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TECH NEWS
Eurobike sneak peek: Rapha unveils helmet
Rapha has launched its first cycling helmet at Eurobike in Germany this morning. It’s based on the Giro Synthe but with a slightly more streamlined design, MIPS and a choice of three colours, plus one colour option that is exclusive to Rapha Cycling Club members. It will cost £225 and should be available on the Rapha website soon.
While it’s based on the Giro Synthe, there are some details that help it stand out, quite literally: it has reflective straps. There’s also an integrated aero vent at the rear and aero side panels that distinguish it from the regular Synthe.
It’s MIPS only, an added safety feature designed to reduce the impact of a crash with a small degree of rotational movement. The plastic lining can move as much as 5mm in an impact.
Other features carry over from the regular Synthe, such as the Roc Loc Air retention device, in-mould polycarbonate shell with EPS liner and an internal Roll Cage reinforcement.
It will be available in three colours - yellow, white and black, plus a grey option for Rapha Cycling Club (RCC) members. Rapha has used a pearlescent paint finish that looks really nice in the flesh, unfortunately, my photos don’t really do it justice.
Those are all the details we have at the moment - we’ll have a more in-depth look at the helmet once we get back to the UK. We can presume the helmet will weigh about the same as a regular Synthe MIPS helmet, which is 254g for a medium.
The Synthe is an aero helmet that aims to offer good ventilation, and when Mat tested it he found it to be “lightweight, comfortable and very well ventilated helmet.” You can read that review here.
Rapha clearly has a close relationship with Giro, as it has previously launched its shoe range using technology developed by Giro. Utilising a partnership such as this to launch a helmet does make a lot of sense, the helmet market is hugely competitive and there are some very established brands with a lot of experience, so it's been able to fast track its helmet range instead of starting from scratch and developing its own helmet, especially with the huge funds leading brands are now putting into aerodynamic testing.
The Rapha helmet costs £225, and before you start, that's £5 less than the £230 RRP for the regular Giro Synthe MIPS helmet it's based on. Okay, so you can find that helmet discounted if you shop around, it has after all been around for a couple of years now.
David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes.
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25 comments
Rapha and helmets in the same thread....yikes! Take cover!
Just the same old synthe with a sticker on it. Gotta be worth at least £100 more right?
No. Not the same. It's a MIPS Synthe for a start, those are around £185. Add the sticker, reflective straps and aero side panels and there's sufficient there to justify the additional £35 or so.
"I do not like green eggs and ham"
"Try it try it and you may"
I heard all this fuss about Rapha, bought some (in the sale) and it looks great, feels good and performs really well. So like the Dr Seuss story, try it and you may just like it.
It's a nice looking helmet, a few good changes to design and branding to Raphaise it and sell on. Nothing wrong with that for a brand that doesn't want to go into a new market segment.
I'm too cheap to buy Rapha kit but I can't fault the company. Pick your market, pitch (very successfully) to what it wants, offer the best customer care I've heard of, engage with the sport from the grass roots up and partner with people who can help you grow. I say good luck to them.
You guys are funny. Rapha over priced. Aaahhhh. Angry angry.
On the rapha site right now you can buy jerseys for under £50 in the sale. And many other items. They have normal prices jerseys at very Competitve prices compared for many many other cycling companies. For example Castelli, stolen goat, assoss for sure, sportful. And whether or not you like it they have brought to market a significant number of innovations and their products often get very good reviews in comparative rankings. Indeed there stuff can be very expensive but there are less expensive options in their lines and the quality means the products last really really well.
So if by overpriced you mean expensive at times and certainly more than then bargain bin at Evans or the shelves of decathlon then sure, you are spot on but let's add in that it's a great uk success story that employs a load of people in the U.K. on design, marketing, writing etc then there is their support of autism charities, grass roots events, women's riding, and a women's pro team
but you stay angry
i am off to buy something in their sale
A
Nope.
The stuff ont he site right now is last minute clearance of stock that is costing them in the warehouse. This is the cheapest Rapha will go and it's *just about* on par with others. a £50 jersey is normally £110. One hundred and ten pounds. For a jersey made in the same factory, in the same sport wool marterial as a company selling them for £54 full price.
And of course, when Rapha realised this they promptly sent a cease and decist order, which of course held no weight at all.
Yes. They employ lots of designers, writers, photographers and shop staff and they support great casues, have had a major impact on cycling as an industry and should be seen as a successful british compnay in this industry. But let's not delude ourselves that their kit is competitive on price, it costs a lot to market your product and do all the good things they do... obviously.
Double nope.
They regularly have good jerseys at £75 outside of sale time. I have just been for a ride in one and its my favourite jersey. My point was that you can easily buy at a lower price from Rapha. As to 'competitive pricing'..you are right in a way. Competitive pricing is setting the price of a product or service based on what the competition is charging. This pricing method is used more often by businesses selling similar products, since services can vary from business to business, while the attributes of a product remain similar. And as an innovator business Rapha would be unlikely to use this pricing. They use value pricing. Trading off COGs, Price and Volume. And based on their growth and success they have it right, regardless of whether you feel its too expensive. They also offer many more services than the cheaper companies. Have you used their free crash repair? it's awesome. And free!!. And the stories, films, events etc are all part of the wider 'service' model they offer. Of course if you just make a near direct copy and invest in nothing else you can make stuff cheaper...and we do want their to be companies pressuring on price, service and products...but I dont think we want it all to fall to what the lowest price competitor offers....which is usually a lot less.
Having said that, it all depends on Rapha they see as their competition - if we really are talking about competitive pricing. You are saying they are not competitively priced because you define their competition as low price, low service, low innovation, copiers. I think their true competition is Assos, Sportful, Panache, Morvelo...etc. And I think they have plenty of products in their range price competitive with them. Damn, their Giro helmet is even cheaper than the usual!
As to companies making equivalents...you are right...and this is true in every market. Watches are particularly funny. A £2 watch is just as accurate as a £3000 watch...but they are priced different. Why? Well we dont just buy the product. Torm for example seems to have gone out to directly copy Rapha, and then compete on price. I bought one of their jerseys and it's great. They made a near identical copy of the Rapha Classic Jersey and the website structure was oh so familiar to the Rapha one. They did none of the investment in testing and legitimising sportswool as a suitable material. Seemingly nothing on product design beyond copy and make a minor change here and there. Nothing building a brand, etc...and I guess that's why you hardly ever see a Torm jersey. I think innovator businesses should have some protection against this otherwise we take away some of the major incentives to invest in innovation. That's why businesses have copyright and patent rights. And actually, I think Torm's newer stuff, that is more distinct, is better for it. The T8 looks great.
So Rapha has competitively priced goods if you make a far and appropriate selection of the competition. And they do things at a range of prices. And they have been a fundamental innovator of clothing design and materials in this great sport.
Bagsy no return.
You can't bagsy no returns
Me and Al are very open about things and are happy to answer any direct questions on Torm history and our products.
For what it's worth the original owners of Howies David and Clare Hieatt were the first to use SportWool for cycling products in the UK...I know this as I sat at David's kitchen table in Wales and asked him ! David and Clare make great jeans now btw!
Lastly...it's your money...buy what makes you happy...there's room for us all.
PS Me and Al don't wear a watch
No pink one?
The concept behind the MIPS system is extrapolated from research done on motorbike accidents where it was show that twisting forces on the head are responsible for a lot of brain stem damage.
The issue is that these twisting forces come from the helmet acting as a lever and catching on something eg. the tarmac, while sliding along at high speed.
So considering that cycling accidents are usually much lower speed and crashes are less likely to involve sliding along tarmac at high speed the snake oil conclusion is probably not far off.
The solution that was devised for motorbike helmets was derived from human anatomy and the movement of the scalp over the skull. To a relatively normal helmet they added a plastic/rubber layer with a lubricant underneath. The patent was taken up by Arai but I've no idea if it's been taken to market
Well Rapha kit is made in China, except from few exceptions does not include any labor intensive jobs such as building layer by layer a Carbonfibre components and does not have any exotic materials. Yet it can cost multiple times compared to equivalents no-name products.
For me is simply very expensive.
If he'd bought some kit, then by definition it wouldn't be an assumption.
It will go down a storm here in Surrey sadly.
are you allowed up box hill wearing anything else?
Yeah. I bought the Synthe MIPS-less and don't regret it. I think if the data was solid then it would be a must as a safety standard, but it's not.
It just seems like a bad idea as it's going to make your helmet wobble more.
The Synthe, for my mind, is currently the most attractive pro-cycling helmet out there (if there is such a thing). I am biased, but looks like Rapha agree given they could've used Kask.
MIPS: Marketing Inspired Pretentious Silliness
Yep, should have went non-MIPS.
MIPS as it's implemented in these helmets is snake oil to me, no way I'm paying a premium for it.
It's a Synthe MIPS with some nice design features and a few more interesting colours. So, a tiny premium over the existing Synthe makes it pretty good value, arguably.
It will sell well. Can't help but think that a non MIPS version would have sold considerably better though.
Helmets are pointless. There's no evidence to support the idea that they help in a crash. They need to outlaw all helmets. Helmets are well Rubbish. Rapha is well expensive. Rapha lids are well expensive rubbish.
you are wright, by some poeple it doesn't matter if they wear a helmet. They are so brainless that there is no chance for damage!
Yellow looks like a melon for yer melon
I prefer this kind of sticker-based rebranding when it's obvious. Oh hello Paul Smith for Kask!
Black one looks just like the one I sniped on eBay a week ago for 70 quid.
*smug*
Haven't worn it out yet, too heavy for my tastes