Talk:Rapha (sportswear)

Rapha (Sportswear)

1. Edit the opening descriptor:

• Add in 'active cycling' and remove 'sportswear '
• Add in 'and gravel & mountain bike'

Why it should be changed:

• To make it clearer that Rapha is a cycling brand. Rapha has expanded its proposition since this article was last published/amended

Rapha exists to inspire people to live life by bike. Rapha believe that cycling is a fundamental force for good in the world that helps people to live happier, healthier lives. Since 2004, they've equipped people to live life by bike by creating the finest technical clothing for all riders, from road racers to mountain bikers. Headquartered in London, they are based in key cycling cities around the world with a network of 20+ Clubhouses. Bringing together their latest products with all aspects of cycling culture through café spaces, events and regular rides, Clubhouses also act as a hub for the Rapha Cycling Club, our 23,000-strong global community of riders. They serve today’s riders but support tomorrow’s too, with the Rapha Foundation whose grantees include a range of grassroots organisations around the world. And to ensure they protect the world for future generations to ride in, they are focused on reducing our impact through a series of targeted, tangible commitments published on rapha.cc.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by TM2022 (talk • contribs) 08:53, 30 June 2022 (UTC)

Rapha (Sportswear)

Rapha Performance Roadwear is an active cycling and lifestyle brand focused on road bicycle racing and gravel & mountain bike, clothing and accessories. Rapha headquarters are in London with a United States office in Bentonville, Arkansas.

2. Edit the History section:

• Add in para's 6 & 7
• Add citation to RZC Investments

Why it should be changed:

• Moved paragraph relating to Rapha Cycling Club down to a new section
• Updated to reflect Rapha's more recent history

Content to add:

History

The company was started in London in early 2004 by Simon Mottram[1] and Luke Scheybeler;[2] the first products were launched in July of that year. The name Rapha was taken from the 1960s cycling team Rapha, which was named after the apéritif drink company Saint Raphaël [3].

In 2007, Rapha partnered with British designer Paul Smith to create a range of limited-edition cycle clothing and accessories.[4] In 2016, Rapha collaborated with bikepacking design pioneer Apidura on a limited range of cycling luggage.[5]

Rapha clothing is produced in a number of different locations including mostly China, UK, Italy and other Far East nations. UK production included some early Merino wool pieces and also leather gloves which are made in Somerset, England. Italian production focuses on stretch fabric and stretch garments such as shorts and tights. In China production focuses on the most technical items, such as outerwear.

In August 2017, it was announced that Rapha would be purchased by RZC Investments [6], a company set up by Steuart Walton, for £200m.[7]

Rapha announced in February 2020 that they would be relocating their North American headquarters from Portland, Oregon to Bentonville, Arkansas.[8]

That same year, Rapha collaborated with Palace Skateboards on a limited edition cycling kit for professional cycling team EF Education-EasyPost at the 2020 Giro d’Italia. [9]

In 2021, Rapha entered the mountain bike market, launching its first range of Performance Trailwear, collaborating with Smith on a line of limited edition helmets.[10]

3. Add in new section: Rapha Cycling Club:

Why it should be changed:

• To create a new section in which to discuss the Rapha Cycling Club
• Bikes no longer supplied by Canyon Bicycles

Content to add:

Rapha Cycling Club

In 2015, Rapha developed an international cycling club which today has over 20,000 members. Members of the RCC gain exclusive early access to products and year-round community rides with local ride leaders through the member-only app.

4. Add in new section: Rapha Clubhouses:

Why it should be changed:

• To create a new section in which to add information about Rapha Clubhouses
• Updated to reflect accuracies on international locations and pop ups

Content to add:

Rapha Clubhouses

The Rapha Cycling Club (RCC) hosts rides and events at stores known as Clubhouses in 19 international locations throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia. Each clubhouse consists of a retail space that sells Rapha apparel and accessories, as well as a cafe that serves coffee and food while screening live cycle racing. Clubhouses also play host to a number of cycling-related events and art exhibitions throughout the year. In addition, Rapha operates mobile Clubhouses through Europe and the UK which support select rides and events throughout the season and, currently, pop-up Clubhouses Austin [11], Munich and Sydney.

5. Add in new section: Rapha Foundation:

Why it should be changed:

• To create a new section in which to add information about the Rapha Foundation, not previously referenced

Content to add:

Rapha Foundation

The Rapha Foundation was created in 2019 by Rapha founder and CEO Simon Mottram, and shareholders Tom and Steuart Walton to provide direct funding to organisations that introduce cycling to underserved populations.

The organisation invests $1.5 million a year in grassroot organisations, supporting over 20 grantees in the UK, United States, Germany, Australia and Japan. [12]

6. Amend Sponsorships section:

• Para 2 - add in reference to EF Education-EasyPost
• Add in paragraphs 3 & 4

Why it should be changed:

• To reflect most current sponsorship information

Sponsorships

Rapha used to co-own the UK-based cycling team Rapha Condor–JLT with London bike brand Condor Cycles and the cyclocross team Rapha Focus; at the end of 2014 Rapha announced they would end their grassroots sponsorship to focus on Team Sky and Team Wiggins Le Col [13].

In August 2012, it was announced that as of 2013, Rapha would be producing the clothing for the British cycling team, Team Sky [14]. Australian Cyclocross champion for 2013 and 2014, Lisa Jacobs, chooses to wear Rapha clothing. On 3 November 2015 Rapha announced that their Team Sky sponsorship would end after the 2016 season. In an effort to grow and promote women's cycling, Rapha began supplying clothing to the UCI Women's WorldTour team Canyon-SRAM. EF Education First started wearing Rapha clothing in the 2019 race season, alongside UCI Men’s WorldTour team EF Education-EasyPost.

In 2022, Rapha announced that they would become the apparel sponsor for UCI Women’s WorldTour team EF Education-Tibco-SVB.

Rapha also sponsors UCI Continental cycling teams [[L39ION of Los Angeles[] and [[Roxsolt Liv SRAM[], alongside professional cyclists Lael Wilcox, Maghalie Rochette and Colin Strickland.

Jpw2022 (talk) 15:57, 9 May 2022 (UTC)

Since this would be a considerable addition to the article, might we get a consensus from regular contributors if the amendments above will be acceptable changes? I would assume that since it has been over a month since this edit request has been submitted, there aren't enough contributors really here, except I would just like to make sure. I could work on this, there might be a few concerns but the sources in general look acceptable. Kingapresa (talk) 19:41, 16 June 2022 (UTC)

Since no discussion has spawned here in 4 days, I will start trying to implement what I can. I'm assuming that there aren't enough regular contributors to check if the proposed information will be correct when implemented, so I will go ahead to figure out from the sources if it is. Kingapresa (talk) 23:53, 20 June 2022 (UTC)

 In progress Kingapresa (talk) 23:54, 20 June 2022 (UTC)

Turns out most the sources were copied over from the article itself. There were some new ones though. I then added quite a few, especially in the sponsorship section.

1. Edit the opening descriptor: "active cycling" feels like unnecessary promotional descriptors that are more buzzwords than cement descriptions. Looking it up, I couldn't find a definition for "active cycling." Cycling was added as it appears Rapha is focused on cycling products. And "gravel" seems like another unnecessary descriptor. What would separate gravel cycling accessories from other accessories? Mountain biking added, but gravel was not. And since all of Rapha's lifestyle merchandise seems to be related to cycling, I've made "cycling and lifestyle" simply just "cycling lifestyle."
2. Edit the History section: These changes were mostly implemented, "Performance Trailwear" is promotional wording and was excluded. The sources were acceptable. Additionally, I made some wording changes, and added some wikilinks. However, a paragraph in there need a citation
3. Add in new section: Rapha Cycling Club: There is not enough information here to justify creating a new section. I took the information here and combined it with request 4 and 5 to make a new section called Organizations and Venues. Canyon Bicycles reference removed, yet the 2nd sentence is unsourced and reads as promotional material and so was not included.
4. Add in new section: Rapha Clubhouses: While there might be enough information here to justify creating a new section, it would be best for organizational purposes to keep everything in one section. Therefore I combined the information here with request 3 and 5 to make a new section called Organizations and Venues. It looks like "Clubhouses" are just the name for stores/venues, so the name was put in quotes. Pop-ups will not stand the test of time and without any date to when the pop-ups begin and end, I think it is unnecessary to include. A pop-up could end tomorrow but the article won't get updated for a year. And we don't mention exactly where all the standing locations are; so I don't feel listing pop-up locations would seem right. Removed info about the café as it is largely unimportant. Paragraph will also need source. Rewording of paragraph also done. Also looking at the list of locations, there appears to be 21 locations, not 19. Wikilinks added.
5. Add in new section: Rapha Foundation: There is not enough information here to justify creating a new section. I took the information here and combined it with request 3 and 4 to make a new section called Organizations and Venues. Included. Source okay. But "undeserved" surely wasn't the right word. Reworded to reflect source's info better. Added wikilink
6. Amend Sponsorships section: The sponsorship section to begin with was already was pretty messy. Every requested addition to the sponsorship was unsourced, not to mention the information already on the page. I looked up "lisa jacobs wears rapha clothing" and the only thing that popped up was the Wikipedia article and her blog which mentioned Rapha but did not mention their clothing anywhere. That was removed. The first paragraph needs both clarification and a source. Even the article for Condor Cycles needs a source for the same info. I then went to find and found around 5 additional sources for the information added in this edit request and for other parts of the sponsorship section. For the last paragraph, I was only able to find one primary source, but there appears to be a secondary source at milled.com that I'm currently unable to reach. Added wikilinks

That was a bunch of time. @Jpw2022, please write on my user page if you have any additional sources or comments, since I will mark this edit request as partially completed. Kingapresa (talk) 07:55, 21 June 2022 (UTC)

Hi @Kingapresa

Apologies for the delay.

Thank you kindly for taking the time to review the suggested amends. That all makes sense.

Here are some additional notes / sources:

History

• Is it possible to please remove this sentence requiring a citation altogether? "Chinese production focuses on more cycling-technical items, such as outerwear."

Organizations and Venues

• Para 2 citation: https://bikebiz.com/rapha-takes-title-sponsorship-of-lincoln-grand-prix/amp/

Sponsorships:

• 1st citation: https://www.bikeradar.com/news/rapha-condor-jlt-steel-and-carbon-racing-bikes-gallery/
• 2nd citation: https://roadcyclinguk.com/gear/rapha-team-sky-wiggins-video-1923.html
• Lael Wilcox & Maghalie Rochette citation: https://endurance.biz/2021/industry-news/rapha-furthers-support-of-womens-cycling-with-new-signings/ & https://cyclingmagazine.ca/sections/news/rapha-expands-womens-roster-as-part-of-commitment-to-promote-womens-cycling/
• Would it be possible to please remove the reference to Colin Strickland. He's no longer a Rapha athlete.

Thank you. Jpw2022 (talk) 16:24, 21 June 2022 (UTC)

Hi @Jpw2022

Thanks for getting back.

History: Looking back at the article, the history section shouldn't even really include a paragraph about production. With it being unsourced, I think it would be best to remove the paragraph completely. REI, which is a larger clothing company and has a larger article, does not mention where their production comes from. Castelli, another cycling clothing company, does not either. It's not just the one sentence about Chinese production that's unsourced, it's the entire paragraph. And so removing one sentence is just selective exclusion of information. I will go ahead to remove all of it.

Organizations and Venues: The source you've provided for Organizations and Venues does not seem to explain any information in the paragraph. Could you elaborate on what it is explaining?

Sponsorships: I assume that because the name of the team is Rapha-Condor JLT, it was co-owned by both Rapha and Condor. However, neither source mentions that. And if it can only be assumed then it will still need a source. The first sentence in the first paragraph also needs clarification, if you know enough about the company. Is Rapha Focus co-owned by Condor Cycles and Rapha, or is it solely owned by Rapha?

The first source you provided doesn't seem to mention the co-ownership, just details about the Rapha-Condor team.

There's also confusing wording between the two sentences I didn't originally notice. Is co-own the same as sponsoring here? The first sentence says they co-own the team, yet the second sentence says they were only sponsoring it. Neither source here provides information for the second sentence. Both were published in early 2013 and the sentence says the end of 2014. The second article even says Rapha is continuing their partnership with Rapha-Condor.

Thank you for the sources for Lael Wilcox and Maghalle Rochette. I will remove Colin Strickland as you're right that he appears to no longer be a Rapha athlete. It also looks like Sarah Sturm has become an athlete so I will also include her.

If you could respond to these concerns soon that would be much appreciated Kingapresa (talk) 20:10, 21 June 2022 (UTC)

References