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Who's worth sponsoring?

T

trib

not worthy of a Rux.
Jun 22, 2009
1,479
422
As the title suggests, who's are the most sponsorable riders?

After seeing how Voreis is without a frame sponsor, who else is out there sponsorless and needs more support? Or more interestingly, which sponsored riders perhaps aren't the glowing endorsement their sponsors hope they'll be (not seeing many Shimano PRO components out there...)

For me, a guy like Voreis makes fun videos that make me think his sponsors make products that allow me to have fun. On the other hand watching team WC DH videos and seeing factory riders say their bike wasn't riding well doesn't filll me with confidence that I'll be getting the best from their machine.

I can confidently say that I'm not considering a Rotwilde frame...whereas the new Propain frames look great fun, simply because of their riders.

Seeing how YT has backed riders and their response to Paul Bas's injury has made me want to support them.

So, without ruining any careers, which riders/companies actuallly make you want to support them?
 
Gary

Gary

"S" is for "neo-luddite"
Aug 27, 2002
7,645
5,562
UK
I wouldn't buy ANY product based on which riders that company support.
I'm not 12 years old.

Hope that hasn't ruined any "Careers"

By all means spunk your pocket money on a Proprain but bear in mind Phil Atwill'd ride any bike like that.
 
FlipSide

FlipSide

Turbo Monkey
Sep 24, 2001
1,387
825
It's not going to bring me to buy a bike, but I think Rocky Mountain is doing a great job with Wade, Tippie, etc. ...and these guys are doing a great job for the brand as well.

I would expect Santa Cruz to do the same with Peat and Minnaar. These guys will probably roll in ultra-bling full-crabon Santa Cruz wheelchairs when they'll be too old to walk...
 
'size

'size

Turbo Monkey
May 30, 2007
2,000
338
AZ
i think the only time i've bought a product based on rider 'endorsement' was levi's. fuckin' palmer.
 
T

trib

not worthy of a Rux.
Jun 22, 2009
1,479
422
Gary said:
I wouldn't buy ANY product based on which riders that company support.
I'm not 12 years old.

Hope that hasn't ruined any "Careers"

By all means spunk your pocket money on a Proprain but bear in mind Phil Atwill'd ride any bike like that.
Click to expand...
I haven't bought a product due to rider endorsement (not conciously anyway) for years, I bought some x-lite phatso rims because the cool kids at the jump spot ran them but that's about it.

It seems odd that our sport revolves so heavily around sponsored riders and racing and so few people seem to be that influenced by results or riders.
 
saruti

saruti

Turbo Monkey
Oct 29, 2006
1,169
73
Israel
I think sponsoring an athlete is a good thing. for both sides. (actually 3 sides...)
and I think that products that are tested by athletes are better products, if you consider the abuse that they are going through. and than the company makes changes to the product to make it better and safer and.. well.. better.
sure there are very good products that pro athletes dont use. Like the Turner DHR DW that I bought :)
but after a year on that frame, I went back to the Sunday frame... guess why.
so sponsoring is good. but not every company can afford.
 
E

epic

Turbo Monkey
Sep 15, 2008
1,041
21
All things being equal, I will definitely take sponsorships into consideration when I am buying stuff. For example, I put Mobil 1 oil in my cars because the support McLaren (as soon as I run out, switching to Castrol since the sponsorship changed for 2017). Bike stuff isn't all the same, but certainly racers can make it seem legit, tires for example, a few years back, you just KNEW that Maxxis was the only tire that performs, now we see people winning on other brands too.

Sponsorship is only one little piece of sales - PRO Components, where would I buy them? It's not just a question of who is or is not riding them.
 
saruti

saruti

Turbo Monkey
Oct 29, 2006
1,169
73
Israel
brake squat, chainstay length.
I rode them both back to back. and I like the sunday more. but that just me.
 
djjohnr

djjohnr

Turbo Monkey
Apr 21, 2002
3,017
1,718
Northern California
The fact that a part is being used by the world's best athletes is often used by some people as a test to see if a product they don't know much about is worthy (I've definitely done this with tires as noted above). However, I wonder what % of the high end bike purchasing public that segment makes up (i.e. race knowledgable mountain bike enthusiasts). I suspect it's pretty low, but I think that we often influence a lot of other bike buyers, so there's likely a lot of secondary influencer sales that could be attributed to sponsorships. I think the litmus test for a good athlete to sponsor would be their ability to obtain media exposure. It may not just be based on race results - i.e. Rey Metailler could be a better bet then Danny Hart based on how often he's on the front page of Pinkbike.
 
jackalope

jackalope

Mental acuity - 1%
Jan 9, 2004
7,608
5,924
in a single wide, cooking meth...
Phuck guys like Remi and GM...If I was going to sponsor someone, it'd be this guy (and not just because he has awesome hair and rocks an always in style goatee) -



I present the President of the American Dental Association. The bike industry has only scratched the surface of the dentite motherload. So, so much crabon...
 
ianjenn

ianjenn

Turbo Monkey
Sep 12, 2006
3,001
704
SLO
kidwoo said:
I'm sponsored by my full time non-bike industry employment. It's sick yo. Check my instagram. #9to5 #blessed #rushhour #janetinaccounting
Click to expand...
Why not #tedinaccounting is this some sort of masculine subliminal message........
 
M

marshalolson

Turbo Monkey
May 25, 2006
1,770
519
Some brands put a lot of stock in communicating who the company is to the end users.

Look at GT- went from results driven (athertons) to good times this year.

Sponsorship is much more subliminal. Who is the Brand and what does it stand for? Not the old school product placement cave man marketing it used to be.
 
yopaulie

yopaulie

Monkey
Jun 4, 2009
165
7
NH
Most bikes perform extremely well now....probably tough to find a shitty one? So for me it comes down to what the company represents or at least who they choose to sponsor. A different example but if I feel the need to buy an energy drink I always go with Red Bull because I love the shit they support.
 
Sandwich

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,073
5,985
borcester rhymes
I love the new GT squad, but I was pretty disappointed that the race recaps were so decaffeinated. I was expecting a little more beer spilling, wrecking, and antics. I mostly got race footage and headshots of how great the "scene" is.
 
Kevin

Kevin

Turbo Monkey
Sep 6, 2004
4,540
1,007
In Holland sticking my finger in a dike...
yopaulie said:
Most bikes perform extremely well now....probably tough to find a shitty one? So for me it comes down to what the company represents or at least who they choose to sponsor. A different example but if I feel the need to buy an energy drink I always go with Red Bull because I love the shit they support.
Click to expand...
Ive been boycotting (yeah that will teach them!) Redbull ever since i did some work for them building one up one of their top freeride mtb events a bunch of years ago.
Lets just say my impression of how they treat people that work for them, and im not just talking me and my building buddies but a guy I know they owe a lot too, wasnt that good...
 
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