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Another nice small shop that was at the cycle show: embers merino
Lovely stuff for women.And from Belper as well, one of the original mill towns.
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I was corrected today by the Torm guy, so I'll clarify some of what I've said.
The material is the same as Rapha and that material comes from the same factory (obviously, because a third party produces it and licenses it to whoever wants to pay for it... which includes both Rapha and Torm). But the jerseys themselves are not produced in the same factory as Rapha.
Also the owner was saying that he really wants to get the product right: High quality materials and finish, classic design. He specifically made many design decisions to avoid being too close to any other product on the market (including both Rapha and Assos products), such as not being tempted to add a pump pocket, putting 2 zip pockets on the back, adding trim to the base layer, etc.
The comparison to Rapha was basically mine and close inspection of the items (which I have purchased a full set of) shows they aren't one and the same. Same material, same roots in classic cycle jersey design, different products.
Still, fun watching the bunfight on here ;)
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Still, fun watching the bunfight on here ;)
repped for trolling
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Corny, Leo, Alby, cake and I were buttonholed by one of the Tørm guys tonight at the pub after the show. Cue twenty minutes of incisive brand analysis of Rapha, Swrve, and Tørm. :)
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I picked up a baselayer and Long-Sleeve Jersey at the show after a chat with one of the guys on the stand. Wore the baselayer under a Tee on the way to pub tonight, seemed to do a good job and the fit is okay.
The jersey I wore out on a ten-miler earlier this afternoon, again no complaints, fits well and looks casual enough which is just what I want. I'm not a real cycle clothing expert but it's pretty tight fitting, after trying them out at the show I plumped for an XL (I normally take an M in T-shirts etc.) Jersey and L baselayer.
I'd say I'll almost certainly grab a Short sleeve jersey when summer eventually rolls around again.
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I ordered a couple of bits after seeing the first post here and it just arrived. I'm bored of the comparisons to Rapha here and don't actually own any so I can't compare, but the quality of the Torm kit is suberb (compared to, for example, my Pearl Izumi stuff at a similar / higher price).
Not only is it really nice kit, but I got an email from Charlie at Torm on Saturday (presumably while they were really busy at the cycle show) offering to drop the delivery off personally at my office this morning so I got it quicker!
This is obviously insanely good customer service; they deserve, and I hope they get, a lot of business and support - I will certainly be back. -
Quote:
Originally Posted by **roxy** [](https://www.lfgss.com/post1703928.html#post1703928)I heard at the Cycle Show that Rapha/Condor don't actually sponsor their riders in that sponsoring usually means paying for their bikes, etc.. Supposedly all their riders must buy their own bikes. They get some sort of discount but that's it. Can anyone verify? (understandably strong gossip if untrue!)
Someone tell me that this isn't true!& you think they'd attract riders of the calibre of Kristen House, Dan Craven, Dean Windsor et al doing this? I'm sure they have to fabricate their own clothing too...
It's a great point, I've gone back to my 'source'. Apparently it's the women riders who have to pay for their own bikes, not the men. I quote "I was speaking to [edit out name of female rider] of the Raphas new womens team members. I asked her and her team manager how a team worked. It turned out that the girls had to buy their own bikes. They got a discount from Condor, or if they were lucky, got the mens last years bikes (her manager said that luckily the men were short). We had a pretty long chat about it."
Can anyone confirm or deny this?
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It's not unusual for a teams 'sponsor' to only be providing 'semi sponsorship'...especially if the sponsor is a clothing/accessory manufacturer rather than a bike manufacturer.
It's very common in mountain biking for a sponsor to provide free team clothing and pay for race entries and travel expense, but riders often have to buy their own bikes and equipment.
Likewise, smaller frame/bike manufacturers sometimes 'sponsor' riders with clothes and expenses, then provide frames at discounted prices, as they can't always afford to provide frames and bikes too for each rider.Obviously, if you're talking about a difference in sponsorship deals simply based on the sex of a rider, that's a whole other topic.
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Roxy
The mens and womens teams are entirely separate entities.
I think it is a frustration for all concerned that there is not more money for the womens team.
My understanding is that they get free kit and subsidised bike costs. Given that they were all amateur riders this is of course some help. It's also a matte of getting entries to races sorted, support at races etc.
I believe this was explained to the members of the team, so they could chose to join or not.
If anyone wishes to donate a lump sum to the team I am sure it would be gratefully accepted and ploughed straight back in.
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sat outside the pub opposite west brompton tube, had a 20min discussion with alby, cake, oliver schick, frank and one of the guys from Torm, about their product, Rapha, and Swrve. MY tuppence worth was that I wasn't going to buy any sportwool blends as the whole point of merino is its anti bacterial qualities and wicking properties, so you can wear it for days on end, whereas the sportwool jerseys I have from merino stink to high heaven even after washing. So I'd rather spend money for full merino (woolistic stuff or baselayers) than their jerseys which are overpriced.
Also having met matt and muriel the owners of Swrve over in L.A am now even more impressed by the product they produce and the care and attention that goes into it, and am a devoted follower as their clothing I can wear on or off the bike without looking too out of place. And their clothing is affordable enough for me to buy two of something, rather than just one. Rapha bibshorts, baselayers are well executed pieces of clothing, but I'll only buy them during the sale, when the price comes down to relatively affordable, rather than extortinate, and the rest I can leave behind..
I'm hoping our thoughts weren't too jumbled for Torm guy to make out the points we were trying to make..
whats required is more affordable, durable, long lasting hard wearing cycle clothing that can be worn, week in week out, both on and off the bike, without raising a flag which says I am a fucking cyclist. For me Swrve fits that bill, and hopefully Torm can fit that bill as well... -
I see the points on the 'Sportwool' but if I was going to decide on which brand because of merino/sportwool I would choose a Howies base layer. Mainly because I know where the Howies wool has come from and what treatment its had. But also because it's not Rapha.
I've not had any problems with my synthetic base layers so I personally wouldn't buy the merino.
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Oz. what is the problem with Rapha?
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I've heard it's nice, but a bit pricey.
So it's the cocaine of cycling?
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Tørm (Torm Cycling). Nice, and not pricey
Posted by
@Velocio
& you think they'd attract riders of the calibre of Kristen House, Dan Craven, Dean Windsor et al doing this? I'm sure they have to fabricate their own clothing too...