MEET LIMAR
They’re the official helmet brand of British Triathlon. But is there more than just a magnetic buckle to attract triathletes to Limar’s Air Speed lid? We find out
Bianchi, Cinelli, Colnago, Legend, Santini,
Vittoria and Limar. It’d probably be easier to list the Italian cycling brands not based in Bergamo or the surrounding Lombardy area. A city of a million residents 50km east of Milan in the Italian north, Bergamo has long been famous for its production of bikes, parts and clothing.
There are also the legendary tarmac and ascents of Passo del Ghisallo, Passo San Marco and Colma di Sormano in close proximity, not to mention the church of the patron saint of cycling, Madonna del Ghisallo. All of which supports the evidence that this is one of the most influential cycling hubs in Italy and, therefore, the world.
“Veneto and Lombardia are the two main areas for cycling in Italy,” says Bianca Bernardi, export manager of Limar helmets, from Bergamo. “The region is an industrial area with only a few big companies; all of the businesses are family run and that’s why you have a growth of businesses that all specialise in the same thing. We’re also a huge area for producing buttons. Limar itself is part of a group of companies that specialise in MPE [the production of expanded polystyrene, used in the vast majority of bike helmets].”
At the start of 2020, however, Bergamo and the Lombardy region became famous for reasons other than bikes, buttons and its high-flying football team, Atalanta. Reasons no one could’ve predicted and from which, emotionally, the city will take many years to heal…
A CYCLING BOOM
In March 2020, Bergamo became Europe’s first epicentre of Covid-19. Haunting images were projected around the world of makeshift morgues and lines of coffins, confirming that Covid-19 wasn’t consigned to just Asia.
“If I talk about it or think of the feelings of that period, I’ll start to cry,” says Bernardi, the emotions clearly still raw. “We’re Italian so we’re surrounded by churches, but the bells were always striking [to signify] deaths. The local newspaper of the city usually has a page that lists the local deaths. During Covid, there were 15 pages.”
Forty-two percent of the city’s 1 million population contracted the virus in the first wave, including Bernardi, but infections have been significantly lower in the city this winter.
“The cost of herd immunity has been unbelievable,” explains Bernardi. “Bergamo is in a good situation now only because of what we’ve already paid in terms of death.
“Yet cycling has also benefited from lockdown in Italy,” adds Bernardi, “and especially for e-bikes. The gyms and pools are closed, and people don’t want to get on public transport, so they’re cycling more. A city like Bergamo previously didn’t consider cyclists in its urban planning – and we have Scotland’s population in a much smaller area – but we’re now full of cycle routes. My family started cycling for the first time in lockdown.”
As anyone who has ridden a bike path in the UK since the various lockdowns began will know, recreational cycling has become a broader pastime. More families and newcomers to cycling are getting out there, evidenced by how hard it is to find an affordable bike to purchase without a lengthy delivery time.
“In Italy we have a big history of road cycling, but the cyclists are always of the same age,” adds Bernardi. “Now you see a boom in the entry- and middle-level riders. More people are fond of cycling now because of such a terrible thing.”
LI-M-AR IS BORN
Limar helmets began life in the late 1980s when three workers – Lilianna, Marco and Armando – at an expanded polystyrene (EPS) company in Bergamo started to produce helmets for mountain biking. “At the time road cyclists, especially men, didn’t want to wear helmets and it took us ages to force them to,” says Bernardi. “We then asked [multiple world cycling champion] Gianni Bugno, and he replied that, ‘I’ll wear a helmet if it’s tiny, well ventilated and light’.”
In addition to the obvious safety demands, this shape, ventilation and lightness request became a maxim for Limar from that day onwards, and they became EPS pioneers in the in-mould and double moulding processes seen in the vast majority of helmets today.
“We produce for our competitors at our premises here in Bergamo,” adds Bernardi. “We’ve an open laboratory that produces hundreds of types of high density, mechanical and shock absorption products. That’s why we’ve been able to create the lightest helmet in the world. Comfort comes from lightness so road cyclists can wear it for many hours, but it’s about designing the right helmet for the right person. We have to factor in different lines for Caucasian and Asian riders due to different head shapes, while helmets for those riding heavy e-bikes need more protection, as people who might not be experienced cyclists can be riding at 50km/h. Safety for a producer of bike helmets is paramount.”
When pro world and Olympic titles, age-group honours, Strava KOMs and more are on the line, different design factors are added to that primary role of safety in a helmet. “When we go up in the pyramid of helmet design, top athletes need more than just safety,” Bernardi states. “They need their head to become an aerodynamic advantage, so we factor in performance by using unique technology, such as carbon in the Air Flow helmet and we’ve adapted MIPS into a more rider-friendly design.”
The Italians would take the title for the world’s lightest helmet in 1994 with their FI04 and various versions of its Ultralight in the 21st Century, with the Ultralight+ gracing the scales at 175g (the weight of a 12-inch vinyl record). As with bike frame design, aerodynamics has taken priority over total mass in the intervening period, with that traditional road and TT hybrid – the aero road helmet – now absorbing the lion’s share of innovation.
“The needs of pro racers have changed; they’re working to their very limits and everything can give them an advantage,” continues Bernardi. “As sponsors we’re put under strong pressure by [pro cycling team] Astana to produce the best helmet for both road and time-trial. We barely sell any time-trial helmets, but the one Astana use took us 18 months to produce. Every supplier has to spend millions, but then you gain a huge amount of visibility at the Grand Tours that’s worth the expense. As a helmet brand we’re clearly seen on the television footage, unlike our friends who produce saddles!”
TRI INVESTMENT
While the nation has offered the world Coppi, Bartali, Pantini, Cipollini, Nibali and countless more in road cycling, Italy isn’t necessarily a triathlon powerhouse. It’s never hosted an ITU World Series race and, despite a coastline of 7,600km and multiple islands, Ironman and Challenge are (or were) only starting to gain a
“IN THE LATE 1980s, ROAD CYCLISTS, ESPECIALLY MEN, DIDN’T WANT TO WEAR HELMETS. IT TOOK AGES TO FORCE THEM”
relative foothold with races in Venice, Rome and Emilia-Romagna; while maintaining the survival of the wonderful Elbaman, held since 2005 on the island of Elba, hasn’t always been plain sailing. Multiple Ironman 70.3 winner Daniel Fontana remains the nation’s most storied triathlete, despite racing for Argentina until he was 30.
“We haven’t had the fashion of triathlon yet in Italy,” says Bernardi. “Italy is the world of football and road cycling. But maybe a new generation can introduce triathlon to a younger audience. There’s also a matter of facilities, and the UK and Australia seem to have invested more in [public] swimming pools than Italy.” The CEO of Limar, Giovanni Caporali, joins the call at this juncture. “Triathlon is very tough and we’re more of a holiday nation!”, he laughs. “We go for a ride to relax instead of training.”
The relative lack of heritage hasn’t stopped Limar pursuing a multisport path, however, with the brand targeting British triathletes with its now five-strong Air Revolution range. The most aerodynamic of the bunch, the Air Speed seen here, is part of a development process involving both the Astana pro cycling tour team (who partnered with Limar in 2017) and recently, British Triathlon’s Elite Performance Squad. The journey began when Astana requested that their helmets were more aerodynamic than lightweight, before Limar and the pro tour team collaborated at the F1 wind tunnel facility at Magny Cours, France.
ENTER BRITISH TRI
After its Astana refinements, the Air Speed was taken to British Triathlon’s Olympic Podium squads (whose members are all free to find their own helmet sponsors), with athletes requesting a magnetic buckle that could be used at speed in transition where every second counts in making the lead bike group (ease of use with cold, postswim hands is a further benefit).
The buckle change meant a further round of safety tests on the strap, but it led to many of the elite squad wearing it, including ITU world champ
Vicky Holland. Limar soon became the official helmet supplier of British Triathlon’s various squads, with the Welsh Edition particularly attractive to athletes west of the border.
As is the trend for helmet brands, Limar naturally claim that theirs is one of the fastest in the wind tunnel, but our own independent testing corroborates their data. Limar’s own tunnel testing only extended to athletes riding on the hoods, yet our tri-bar Boardman Performance Centre wind tunnel analysis from January 2020 saw the £180 Air Speed come second overall behind the £250 S-Works Evade II.
The Air Speed performed especially well at 45km/hr and 0° yaw angle and 35km/h and 10° yaw, with our tri-bar set-up showing that the helmet’s appeal can go beyond ITU racers and into the arena of Ironman. And what do those numbers mean? A potential time saving of 2:15mins over a 180km Ironman bike leg compared to a standard vented road helmet, proving that helmets are up there with tri-suits as one of the best bangs for your aero buck.