When looking for winter cycling jackets, I tend to look for the best of the best within a road or gravel cycling capacity; the kind of jacket that will let you go out in a storm warning for seven hours and come home in one piece with a story to tell. Sometimes I do back off the extremes but, even then, my focus is still on performance. With that in mind, I knew when I put together our list of the best winter cycling jackets that I wanted to have a couple of pieces with a different focus. More people taking more trips on bikes is good for everyone and if you are looking for a jacket for bike commuting, the Rapha Commuter Jacket is likely on your radar.
Rapha has a solid reputation as a performance brand that also understands style. The brand also tends to have a reputation for pricing that puts them at the top of the market. The Rapha Commuter jacket doesn’t focus solely on absolute performance and it’s actually priced near the low end. If you’ve noticed the jacket, it’s almost certain you’ve wondered if it’s any good. I’ve had the same thought and so I’ve spent time not climbing mountains in it but rather, cruising around the neighbourhood. Keep reading if you want to hear some insights into what it does well and where it’s lacking.
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Design and aesthetics
This section is what the Rapha Commuter jacket is all about. As I write this review in the early part of 2023, the winter season is winding down for clothing companies and Rapha has three colour options. The details of when I’m writing this are important because Rapha rotates the colours constantly. Right now, you can pick from black, red/white or high-vis pink but the product page also shows it in orange, fluro yellow, and bright blue.
Those bright, bold, colours are part of the identity of the Commuter jacket. The colours compliment the other high-visibility design details such as the reflective pattern of dots, and Rapha logo, on the short drop tail but they also point to the bigger design strategy. It’s something I pointed out last year about fashion-focused gear from PAS Normal and I refer to it as performance for the sake of fashion. There is a very real performance built into the design of the Rapha Commuter jacket but it’s there as much…
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