an extreme vision of the future of cycling In the early 1980s, as a member of the Veloce Club Bolzano cycling team, out training that little bit which you could in winter, 5kg heavier than I wanted to be -but only because of the weight of my cold weather kit!- I started catching glimpses of a few fluidly pedaling Martians out on the road. On closer examination, these Martians proved to not actually be Martians but snobs, connoisseurs and professional riders, or more specifically: cyclists who were wearing giacche termiche, thermo-combi bodysuits, the first lycra bib shorts… These were the first images I caught of the modern clothing project as applied to cycling: lightweight synthetic performance fabrics, anatomical cut, ease of movement. I immediately fell in love with the purity and essentialism of the designs, the ideals of the project. Not long after these first experiences I began to involve myself more directly in the design of these “martian” outfits and for the next 20 years I would work on garments regarded as amongst the world’s most highly performing pieces of cycling clothing.. The startling innovations in cycling clothing design continued throughout these years, some originating from the company I worked for, others not, some visually striking, others powered by hidden technologies, all very pure: the first socks to employ open mesh weave panels (a true ‘body mapping system’), Windstopper™ laminated membranes which immediately shaved hundreds of grams from thermal jackets, the first elastic chamois insert in bib shorts in 2001, a certain American company’s plastic eyewear, which gave technical credibility to a product which had previously been considered ‘poor’, the development of the first seamless base layers, which completely revolutionized the layered approach to dressing for riding… The clothes designed by Q36.5 belong to this history
of pure innovation. Some of our designs are entirely innovative and create new clothing systems, others instead refine the details of an industry benchmark, making it even purer. In each instance every piece of clothing carrying the Q36.5 label always brings with it a distinctly new feeling relative to anything the rider has previously worn on a bicycle. This unique, and historically new tactile quality is something invisible but at the same time the real signature of the brand. -Luigi Bergamo-