Showing posts with label rapha. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rapha. Show all posts

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Rapha Java
















Tonight saw the Rapha 'premiere' of  Rapha Continental Asia: Java at the Limehouse, right here in HK. I have to say, for all my mis-givings of the BS factor in the Rapha brand, I was impressed by their reps friendliness, the film and their attitude towards brand development in Asia. Not to mention the free snacks & wine...

http://www.rapha.cc/the-rapha-continental-asia-java

Friday, May 20, 2011

Permanent Style



In an alternative bikes and buildings free existence, where instead of wasting money on bicycles I'd fritter away my hard earned on gentleman's clothing I'd be an even bigger fan of Simon Crompton's 'Permanent Style'. But as it is, I find it interesting he covered Rapha's fancy pancy leather gloves. Not ideal for hot and humid HK, I'm sure, but you do have to appreciate the frivolousness of it all.

http://www.permanentstyle.co.uk/2011/03/leather-cycling-gloves-at-rapha.html

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Look Familiar?













So, Rapha have introduced a range of pretty pricey framesets. The Cinelli XCR caught my eye for obvious reasons, though I thought this drop out does look rather familiar...

http://www.rapha.cc/cinelli-xcr-criterium-racer-1/?cm_mmc=email-_-110111-_-textlink3-_-cinelli

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Milliman6























Chris Milliman for Rapha. Reminds me of the Beef Wellington at The Smoke House in Malaysia.


http://www.selectism.com/features/chris-milliman/0/

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Of Steel




















Tomorrow will see a 'coming together' of the cycling gods when a film about steel bikes & Dario Pegoretti by Ridley Scott Associates & Ben Ingham appears for one day only on Rapha's site.

http://www.rapha.cc/of-steel--trailer

http://www.beningham.net/

Friday, July 23, 2010

Style Icon: Richard Sachs










Reading all the 'Tour tech' from this year's tour has left me quite cold- sure there's plenty of nice bikes knocking about but I'm not looking at them in the way I might have looked at some of the bikes of years gone. A Specialized looks like a Trek which looks like a BBox Colnago. And as all the pro-tour bikes become more and more homogeneous I thought it would be a nice opportunity to do a sort of anti-bling style posting on one of the guys from the old school who seems to take from that fashion dictum of black never goes out of fashion. Except with Sachs it's red, white and yellow- in skinny steel. 

Of course, another famous dictum is 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' and so Sach's frames really haven't changed for the past 10+ years, yet his wait time for a frame is rumoured to be 10 years long. This is the sort of formula that doesn't wash with the big boys, but that's what makes him a style icon in my book- this man is the ultimate self styled anti-style icon. His marketing is limited to an obscure cyclocross team, yet when the the Museum of Art and Design decide to do a 'Bespoke' exhibition they call up this man. The below is an example of what they are displaying.



It shouldn't work, but it does. There's nothing flashy about the paint job and he's hardly the only guy out there who can build a nice steel frame. Yet a Richards Sachs just holds a mystique that few other frame builders can match. And when it comes down to the man himself you can't fault the no nonsense philosophy devoid of any BS. This rapha interview is probably most revealing about his personality, and the following are words to live by:

Epic for me is about food and how riding makes me feel. If I know I can eat anything I want and still be ahead of the game, whether it’s weight or calories or good tan lines. Tan lines become important when summer roles around, you come back and take a shower and you can see the difference in the mirror when you’re naked. These things are important. If I go out and come back feeling like I didn’t earn a donut or a pastry, then what’s the point of riding? So epic comes when you drain yourself so completely, somewhere along the line, that you can start eating whatever you can find. Most people wouldn’t understand that, but cycling is a vain sport.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Folding Kilo
















Who needs Paris Roubaix when you have Edinburgh Old Town? Fresh in from our Edinburgh correspondent is the news from this weekend's Rapha Nocturne event, including the link for some nice richardx shots. It's good to see the folding bike race is not unique to Hong Kong and the results make interesting reading, though I've never seen a Kilo Master's World Record Holder win on such a machine- could bring a whole new meaning to the term folding bike. Come on Bruce! 



http://www.nocturneseries.com/edinburgh/index.php

Friday, July 2, 2010

Rapha Backlash?










Rapha is certainly a bike brand that splits opinion. It's quite easy to write off the brand as Rapha = poser, something that I can relate to, especially when they send through marketing brochures of male models pretending to ride fast up an Alpine climb without a helmet. It just makes you want to kick them in the balls really. I'm also of the opinion that the kit does not really justify the price given the quality and fit on offer (yes, I have tried some on) though there are people who get on with it and I'm not going to hold it against them if they have the $$$ to burn.

But then on the other hand the base philosophy of providing bike clothing that doesn't make us look like complete flouro freaks to the general public is a good thing. Also, I love their printed publications- rouleur is head and shoulders above any other cycling magazine, and despite the above I think they've contributed a lot to cycling in the past few years. 

The latest of those contributions is the new Rapha shop and cycle club, which I have to say sounds like a good thing- somewhere in Central London where you can watch the Tour must be positive, and the idea of exhibitions and of course a coffee shop is all good stuff. Getting featured on monocle (they've been in the print magazine also) must also help bring exposure to our sport. But then again, somehow the idea grates a little. Bike clubs should be about bringing people together to ride and race, about bringing through juniors and youth (how many juniors can afford rapha kit?!?). Associations with sponsers is a reality and generally a good thing, but buying into a clothing brand to this extent just smacks somewhat of chavs in Burberry, no? I think they may just have become too popular for their own good with this one.


http://www.rapha.cc/cycle-club/

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Great Road Climbs of The Southern Alpes













It's raining cats and dogs outside, so much so that this morning's National TT Champs was cancelled. I'm a big fan of the great road climbs of the Pyrenees, and with the Tour about to kick off I'd rather be riding the Alpes than Hong Kong right now. Noted future bookcase addition.


http://www.rapha.cc/great-road-climbs-of-the-southern-alps/#availability

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Cold Knob
















-insert joke about cyclist wearing rapha lycra here-



http://www.rapha.cc/cold-knob

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Review: What Tubs?



Some thoughts on that pressing question :- what tubs?

Continental
The German powerhouse has always been my tub of choice over the years. I've tried Competitions, Sprinters, Sprinter Gatorskins, Giros and Podiums. My conclusion is that one tire combines the criteria of value for money, rolling resistance, durability, weight and grip- the Sprinter. I'd agree that Competitions are a better choice if value for money / durability aren't such an issue but at pushing 50 pounds a pop it's a hard pill to swallow if you puncture. I found the Gatorskins to add a little grip in the wet at the cost of rolling resitance and weight but most bizarrely I puntured them very quickly. Giros seem to defeat the object of tubs- performance, and Podiums are a bit sketchy as a 19mm tire but seem to be surprisingly durable. GP4000s are an option I haven't tried but all in, the Sprinter seems to suit my needs and I can handle the 25 pound replacement cost once they go. The other thing I like about Continental tubs is that I can add some stans to the tubes to add extra thorn protection / small cuts, but Stans won't cover you against a ripped valve stem.

Vittoria
One of the reasons I posted this was I recently had my Continental loyalty tested when my brand new second hand Corima deep sections came fitted with a pair of Corsa Evo CX. And to say I was impressed by the ride is an understatement. It's difficult to be completely objective as the wheels were a variable but they certainly roll nice and the dual compound / tread seems a good idea. Where these tires fall down is in their use of latex tubes which means 2 things. 1./ You can't put Stans inside and 2./ they loose nigh on 20psi per day which means less sleep in the morning as I have to get the track pump out. I guess the pro's don't have to worry about such things. The only other Vittoria I've tried is the Rally, which is terrible beyond belief. They're also doing a version of the Rubino Pro which sounds interesting and competes with the Sprinter on price point.

Tufo
Everything I read about Tufo (like riding in melted tarmac) puts me off them but they are useful for one thing- spare tubs. Because of the way they are made, Tufos fold up very small- almost the size of a clincher tube. Combined with a CO2 this'll fit neatly in your rear pocket. Yet another reason not to use those pesky clinchers.

One last word, my recommended reading for tubs in general if you don't know too much / are debating the glue / tape issue (I'm a recent reconvert back to glue) is the following http://davesbikeblog.squarespace.com/blog/2007/7/27/tubulars-part-i.html. Now, I'm off to add another layer of glue. In Rapha world, how romantic?!?

Monday, November 9, 2009

If Rapha Made Pick Axes
















If Rapha made pick axes they could sell them for 100's of pounds and take 'romantic' photos of people digging- like this. Source file here.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Another classic Rapha image













Hey- what shall I wear while I spread tubular glue all over my rims? Well, seeing as I never spill a drop and I have money to burn, why not use my new 210 pound waterproof , sorry, water resitant Rapha jacket? The romance of previously tedius road cycling tasks once again captured in a way only Rapha can. What next, exceptionally expensive white leather gloves while you degrease the chain? Must look good whilst in garage.
http://www.rapha.cc/bomber-jacket

Friday, October 9, 2009

Rain


Wow- Rapha even manage to make riding Cyclocross in the rain look 'romantic'. Glad to be in HK, not UK as the joy of winter starts.