Cycling fans will know Abus as the helmet worn by Mathieu van der Poel – the Dutch superstar of a Belgian team sporting a German brand. What few of those fans will realise, however, is that the helmet

Joe Tinley (right) started tinkering with old British bikes as a kid thanks to his dad John (left). Joe ended up making it his full-time job and now Toolbox Lifestyle is a thriving firm specialising in Matchless and AJS

1994-2004 DUCATI 916

1995-2004 BMW R1150GS ADVENTURE

1955-1964 1975-1984 YAMAHA RD350LC

Today, down jackets built for K2 are worn on the school run and premium waterproofs pop up in pubs. In their photo book, Max Leonard and Henry Iddon track down hard-as-nails but unheralded mountaineers and the fabric innovators who put them safely – and sometimes even stylishly – on summits to ask how we got here