Coffee has become synonymous with cycling, especially over the last few years. No cycle ride seems complete without the customary coffee stops. The unique and unusual relationship between coffee and cycling can trace its origins back to the 1960s when an Italian espresso machine manufacturer sponsored a cycling team that included famous Belgian cyclist Eddy Merckx. Keeping up with the tradition, Milan-based premium espresso machine manufacturer Rocket Espresso has teamed up with Rapha Cycling Club to create a limited-edition co-branded espresso machine. Founded in 2007, Rocket Espresso Milano has some of the world’s finest espresso machines by hand and the new limited-edition model named R58 is truly exquisite.
In case you haven’t heard of Rapha Cycling Club, it’s a club for passionate cyclists with around 17,000 members located across the world. The club was founded in 2015 by Simon Mottram, founder of Rapha, a leading manufacturer of premium apparel designed for cyclists. The R58 expresso machine is exclusively available for members of the Rapha Cycling Club. The machine features an old-school look with a dark wood finish and stainless steel parts.
“For as long as there have been cyclists, there have been coffee stops,” reads the official release by Rapha. “The two go hand in hand, and over 140 years since an Italian inventor filed a patent for the world’s first espresso machine, a Milanese manufacturer still leads the way. Rocket Espresso produces the world’s finest espresso machines by hand for coffee connoisseurs around the world, including most of the professional peloton and now members of the Rapha Cycling Club.” Only 100 examples of the Rapha R58 expresso machine will be made and it is available on the club’s official webstore for £2,735 (approximately $3,600 USD).
[Available at Rapha]
