From small beads to a stable cycling helmet. A visit to ABUS
Task
At the beginning of March, we were able to present our 2023 jersey design. The racing check and rainbow colour gradient are the dominant design elements of the Maloja Pushbikers in the coming months. The Abus Gamechanger is a highlight of our team kit as it not only picks up the design of the jersey, but also lets it shine. Two of our Pushbikers were lucky to get very close to the production of the Pushbikers helmets.
It is a sunny winter day in February when our pushbikers Liam Bertazzo and Filippo Fortin arrive at the Abus factory site in Camisano Vicentino. “The visit was a nice surprise because a long-time friend who has been working for Abus for some time had seen photos of me wearing Abus helmets on the internet and contacted me as a result,” explains Liam. Für unsere beiden italienischen Fahrer war es neu, dass Abus Fahrradhelme seit 2021 ganz in der Nähe ihrer Heimat produziert werden. Und so nutzen sie gerne die Möglichkeit, mehr darüber zu erfahren, wie denn das Produkt, dass ihnen jeden Tag auf dem Rad Sicherheit gibt, überhaupt entsteht.
Liam and Pippo were able to follow very closely how the helmets are produced in high volumes – but also how individual helmets are made. In the beginning there are always small, black balls: Carbon for cycling helmets. From them, the basic shapes are created by heat, which are then further processed piece by piece into the complete product we know. “What’s exciting about this is that the carbon is soaked in paint so that when the helmet gets scratched, it doesn’t lose the colour,” Liam tells us. The fact that colour is of great importance was shown not least by the many pots of paint in the factory. “It became particularly interesting when the staff showed us our helmet and described how the paint should be distributed on the helmet. With great care for gradient and shading, and really attention to detail.”
The attention to detail and the precision behind every single, small detail – that was particularly memorable on this day. Our two Italian professionals were both impressed by the fact that a German company with a big name relies on Italian quality and precision. “This synergy between two cultures made me a little proud,” says Liam, “especially since there are also different cultures in our team. But with the right dialogue and a shared desire to move forward, success is achieved. Meanwhile, cycling is almost like a business, and being able to have entrepreneurial ideas ourselves and see them in partners like Abus also helps us grow as a team.”
It is incredibly exciting to develop special products for the team with our partners and to be able to hold them in our hands at the end. We would like to thank all the Abus staff on site for the opportunity to learn more about how our helmet is made. And we will wear the Gamechanger with pride this season.