PeteHski

Le Col is always on sale here in the UK. To the extent that I think their full retail pricing is just a joke. I think their quality is ok, but not on a par with Assos. Perpetual sale pricing does make them excellent value though. Their £50 Strava vouchers on top of sale pricing can bring the cost right down, competing directly with the budget brands.

prj71

The nice thing about Primal is their outlet is usually full of jersey's that are one sale for a reasonable price.

prj71

No. My eyes work just fine.

https://content.rapha.cc/us/en/a/story/ktc-china

prj71

Definitely!!! Got pay attention sometimes!! There were also times, where I was grouped with other racers and we worked with each other at times for drafting. That's when I was able to see what others were wearing.

This was a 2 mile segment on the 100+ mile course of the race. No time to look at Jerseys!!! There was an also a crazy downhill that sent 3 people to the hospital.

prj71

Wisconsin.

Not to say there wasn't any, but not that I noticed. 400+ people raced the event so I didn't see everyone!!!

McFlyRides

I thought I wanted a gravel bike until this…😀

prj71

Ha!!!

The race director thought he would throw that and a 3 mile section of sand in the race. Gotta keep everyone on their toes!

shelbyfv

Yes, but how many would you wear? Looks like over 100 choices but only about 10% aren't clown stuff. Skeletons, tuxedos, old bands, flowers.... Anyway, our club jerseys have been Primal a couple of times and I liked the fit.

prj71

I've got 4 Primal jerseys in the closet now. I don't mind the skeletons etc. I've actually been thinking about buying the tuxedo one!

TMonk

I see more spendy kits at spendy events, fondos, gravel, that sort of thing. USAC road events tend to have riders on generic kit, club kit at 3/4/5 level and team issue stuff at elite or elite Master's.

I've still yet to try anything Rapha or Assos or equivalent, maybe I'll try someday if/when I no longer have team benefits. Hopefully I have another couple of decades of Master's racing before I need to learn

McFlyRides

[QUOTE=prj71;23234678]Ha!!!

The race director thought he would throw that and a 3 mile section of sand in the race. Gotta keep everyone on their toes![/QUOTE

Does anyone make a cycling-specific snorkel?

Eric F 

I agree that Le Col's pricing discounts and sales patterns are kind of wonky. However, I do like their fabrics, but their size that fits my chest (XL) is a bit too long for my torso. Le Col is close to right, but La Passione, Pactimo, and even NeoPro fit my dimensions better.

tomato coupe

I'm sure they do, but they're not the problem
I don't know why you continue to push this "Clothing made in China is inferior" crap. As others have noted, it's a load of bs. But, since you seem to believe it, it's confusing why you're using it to support your arguement that Rapha jerseys are inferior to your Primal jerseys:




As a side note, about one-quarter of Rapha clothing is made in China:

prj71

I never said such a thing about them being crap anywhere in this discussion.

I just pointed out Rapha is made in China just like some of the others. Except they think their stuff is that much better and charge more.

Eric F 

Are you under the impression that all products of the same type, made in the same country, are the same quality?

PeteHski

So are you suggesting that everything made in China is of equal quality? In reality they cover the entire quality spectrum from garbage to elite.

mstateglfr 

Your second sentence doesnt really support your first sentence. It doesnt outright conflict with your first sentence, but it sure doesnt support your first sentence.

Products that are of poor quality are produced in China.
Products that are of high quality are produced in China.
Products that are of poor quality are produced in the US.
Products that are of high quality are produced in the US.

Perhaps Rapha things their stuff is better and charge more compared to some other clothing produced in China because their stuff is better, as measured by whatever metrics Rapha uses.
I mean really now- have you never considered this? Its a simple concept and seems quite obvious.

tomato coupe

I think everyone understood what you were implying. And, why do you keep stating that Rapha is made in China when most of it is not?

Eric F 

There's also the very real possibility that Rapha has done a very good job with marketing in order to inflate their desirability. After all, we are talking about the fashion industry.

Koyote

So you believe that every jersey manufactured in China, regardless of brand, is of exactly the same quality? I mean, you don't have to understand much about production offshoring to know that that is laughable.

More than any of the fact-free and logic-free things you've previously written, this alone should disqualify you from offering any opinions on other people's jerseys.

prj71

Bingo.

It's very prevalent within the apparel industry.

prj71

Don't go putting words in my mouth. Plenty of high quality products made in China including my Primal jerseys!!!

It's just that some have a premium price tag due to brand name recognition and big time marketing within the industry. I think the way Rapha and others market their jerseys, they would have you believe their stuff is woven from the silk of virgin silkworms fed on the leaves from Mulberry trees fertilized by Unicorn sh!!!T!!

All of these luxury brands have a huge cost-intensive marketing machine that makes their clothing more expensive....Team sponsorships,,,,brick and mortar stores...flashy websites...social media influencers...website ads...paid reviews...podcasts...Google ads etc. They don't come for free!!! And the thing is....they are not actually trying to convince you to buy their products...They are trying to convince you to buy into a brand and attach yourself to it. Humans have strong tribal instincts and Rapha and others want you to decide that Rapha clothing is your brand!!

It would be interesting to know what percentage of the price of any piece of Rapha gear goes into manufacturing/materials and what percentage goes into marketing. I'm betting it's pretty lopsided towards the marketing end of things. At the end of the day, it's just moisture wicking fabric that's sewn together and made in China. And with all that they've spent on marketing, they've paid vastly more to sell you that jersey then they've paid to make you that jersey. Fact. And that's the same for many discretionary products these days, it's not just limited to cycling apparel.

tomato coupe

So, here we are again:

1) Someone that has never owned a particular brand of clothing insists it is no better than the less expensive brands that they own.

2) Several people that have owned that particular brand of clothing and less expensive brands agree that, while less expensive brands can be good, they are not as good as the particular brand.

prj71

Feel free to buy into luxury fitness apparel!!! It's all good!!

But lets face the truth here...You can't exactly say that cycling is an accessible sport for a lot of people any more. All driven by the expensive brands and their big marketing!!. From the bikes to the wheels to the clothes to the nutritional items etc. It's full of prices significantly inflated by a massive marketing arms race.

Maybe Rapha is running out of dentists and the vanity is wearing off?

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/r...ars-in-the-red

Koyote

In modern day 'Merica, people don't need facts or knowledge to know things. Truthiness!