district: SoHo
159 Prince St, New York, NY 10012
In a nutshell
A 'clubhouse' store for the high-end cycling brand, offering a full range of cycling products alongside a cafe and an active cycling club.
In their words
"New York is not an immediately obvious place to enjoy the pleasures of cycling, with its traffic-choked streets. But the cycling scene is booming here and the city has a deep connection to the sport.
You’ll find Rapha New York at the intersection of Prince and West Broadway, in the bustling Soho area of Manhattan and you’ll always find something happening when you pay a visit. We host regular viewing parties during the race season and show the biggest races live on the big screens. We also run a full calendar of events, from workshops to talks, which all are welcome to attend.
We have a full café menu to keep you fuelled whether you’re riding or just dropping in on foot. The Clubhouse is the home of the New York chapter of the Rapha Cycling Club (RCC) and provides the setting off point for rides which head out of the city towards the rolling hills near Piermont. Rides out of the city start early when the rest of the city is waking up - a rare quiet time on the Manhattan roads."
Visit Field notes
Rapha, driven by its charismatic founder, Simon Mottram, was at the forefront of the urban high-end road cycling movement back in 2004. The brand is simultaneously nostalgic (with peans to the hard cobbled streets of Belgian classic races and triple-espressos) and forward-looking (with an emphasis upon technical innovations and quality). The heartland of the brand is the urban cyclist, buoyed by caffeine, adrenaline and grit and so this has translated well into a store/cafe that also acts as the focal point for chapters of its road racing club and social rides. Termed 'clubhoses', the stores are filled with cyclists, bikes and cameraderie. If you are a Rapha Cycling Club member you get to buy club-only kit, join their Strava group and go on rides, not to mention getting high-end bike hire in the cities with clubhouses. This store has matured nicely and shown that the concept has longevity. Joining its sister stores in London, Berlin, San Franciso, Hong Kong, Amsterdam and more, the approach clearly resonates with the urban, high-spending cyclist.
Other Reading
The store's page: https://content.rapha.cc/us/en/clubhouses/new-york
Video of the club's favourite local rides: https://content.rapha.cc/us/en/a/story/rapha-rides-new-york
LAST VISITED
19/22/2024
Added
2019
COMPARE WITH
Surprisingly warm and accessible experience store from Dyson that offers generous space behind the dark facade, a characterful building and the full suite of Dyson demos, interaction and customisation
Bold, brutalist remake of a Soho flagship building showcases the brand's "Raw Architecture" aesthetic. Sparse, sustainable fittings in a generous space, evoke 'art gallery' and luxury at the same time
Veteran DNVB's showcase store still delivers a combination of product delight, swagger, fun and welcome.
Sabre Paris stands for joyful, bold, and impertinent tableware that combines goldsmithing craft with irreverent French design. Their products bring together bright colours, mismatched patterns, and mi...
Similar shops
Google's brand/experience offering that makes the Apple Store seem staid and 'last year'.
A three-floor, 23,000 square foot experience with a Reserve on the ground floor, their first Restaurant on the first floor, and a bar-cum-training-cum-experience area in the basement.
Long-established store exemplifies the Patagonia mix of clothing, staff passion, activism and community activity, with sustainability credentials in a heritage, stripped-back store.
New brand showcase store featuring an exhibition space, cafe and learning area for this heritage-meets-technology photography and imaging brand.
A Meatpacking showcase for the electric-first, chunky 'Adventure vehicles" - experience, learning, configuration and test drives, with lots of lifestyle design queues in a generous location.
This store encapsulates the vision to be the future of the pet industry - services, expertise, learning and health. A real destination.
