Quality above all; reportage Spidi

Of course, everyone has long known that you should be at Chromeburner for the best motorcycle clothing. And that includes gloves. That's why we only take top brands under our wing, such as Italian Spidi. Of course, their gems don't show up in the shop by themselves. We are quite curious about the entire development process, so we sought it out.

The beginning of Spidi

If something does not exist, then there is really only one possibility. You make it yourself. That's what Renato Dalla Grana must have thought when he started Spidi in 1977. At the time, good gloves for motorcyclists were hard to find, so he decided to give that market a serious boost. From his garage in Montebello Vicentino, near the city of Vicenza, Dalla Grana sets to work to develop the best possible motorcycle glove and immediately also looks for the best environment to test his product. He soon realizes that the glove can experience a rapid development curve in one specific place, and that is within the walls of the Grand Prix paddock. The Italian tries to get his product around the hands of the best drivers in the world in '78, and he succeeds. He manages to snare several top riders, including Kenny Roberts. The Yamaha factory rider even manages to win his first world title that year, and it also immediately brings Spidi gloves to attention. The Speed Kenny, as the Spidi is then called, will also be around the hands of the 500cc world champion in the following years. Both Roberts (1978, 1979 and 1980) and Franco Uncini (1982), Freddie Spencer (1983) and Eddie Lawson (1984 and 1985) ride with Renato Dalla Grana's well-protective glove.

A bigger budget

It turned out to be a golden move for Dalla Grana to carry out the development of his Spidi glove on the track, with the very fastest drivers in the world as test subjects. In a short period of time, he receives an enormous amount of feedback on his product and, as a result, soon manages to deliver a tremendously high quality. Innovation after innovation follows. It even ensures that a few years later, 1989 to be exact, he can also focus with Spidi on the complete equipment of the motorcyclist. This also allows more room for research into new developments, and this continuously bears fruit. One of the results, for example, is the fact that the engineers have managed to use the composite material of Spidi's Warrio back protector also for the gloves. As a result, the motorcyclist receives even more protection while still maintaining the fine ergonomics. The many hours of development also lead to the first airbag jacket in 1999, making Spidi the first motorcycle clothing manufacturer to use this technology. By the way, it is not very strange that Spidi is concentrating enormously on research for even better motorcycle clothing. From day one, protection has been a top priority for the Italian manufacturer. That is why they also set up their own Safety Lab. In this department they continuously work on improving protection, for example by analyzing the gloves of crashed motorcyclists. They use all this knowledge to keep Spidi products at an extremely high level at all times.

To make that happen, in Montebello Vicentino (where the company is still based) they look beyond just their own expertise. Spidi collaborates with some external parties to improve their products even further. For example, they have been engaging the company Toray for years. This Japanese team of specialists deals with simulating extreme weather conditions, allowing them to create the perfect conditions to test Spidi's waterproof and breathable H2OUT membrane.

A strong relationship

In addition to providing the necessary protection, Spidi obviously wants to deliver a beautiful product. After all, they are Italians and they like good designs. For this they also work with an external party. For a large part of the collection they work together with the well-known Drudi Design. This company of Aldo Drudi has a huge amount of experience in the field of design in the motorcycle industry. Among other things, he is responsible for the helmet designs of Valentino Rossi, but he also does not turn his hand to the decoration of the Misano circuit. For years there has been a close and solid relationship between Spidi and Drudi Design.

With all the technical developments and fine designs, it is possible for the Italian motorcycle clothing manufacturer to create a very nice collection of gloves. In total, Spidi has 29 different models. Many of them are also available as specific models for the slimmer female hand. Getting all those gloves to the dealers obviously requires a good logistical plan. Especially since Spidi maintains very strict quality control. Unlike many other manufacturers, all products are still checked by hand. A time-consuming job, but this way Spidi can maintain a very high standard.

A fast pace

After all the checks (sometimes even a triple inspection) are done, the logistics operation can begin. From headquarters, they direct this process and a national importer can make its request for the delivery of the necessary products. In the Netherlands, Batavi Trading performs that task. Once they have placed an order, they quickly arrange for the products to leave the warehouse and be sent on their way via road transport. That way Batavi Trading can quickly have sufficient stock so that they can serve their dealer network as efficiently as possible. The final step that then follows is actually shipping the requested items to the dealers.

After that, the responsibility lies with the store personnel, to market Spidi's collection. Due to the high quality of the products, this is not the most difficult task, but again, of course, motorcyclists must first experience that Spidi only makes quality products. This requires the necessary knowledge about the motorcycle clothing of the Italian top brand and so product trainings are also given regularly. That way, it is possible for motorcycle store personnel to give a clear explanation. That way, the motorcyclist knows exactly what techniques are hidden in the Spidi glove he or she puts on.

Leather of the best quality

A big advantage for Spidi is the fact that they are located in the region of Veneto. In fact, this region of Italy is known for its leather and this is also where the best tanneries in Europe are located. Because of Spidi's years of experience, they will celebrate their 45th anniversary in 2022, they know exactly where to get the best leather. For the gloves of the Italian motorcycle clothing manufacturer, they mainly use leather that comes from goats, sheep, lambs and calves. The only exception is the Carbo Kangaroo, where we probably don't need to explain what material was used.