Rapha Shoes SS19

Marketing will kill for people to talk about their products, it's what makes their world go round. The marketing folks at Rapha HQ must rub their hands in glee when a product is dropped. The usual anti-Rapha mob reach for their pitchforks, the Rapha fans reach for their wallets and all of us in-between reach for a look and a wee read.

Fair to say the new footwear range is going down well, extremely well. And well done to Rapha, they could have gone down the re-badging route, same as so many other brands. Of course Rapha have done that in the past partnering with Giro, however this time it's a new product from the designer brainwaves up to the final piece.

My view,....fuck me they've smashed it this time. 2 new shoe styles, the Classic for the road and the Explore for the off road less travelled. Both look excellent.

Scouring through the online reviews and they pretty much seem to be hitting the board across the entire view (as far as I can see). Well styled, well made, decent price point.

The Classic lives up to its name, it's a classic style utilising a unique lacing system to hold the foot secure. It's not so much the lacing that is unique, its Rapha's new double-walled material feet, effectively pulling the material in close to the foot.

Even the sole is utter genius, other than the plate to attach your cleats, the entire outer is covered in non-slip rubber compound. Simple and effective, why has this not been done before?

The Explore is roughly the same up top, given a slightly more aggressive toe box and protective toe guard. The sole is as expected, a deep rubber lug, with the standard recessed plate for your cleats.

Stunning. Let's not fuck about, these are truly stunning.