Spidi

Spidi was started by Italian Renato Dalla Grana in 1977,^[2][3][4] and initially only manufactured racing gloves for motorcycle riders.^[5] The company was incorporated in Italy in 1985^[6] and began producing motorcycle apparel in 1989.^[7]

Spidi has sponsored riders such as Kenny Roberts,^[8] Marco Melandri,^[9][10] Sete Giberneau,^[11] and Colin Edwards.^[11]

Spidi received the first CE for their motorcycle jacket protectors in 1996.^[12][13] and produced their first universal motorcycle airbag in 2010.^[14] An integral cooling system called the Anatomic Intercooler System (AIS) intercooler system,^[15] developed from astronaut's space suits,^[16][17] was introduced in 2004 through a technology transfer project with the European Space Agency.^[18]

In 1995, Nobuatsu (Noboru) Ueda fell off his bike, breaking his arm and receiving nerve damage that nearly paralyzed his right hand.^[19] To assist him in continuing to ride, Spidi designed a glove with a mechanised band system that allowed Ueda to grip the throttle and brake levers, which was nicknamed the "Magic Glove".^[20][19] In 2018, a glove based on the same technology was created for rider Jorge Martin who was suffering from neuritis of the hand after an injury caused by unexpected nerve inflammation.^[21][22][23]

In 2019, Spidi released a prototype jacket, called the Mission Beta, created to assist riders who travel through areas with high pollution, smoke or other particulates.^[24][25] Citing that commuter motorcyclists can experience particulate levels 100 time higher than car drivers,^[26] the jacket contains a built-in mask system which contains an air pollution sensor.^[27][28] When the air quality reaches a high enough level, a small screen on the arm of the jacket alerts the rider to the situation so they can put on their mask.^[29][30]

Spidi’s Ducati Corse C3 was the world‘s first glove to achieve a 4-star rating (the highest result at the time) in MotoCAP’s independent safety tests.^[31]