153. Aero mutinies and secret shorts with Castelli's Steve Smith

This week Will and James are joined by Castelli and Sportful’s global brand manager, Steve Smith. Steve grew up in Portland, USA, where he – like most of the city he says – worked for Nike for 10 years. But in 2000 he decided to make a bold move to Italy, to live the bella vita with a job at Sportful. Four years later parent company Manifattura Valcismon bought Castelli, and in the years since Steve and his team have been responsible for some of the biggest game-changers in cycling, from creating some of the earliest, wind-tunnel designed aero kit to the now infamous Castelli Gabba, which revolutionised foul weather cycling gear and spawned a whole new genre of clothing along the way.

In this chat, Steve explains how those early aero jerseys sparked a mutiny within Castelli’s sponsored pros; the day Castelli blew everyone’s minds – including the race commissaires – with turquoise shorts; what the fastest kit would really look like if riders could only put it on properly; what changes in the law around PFC chemicals have really meant for cycling clothing; and how waterproof kit actually works – and why some jackets lose it, while others will be waterproof forever.

Our chat with Steve begins at 10.34

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This episode is brought to you by the Hammerhead Karoo GPS bike computer. Visit hammerhead.io and use the code CYCLIST to get a free HR strap with every purchase (just be sure to add the strap to your cart then apply the code at checkout)

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