Beyond the fact that they are both in the bicycling business, I personally don't see any similarity between the aesthetic or 'philosophy' of Rapha and Rivendell. One sells expensive bike clothing made in China for the 'serious cyclist' (their words)*, and the other seems to encourage riding in the same clothing, made in the USA, for what it's worth, that you'd use to go to a barbecue, or work, or on a guided tour of the California State Railroad museum. To me, Rapha has about as much to do with bicycle commuting as Banana Republic has to do with going on safari. No offense meant to anyone who enjoys their stuff, but that's just how the marketing comes off to me.
*to quote from Rapha's site: "Road racing is the toughest and most beautiful sport in the world and everything Rapha does is designed to celebrate the glory and suffering unique to road riders.... Road racing requires stamina, strength, focus and fortitude, yet the rewards can be huge – the more effort you put in the greater those rewards become" -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
