I just received a Rapha cycling cap in the mail. You may recall it being advertised on this list recently. My 1st purchase of Rapha anything. (I was given a Rapha water bottle, but that's another story.) Anyway, the interior label, 70mm x 100mm in size and sewn to the underside of the crown, states, "Sartorial excellence for the discerning cyclist. Essential Performance Roadwear." Now let me say that the cap is well designed, exhibits high manufacturing quality and feels great on my head. I would never buy one of these for ANY of the reasons printed on the label however. I like that it looks good, feels good, and will be a good Spring/Fall cap. It will not affect my cycling performance one iota, or make me feel natty.
It sells for $60 with an enameled pin (mine did not come with a pin) I also have two Rivendell wool caps, both in orange and they are the older design and the current one. These Wooly Stubbies are unlined, but are also well made and the advertiding says so. "the embroidery seems to perfectly match the bill color. The proportions are perfect; the stitching, neat and consistent. We wear them all year long. " Btw, I wear mine in the Summer too. Wool is excellent for sweat management. These caps are $30 each and are of simpler construction, and no fancy label. I think both caps are probably worth what they sell for, and will give good service when used as intended. Riv's sales pitch is far more to my liking, but that's why over the past few years, I've accumulated lots of Riv stuff, and no Rapha stuff before this. And this only because as a used item and with a lower price, I could justify to myself. ________________________________ From: newenglandbike <[email protected]> To: RBW Owners Bunch <[email protected]> Sent: Fri, June 4, 2010 7:12:09 PM Subject: [RBW] Re: Rapha has love for Rivendell 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. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
