Rapha, nice but a bit pricey?

In fairness, it is designed for bikepacking and therefore needs to pack down pretty small. There's always going to be thicker and warmer but that's not the point of it.

Absolutely, was just surprised how cheap/poor quality it looked and felt for north of £200.

I'd probably just go to decathlon too tbf. Not that I buy down but that's another conversation

Cant see any photos of the Rapha Explore packed in its stuff sack, which is weird, so not sure how small it packs. Maybe there is and ive missed it.

Just picked up a Rab Microlite Alpine (£170) with an eye on touring and it is silly warm for the size of it. Feels lovely, looks great. It does pack up small but not an insignificant size, worth it for the versatility, I reckon.

not sure how small it packs

Pretty teeny. Not quite as small as my Haglofs LIM Essen jacket, but still pretty compact.

The Fjern Aktiv jackets on SportPursuit are worth a look

can't say how well it compares but the uniqlo down jackets are great for packsize/price

just got a 10% off code if anyone wants, pm me.

Pinged you a message

What is the returns period for in-store purchases?

Edit - same as online, 90 days

Can anyone working for Rapha get me some off cuts of material to repair my cargo tights? :-(

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When will a Shakedry gilet come out?

Nothing serious I hope!

Nope, pretty mild. Rear wheel went on a muddy lane. Having been convinced I was going to fall off on a rather silly climb!!

Ouch. The bike slipping out from under me sticks with you for a while - never gotten back to fast cornering. Hope the next few days are alight!

Isn't this quite literally what the repair service thing is for?

Ha or in my case slow cornering

Brevet insulated jacket or gilet, you can have only one, which did you plump for?

I have both if I had to choose it’d be the gilet.

Just to confuse things I would say the jacket. I wear it 'all day' for temps from around 0-10C over a jersey and base layer.

Had the gilet for a while and it felt like there were fewer days where I had a use case for it.

Jacket is better for winter, gilet for spring/ autumn

I use the jacket or gilet and arm warmers interchangeably around the 6-9 degrees mark but below that the jacket is fantastic and gets heavy use all winter

Anyone got the Randonee shorts or the trouser version and can tell me about their longevity?

The Cambium saddles I’m running on most of my bikes seem to be killing H&M chinos and the like pretty quickly so reticent you drop £90 on shorts if they’re going to be through in the crotch before summer hits.

They're just cotton shorts. I wouldn't expect them to last any longer

Yeah, the Endura ones haven’t 🙄

The Randonee shorts are nylon with a bit of spandex, not cotton. I have one black pair that have lasted an age, although faded, and one newer green pair that didn't 🤷‍♂️. Maybe the material has changed. I'd buy something else for regular riding.