I commend you on your easy going nature and your ability to take a little bit of a dig in the ribs

hay can I be a part of this kewl sarcasm club too?

haha yeah right
just kidding
or am i?

Yes.

No, wait.......no.

West coasters are incompatible with this particular style of cool sarcasm. If you try it your bottom bracket will 'splode.

The prices on that Ibex website aren't that far off from Rapha's prices, for the jerseys at least, and I think the Rapha's look much nicer and better made/designed.

$120 Ibex Fausto Lightweight

$139.39 Rapha Sportwool Club Jersey

That Ibex actually looks perfect as well and if I ever score the dosh to pick up my own one I'll definitely look in to it.

I'll definitely ask the designers where their crap is made next time I see em. My softshell unfortunately has a tag that says made in China in it but to the best of my knowledge the vast majority of their stuff is designed and produced in the UK.

I'm not saying the Ibex isn't nice as well, but it certainly isn'ta "cheap" alternative to Rapha, as was implied. It doesn't appear to have all the features or options Rapha's stuff has though. Color selection is limited on the Ibex, the fit description isn't as comprehensive, and stuff like the zippered pocket and embroidered logos on the Rapha I think set it apart.

Holla

I didn't mean to imply Ibex was cheap, but $130 is £70, so they are less expensive than Rapha for the cycling specific jerseys. The non cycling specific wool duds by Ibex are less expensive yet, and still quite nice, and when I find it locally on a sale rack in a store the price begins to come into the realm where I can consider buying a Merino Wool T-shirt.

I went back and forth with Rapha via e-mail a few rounds regarding the softshell jacket...while I can get away with Medium most things, I'm pretty sure I'd need a Large for that. I sent them a pleading note, reasoning to myself that they must have one size L kicking around somewhere. Alas:

I share this because I want you to know that Rapha's customer service uses appropriately British terms like "terribly." God, I want one more than ever. They expect to be introducing a new softshell jacket in the fall...even better? Is that possible?

does merino wool feel always the same? I bought this merino base layer
https://www.icebreaker.com/our-clothi...aspx?p=53&c=76
it is really warm but I cant wear it on my skin because when I start to sweat it
itches like hell

hmmm, neither my baselayer nor the shants have any sort of "made in" markings, at least that I can find. I guess it's not required by law over in the UK?

Earlier this year they had a "coming soon" type page that listed a handful of products with release dates, a bunch of those dates have past without the product showing up. Could be any number of reasons for it, but shipping delays from overseas sounds like a reasonably likely one... The fact that some of their stuff is labeled china, some uk and some not at all makes on wonder.

I have one ibex piece (a hoody) that is incredibly well made, and the Rapha stuff is on par. Designwise though it's pretty easy to tell which one is designed in Vermont and which is designed in London.

Interestingly enough I ordered the rapha baselayer from their usa operation, which no longer seems to exist, the site (raphausa.com) was redirecting to the main rapha.cc site and now just dies. I actually ordered over the phone from them, real nice guy running it with I think his brother. Basically they were licensing the right the sell the stuff in the us and maintaining some inventory, guessing they didn't get to far unfortunately.

My medium softshell jacket arrived this morning. If anyone (chicagoamdream) needs the measurements on a part lemme know.

I'm a little-ish dude... the arms are sliiightly long, chest fits slightly loose against just a tshirt (which is good, room for another layer), but the waist drawstring thing fits a little tight, even at its loosest.

Totally initial impressions, grain of salt, etc.

it seems this is what they mean by "Rapha products have been designed to fit UK male riders." i guess this means they have bigger chests and smaller waists?

Hey Matthew, if you wouldn't mind...I'll buy you some glazed buttermilk donuts at the Meet N Greet. Could we get armpit to armpit, length of back, and length of sleeve?

I'm also not at all the pinnacle of upper body strength or anything.

When's the date on that MNG? Wasn't planning on going, but if its around the middle of August I might.

I might just do pics sometime over the weekend with some measuring tape or something. Was kinda a leap of faith on my part with the fit n'stuff, so I know it'd be nice for it be a bit less of such for someone not in UK/NYC/blah.

I'm also going to refrain from any fully-formed opinions on this guy just yet. Gimme a couple months of thunderstorms (love Florida) and yall won't be able to shut me up, one way or the other.


Says the guy with three consecutive posts. Sigh.

I think it is the middle of August...the second weekend or so. Last year's was very fun. I will make good on the offer; the donuts are very good.

Those pics will make you Forum MVP...your description kind of confirms my suspicions. I definitely would want a size that allowed for at least a baselayer and a jersey underneath.

Oh ****, and the site says that new jerseys will be in stock tomorrow, May 3!

Okay, so Sacha White has been PMing me wondering why I used the words 'hipster' and 'Vanilla' in the same sentence, so I'm here to publically clarify. Here's the offending paragraph for reference -

Seriously though, I dunno how much couriers are paid where you guys are from, but unless they're trust fund babies doing the courier gig to 'see how the other half lives', I dunno any here that would even entertain the thought of spending over 200AUD on a pair of pants to courier in. Maybe it's different in the northern hemisphere, maybe you're all overpaid hipster cruisers doing Allleycat on your Vanillas - I dunno - but that's seriously not the case here.

I used Vanilla in this sentence because it's the most absurd scenario I could think of. You could just as well put 'Sachs' or 'Walker' or 'Thylacine' or 'Parlee' in there if you like. I don't know about any other builders, but I must confess, hipsters DO by Thylacines. Now, Thylacines aren't as bling or expensive as Vanillas, so it's safe I think to assume hipsters do buy Vanillas. It doesn't mean I especially like selling to hipsters, and it certainly isn't my goal in life to cater solely for hipsters - far from it. I got into this gig to sell really nice bikes and semi sensible prices.

Now, where I come from, (dunno why I'm repeating this for the third time) couriers are working class people. They don't ride Vanillas/Thylacines/Whatevers, and they don't wear 160 buck capri pants. If you turned up for work here on a Vanilla/Thylacine/Whatever, you'd be run out of town. That's it, a simple illustration in absurdity from where I'm sitting.

I don't know where the easy going nature of the Americans have gone recently. Seems like most of you are uptight and on edge and in need of either a holiday or at least a good laugh at yourselves? Maybe a trip to Australia or at least The Aussie Thread is in order so we can rough you up a bit, poke fun at you and then give you a bear hug and buy you a beer.

Anyway, must dash. My polished stainless steel lugged Thylacine fixie, custom Crumpler bag and Rapha shants are calling. Meeting some friends down at Starbucks for a have decaf half soy latte. Should be fun.

We have to deal with a psychopath running our country, pardon us if were a bit on edge.

FWIW While a lot of the couriers here in SF have beater bikes, a good amount of them have VERY nice ones, including the most beautiful Kalavinka I have ever seen and quite a few customs. . (Saw the Kalavinka locked up infront of the civic center a few times, 3 tone design that was colored to look like the underside of a fish, fish swimming around the seat tube. siiiiiick). I also believe there was a thread in the past about a messanger who loved his (much abused) vanilla.

If you make your living off of messangering, love what you do, and do it for quite a while, it makes sense you spend *some* money on the tools you use to get the job done (ie clothing and bikes), just like any other profession.

Im not a courier, but what you're saying is just kinda stupid to me. Sorry.

This whole hipster bashing is ********. So some people who like nice bikes listen to popular bands and wear fashionable clothes. Fine. They're still riding. And when they get out of it, it means cheap second hand stuff for everyone. The market continues along its merry way. You're probably not selling to hipsters because your bicycles don't have the same level of aesthetic appeal and apparent craftsmanship as a Vanilla.

who gives a crap about:

1) what you think
2) hipsters
3) australia
4) america
5) your incessant need to hawk your wares while bashing those who might buy them

[QUOTE=Thylacine]Okay, so Sacha White has been PMing me wondering why I used the words 'hipster' and 'Vanilla' in the same sentence"

Warwick,

I did _not_ PM you asking why you used "Vanilla" and "Hipster" in the same sentence.

I did PM you asking if you "were taking a swipe at my bikes, and if so, why?"

If the answer was yes, I would like to know why. If the answer was no, that is all you had to say.

The reason I PMed you was to keep this drama out of the Rapha thread.

-Sacha