 2013. no tears, no stretch beyond normal, not sure what i can do... also have a winter jersey from 4 or 5 years for cold weather, it looks new.
Glws-
I would say as an overarching point, that those early products were loosely designed around a relationship with messengers (who were OG wear testers) and as such were intended to be robust, but as the Team Sky era dawned products definitely went into the more efficiency / performance focussed realm, which inevitably doesn't lend itself to longevity.
Not trying to justify poor construction as noted above (more factories, more products, more people working at a higher pace, cost margins etc will probably be the direct contributors here) but it's worth considering that there's likely only a handful of products that are made for 5/10 year wear cycles now. This isn't an argument btw, just trying to add some more perspective. -
That's what I was thinking as well...
I remember I had a couple of items that were so good I thought - that's it - I don't need anything else from Rapha because it just works and is enough. And I still have some of those items, for example brevet bib shorts outlasted both core cargo shorts and the pricy cargo shorts.
In the end it's probably not a good business strategy to make long lasting items.
Not much into conspiracy theories but it really feels like planned obsolescence.
monkdagola
dau
Totally agree. I was wearing my 2012 Winter Jacket last weekend and thinking what a quality piece of kit it is and how well it holds up year after year.
It is probably less that the quality is bad it is more that the garments are just less durable than historically.