Rapha Jackets

[boss]

Hey all,

I'm a self-confessed Rapha-holic. I buy and wear Rapha for the reasons mentioned above by gobsec. I love the understated designs.

I've got various pieces of Rapha clothing. If you ask Her Royal Highness, I probably have too much, but she doesn't complain much because it means I'm getting some exercise and staying healthy. That and she keeps tabs for her own retail therapy.

I have a red softshell - I normally find it too warm for anything over 10 degrees. Last Sat, I did a good tempo ride in the Macedon ranges - temps hovering around 4-6 degrees - comfortable with a base layer and jersey and softshell. I have been wearing it all this week - it's about 1-2 degrees at 5am (today was -1.7) when I get to the train station for Melbourne. It's nice and comfy for the short 4-ish km ride to work, but too warm on the return ride when temperatures go above 10. I put up with it though, because I so need it by the time I get back to Kyneton in the evenings and the temp is hovering in the 4-6 degree range.

If it's sub-10 degrees but the sun is nice and high, I will usually just put on a baselayer, jersey and the softshell gilet if I'm going to pound out 35-100 k's.

I have the Rain Jacket which I used for last year's Otway Classic (it poured on the way up to Benwerrin but my upper body was nice and dry) and Amy's Gran Fondo (it was freezing in the Otways). I like to use it when the temperature is around 10-15 degrees.

If it's in the 15-18 ish range and I need something more than baselayer and jersey, I will reach for the gilet.

How do you cope wearing the softshell jacket doing anything further than a few k's?

I find that when I'm wearing my rain jacket + castelli gilet + jersey, I begin to cook after more than a kilometer or two of uphill... This morning it was three degrees, I'd ridden about 5 k's in total and 1km of that was uphill... sure enough, needed to de-jacket.

The softshell jacket kinda interests me, but it's a considerable investment and I don't know if I like the idea of a jacket that I will have to keep on even if I'm really getting hot. The beauty of the rain jacket is that you can wear it till you warm up, then can be folded up, stowed away and put back on for descents etc.

[alkhoo]

I have a red softshell - I normally find it too warm for anything over 10 degrees.

How do you cope wearing the softshell jacket doing anything further than a few k's?

I find that when I'm wearing my rain jacket + castelli gilet + jersey, I begin to cook after more than a kilometer or two of uphill... This morning it was three degrees, I'd ridden about 5 k's in total and 1km of that was uphill... sure enough, needed to de-jacket.

The softshell jacket kinda interests me, but it's a considerable investment and I don't know if I like the idea of a jacket that I will have to keep on even if I'm really getting hot. The beauty of the rain jacket is that you can wear it till you warm up, then can be folded up, stowed away and put back on for descents etc.

I did say the softshell is too warm for anything under 10 degrees. My commute is only a 4-ish k's at the moment so it keeps me comfortable on and off the bike.

I also wear it a fair bit on days when I'm not riding and it's raining but don't want to carry an umbrella.

If I'm doing a longer weekend ride, I usually leave the softshell jacket at home. Two reasons - the rain jacket or a softshell gilet is enough for me. The second reason is I've dropped a size since I started riding - lost 10 kilos. The softshell jacket doesn't fit as well as the other items.

[cilia3030]

Does someone want to introduce me on Rapha.cc? We'll both get a 10% discount on our next order!
My e-mail is ****

[DTdotcom]

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