Customers can test clothing in 'the vault' in temperatures from 0 to 30 degrees and wind speed up to 30mph

Is this the first bike shop with a ‘wind tunnel’ for trying out kit?

Rapha’s second London Cycle Club has raised the industry bar with a ‘vault’ where customers can try out clothing in temperatures from 0 to 30 degrees and wind speeds up 30mph.

This new Cycle Club is the only one with a ‘Rapha Vault’. It’s based in Old Spitalfields Market and features Rapha products, a café serving fine food and drink and multiple screens for viewing racing.

Situated on the lower ground floor, The Vault allows customers to choose which kit is best suited to their needs, and to achieve the perfect fit for their riding and racing kit. Customers are able to book a complimentary appointment with a Rapha fit expert where they will have access to The Vault, a chamber with a static bike which allows customers to test the clothing in temperatures from 0 to 30 degrees and in a wind speed of up to 30 miles per hour. Appointments last one hour and can be booked online and in store.

The ground floor of the space is warm and welcoming and features the café, part of the retail offering, and an outdoor seating area under the cover of the market. They’ll bring out the heat lamps in the colder months. There’s a calendar of events being populated, including a seminar on bad weather riding to prepare for Rapha’s upcoming Braver than the Elements ride, and an evening session on map reading and route planning with Rapha CEO Simon Mottram and Rapha Travel road guru Anton Blackie.

This is the third Rapha Cycle Club location in the UK, joining clubs in Manchester and Brewer Street, Soho, and the ninth globally. Amsterdam, New York, Sydney, Tokyo, San Francisco, Osaka are also host cities to Rapha Cycle Clubs worldwide.

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