Rapha Wind Jacket
July 18, 2011
I realize that Rapha is a road cycling brand so you’re supposed to wear it while looking all lean and focused on a tiny bike with itty bitty tires, pretending you don’t mind being blasted with road debris from semi trucks and beer bottles tossed at you from cars filled with over-ego’ed young men with flat-brimmed caps (seriously, are those hats the most visible mark of a total douchebag or what?) and eating hummingbird food every fifteen minutes. I also realize that a lot of Rapha stuff is designed to keep riders comfortable while road riding in inclement weather, but it’s hard enough to get me on a road bike when it’s beautiful outside so there’s less than zero chance of getting me on one when it’s crappy enough to have to wear jackets and long pants.
Mountain bikes are a different matter, though, so I took the Rapha Wind Jacket out to really put it through it’s paces on a muddy, rainy, classic Kenai Peninsula mountain bike ride. I admit this was a tough decision because the jacket is super swanky and nice. I was loathe to get it all muddy and messed up but I also recognized the ridiculousness of having a nice cycling jacket and not wearing it simply because I was afraid of getting it dirty, so into the pack it went. I was glad I had it, too, because once we hit the top of the pass it started sleeting on us and the breeze that had kindly kept the mosquitoes away strengthened into a gale that had us chilled. We still had some strenuous riding to do, though, so I needed something that would stave off the wind and rain but still be comfortable through exertion and it turned out that the Rapha Wind Jacket is really, really good at that. The water beaded up and rolled off, the wind just could not get through, and I never got too warm on the climb up or too cold on the ride down. I was really impressed by this piece.
The fit was great – sleeves long enough so that the snug cuffs fit over the tops of my gloves, keeping all the wind out. The length was great, too; long enough to cover what needs to be covered without flapping around and staying put under my backpack. I’ve absolutely no complaints over the fit or the performance, that’s for sure. There are a few missteps though. There aren’t really any pockets to speak of save one tiny, useless, totally pointless one on the left hip. Maybe road riders need this pocket for something? I don’t think that more pockets would appeal on this piece, at least not for me, so I don’t know why they bothered with this tiny one. I’ll not use it for anything, particularly when I’ve got a nice, handy backpack to put things in (road riders really should learn about backpacks).
The other feature I’m not crazy about is the offset zipper. Guys tell me this has something to do with a center zipper chafing their whiskers or something, but I’m a chick and I don’t have whiskers so I found the flappy extra collar kind of weird, and the off center zipper hard to operate while riding (especially with that pack chest strap in the way). The fact that the zipper doesn’t line up with other center zippers, say, the ones on my jerseys, makes whatever venting one could get from unzipping the jacket kind of moot. I’d rather the zipper be centered since there’s no advantage to having it offset other than having it look kind of fashiony and cool. If it’s cold enough to keep the zipper up there’s no issue, but if you have to adjust the venting, it’s a bit of a hassle.
Other than those quibbles I’d say this is one of the best technical cycling-specific pieces I’ve tried, and it works great for mountain biking, not just road riding. Its built-in temperature regulation is just the thing for riding in the mountains on misty, rainy days. The hassle of stopping to de- or re-layer can be drastically reduced by the breathable, windstopping fabric and I must admit that the cycling-specific cut is great.
I fully expected the jacket to be a muddy mess after the end of our rainy ride, seeing as how everything else I was wearing was a total disaster of muck. Strangely enough, the mud just slid off the Wind Jacket, leaving it looking perfectly new. I can’t believe it! It looks great, functions great, and I don’t even have to wash it. Amazing. Heidi Swift of GritandGlimmer.com reviewed this jacket (calling it the Stowaway Jacket but I’m pretty sure it’s the same) and had the same observation about it being hard to get dirty.
Now, for the question that everyone asks when I review Rapha: Is it worth the money? Interestingly, I rarely get this question when reviewing other top-tier stuff – I guess people are just used to dropping a lot of cash n mountaineering gear, but not cycling gear? Not sure why that is. Anyway, Rapha is spendy, we all know that. This jacket retails for about $260.00. That doesn’t seem all that ridiculous to me, knowing how much good gear costs, but it’s always – ALWAYS a discussion point for Rapha stuff. So, IS it worth it? Well, the first answer is always that it’s up to you. Everyone has their own comfort zone for buying stuff so if YOU think it’s worth it, then buy it. I can tell you that you’ll get a lot of technical use out of this jacket and you won’t be disappointed in the performance or the fit, and it will last a long, long time. To me, it’s better to spend on things that will last rather than throwaways that you have to replace every few years, but that’s up to you.
Rapha Cycling Shorts
March 16, 2011
Every problem I ever had with bicycle seats turns out to have been because I did not own these shorts.
This sounds like hyperbole, I know.
Stay with me, here.
I have an ongoing struggle with bicycle seats, especially on my road bike. They’re all just awful. Long rides are studies in endurance, and I’m not talking the cardiovascular kind. I adjusted my seat, moved it forward and back, replaced it, replaced it again, moved it again, tried chamois cream – you get the picture. I spend most of every long ride squirming in small ways, trying to become more comfortable. I move forward, I move back, I shift around – nothing really works.
Then Rapha sent these shorts and changed the game.
Since I’ve been privileged enough to add Rapha to my client list, I’ve been really enjoying the Rapha gear that comes my way. I love it because it’s high end, it’s comfortable, it’s gorgeous, it’s classy, and it performs like no other. I love putting together little Rapha outfits to go ride my road bike, and as you all know, I need serious motivation to ride my road bike so the inspiration lent by having a great outfit to wear is much appreciated. When I get a new Rapha shipment I really look forward to donning my new duds and cruising around like I actually belong on this skinny-tired monstrosity.
Little did I know, dear reader, that the reason I felt so out of place on the bike was that I didn’t have these shorts between me and it.
It’s been a tough transition to road bike season. Injuries, stress, and lots of moving around have made it really tough to force myself on to the bike; not to mention the persistent low temperatures. I’ll get on the bike if it’s over 50, but I won’t enjoy it for at least ten more degrees. Serendipitously, the newest Rapha package combined with the first time Durango hit 60 degrees this spring was enough to motivate me to rack up some mileage, so off I went. I wore the Rapha shorts and club jersey, both for the first time, and both without washing first. What can I say, I’m a climber at heart so even when wearing Rapha I’m dirtbagging it. Anyway, the general recommendation for bike shorts is to wash before wearing for chamois comfort. I didn’t wash before wearing. I didn’t even use chamois cream. This would seem like a recipe for disaster, but lo! Twenty miles later and I hadn’t even noticed that I had just ridden a bike for twenty miles. Nothing was chafing, nothing was hurting. Twenty four miles after that and my ride was over, but I was still ready for more. I was not DYING to get off that bike seat like I usually am. The chamois on these shorts is a thing of wonder.
I had a horrible moment in which I pulled the bike shorts down to take them off and saw the printed label on the inside – on the front. I thought I’d had them on backwards the entire time, but on the heels of that was the thought that they had been so comfortable that I must be onto something – I was willing to wear bike shorts backwards forever if they would always be that comfortable. Luckily for my dignity, though, the shorts were on correctly; the label is just in the front for some reason.
Rapha told me that I had received the old sizing standard, which utilized numerical sizes and seemed to be oriented to Euro as opposed to US/vanity sizing. In US sizes I wear a 6 but in Rapha I wore a 10, which Rapha probably wisely realized wouldn’t fly in the US market. They have since changed the sizing scheme to S-M-L which isn’t my favorite either, but pretty standard in bike shorts I suppose. I’m guessing that the 10 that I wore probably corresponds to medium now, which suited me nicely because I like a little give and flex in my bike clothing as opposed to that sausage casing look. One really nice thing about the fit of these shorts is that they weren’t too snug, but didn’t suffer from that dreaded waistline gap, either – you know, the one where everything fits fine except for the waist, which yawns open like a hungry mouth wanting to swallow whatever crumbs you may drop (if you’re one of those goofballs who won’t actually stop pedaling to, you know, eat).
The rise of the waist was nicely done, with the front cut lower than the back and a very comfortable hem with no drawstring. I despise drawstrings and find them tacky and pointless, and evidently so does Rapha because there was no drawstring here and it’s certainly not needed. There is a small line of silicone on the inside of the shorts which isn’t my favorite, usually, but didn’t bother me at all. The length was a tad on the long side and could be a little shorter, but Rapha said that future iterations of the shorts would be shorter so I think they’re being responsive to that issue. My sample pair is about two inches above my knee which is OK but for tanning purposes, shorter would be better. For right now, I’ve got to contend with the knee-length tan line resulting from my longer-than-intended ride. See, the unanticipated consequences of having a great, super comfortable chamois – a longer workout and even some color on the pasty white winter legs.
I know these shorts are expensive; retailing for about $185. Bike shorts can really run the gamut of pricing from $50 on up to $Rapha, but in my humble opinion you get what you pay for when it comes to such a crucial item. I wouldn’t expect to find a decent pair of bike shorts for less than $100, barring a supersale somewhere, so I think the $185 price tag on these puppies is pretty reasonable. Having a chamois so comfortable is priceless, in my opinion. I used to search for deals on bike shorts but every pair of shorts I purchased for less than $100 ended up having to be returned because they were just not comfortable, so I wouldn’t even bother looking in the lower ranges at this point. Just save the pennies and get what’s good.
I’m super paranoid about both falling down and getting anywhere near Velcro when I’m wearing my Rapha stuff. I already put a few pulls in my Rapha jersey thanks to my winter gloves, which makes me bitter about Velcro every time I wear it, so I’m extra careful now.
To sum up: if you like to ride your bike but don’t find it particularly comfortable, you need these shorts. If you’re already comfortable on your bike, imagine what you can accomplish with the leftover comfort you’ll have if you have these shorts.
Rapha Winter Hat
January 12, 2011
Rapha has done what no other force on earth could do: get me to wear a cycling cap.
When the Rapha package came in, my then-boyfriend tried to get me to give him this cap because he knows I think they are dorky. But his wanton longing for this cap was palpable as he gazed at it with intense desire, so I decided it was something I probably wanted, and at the same time I realized he hadn’t looked at ME that way in quite some time so it was about time for the old heave ho. So his hijacking of my Rapha kit was unsuccessful and good thing, too, because I really did need this thing – I just didn’t know that I needed it. Plus it saved me from repossessing it later when he took the bottle cages off my bike to get back at me for breaking up with him. Ah, petty breakups. Gotta love ‘em.
This is the cap that you see in the winter catalog, the one the guys are all wearing with no helmets. The girls in the catalog have to wear helmets so they aren’t wearing this hat for some reason. Who knows…anyway, it’s a swank little skull warmer that really rounded out my cycling gear, though I never would have thought to buy it for myself.
In Durango one can ride one’s road bike pretty much all year round. The roads might get snowy for a while but they always melt off, and it didn’t even snow until late December this year so we were riding in some great winter conditions. At times it felt like fall, but there were some hard freezes even though there was no snow on the ground, and I wanted to get as much dirt as possible so I would head out to ride even when I knew I’d freeze. One day I had the notion to try this cycling cap, though I find cycling caps extremely dorky. This one is made for winter, so it has a nice ear flap and is extra thick. It was just the ticket to keep the icy wind off my tender ears. I admit that when riding on snow I have taken to wearing it in lieu of a helmet (powder snow: not dangerous), but it fits under a helmet just fine. It is so soft, cozy and comfortable, I can’t even believe it. It doesn’t even look dorky, I swear! I would even wear it when not cycling because it is cute and different. Plus it’s Rapha so I feel super cool when I wear it. So it’s not women’s specific, so what? It’s a hat. Even I can’t really sell the idea of a women’s specific hat, not this time. Thanks Rapha! My ears thank you too.
Rapha Long Sleeve Jersey
January 12, 2011
I’m not one of those girls with weird body image issues. I don’t blame spindly supermodels for all of my woes and I couldn’t care less whether Glamour uses “real women” in their photo shoots or not. God, what the hell do I care? And what is a “real woman”? I’m a size 4, am I not real? Do I need a certain hip/waist ratio to be real, or do I need to top some number on a scale to be real? If I’m not a real woman will I dissipate, or does that mean I’m actually a man? Or a fake woman? Someone help, I’m lost.
See, I’m trying to pretend I’m all dismissive about the body image thing, but really I’m not; I’m quite annoyed about it. Quite annoyed that an entire nation full of women can’t get it through their heads that they and they alone are responsible for what they eat and how much they exercise. Damn, people. If those stupid magazines bother you that much, DON’T LOOK AT THEM. If you are unhappy with how you look, do something about it. If you are happy with how you look then for god’s sake don’t decide that you have to find something to feel bad about. And whatever the hell you do, never make my ears bleed with that “real woman” garbage again.
Um, so the reason I was thinking about this while deciding what to write about this jersey is that I fully expected the arms not to fit. After all, this is a euro brand, and euros are really really into cycling, which means that arms only exist to keep one’s face off one’s handlebar stem, not for wielding things like muscles. Not that women’s cycling is at all a big deal in Europe; I’ve heard it said more than once that women in Europe aren’t big into cycling. I’ve no idea if that’s true or not, but I figured they’d make this jersey for pipe-cleaner-arm people just to be safe.
As soon as I pulled it out of the box, though, I resolved that if it was indeed cut for pipe-cleaner people, I would become a pipe cleaner person just to make this jersey fit. Not having body issues means that you can change your body if you feel like it without making a federal case out of it, hiring a trainer, keeping a weight journal, and going on Oprah to express how it all made you feel and claim you loved your body the way it was all along. No, dammit, I wanted to wear this jersey and if that meant having skinny arms then so be it. To my delight, I was spared any such effort because the jersey seems very reasonably sized. The arms are not roomy, but they fit my climber’s guns just fine. Whew! Take that, Oprah. The size small fits pretty much like a regular North American size small which shocks the hell out of me, but I’ll take it.
I wanted to wear this jersey so badly because everything about it is just QUALITY. Everything. I’m not a big wool jersey person, but this jersey is a merino (WOOL. It’s WOOL, just say it) and poly blend that somehow does not produce that itchy, heavy, venty feeling that most wool products do. Well, let me take that back – it IS a tad venty, but that’s the nature of natural fiber and I’m slowly getting used to it. In the right temperature range it keeps you nicely thermoregulated for the most part. I do find that my arms get chilled so I usually opt for a windblock layer over any wool jersey, but when I tried it with this one, I got way too hot. I still stuff an ultralight windblock layer in the back pocket when I ride, though. I’m working on it, Rapha, I’m working on it.
I can’t emphasize enough the luxe feel of this jersey. It makes me feel like a Cat Whatever racer (which is the best, the five or the one? I, er, don’t race, nor do I follow racing. I don’t know if Rapha fully understood this….) and I wear it whenever possible, hoping that passing riders are serious enough to be impressed and intimidated that I’m wearing Rapha. Of course they ARE passing me so they are probably not that impressed. I like to imagine that anyone that passes me ends up practically killing themselves with effort lest I chase them down with my Rapha power.
I’m sorry, this review is really taking a turn for the silly. I love the jersey. It’s amazing. Soft, very very very high quality, excellent fit even in the arms, reasonable amount of pockets including one welcome zippered pocket…I love it. Although Rapha is expensive, the increase in quality is undeniable. I’ve never been able to wear any wool jersey before; I’ve just found them too uncomfortable and ill-fitting, but not so with my new Rapha baby. It’s the one I reach for when there’s a chill in the air. I strongly desire to have this jersey in red in addition to the black that Rapha sent (they sent everything in black…I think it’s a “thing”). The jersey is expensive. It goes for about $200 (too steep for me) retail, but you can find it on sale for $150 or so which is completely worth it if you consider that a far inferior wool jersey will cost you over $100 anyway. You will pay dearly to have Rapha but once you have it you will love it to death and wear it all the time. You will cry if you fall and rip it, so don’t fall and rip it.
To Rapha: I’m sure you wanted a serious review and for my failure I am sorry. But I love the jersey and I hope that is apparent. I’m about to review the hat you sent and I’ll be more techy about that, I promise.*
Rapha Women’s Classic Soft Shell Jacket
December 8, 2010
A care package from Rapha – now that makes a girl feel special. A nice note enclosed, expressing the polite hope that I enjoy the gear and share my thoughts on it with my readers just seals the deal. See, now THAT is the way to request a review. And that’s Rapha – classy all the way.
Rapha stuff is designed for serious and committed road bikers. As such, it hasn’t had a line for women before this year. This seems to be par for the course for biking stuff; people don’t really believe that women ride bikes, or something? This also seems to be a Euro thing, or at least a bit MORE of a Euro thing. Is there an unwritten law in the EU that there must be at least a five year delay in producing a women’s line for outdoor gear? But they are all slowly coming around, and if you’re looking for high-end comfort and design for riding in very very bad weather, look no further than this piece. You all know that I was tempted to just use it for mountain biking like I do everything else, but after taking a gander at the sheer beauty of this jacket, I couldn’t bear to get it muddy and messy the first time out. I already have a ton of beat up softshell jackets for mountain biking; this one I’m saving for the road.
It’s hard to describe how nice this jacket is. Every little detail is perfectly executed. Everything feels high end and expertly constructed. My regular size small fits nicely, with a wee bit of extra room in the torso for under-layers. The arms are cut very generously yet somehow don’t fill with air or flap in the breeze when I’m underway. The sleeves themselves are cut long so that you don’t get any unwelcome breezes or splashes, no matter what your position on the handlebar. The main zipper is offset, which is kind of fashion-y though I don’t really understand the function of it. There might be some point to an offset zipper that I’m too gauche to know about. I like the way it looks – hopefully that will suffice.
The features – there are features galore. Where to start? There are hand covers (I guess that’s what I’d call them; think thumbholes and fingerless gloves) at the ends of the sleeves which isn’t my favorite feature. I’ll probably cut them out, but some people really love that kind of thing and so will appreciate the extra bit of weatherproofing. The signature Rapha shoulder pad for holding a messenger bag firmly is of course present, as is a nicely done collection of pockets; some zippered, some not. A little hole to route your headphones through helps keep your iPod safe in a pocket, not clipped to your outer shell like you’ll see me do. The new-to-me “storm flap” feature has yet to be tested by yours truly – it’s a flap of fabric that drops down to cover your bum; I’m assuming for when it rains? I have a fender for that, but OK. The storm flap also has a reflective logo, which is helpful because everything Rapha sent me is black, so I am happy for more visibility. Though I’m not in love with the all-black look, I do quite like the pink accents on the jacket (they are all interior, for you pink haters). I like pink, deal with it. This particular piece only comes in black and it looks great, but for visibility and visual interest I’d love to see it in red (um, or pink).
The big story on this jacket, though, is the performance. And does it EVER perform. It’s been really hard to get this jacket properly tested because I’m really not one to ride in the conditions for which it’s designed. Last week I eagerly set out on a chilly, high-altitude morning (doesn’t altitude make it colder? Oh, no, I am thinking of weaker. It makes me weaker. Anyway….) which I thought would be a great chance to test out the jacket. Thanks to the jacket and the long sleeve Rapha jersey underneath (more on that later), I was soon overheated as I climbed to the top of the pass. The pit zips were helpful, but not enough. I had another few hours of riding to go; I didn’t want to drown my nice Rapha stuff in icky old sweat. Not that I was sweating that much, the jacket is HIGHLY breathable as well as warm. Weird – I was overheating but not sweating. Regardless, I had to ditch the jacket. What could I do? When you are road biking you don’t really carry a backpack, unless you are a hopeless nerd. What do you do with your $400 jacket when you’re too warm to wear it? If you’re me, you tuck it into a tree and go finish your ride, then have to climb ALL THE WAY back up the pass to get it later. Let me tell you, $400 jacket retrieval is very good motivation.
My point is that this jacket is warm. SUPER warm. It’s extremely windproof (you wouldn’t think there would be degrees of windproof, as it seems that it should be an “is” or “isn’t” situation, but you all know better, I’m sure) and treated with some water resistant formula that makes the precip just bead right off. It’s water resistant, not waterproof, but I can imagine you’d have to ride in one hell of a storm to soak this thing through. After spending a few months in the Northwest, I’d say that you could probably find the weather that could take on this jacket if you ride in the winter there. Here in the high desert, I know I’ll be prepared for the unexpected thundershower someday…if it ever rains here, ever…but until then at least I’ll stay toasty while riding all winter long.
So this is an expensive jacket and it seems that every discussion of Rapha ends up with someone taking a stand one way or another on how expensive it is. Look, if you can afford it and you find it worth it, buy it and be happy. If you find it too costly, don’t buy it. If you DO buy it, I believe you’ll be satisfied, as I think this is pretty clearly a high end jacket and I’d expect to pay quite a bit for it. It’s not a price point piece so why complain about the cost? There are plenty of price point softshells at your local Sports Authority; I’d not expect a brand like Rapha to drop prices down to that range, especially when it’s pretty clear that the quality of the piece is very high. I get my hands on a lot of gear and can tell right away when things are well-constructed with quality materials, and this jacket fits the bill. Expect to pay top dollar if you want it.
And now for the non-gear related portion of the review: I have quite a few more Rapha pieces to cover, thanks to their kind sample package, which included a few catalogs showing the pieces that I didn’t get my hands on this time around. Interestingly enough, Rapha is known – and derided – for using helmetless riders in its catalog photography, and indeed all the men shown were bare-headed. However, all the women in the catalog had helmets on! I can’t help but think that this is yet another reflection of the perceived difference in…in…toughness? Vulnerability? Risk-aversion? Something….between men and women. Men are tough and hardcore enough to go without helmets, but the women are not. I would love to hear the reasoning behind that decision. It’s got to be related to the reasoning behind why many brands don’t put out a women’s line at all. I personally don’t care if helmetless riders are used, I just want to know why the men don’t need helmets but the women do.
