There was a bit of a chill in the air this morning, it seems that autumn has arrived here in North Texas. This means its time to start pulling the warmer riding gear out of their summer storage. This got me thinking about a tech article I read on VeloNews not too long ago http://velonews.com/article/99202.
It seems that Campagnolo is now trying to muscle its way in to the high end (or more accurately high priced) clothing market currently dominated by the likes of Assos and Ralpha. I do not question Campy's place in the component market, some will argue that they make the best components available to the general populous. Personally, I wouldn't know as I've never had the luxury of riding a bike so equipped. I've always been a Shimano man myself, not necessarily because I'm a fan, more so because that's what the bike came with and I've never been able to afford replacing an entire groupo at the same time. Shimano's compatibility between different component levels was a big help in building a better group piece by piece. I will admit, 10 speed Dura-ace deraileurs with 9 speed Tiagra shifters were my running gear for a few months. But I digress, I was talking about high end cycling attire and more specifically, Campy's entrance into the market.
It seems that Campy has decided that if you are going to make an impact on the high fashion world of road cycling, you should start big. They now offer a cycling jacket that retails for the modest sum of $600. In addition they have also put out two jerseys and matching bibs for $400 and $380 respectively. At over $1300 for all three, this puts Campy easily on par with most offerings from Assos, and only a few steps below Ralpha on the "my kit costs more than your bike" scale.
While I can be as smug as the next guy when it comes to bike "culture" snobbery, I honestly can't see where a price like this comes from. High tech fabrics and R&D is expensive, but paying $1300 for a cycling kit, even a cold weather one is like putting 18" rims on your 1992 Geo Prism.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment