Not many cycling clothing brands have an outreach that extends outside of our little world. In fact I would say there is only one brands that does and it is Rapha. Love them or hate them but they have brought Road Culture to the mainstream and have done it with style and a branding campaign that any cycling brand would love to have. What is more impressive is that they have done this while offering premium product with an aesthetic that has been copied over and over by others but they still remain the original and continue to set the bar that many others try and meet. So if it is such a great brand and so popular why is it not in every store? Well select distribution throughout the world has been their philosophy since day one. When we first started carrying it back in 2012 it was only available direct online or in only a hand full of shops in North America. I remember reaching out many time prior with no avail. Heck I am pretty sure they didn’t know where Edmonton was…. We didn’t get noticed until our friends Jeremy Powers and Alex Stieda threw in a good word about what a amazing cycling culture we did have in this far North City. This got the dialogue going and the rest is history.
Rapha chooses to only work with premium dealers as not to saturate the brand. Shops that can tell the story of Road Racing and all the weird stuff that goes with it. They realize that for premium clothing not everyone is comfortable buying online and that there is value in shops that understand fit and function of cycling garments. They also realize they are not competing with us but partnering with PRW so pricing is the same. We are proud to be one of four dealers in Canada for Rapha and do our best to showcase their products and tell their story. So next time you are thinking of grabbing some kit form Rapha or anyone, pop in and let us walk you through their offering. If you ask nicely I will tell you the story about riding a Boris bike to Rapha HQ in London to hang out with the founder himself Simon.Good times were had. Check out our current inventory and buy online from us here, or do it old school in person.