Originally Posted by
bpcyclist
Is there a reason Rapha gear is so shockingly expensive? I'm not trying to be disrespectful, I know a lot of cyclists like it. It just seems very expensive for what it appears to be.
At retail, their jerseys start at 80 bucks, bibs at 115 - that's not out of line from the entry prices from many companies, like Twin Six, for instance. Yeah, as Rapha's garments get more technical, the prices shoot up, but again, they're not exactly alone at these price points, either.
There's also the service side of things - they're pretty great in this regard, too, in my limited experience. They have size-down pricing - if you buy a jersey and it becomes too big for you as you lose weight, they'll give you 50% off a smaller one. They do free crash damage repair. For those that don't live near one of their retail stores, their online purchasing is great - free shipping over $75 and really easy (and free) returns. When they mess up, they take care of you - I ordered a wool sweater. A technical base layer arrived. Since the sweater was no longer in stock, they immediately issued a refund and gave me a voucher code for $30 off of my next purchase. Oh, and they said to keep the base layer ($80).