De Marchi - Back to the future of high-tech cyclingwear
By Cyclingnews staff
De Marchi is a company with a strong emphasis on using the latest fabric and insert technologies to make riders as comfortable as possible. But the descendants of founder Emelio De Marchi haven't forgotten the values that got the company started back in the 1920s.
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In the late 1920's, when Ottavio Bottechia was riding the unpaved roads of Northeastern Italy's Veneto and Fruili reigons, Emilio De Marchi opened his first bicycle store in Congeliano, a pretty town 50km north of Venice. His wife Emma began to sew some bicycle jerseys for friends and club members and soon after WW2, De Marchi expanded this part of his business to open "Maglificio Sportivo De Marchi." Over a half-century later, De Marchi is still in business in Congeliano, although Grandfather Emilio might not recognize the high-tech, hi performance cycling wear his two grandsons Stefano and Mauro Coccia turn out every season.
"We're very proud of our legacy here at De Marchi", Mauro Coccia explained to Cyclingnews' Italia Bici. "Our mother, who worked in the original Maglificio Sportivo De Marchi, still comes in and looks after the sample production and makes sure our seamstresses are getting things just right." Over the years, in evolving from a maglificio sportive to a top level cycling wear manufacturer, De Marchi has had much experience in applying the lessons of product development to improve their product.
"Back in the post-war days, and into the 1960's and '70's, De Marchi sponsored plenty of road racing teams, but we entered the business, we got saw little return from this. We had lots of new ideas but couldn't apply them to road cycling," Mauro explained. "We liked mountain biking a lot more so in the late '80's, we began to sponsor mountain bike teams like Ritchey, GT, Schwinn, Diamond Back and others." Coccia made the point that although mountain biking wasn't as big of a sport as road racing, the demands on the technical clothing were as great and in some cases, more demanding than road racing.
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"From mountain biking, which is a shorter effort but more intense than road, we learned that you can't compromise on comfort. Especially with our shorts," related De Marchi's Mauro Coccia. De Marchi experimented with gel and air-bladder "pump" technology cycling short inserts meanwhile clothing many of the worlds top dirt riders. "We also ended up doing a lot of those one-piece downhill suits for riders like Nico Vouilloz and Dave Cullinan, which helped us refine our approach to fit." De Marchi also sponsored top pro road team Ag2R in the late 'ninties as well as top Italian amateur teams. "Sponsoring Ag2R was a great experience too; we made all their team clothing to custom fit and sent the seamstresses out to their training camp to measure each rider. A guy with legs like Jaan Kirsipuu just can't ride shorts with the same size legs as a regular rider. He has real tree trunks!" Coccia also pointed out that De Marchi's Ag2R sponsorship was a great way to test out their new ideas about short inserts. "We tested many new technologies and approaches with Ag2R. When guys are racing and training on the bike for seven and eight hours, their short insert has to have maximum comfort and performance. Now, a few years later, all our chamois are made by sister company Cytech, leader in the high-tech chamois market. So after more than fifty years in the cycling clothing business, De Marchi has a lot going on these days, with exciting new products and ideas bubbling away for 2004 and beyond.
Mauro showed Cyclingnews their De Marchi's Contour Plus shorts. "We're really excited about our new Contour Plus shorts. We had a great response to our original Contour shorts and we've put a lot of effort into developing our new Contour Plus bib shorts." Contour Plus offers a unique design with contoured side panels and soft, ventilated microfibre mesh straps for maximum comfort and performance. Contour Plus uses special a "Sensitive Power" Du Pont Lycra fabric for contoured lateral inserts (Meryl Microfibre for moisture transport and Power Lycra for muscle support)
De Marchi added sculpted contour panels for the most natural, unrestricted movement and maximum comfort. These Contour panels are made of Du Pont "Sensitive Power" Lycra, while Contour Plus' central core is made of Dry3+ Lycra and treated with Intera, which provides the Contour Plus central core optimal moisture transport.
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At that crucial crotch comfort point, De Marchi's Contour Plus bib shorts have a state of the art "Comp" Elastic Interface insert from Cytech. Their EI technology acts as a second skin as it stretches to match the body's movements on the saddle, reducing chafing and bunching. "Comp" EI insert has multi-density and multi thickness layers for maximum saddle comfort. De Marchi Contour Plus bib shorts now are available at several on-line retailers and select shops in the USA.
Besides their state-of-the-art approach to cycling clothing De Marchi takes with their Contour Plus bib shorts and other products, De Marchi haven't forgotten their origins. "A few years ago, we were moving some boxes around and we found a lot of old photos from our company's past," explained Mauro Coccia "We were inspired by them and the general retro mania to create some authentic replica items from that era and call them De Marchi Classics." Coccia further explained that "we didn't even think that there was still a market for this type of product; it was really a labour of love for us and a way to have some fun. But when we brought De Marchi Classics to the Interbike show last year, a lot of people came to our stand to order it but we didn't even have a price list!" After Interbike, De Marchi decided to commercialize their De Marchi Classics range and it will be available at retail in the USA on a limited basis this spring.
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Their Imola mesh gloves are a good example of De Marchi Classics; with a real alcantara leather palm for comfort and durability, Imola has a hand-woven mesh back and features De Marchi's "gallo" logo on the leather strap closure. De Marchi Classics has several wool jerseys, but their Audace model is the most authentic. With mixed wool construction, brass style front zip, three rear pockets and old-style embroidered De Marchi's "gallo" logo, Audace is the real deal when it comes to Italian wool cycling jerseys. De Marchi also has a unique, limited edition DS jacket, inspired by the original their granddad knitted up back in the 1950's. With solid ribbed wool construction, brass style front zip, a sleeve pocket and embroidered De Marchi's "gallo" logo, you'll feel like a team manager in days of yore when you don this item.
With a unique blend of modernity and tradition, from their high-technology 21st century performance of De Marchi's Contour Plus bib shorts to the authentic retro of their authentic, retro De Marchi Classics line, Conegliano, Italy's De Marchi Sport can successfully look back to the future of high tech cycling wear.
Visit the De Marchi Web site
Visit the De Marchi 'Classic' Web site
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