Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.
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I wanted this from the moment I saw it on their website. I bought the basic black option because I was afraid sweating in white silk would just be horrible. It was one of the best purchases I made. Maybe the requirements you have need to include "style" and "weight vs warmth". It is not a cheap product, but with almost all of Rapha's clothing and goodies, you have customer support and can return items if they are defective. The premium price does come with some benefits. I was so enamored by the uber-lightweight fabric, cool print, and extreme warmth I bought the white version, too. As wives are concerned, I would have loved it if my husband bought this for me as a gift, so those who are more pragmatic can maybe understand that some gals do appreciate a little style here and there. I've ridden with this scarf for over a hundred rides, washed by hand and it is pretty indestructible. Even the white version isn't stained or yellowed by sweat and wear, and I wear that on sunny days. My biggest concern while riding is my neck losing heat (in cold / windy weather) but I don't want to feel like a wooly turtle with a merino wool scarf.
i think its the fact that its a silk scarf for £50 which is aimed at cyclists, who in my view probably don't need a silk scarf..i don't mind paying Rapha prices (when i can) for well made jerseys/bibshorts et al..
I could argue that my wife doesn't need silk scarves either... I just wish the ones she likes "only" cost fifty quid
Got any pics of the SJP workshop silk scarves Fringe? They sound interesting
I agree with Rogers suggestion that these pieces, such as the ride journal, shaving kit and silk scarf, are just a way of making a statement and getting some good internet forum activity.
I have their winter collar, which is a really great product, and is pure merino at a resonable £25, and does all that this does.
They like to have this Saville Row, daper gentleman around town image that they run parallel to their normal biking line. It obviously hasn't done them any harm, they seem to be making it pretty big in the States nowadays...
To be fair, this is about the only thing of theirs I don't own!
That's the point a silk scarf from Hermes is a rip-off too, as is the Burberry Sports Snood at £195.
A Hermes scarf is all about the name not the scarf, maybe that's where Rapha are trying to get to too - we're judging it though as a scarf that you might notionally wear for cycling… judged under the same circumstances a Hermes scarf would probably get an even lower mark.
So the issue is the markup?
If so, can we expect every future review to note the 2.5K tags on Ti frames that come out of a Chinese factory at an actual cost of about 500 quid?
Or will we be reviewing groupsets on the ludicrous cost per gram premium for top-of-the-ranges labels like Red, Super Record and Dura Ace?
Will you now be noting price differences on rebadged items that use parts made under licence?
Rapha is the only label I've ever seen this "price" issue repeatedly made about yet their are plenty of other labels flogging kit at equally high premiums - Assos and Castelli certainly do.
Will you be flagging ever example as rip-off when you think you're paying too much?
as well as a postman? those aren't two occupations that you often see on the same CV
it was the wife what wrote that,(give her a glass of wine and shes off.. :D)
and i'll see if she can do some scarves, with a pic of eddy merckx on maybe..!
So how much is a comparable scarf from, say, Hermes then?
What a rip off. I am a Textile Designer, teaching Textiles to the yoot of today, and I can tell you that nearly every silk scarf is hand rolled at the edges. And that my story teller friend, who often works in Singapore and the like, swears by the comfort of a silk outfit, whilst performing.
I do like the contemporary twist on a classic paisley design, however. Might have to borrow that for a teaching resource...
But, a hand painted, limited edition, no perspiration treatment, silk scarf can be yours for £25! Designed and made by sjpworkshops [at] yahoo.co.uk and cycling husband.
And if you are lucky, personally signed by Isobel, age 3.
Good stuff. Can you review the purse....sorry, Essentials Case next please?
http://lyxus.net/dcgp