I have only Castelli shorts and a Castelli skinsuit for my TT bike. The chamois in their top-of-the-line stuff is perfect for that saddle and youve got to be comfortable on your TT bike. Otherwise, I'm not a huge fan of the styling for their women's products.

However I love my Rapha stuff totally. Several winter wool jerseys which are perfect for my 4am rides when it's 33 degrees. A couple of normal weight long sleeve jerseys for temps in the 40s and 50s. Short sleeve jerseys bought on a killer post Christmas sale. I usually only buy Rapha stuff during their end-of-season sales.

I love my Rapha black wool arm warmers. I also have multiple Merino base layers- sleeveless, short sleeve, long sleeve and turtleneck, The turtlenecks are so nice that I sometimes just wear them as regular clothing.

All the Rapha stuff is well-made, fits perfectly, and has thoughtful design features. One of the jerseys is "chartreuse" aka hi viz yellow.

The obvious question remains, however: am I fast enough to chick [MENTION=406877]PepeM[/MENTION]?

I like their black club jersey with a white stripe. If I could get a discount coupon I might finally give in and try the brand. At least with Castelli you can get some good deals. I bought some Endurance x2 bibs for $125 and got a free jersey that was worth $125. And the prices really drop when they go on clearance.

Depends. What is your fastest MPH on a flat stretch?

Ha! Made some changes to the TT bike set up yesterday and needed to send a video to coach. Mr. H drove beside me and got a few minutes of footage. It's a slight downhill (1%) but you can't really appreciate that in the video. Damn that makes me look fast, 30 mph and I'm not even working hard.

That's fast alright.




Bit off-topic but having tried jerseys with a tapered neck, I am not going back. Every jersey I buy from now shall have that feature, winter jerseys aside.

Personally, I dont care for castelli and I find myself directly in the middle of size. Large is too big but medium is too tight. I know a lot of people like their gear, so its certainly worth checking out for youself.

As for Rapha, I used to be a very loyal Rapha customer. There stuff is still great and I appreciate their quality, but I now wear other stuff that I find to be equal in quality but more comfortable and a better fit for me. The Rapha chamois is pretty good, the fit and compression of their pro team shorts are nice and the overall quality is top notch. Their jerseys are nice, but a bit loose in the mid core for me. putting things in the back pockets make them sag more than I would have preferred. The nice thing about Rapha is they have several different cuts to offer, from relaxed and classic with shorter sleeve length. They also have their race line which has a race cut and longer sleeve length. Their jackets and vest s are hard to beat IMO, in fact they are the bar for me in which I compare other jackets to.

The problem with Rapha is that it seems to always draw a crowd of protesters such as [MENTION=406877]PepeM[/MENTION]. Notice that he just hates on it, but doesn't give any validity to why he dislikes it? A lot of people say that Rapha is for poseurs and is nothing other than a marketing story. I will admit that Rapha certainly takes an unusual direction with some of their marketing, but do you where your gear based on the image the company pushes or do you wear it because it is comfortable for you?

The other thing you will hear is how expensive it is. Compared to what though? Compared to performance bicycle brands or entry level castelli? Go on competitive cyclist and look for yourself. Almost every brand they offer has a kit that is as expensive or more. You cant compare the cost of a ferrari to the cost of a Kia. If you are comfortable in performance brand or lower cost kits then by all means. If you like the comfort of a top tier brand/kit and find VALUE in something that will last you a while and be very comfortable, then give Rapha a look for yourself. try it on and establish your own first hand opinion.

I attribute it to training in Rapha stuff.

"has a magic bike"

Which of the 3 would you be referring to as 'magic'? I really like the BMC GF01 even though I think it's some $$ for a somewhat heavier bike. Would the BMC be the magic one?

If I had the disposable income, I would buy Rapha almost exclusively. I usually wait for the sales, like you, and have never regretted a purchase.

The Magic Bike is indeed the GF01. But I actually love all three of my bikes, they are all a little magic.

The Magic Bike moniker came about because I'm pretty new to cycling- coming up on year 3 in a few weeks. I started with an entry-level women's aluminum Trek but 10 months later, I was interested in endurance distances and wanted a "nicer" bike, I thought maybe I'd really blow the budget and spend $2000, lol. I read a lot here on BF and the consensus seemed to be that getting a better bike wouldn't make any substantial difference in my cycling. Then I test rode the BMC GF01, had to have it, and of course electronic shifting. Blew my original idea of blowing my budget out of the water.

Then once I got that bike everything about my cycling improved instantly. It seemed completely magic to me and that's how I started calling it the Magic Bike. Lol, many of my original beginner cycling friends are still convinced it is actually magical. But really it was the bike that make it all seem possible to me. It almost "gave" cycling to me if that makes sense. Not likely it would be quite as magic to everyone. More like for me, it was the right bike at the right time.

That's an awesome story, thank you for sharing . I rode a 35lbs hybrid all summer long and then snagged an alum synapse on craigslist. Incredible how much faster it is. While I probably write on here more than I cycle at the moment (it IS winter and I DO go out in 35-38 degrees) I'm pretty much hooked. Wish me some good fortune so I can do something similar to your story alright? ;D

I guess here is where the big reveal that I was trolling all along should come.

I have never tried any of the Rapha stuff since the style just doesn't do it for me. I mean, it's nice stuff, much better than Castelli or Pearl Izumi or similar, but too bland for my liking. With that said I am sure the quality is excellent.

I'm ok with buying expensive kits but I prefer some style on them. That MAAP stuff you sell is quite nice and I would buy the clouds jersey if it was in stock in my size. The bibs do seem a bit expensive but I guess I am not too comfort sensitive, some of my $30 NOT BIBS work just fine although I do prefer my high quality bibs slightly. I do think that $300 for bibs is way too much but if that's what it takes for someone to be comfortable on the bike then so be it.

6' 2'' 205lbs.. am I looking at XXL for a jersey top @ Rapha or XL? Core stuff since it's cheapah.

I'm 6'2" and currently 215 pounds. I have a Large in everything Rapha. I would definitely not get an XL. You want a tight, but not too tight fit. Check their sizing chart and also know that they are easy to work with on exchanges. Just try it on once you get it and figure out if the fit will work or not.

Let me know how you like the Core jersey. I was considering splurging sometime around my birthday on maybe that and a set of core bibs.

Fair enough. That speaks much more to your reasoning rather than bashing the brand just to bash it. If you don't care for the aesthetics of something than that will play a huge part in wanting to invest in it.

Unfortunately for me, I seem to have a very sensitive rear end so a chamois pad is very important to me. I've tried almost all of the big name brands in my time of cycling and Rapha was the best I found (out of the house hold more command brands). The MAAP gear is without a doubt more comfortable for me. The chamois is more dense, bit the biggest thing for me is the placement of the chamois. I feel it is placed better than Rapha which allows me to sit on the most important part of the pad, where as with Rapha I always belt that inwas sitting more in the middle of the chamois. I've heard others say the same, but also heard other have no problems. This is where people having different geometrys come into play.

Do keep in mind that the prices you see on MAAPs page are in AUD currency till you change the price point. The bib shorts are $196 USD. Much more affordable than Rapha at full retail and again In my personal opinion much more comfortable with the same quality.

Also FYI, they will be restocking items throughout the month.

I'm at about 1/2 that price point.. $100 for bibs is good, $150 is pushing it.

$60-80 for a jersey is good, $120 is pushing it for me. Past that I'm out.

I emailed and they said it could take up to 12 weeks.

I'm at about $150 tops for either if it is really nice stuff. Much rather keep it under $100 though.

they did as i have two different white super-lightweight jerseys of theirs.
i'm sure they will again in the near future.

I own a bunch of different Rapha products.
The thing about Rapha that seems special to me is their merino wool products.
If you're just interested in a light weight, non merino, technical fabric, I would say there is way better value out there.

my only complaint-more of an observation really-with rapha is that they've made the
back jersey pockets an inch or so taller/higher. doesn't sound like much but it makes
digging out a power bar or whatnot more difficult while on the move. since my usual
accoutrements setup is based on regular height jersey pockets, i'm loath to add
more stuff to take advantage of the extra space. i never carry extra water bottles
in my back pockets but they would be more secure if i did.

12 weeks!? Wow that's a long time, I hope it doesn't take that long. I'm done upgrading parts for my bike so I don't mind spending the extra money on a quality kit that I want. I have a lot of their stuff right now so I'll be set for a while and will be able to rotate through them to ensure they last a while.

I haven't been following MAAP much, but do they have end-of-season sale like Rapha?
And as you own both, do the chamois on MAAP placed fore or aft compare to Rapha?

No they dont. They have a bundle deal but appear to be low and out of stock on some items.

Received a Castelli long sleeve jersey that was $60 at 50% off. Must say that I am impressed with the quality of it in comparison to the cheap-o Pearl Izumi short sleeve that I have.

I believe that I will try Castelli for a short sleeve jersey at just $39 before I venture into Rapha's $115 territory. Perhaps the Castelli will impress me again and keep me away from Rapha entirely, and keep my savings account happier.

I will be saddened that my jersey is not obnoxious hi-viz pink, but saving a few bucks is worth it.

Also: Free arm warmers with purchase of any jersey at rapha right now, so if you ARE hitting it up, $40 armwarmers for free is a neat thing, right?

The rapha pro team jersey I got is super loose on me. I normally wear medium, and the medium climbers jersey is baggy on me. My maap jersey in M fits a little better, but still looser than I prefer. My favorite kit right now is from Podia, and I'm basically waiting for them to restock so I can get more. Very close fitting, pro length sleeves with nice grippers, and a very nice gripper at the bottom of the jersey. Pockets are a little small, but I don't put much in there anyways so its ok.