Rapha, nice but a bit pricey?

Speaking of the gabba, the current weather seems perfect to try it out.

MEAT EATER

I don't really get it? who would want to ride around with this on their chest?

This looks so retarded, really. Amateur level from a 'high brow' company...

Yes, my thought exactly.

As Oliver Schick pointed out, NL (and Belgium) may not be the target market, but hey, I give you this, surely some marketing guy @ Rapha must have seen them before:

and

That's not strictly relevant. Rapha's market is quite independent of the mass use of cycling in NL. As for sports cycling, I don't know well enough what people wear over there, but I daresay there's most likely not quite the same market (as in the UK) for Rapha there. Most sports cyclists are probably organised in 'traditional' clubs and wear club kit or trade team kit. Is that right or is it changing? As for those who do want Rapha, there are enough other jerseys in the collection to wear Rapha without having the embarrassing word on the front.

Who's stockpiling bikes in Finland?

Speaking of the gabba, the current weather seems perfect to try it out.

Did you even December, January or February?

Norway not on the list, smallfurry took too long building bikes?

@ Oliver

It's very relevant. I agree the stats are not exclusively about racing bicycles and lycra, the commuters in jeans and suits etc. have also been included in them. But you can see the size of the market in total.

I don't think you see how big cycling as a sport is (and has always been) here in NL. If you were to come and ride with me on any Sunday morning with my club we'll see 20-25 more clubs on the road, with pelotons up to 30-40 riders in one 2.5 hour/80km ride.

Among those there are more and more people who are willing to pay a little (...) extra for cycling kit without logo's and screaming colours. Racing bikes have become hip over here too, so people start with them as a fashion accessory and many grow into the sport, taking their ideas of style with them. And there are many riders who buy top of the line Colnago's and Pinarello's, Assos clothing, hand made steel bikes, so the market for Rapha is definitely increasing.

Your remark "As for those who do want Rapha, there are enough other jerseys in the collection to wear Rapha without having the embarrassing word on the front." is stepping outside the style choice/poor translation (deliberate or not) discussion at hand, a rhetorical trick I would not expect from you ;-) Of course you can choose to buy another jersey, that doesn't make this one's design less awkward.

There was also the first iteration of the Italian country jersey that had the flag stripes in the wrong order - it represented the Hungarian flag rather than Italy. They corrected it quite quickly, but it does highlight the issue that if you're playing on and referencing cycling heritage to such a degree you've got to be pretty on the ball, or you'll miss the mark and alienate the parts of your market that are knowledgable about that stuff.

knowing about country flags is just knowing internet.

Product delivery manager in charge of that one can >>>>>>>>>

^^ I assume they are now a collectors item.

Even some Italian Londoners don't know their own flag.

Like those first Star Wars posters where Luke and Darf have their lightsaber colours the wrong way round.

oh god i hope so. i have it!
like rare stamps...innit. £1000 - anyone?

knowing about country flags is just knowing internet.

Product delivery manager in charge of that one can >>>>>>>>>

Kind of, but it's because the sleeve colour hoops on cycling jerseys are always in a specific order and a specific way up, rather than just being a replica of the flag (e.g. British national champ stripes are traditionally three hoops in red-white-blue from top to bottom, rather than a replica of the union flag design).

@ Oliver

It's very relevant. I agree the stats are not exclusively about racing bicycles and lycra, the commuters in jeans and suits etc. have also been included in them. But you can see the size of the market in total.

Sure, my argument is just that ...

I don't think you see how big cycling as a sport is (and has always been) here in NL. If you were to come and ride with me on any Sunday morning with my club we'll see 20-25 more clubs on the road, with pelotons up to 30-40 riders in one 2.5 hour/80km ride.

... the size of the overall market for 'cycling' bears no necessary relation to the market for the sort of stuff that Rapha sell.

Given the high population density, it's also rather easy to meet lots of people in NL. (Rhetorical trick to confuse the discussion. ;) )

Sports cycling has increased much faster (relatively to overall number of participants) than commuter cycling in most areas in the UK, for instance, and the two are not proportionate. Both are still relatively small compared to NL, of course.

Among those there are more and more people who are willing to pay a little (...) extra for cycling kit without logo's and screaming colours. Racing bikes have become hip over here too, so people start with them as a fashion accessory and many grow into the sport, taking their ideas of style with them. And there are many riders who buy top of the line Colnago's and Pinarello's, Assos clothing, hand made steel bikes, so the market for Rapha is definitely increasing.

Your remark "As for those who do want Rapha, there are enough other jerseys in the collection to wear Rapha without having the embarrassing word on the front." is stepping outside the style choice/poor translation (deliberate or not) discussion at hand, a rhetorical trick I would not expect from you ;-) Of course you can choose to buy another jersey, that doesn't make this one's design less awkward.

Er? No rhetorical trick here--I was just saying that even if there's one duff design (on whose appeal I obviously agree with you), Rapha have other arrows to their quiver. I'd imagine that as they probably like the Vleeseter design and want to produce it, anyway, they won't be too worried about it not selling in Flemish-speaking countries. I certainly didn't mean to sidestep anything by that remark. Or do you think that this design is so bad that it'll actively put Dutch people off Rapha?

Lots of pink and now 'meat eater' emblazoned across their jerseys, whats going on here?

Manchester to London.

I was ready to sign up, but not for £150 + £750 of sponsorship!

Lot of money for a cap and "220 miles of hard British riding".

I assume SS stands for Spring Summer...: http://lookbook.rapha.cc/ss14-tr/en#/home

Leon's shots have come out well.

^^ Meh, it's a charity ride. I wanted to do a charity Paris to Swansea ride a few years ago and would have had to raise two grand for the priviledge!

Lots of pink and now 'meat eater' emblazoned across their jerseys, whats going on here?

Stereotyping and homophobia?

Or do you think that this design is so bad that it'll actively put Dutch people off Rapha?

it's cringeworthy anyway, my point it started out with. a bit like this brilliant design they sold in a mainstreet clothing chain a while ago

lol @ Holland

Nothing new really, there have been loads of vulgarly emblazoned clothing sold in the UK too.

Perhaps not as many expletives all in one place such as above but it still happens.

Cycle sales/usage low in Norway .

Cycle use as transport is rare I guess. You need to be pretty fit, and tolerate terrible wind and rain.

I'm currently near the Dutch border, in Germany. Such a contrast. I am frankly not used to seeing anyone older or overweight riding å bike.

Having said that. Norway is probably a decent market for Rapha. Sports cycling is big and wallets heavy up here.