Not just Rapha

[oldpotatoe]

"Urban Cycling Wear"..and I thought my jeans from target were expensive..at $23.

http://shop.kitsbow.com/shop.html

[Elefantino]

"Urban Cycling Wear"..and I thought my jeans from target were expensive..at $23.
Spendthrift.

My Walmart jeans cost $10.

[MrDangerPants]

"Urban Cycling Wear"

I wouldn't consider Kitsbow urban cycling wear, though I suppose you can use it for whatever application you choose. It's designed for mountain biking, which is why I like their product. I have the merino base short I got in the autumn of 2013. My wife got me the long sleeve A/M jersey last year as a holiday gift and it's a very fine garment. Both made in Vancouver, Canada.

[elong8]

I'm liking Swrve these days. Cadence was cool in the beginning, but have kinda been lacking lately.

[blantonator]

Some people enjoy the finer things in life and can afford them. I don't get the hate.

[giverdada]

The Kitsbow looks like rather nice stuff. And I didn't stay or click on enough things to figure out where it's made, but it seems to be produced in North America, which makes a huge markup on prices. With that, I have no idea how anyone could possibly stay competitive while ethically producing anything in North America. It seems everything grows more readily or can be sewn or forged or mined more cheaply anywhere else in the world. I love having a job, and I love when things say "Made in the USA" or "Made in Canada", but I really don't understand how anyone makes it, viably, in any production of goods business, sourcing from North America. Huge props to folks who can do it. And props to those who can afford it too. I've been wearing Swrve pants daily of late, and they are really great. The fit is not the same as Rapha, but the price is about half, and I'm still figuring out the durability comparison. My Rapha trousers went with daily wear, riding and working, for about 4 or 5 years before they got worn out to the point of inappropriate for work. Not bad. At $200 or whatever they were on sale, that's about $40 a year for something that fits my legs and lifestyle. Rock on.

[oldpotatoe]

I wouldn't consider Kitsbow urban cycling wear, though I suppose you can use it for whatever application you choose. It's designed for mountain biking, which is why I like their product. I have the merino base short I got in the autumn of 2013. My wife got me the long sleeve A/M jersey last year as a holiday gift and it's a very fine garment. Both made in Vancouver, Canada.

Velonews called it such.

[abalone]

I like the long sleeve shirt on the 2nd row, but then I saw how much it costs.

[azrider]

Those men's capris for $275 are so in season





said no one ever

[choke]

Some people enjoy the finer things in life and can afford them. I don't get the hate.I don't get why, when someone brings up a certain aspect of a product (price/marketing/fillintheblank) in a way that is not full and total praise, they're often accused of hate. :confused:

[MrDangerPants]

Velonews called it such.

Ah, thanks for the clarification! :)

[witcombusa]

Some people enjoy the finer things in life and can afford them. I don't get the hate.


Could you make do with dislike then...

[christian]

I want to hate Kitsbow, really I do. But sadly, Kitsbow stuff actually is amazing. Great technical fabrics that you can't get anywhere else, amazing styling, and good fits for cycling. The current diffusion line is a little disappointing (I suppose it was inevitable for the MTB Rapha thing...), but if I hit the lotto tomorrow, I'd buy an Ibis HDR, and a Kitsbow Sastan Jersey and A/M shorts.

[ultratoad]

Those are some steep prices.... The stuff does appears to be of superior quality.... I guess I'll just stick to my cheap Rapha stuff !!!!

[AngryScientist]

jeans from target are roughly equivalent to riding sram apex there mr. potatoe, just sayin...

[oldpotatoe]

Ah, thanks for the clarification! :)

Hee hee I know what ya mean but my point is why jeans and plaid shirt is $400 plus, to ride a bike.

[zmudshark]

"Urban Cycling Wear"..and I thought my jeans from target were expensive..at $23.

http://shop.kitsbow.com/shop.html

Spendthrift.

My Walmart jeans cost $10.

I split the difference with Costco jeans @$14/pair.

Peter, BTW, I bought your LS wool Vecchio's jersey from AZrider today...classy, like the man himself.

Mi piace il tuo stile.

[SPOKE]

More cycling stuff that's "jumped the shark".

[oldpotatoe]

I split the difference with Costco jeans @$14/pair.

Peter, BTW, I bought your LS wool Vecchio's jersey from AZrider today...classy, like the man himself.

Mi piace il tuo stile.

Grazie-Indossare in buona salute.

[happycampyer]

Never heard of them before, and when I clicked on the link, I was surprised at the cost of the plaid shirt. After reading the description, I figured I'd see how much a regular Pendleton wool shirt cost (i.e., without the gusseting, patches, etc.). A similar style shirt from Pendleton made in the US is $159:

Pendleton Field Shirt (http://www.pendleton-usa.com/product/Men/WOVEN-SHIRTS/WOVEN-SHIRTS/FIELD-SHIRT/167116/sc/2079/c/2079/pc/1814.uts
)

So, a smaller production product with some additional features (the complication of adding the gussets alone is not trivial) costing $36 more doesn't strike me as out of line. As giverdada pointed out, this appears to be the cost of using high-quality materials and keeping production onshore. Not that I would buy either piece, but the more I think about them the prices don't shock me.

[MrDangerPants]

my point is why jeans and plaid shirt is $400 plus, to ride a bike.

How is it any different than suiting up, say, in some Rapha Pro Team Bib Shorts (http://www.rapha.cc/us/en/shop/pro-team-bib-shorts/product/PSH02) (@ $290) complemented with a Rapha Long Sleeve Jersey (http://www.rapha.cc/us/en/shop/long-sleeve-jersey/product/LSJ08) (@ $220, bring the total to $510), to ride a bike?

[joosttx]

Rapha's merino underwear is worth it at $60 per pair. Trust me.

[oldpotatoe]

How is it any different than suiting up, say, in some Rapha Pro Team Bib Shorts (http://www.rapha.cc/us/en/shop/pro-team-bib-shorts/product/PSH02) (@ $290) complemented with a Rapha Long Sleeve Jersey (http://www.rapha.cc/us/en/shop/long-sleeve-jersey/product/LSJ08) (@ $220, bring the total to $510), to ride a bike?

tee hee.

[happycampyer]

tee hee.

Where did you find that photo of christian?


Btw, that outfit would cost way more than $510 if that's how you like to roll...

[fuzzalow]

Never heard of them before, and when I clicked on the link, I was surprised at the cost of the plaid shirt. After reading the description, I figured I'd see how much a regular Pendleton wool shirt cost (i.e., without the gusseting, patches, etc.). A similar style shirt from Pendleton made in the US is $159:

Pendleton Field Shirt (http://www.pendleton-usa.com/product/Men/WOVEN-SHIRTS/WOVEN-SHIRTS/FIELD-SHIRT/167116/sc/2079/c/2079/pc/1814.uts
)

So, a smaller production product with some additional features (the complication of adding the gussets alone is not trivial) costing $36 more doesn't strike me as out of line. As giverdada pointed out, this appears to be the cost of using high-quality materials and keeping production onshore. Not that I would buy either piece, but the more I think about them the prices don't shock me.

Agree. A valid point that pricing is relative and the trade offs are then built in to the market price. So to look at only the bottom line is an over simplification in many regards but it is the primary driver of consumerism and the easiest way for most people to evaluate goods. It is also deceptive and misleading if price is looked at to the exclusion of other factors.

Or said another way as per Oscar Wilde: a cynic is one who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.

It brings to mind the trade offs that are built into mass consumption in that the goods are artificially reduced in price by the scale of the production of those goods being brought to market. In particular as an example as seen in the price spreads in food production for the industrialized producers versus anything smaller. Think of the price disparity between the supermarket section of WalMart versus Whole Foods. In many respects it is not that the pricing at Whole Foods is high as much as the way the food is cranked out on an industrial scale drives its price to be artificially low. The trade off is chemicals, hormones, flavor & texture compromises that become inherent to food because those qualities are indigenous byproducts to industrial process output.

Clothing is very different but the same game is in play like food production. Lots of things that can be looked at in addition to price. Maybe these factors are worth it to the consumer or not. Or just buy on price and call it a day. IMO it's better to know the ramifications on how & what one consumes but that is also an exercise not for everyone.

Hey, what's all the mumbo jumbo about? It's just a shirt, right?

[Lovetoclimb]

jeans from target are roughly equivalent to riding sram apex there mr. potatoe, just sayin...

ZING!

Seriously though, I would like to get some of this stuff for mountain biking but in a sport where crashing is pretty common, $200 shorts and shirts just don't make as much sense as on the road where crashing is very infrequent.

[oldpotatoe]

jeans from target are roughly equivalent to riding sram apex there mr. potatoe, just sayin...

roughly is right. but this expensive stuff isn't like using SR either. Besides, I'd say target jeans are more reliable, work better, look better than anything spam.

I think my gripe is seeing 'cycling' clothes that they are trying to make look like 'street' clothes. Has to be drawbacks or compromises. Here in the republic, it's no big deal to go to dinner at Mateos in lycra or those baggies from your MTB ride//just take the helmet off please.

[jmoore]

Personally I wouldn't wear the Kitsbow stuff. It's not my style or within my budget. But if someone else wants to wear it, more power to them.


For me, well fitting jeans are worth every penny they cost.