Aerodynamics is always the inspiration: an interview with Luigi Bergamo

The first time I interviewed Luigi Bergamo was in 2015 for Canadian Cycling, not long after he left a design role at Assos to start what’s become one of the most unique brands in road cycling kit. The next was last month for a piece in Cyclist, this time to review the company’s Salopette Dottore L1 Bibs, short sleeve L1 Pinstripe and L1 essential vest in camo for a Spring feature (click on the Cyclist link for more product details + review).    

Bergamo has a unique vision of cycling, operating outside the confines of traditional design to envisage something completely different. His passion for design is immediately obvious when we start exchanging emails; five years after the launch of Q36.5, the individuality of the product is forever evident.

The Salopette Dottore L1 Bibs are unlike many we’ve seen in testing over a dozen so far this spring - their fit and comfort is almost without equal, while the L1 essential vest is so functional, well cut and versatile, we’ve been reaching for it on repeat since ours arrived. Over conversation from his office in Bolzano, northern Italy, he talks about the influence aerodynamics continues to have on his clothing and Q’s focus looking ahead.

How have rider concerns for speed and aerodynamics factored into your designs?  

Aerodynamic is always the main inspiration for us. When we presented the first essentials collection, it was really born from aerodynamic concepts or better from part of the lesson that we learnt from our experiments and passion for aerodynamics in general.

For us this is not just something to make you faster but a method of development, a philosophy. To eliminate everything that makes you slower, you need to eliminate the superfluous, the unnecessary, it is the cleanest form, the purest form.

This is our inspiration we called our road collection - the essential collection. Essential is the driver of our development where we eliminate all the unnecessary in order to design functional apparel. An expression of our obsession for aerodynamics is the Jersey short sleeve L1 Pinstripe and the Salopette Dottore L1, where the aerodynamics concepts and the ergogenic performance are fused together.

To eliminate everything that makes you slower, you need to eliminate the superfluous, the unnecessary, it is the cleanest form, the purest form.

How do you know the kit is aerodynamically sound?    

We have done wind tunnel tests on different conditions, by testing the fabric’s performance (cylinder test) and testing the whole ‘system’: rider, bicycle and the equipment. We are really interested in the research side and we are looking also on the CFD modelling that can make some predictions about the drag or through new units that measure and analyse drag in real time.

Good kit is a componentry system made of several variables: not only the fabric properties but also competition speed, the typology of air flow (several times completely different from the static condition of the wind tunnel) and the placement of the pattern construction - all fundamental aspects.

What's been updated this year in the essentials collection? 

This year we haven’t just added more colors but truly innovated with smart fabric development. After introducing wool into the UF Active (see the Cruise Collection), we have gone on to explore more natural fibers like the UF Seta, a new, ultra-lightweight fabric with a high silk content and added silver thread to give maximum results in the area of thermoregulation.

The outcome of this research is an ultra-lightweight jersey: Jersey Short Sleeve Seta that works extremely well in hot, humid conditions but can adapt, thanks to it’s woven structure, to the cool mornings of summer.

What is the focus for the company in the next five years?  

With this year we are coming to an end of the 4 year collection life cycle and with the 2020 we will completely renovate the Essential Collection, not only an update, but we are developing new materials, new pattern construction, in order to offer an extreme vision of what the future of cycling might be.

For the next ‘Olympic cycle’ we have three main focus in mind that work together: first we’re obsessed with thermoregulation and, in collaboration with EURAC research centre, have developed a method to detect the exact comfort zone areas for different types of cycling clothing. The method is based on the continuous measurement of temperature and relative humidity, environmental and physiological, as well as how textiles respond to these various factors. Our method relies on monitoring the performance of an athlete under different conditions. We collect temperature and relative humidity readings through sensors distributed on both the body and on the clothing. We also use thermal imagery to detect the hot spots and see the distribution of water/sweat saturation.

At the same time, we’re tracking power output of the test rider. These methods allow us to explore the relationship between temperature and comfort as well as the relationship between moisture and comfort.

Another concept that we are focused on is sustainability. Our products are made from start to finish in Italy - from the design to the packaging and including the complete production of both the materials and the finished pieces. Our footprint is within a 350 square kilometer radius of Bolzano. Short transport routes during the production cycle result in reducing the production’s impact on pollution. When choosing our raw materials we collaborate with companies that have a social responsibility, for example they restrict their use of water in the production cycle such as the dying of fibers and materials. When possible, we use recycled fibers as long as we are sure they will not compromise our end product. Q36.5 also uses eco-sustainable raw materials such as post-consumer recycled yarns, biodegradable fibers and natural fibers.

The third element, that is also our raison d’etre, is to create a more functional product. A product that interacts between the human body and the environment and helps the body to maximize the performance and adapt to the different environmental conditions: our dream is to create the most versatile product as possible, an utopian 4-season product that becomes your necessary equipment.

PEdALED joins number of kit makers vying for "adventure" market

Crossing Europe in the Transcontinental Race, professional races with Britain’s oldest team, JLT Condor, and exploring Kyrgyzstan during the first Silk Road mountain - from these experience, PEdALED has gathered up what it has learned and introduced the Odyssey Collection to their growing line up of kit.

Founded in Tokyo, Japan in 2007 by Hideto Suzuki, the Odyssey Collection offers a jacket, bib, jersey, socks and gilet geared specifically for going the distance on epic rides. Full review in a couple weeks.

What this core collections needs is more cargo

Sure, when they were Initially released people called them ridiculous, but take a look around recent kit releases from CDC, PedalED and Rapha and pockets on bib shorts have quickly become ubiquitous - both among adventure cyclists and riders simply looking to schlep a couple extra bits on weekend rides.

For Spring, Rapha brings cargo functionality to their Core range, applying the same layout to bibs that excel on most ride types. These come complete with mesh pockets much like the Explore range - - capacity to take whatever you like up top. A full review in the weeks to come.

The meteoric rise of One Hundred Percent

One Hundred Percent crushes it on style. But how do they stack-up against established players like Oakley’s latest and greatest, the Flight Jackets, on fit, performance and style? Is 100% the heir-apparent to cycling’s lucrative eyewear biz?

Having ridden Oakley’s Flight Jackets for weeks, I was excited to get a look at 100%’s and compare the two on aesthetics and performance. Like Oakley, 100% traces its roots to action sports, in their case, motocross and racing, and since 2010 when the brand was bought (the company actually dates back to 1982 but was then focused entirely on gravity sports and motocross), has applied that spirit to their designs - first with mountain biking, and now road.

The Speedcraft - probably the pair to register in the minds of most when thinking 100% - come out of the box with the company’s “HiPer” orange lens (made by French manufacturer, Dalloz), a spare nose pad, clear lenses, hard case and cloth lens bag. Immediately noticeable when handling the Speedcraft (SoftTac Day Glo orange and white version worn for this review) is the quality feel of the frames, a soft, tacky grilamid that’s velvety on the fingers and distinguishable from harder resins (which the company uses on other models). Also noticeable is the size of the lens, something we’ll address later on.

Oakley’s Flight Jacket comes with their signature hard case, one lens, additional nose pad and sunglass arms to customize length.  Retail on the Speedcraft is $195. For the Oakley Flight Jackets, retail starts at $223.

Both the Prizm and HiPer lenses have an illuminating quality to their fields of view; roads are crisper, sunlight is more vibrant, riding in daylight just looks more vibrant.

Both the Speedcraft and Flight Jacket are made for larger face types. If you wear a medium or large helmet, this means you. Both come with oversized lenses that protect the face from bugs and road debris, particularly at high speed - - something you just don’t get with more compact lens shapes. Also both the Prizm and HiPer lenses have an illuminating quality to their fields of view; roads are crisper, sunlight is more vibrant, riding in daylight just looks more vibrant. It’s difficult to comment specifically on lens quality, one being better than the other, as both the Flight Jackets and Speedcrafts sit at the top of the market. Both create impeccable fields of view thanks in due part to their wide and unobstructed shapes. If you sport a large dome, you’ll enjoy wearing either for these reasons.

From outside edge to edge, the Speedcrafts measure large at 5.7 inches; the Flight Jackets a similar 5.5 inches. Lens height is 2.6 and 2.4 inches, respectively. One slight advantage to the Speedcraft is the arm shape; the elongated curve hugs the face better than the Oakleys. Otherwise on fit, both are excellent with minimal movement when putting out big efforts in the drops.

Oakley’s Flight Jackets are particularly innovative on two accounts: the first is their decision to go rimless at the top of the frame. This enables excessive airflow on the face when riding and virtually eliminates any chance of foggy lenses, even when grinding uphill. They’ve also integrated something called Advancer technology, effectively a button on the bridge that allows for even more airflow in circumstances where it’s required. The Prizm lens used by Oakley is the stuff of modern legend and noticeably different from a lot of what’s available in market. Vision clarity is almost without parallel; you’d have to struggle to find fault in quality.

The Speedcrafts go about airflow differently with roughly a thumb’s distance from face to lens, which is more than enough to keep your field of view unobstructed. One Hundred Percent has applied a very simple and elegant approach to the performance of this frame -- it is a very unique shape that sits well on the face, enhances field of vision, and looks good while doing it. The lens quality is also versatile in bright and low light.

Critically -- and deep sigh of relief -- both frames sit well in our helmet (POC Octal) when not in use.

Whereas previously 100%’s business focused only on goggles, in the two years since structuring relationships with Peter Sagan and Mathieu van der Poel and improving upon the initial 2016 Speedcraft design, the company now counts 20 percent of their sales directly from performance eyewear. But, says the company’s CEO, Ludo Boinnard on a call from his California office, the company is more aware of mimicking Oakley’s trajectory than usurping their position atop the eyewear podium.

On looks, both the Speedcrafts and Flight Jackets have few rivals. Rim shapes, lens shapes, lens quality -- matching these up to kit is easy; wearing them is even better.

This is 100%’s second “real” year of building performance eyewear; the Speedcrafts deliver a lot of value, particularly with the second clear low-light lens coming as standard. The value conscious might favour 100% for this reason.

The ride in either frame types requires confidence; they are atypical designs and comment-worthy in pink and orange. In really bright light, if we had to choose, it’s the Flight Jackets. For everyday wear and versatility with style and panache to match, the Speedcrafts. Both are backed by the best riders in the world; it’s easy to see the relationship between style and performance on both.

Like buying a bike, the call is subjective as to which ends up on your face. Larger, rounder face shapes will be blessed by being able to choose either.