[luelling]

Alright, here is the deal. My bro won the Pro marathon XC title in the NMBS series this year. He can't even get a free bike to save his life.......is thi what the industry has come to? He is a good guy (not a dick) and it just seems like nothing is enough. I thought it was crazy because where else can you get a national champion, worlds qualifier, for the cost of your bike? Maybe I am just remembering the mid 90s when things were great

 

[Transcend]

Alright, here is the deal. My bro won the Pro marathon XC title in the NMBS series this year. He can't even get a free bike to save his life.......is thi what the industry has come to? He is a good guy (not a dick) and it just seems like nothing is enough. I thought it was crazy because where else can you get a national champion, worlds qualifier, for the cost of your bike? Maybe I am just remembering the mid 90s when things were great

It's a fringe sport, even more so than DH. No one really cares about marathon, including promoters. It is usually held up to a week before a world cup or worlds etc comes to town. ie: no publicity.

Also, no offense to him, but an NMBS title means squat now that the series is a laughing stock.

 

[luelling]

It's a fringe sport, even more so than DH. No one really cares about marathon, including promoters. It is usually held up to a week before a world cup or worlds etc comes to town. ie: no publicity.

Also, no offense to him, but an NMBS title means squat now that the series is a laughing stock.

I'm thinking you and I may but heads often...I look forward to it :biggrin: You are aright its a fringe sport....I just remember a day when this kind of result would have constituted a check and he can't even get free bikes......it sucks IMO

 

[Transcend]

I'm thinking you and I may but heads often...I look forward to it :biggrin: You are aright its a fringe sport....I just remember a day when this kind of result would have constituted a check and he can't even get free bikes......it sucks IMO

There was never "a day" for marathon. As a discipline it is pretty new. If he goes out and wins a regular XC title, then he can count on a real team and a real paycheck.

 

[luelling]

There was never "a day" for marathon. As a discipline it is pretty new. If he goes out and wins a regular XC title, then he can count on a real team and a real paycheck.

My point wasn't that there was a "Day" for marathon. Do you even know about the first XC races with Joe Murray? and people of the likes. The standard XC race was around 50 miles.....what Marathon is now. I've raced bikes since '89 and I remember the days when XC was a true epic adventure...just becuase its been reclassed as marathon doesn't make it any less worthy.

 

[luelling]

There was never "a day" for marathon. As a discipline it is pretty new. If he goes out and wins a regular XC title, then he can count on a real team and a real paycheck.

BTW......Go tell Carl Decker about getting a real paycheck....hes a good racer and still deals pizza in the off season. what a life eh?

 

[blue]

BTW......Go tell Carl Decker about getting a real paycheck....hes a good racer and still deals pizza in the off season. what a life eh?

I think that's probably 80% of the pro American MTBers out there...

 

[robdamanii]

Uh, face it: it's hard to make a living riding a bike. Very few people actually can make decent money doing it.

 

[luelling]

I think that's probably 80% of the pro American MTBers out there...

Maybe....doesn't mean it doesn't suck. Before 1999 most people where making decsent cash. It was Grundig leaving that pulled the cash from our sport...it went from Grundig to Diesel and only got worst from there. The wordl cup went from a several million dollar budget to around 100k budget

 

[blue]

Maybe....doesn't mean it doesn't suck. Before 1999 most people where making decsent cash. It was Grundig leaving that pulled the cash from our sport...it went from Grundig to Diesel and only got worst from there. The wordl cup went from a several million dollar budget to around 100k budget

Duh?

You're preaching to the choir, dude.

 

[luelling]

Uh, face it: it's hard to make a living riding a bike. Very few people actually can make decent money doing it.

agreed

 

[Transcend]

BTW......Go tell Carl Decker about getting a real paycheck....hes a good racer and still deals pizza in the off season. what a life eh?

Notice you mention americans.

Go ask Julien Absalon if he deals pizzas, or if he trains in an olympic training facility all off season long.

 

[luelling]

Notice you mention americans.

Go ask Julien Absalon if he deals pizzas, or if he trains in an olympic training facility all off season long.

Here we go buttin heads again. I'm sure he doesn't but that is like comparing Steve Peat to Chris Del Bosco.

 

[skinny mike]

Here we go buttin heads again. I'm sure he doesn't but that is like comparing Steve Peat to Chris Del Bosco.

doesn't steve own part/all of royal racing? that's probably where his cash comes from.

 

[Transcend]

Here we go buttin heads again. I'm sure he doesn't but that is like comparing Steve Peat to Chris Del Bosco.

The point is, there are pros, and then there is the rest of the elite ranks.

The industry doesn't suck so much as there just isn't that many riders in big priority disciplines worth sinking the $ into anymore.

Absalon, Vouilloz, Tomac, Sauser type riders are few and far between. It isn't worth sponsoring a potential top 10 rider through an entire world cup season. Podium or nothing.

GT used to have a Kenworth T2 rig as well, until they realized that they were wasting humongous amounts of cash. Racing doesn't sell Walmart bikes, and top 10s and 20s don't sell any bikes.

 

[Transcend]

doesn't steve own part/all of royal racing? that's probably where his cash comes from.

He sold Royal to 661. His money comes from a decent salary (one of the best in the MTB world) and the fact that he is a consumate professional. Signing autographs, shaking hands, taking pictures with babies type stuff. It takes a lot more than winning races to be worth $ as an athlete.

You have to be podium potential every week as well as an all round nice guy (for the most part) to get one of those big money rides nowadays.

True, you used to be able to be a B level type rider, cruising to top 20s and pulling down a paycheck, but those days are long gone. Marketing managers wizened up.

 

[Zman]

Signing autographs, shaking hands, taking pictures with babies type stuff. It takes a lot mroe than winning races to be worth $ as an athlete.

I think this is the key nowadays. with the team i work with, there are plenty of athletes that are on it that arent placing top ten....some barely top ten expert.....but the reason they are getting free stuff....they are a phenomenal representative of the company. they never talk bad about the gear. they talk to eveyone that wants to talk to the. hell there are a couple that i have had to kick out of the pits to go race cause they were fixing someone else's bike so they coudl go ride. I have seen Tinker do this multiple times, he is still on the top of his game, especially in 24 hour races and the like...but i have known him to have to be stopped from signing autographs because he is alte for the start....and he still wants to sign more. these are the athletes that are getting sponsorships, whether grassroots or partially paid. there are some riders out there that while they are winning shouldnt be getting free gear because they cant represent the sponsor the way they should. and the sponsors know this. they have "spies" out there to ask how this rider was or wasnt. how they behaved. i report back on my team to the manager when they have been really badly behaved. that is where the marketing comes in as well. and as Transcend said, that is why people like Peat are still making good money. they know how to play "the game."

 

[sanjuro]

I think this is the key nowadays. with the team i work with, there are plenty of athletes that are on it that arent placing top ten....some barely top ten expert.....but the reason they are getting free stuff....they are a phenomenal representative of the company. they never talk bad about the gear. they talk to eveyone that wants to talk to the. hell there are a couple that i have had to kick out of the pits to go race cause they were fixing someone else's bike so they coudl go ride. I have seen Tinker do this multiple times, he is still on the top of his game, especially in 24 hour races and the like...but i have known him to have to be stopped from signing autographs because he is alte for the start....and he still wants to sign more. these are the athletes that are getting sponsorships, whether grassroots or partially paid. there are some riders out there that while they are winning shouldnt be getting free gear because they cant represent the sponsor the way they should. and the sponsors know this. they have "spies" out there to ask how this rider was or wasnt. how they behaved. i report back on my team to the manager when they have been really badly behaved. that is where the marketing comes in as well. and as Transcend said, that is why people like Peat are still making good money. they know how to play "the game."

I wouldn't be very cynical about this. Guys who are easy to talk to, fun to be around, and good at what they do, get more sponsorship then someone with the same ability but not so outwardly pleasant/social.

For example, Mark Weir is an extremely nice and fun guy to be around. I have met him a bunch of times, and each time I think what a cool guy. Back it up with stuff like leading Bobby McMullen, who is legally blind, during the Sea Otter Sport DH, and it makes very good sense he is the spokesmodel for 3 major bike brands (just look at any current bike mag).

I am not saying that any other rider is a jerk or less deserving than Weir. But from a practical standpoint, Weir is a well known, hard working, and all-around cool dude. Why not throw him the bucks over someone who barely makes a blip on the publicity scale?

 

[Transcend]

Exactly, Weir is precisely the type of rider I would want to sponsor.

 

[Zman]

I wouldn't be very cynical about this. Guys who are easy to talk to, fun to be around, and good at what they do, get more sponsorship then someone with the same ability but not so outwardly pleasant/social.

For example, Mark Weir is an extremely nice and fun guy to be around. I have met him a bunch of times, and each time I think what a cool guy. Back it up with stuff like leading Bobby McMullen, who is legally blind, during the Sea Otter Sport DH, and it makes very good sense he is the spokesmodel for 3 major bike brands (just look at any current bike mag).

I am not saying that any other rider is a jerk or less deserving than Weir. But from a practical standpoint, Weir is a well known, hard working, and all-around cool dude. Why not throw him the bucks over someone who barely makes a blip on the publicity scale?

perfect example of the type of person i was talking about

 

[sanjuro]

Conversely, the athlete which I think is the fakest is Michael Jordan. He is a horrible teammate, competitor, and person; but he was so talented, companies throw money at him.

Last year a manager at my corporate job mentioned during a meeting about what a good teammate Jordan was, and I just chuckled. Later I told her the story about how he punched out Steve Kerr in practice because Kerr was checking him too tough.

For some reason, this did not make any beat writer's column even though it was at a open practice, and Jordan never apologized and barely acknowledged the incident, even to his own teammate.