Is anyone still buying into this garbage?

I mean I just looked at their book "Great Climbs of the Northern Alps". WTF ? Not only are some of the climbs not even in the Alps but they have missed out The Stelvio, Gavia, Grosse Scheidegg and Gottard to name just a few.

In short ill conceived drivel full of image with no substance whatsoever.

Their website is now bordering on a parody of their own self created image.

Still. They make nice "stretchy" shorts.

Garbage or not, I'll forgive them because they sponsor a team in the UK for domestic racing, so some of the profits come back into the sport

From that can I assume that you ride a Raleigh?

No, I'm just making the point that they put some money back into the sport: many don't.

Sorry to upset you and say something positive about them.

Not at all. I also said something positive in my post if you read it.

But they also put a lot of pretentiousness, elitism and disinformation into our sport. Sadly I can't forgive them that.

I agree with KB, at least they are putting something back in.

The raleigh comment was a little silly, I thought Raleigh stopped producing bikes here in the UK in about 2002.

I like the look of some of the Rapha gear (some of it i think is awful looking), i've only owned a pair of the winter tights (before moving to a warmer country!) and i thought they were very good quality, very comfortable, washed well and stood up to a harsh british winter although i didn't think the white stripe up the back of one calf was a good idea for a pair of winter tights as it became discoloured from riding in the rain and puddles etc.

I find one of the advantages of buying (in my opinion), or should i say 'justifying' paying such a high premium for Rapha and Assos is that if looked after you can then sell the used items on ebay and get a 1/3rd to a half of your money back.

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www.freddibnahheritagecentre.co.uk

Is sponsorship of a team "putting something back in"? Isn't it commercial self-interest?

Yes, of course there's self interest, but that's the case with all companies that advertise their goods; so, I stand by my comments. For instance, I would think that the turnover of Assos is much higher than Rapha, but I don't see their logo in the peloton. Wonder what their adverising budget is as a percentage of turnover.

The Raleigh comment was entirely justified. They too sponsor a team in the UK thereby putting some back in.

In truth if you look at it, the sponsorship is marketing and if that money were not going on the team, it would be handed over to the UK taxman and used to benefit everyone not just the elite few. It's a UK company. Out of interest, would tax on Raleigh profits be payable in the UK or the Netherlands these days?

Still, at least the boys from Rapha will be able to follow Le Tour in their horse box , enjoy the atmosphere at the UK taxpayers' expense, and write it off as marketing. Damn I need to change my company's direction

There's a lot of BS with Rapha, but I choose not to read it because I don't like that nonsense myself. However, the styling is good IMO; the quality doesn't add up. I prefer Assos for fit, and fit for purpose, but the styling's boring. Of course both are expensive.

And your comment regarding marketing; yes of course it is. And with the odd thing I've bought from them; I'm enriching the taxman with VAT, helping to make profit for Rapha, and helping to sponsor a team.

Think i'll order myself a new summer lightweight Rapha jersey thinking on, tax free from here in Dubai!

Happy days

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www.freddibnahheritagecentre.co.uk

I found the latest one really nice, although they are just paying Alex Stieda to recount his pre-Rapha adventures under their label. That guy is amazingly charismatic.

http://vimeo.com/45934061

Also makes me crave one of their rain jackets, shall I seek counsel?

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Bikes: Raceur, Beateur

+1 Good to see they have found them selves again the last few vids have been pretty rubbish.
What an awesome dude Alex Stieda is! Total legend

I'd love to know how many local and continental teams assos sponsors. Love em or hate em you can't deny that they actually give a shit about cycling and contribute to it in more ways than just lighting the wallets of MAMALs. Hell rapha even sponsors a few guys in my city a world away in Australia. Yea it's a bit pretentious but road cycling is a pretty pretentious sport and let's not even mention this forum

I like their sense of style, it's nice to go out for a ride and not look like an assassin from a 1980s science fiction movie

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http://fairwheelbikes.com/c/forums/topi ... parlee-z5/

I beg to differ. Road cycling is not a pretentious sport. It's forums like these that make it a pretentious sport.

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I never took drugs to improve my performance at any time. I will be willing to stick my finger into a polygraph test if anyone with big media pull wants to take issue. If you buy a signed poster now it will not be tarnished later. --Graeme Obree

Compared to MTB racing its pretty pretentious

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