Stylish cycling kit

Having tried other people’s kit, I’d argue that Rapha still make better kit than other people. All very well making a good looking jersey, but there aren’t many people who make kit as good IMO. And those that do charge the same amount...

I would say better kit than most, absolutely. And prices all-round have risen to match Rapha somewhat.

A big appeal of Rapha a decade back was it was ‘tasteful’ looking in a world of replica team jerseys (along with being UK specific in weight of fabrics and practicalities).

A brand like Santini or Castelli / Sportful (for example) have always made comparable kit ... ok ... I’d actually say better kit ... it’s just not always looked as nice. Santini’s 2020 designs (to my eye) look great.

Yeah, true true.

I never really look at Santini because of their past kit designs but agree that it looks good. No doubt that they make good kit, too.

Still, same price as Rapha over here in the States. Difficult to stray away from what I know works when the price is the same.

They must have new people involved with Santini. The 2019 was stuff was simply unthreadworthy 💅🏼

feel like maap/PNS/UC missed a trick by not slightly undercutting rapha - as it is their jerseys/bibs are similarly priced but the brands less well-tested... I've always been reticent to shell out rapha money on these when I don't know if the cuts/fabrics etc are going to be as good as rapha. if they were 75% of the cost though, I'd maybe take a punt... feel like albion have got the right idea here: £90 for a jersey as opposed to £120

then again, I only really buy core range these days so maybe not

I tried to get on with Albion but the jerseys are not as well designed as Rapha. I haven’t found another brand that does zips, pockets and cut as well as Rapha. The PT Flyweight 2 jersey is perfect.

I am impressed with PNS but I can’t be doing with the billboard branding.

UC definitely should have undercut. The attachment to an online retailer will put off a bunch of their market instantly, so they need to do something.

La Passione have done a reasonable job of coming in cheaper than Rapha. FWIW I find their bib shorts markedly more comfortable than the Rapha classics I had before. 3/4 of their designs however are not worthy for inclusion in this thread, however they have absolutely nailed it with a few of their older pieces. Quality and fabric wise I can’t see much difference between them and Rapha. Though I don’t have a huge amount of either kit.

I've never really looked at rapha, partly because of the price, partly because I don't think I've really ever seen anyone riding in it that was... Of the larger persuasion... And that also leads to the third reason. I've never been overly comfortable with all of the snug looking jerseys and favour lose fitting garments. I'd be super interested in hearing about stylish t-shirts type tops with back pockets that are a big snugger for but not cycling Jersey snug.

I just had a check and at 44in chest I'm right at the top end of their size range meaning the waist will not look great on it and that's a fair wedge to spend on something that I'm fairly certain won't fit nicely.

On the topic of shorts, what options are there for bibs with minimal (but some) padding with shortish legs (my legs are pretty stumpy and not into the shorts down the knees look) that won't break the bank? I've got an old pair of DHB that I quite like and a very old pair of Altura that I also like but they're both starting to get holes in areas you don't want holes if you're not wearing undies.

What do you mean by minimal?

Just not a fan of bibs with really thick padding so something relatively thin.

You might get on with the SQLabs pads, v thin and dense. They do their own bibs, and a few brands use the pads too: some from Maloja, and Vaude, and the current version Morvélo Nth

Sounds good! Cheers. Will look into that.

DHB Aeron seems relatively thin and low profile but the straps are a bit scratchy.

I bought a cap from Albion recently, wore it for a couple of rides and then popped it in the washing machine, as suggested on the care instructions. This snapped/bent the brim which isn't ideal. I sent Albion an email to see if it was repairable under their lifetime guarantee thing and they replied pretty sharpish offering to send me a new one!
I'll probably hand wash it from now because that's the 2nd Albion cap that's broken in the same way, despite other brands standing up to a lot more abuse. It's a nicely made cap and really good customer service though.

Might just be really bad luck - I don’t own one but as far as I can tell the Albion caps are made by the same Italian factory as 95% of poly/cotton caps on the market

Care instructions aside, caps don't go in the washing machine.

I rarely wash my caps in the machine, if ever - almost each time I’ve done so it resulted in a broken brim.

I’d be surprised if this is true as the cut is different to the average cap on the market (Prendas, Condor, etc). Albion is deeper cut, less aggressive elastic and good luft.

That's not how clothing manufacturers work

They (Apis) do 4 or 5 sewing patterns iirc - personally I always go for the one that has a central longitudinal strip rather than the orange segments-type one as per Albion (forgive the strange description) but have run samples in all of them at some stage. The fit differs a bit across the range.

I've never had a problem with caps in the washing machine. Am I doing it wrong?

I do a synthetics wash, 30 degree, extra spin at the end

I’ve been impressed by the new Universal Colours kit, jerseys seem similar in feel to the Rapha Pro team kit.

I always roll my caps up into the skip when washing, works for me.

IME there are two grades of plastic in cap brims, indestructible or eggshell.