oh oh oh. i have! yay me!
WC #6 - Val Di Sole (ITA) 2015
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There is anti-doping at UCI events, you know...
That's 100% different. If you can't see that they you have a fundamental misunderstanding of my post.
what the fuk has happened to this thread? donating to female riders? doping?
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r.i.p world cup '15
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<3 JENNIFER
I mostly agree with that but I think Anne Caro sold some Ibis HD3s in the last year.
[erases long post about the importance of fiber and a brief review of Tucks medicated pads]what the fuk has happened to this thread? donating to female riders? doping?
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r.i.p world cup '15
Totally agree, we're off the rails now. Someone should go ahead and start a Worlds thread.
People get so caught up in their own little romantic views of what bike companies should be that they forget they are businesses.
If sponsoring a female rider would mean any sort of profit, they would probably be doing it more.
Even if it would make a profit, im guessing its negligable since companies like Spesh dont even bother.
But ofcourse monkeys know better then the top
Dollar marketing teams of specialized, giant etc.
If sponsoring a female rider would mean any sort of profit, they would probably be doing it more.
Even if it would make a profit, im guessing its negligable since companies like Spesh dont even bother.
But ofcourse monkeys know better then the top
Dollar marketing teams of specialized, giant etc.
Not claiming to know more than guys who actually run bike companies, but I'm still curious if the sponsored WC DH men = quantifiable and meaningful profit. As in does Sam Dale sell Sacarens, and if so, in numbers which actually make a "profit" once his costs are backed out? Maybe he does, or maybe it's mainly corporate dick measuring (which again, I fully support and encourage).
I would give a 50/50 chance of male elite DH sponsorship being a complete loss for the backing companies. Would not surprise me whatsoever. I mean, Sam Hill sure didn't sell enough Sunday's to keep IH afloat...I do somewhat doubt Gwin or Minnaar are selling enough Demo's or V10's to completely justify the entire cost of putting them and their support teams through a WC season. Talking multiple salaries on top of that of the rider, gear, transportation, lodging, insurance costs, race fees, food, trainers, etc, etc, etc..
In which case, NOBODY can make a compelling value proposition! Then sponsor all the women you want because nobody is worth a damn and it's already a big charity. If I owned a bike company and this sponsorship was all done at a loss, I would sponsor ONLY attractive women with a skin/glamour clause in the contract for publicity reasons. Gotta get screen time somehow and milk the actual value here...
In which case, NOBODY can make a compelling value proposition! Then sponsor all the women you want because nobody is worth a damn and it's already a big charity. If I owned a bike company and this sponsorship was all done at a loss, I would sponsor ONLY attractive women with a skin/glamour clause in the contract for publicity reasons. Gotta get screen time somehow and milk the actual value here...
I think the point is if the financial benefits of sponsoring a full on male WC DH team are nominal or non-existent, then why not add a lady to the mix so you can say -
"not only do we offer women's bikes with feminine names and pretty paint jobs, we actually have a chick who shreds harder than your boyfriend. Maybe you won't buy a full on DH bike from us, but we actually support women racers so they can compete in most rad sport ever, and maybe that means something to you. Did I mention we have an absolutely gorgeous shrimp colored trail bike?"
Or hell, maybe it's as simple as we're losing money (or at least cannot accurately judge the financial benefit), but we want to at least mimize the dollar drain and the female market is not big enough to worry about.
"not only do we offer women's bikes with feminine names and pretty paint jobs, we actually have a chick who shreds harder than your boyfriend. Maybe you won't buy a full on DH bike from us, but we actually support women racers so they can compete in most rad sport ever, and maybe that means something to you. Did I mention we have an absolutely gorgeous shrimp colored trail bike?"
Or hell, maybe it's as simple as we're losing money (or at least cannot accurately judge the financial benefit), but we want to at least mimize the dollar drain and the female market is not big enough to worry about.
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Would you be buying a brand new bike 7k downhill bike by shlongadongawonga bikes who you've never seen near a world cup race let alone a podium? It wasn't a coincidence everyone had a Sunday a few years back was it? Hell lets go back 10 years and I cant imagine anyone would even entertain the idea that Saracen could make a downhill bike that didn't belong in a skip let alone buy one. So I guess unless Saracen make a loss on downhill bikes after you take out the cost of the advertising budget from the race team then it must be worth their while. And that discounts the increased sales in other bikes when someone decides they can make bikes if they're competing at the highest level and buys a hardtail/enduro/trailbike from them.
It seems if you want to make downhill bikes you need a team to publicise them. Don't forget as well that the development in a large part now comes from the team. Look at the early Demos (aka huckmonster made out of bricks) compared to the one Sam Hill rode and now the one Gwin rides. How many demos do you see people riding (privateers, shop teams and you're average joes) compared to back in the specialised 'freeride' days.
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Not that I'm pretending to know anything about ironhorses financial situation, but is that not pretty much exactly what Sam Hill did? Just look at the size of the Sunday thread on this forum. I thought Iron horse fell to bits over DW leaving, patents running out, a complete lack of any development for the future? Changing a link to fit a new shock isn't exactly pushing forwards when you've got every other company nipping at your heals. They also made some terrible cheap bikes which I don't know if did the brand any favours....
While I agree there is some benefit to having your product associated with a popular/winning rider, I'm pretty sure Transition is selling plenty of TR500s (and 450s before that, as I have one and gave no fucks that Bryn Atkinson was not winning/finishing in the top 10), Guerrilla Gravity is selling GG/DH's, and Canfield is selling Jedi's - all without (zombie) Billy May hawking their wares. As for Saracen, not even my current BFF (Bernie Sanders
) could get me to buy anything from them, although I would like to see him throw a sick whip on a Myst over one of the crabapple jumps. Regarding Demos, I'd suggest that making them part of practically every rental fleet in the free world went a long way towards improving their overall visibility and availability to the "masses". Finally, I would like to petition @mtg to change the name of the company to "shlongadongawonga bikes". It has a nice ring to it, and sounds kinda exotic, if not erotic as well.
Spread some rep!
Glad you approve now I think of it Its a bit reminiscent of Chumbawumba (for whoever remembers them) just slightly more rediculous!
None the less all of those are race proven bikes with a history of being on the circuit (appart from Guerilla gravity which I've not herd of, maybe they've not reached the UK?). Companies like Canfield will always exist but they are more of a bespoke niche product that will never sell what the likes of the big brands (or those with big race teams) hope to, in fact in my opinion that's pretty much the point in them.While I agree there is some benefit to having your product associated with a popular/winning rider, I'm pretty sure Transition is selling plenty of TR500s (and 450s before that, as I have one and gave no fucks that Bryn Atkinson was not winning/finishing in the top 10), Guerrilla Gravity is selling GG/DH's, and Canfield is selling Jedi's - all without (zombie) Billy May hawking their wares. As for Saracen, not even my current BFF (Bernie Sanders
I don't doubt there's other factors in how some powerhouses of the bike industry get their products out there though. Just the other week I saw a chap who'd been done over by a specialized rental rep the first time he set foot in a bike shop. Nice carbon enduro and full kit which he'd just mentioned he'd rented the week before and 'had to have it'
. At the time he was riding round an xc loop in a specialized full face and flat pedalsUltimately, bike companies are just that - companies, I would have to give them the credit that they make money out of it otherwise I bet they would pull out - as transition have. Transition's roots are in the freeride/dirt jump scene though so IMO its not surprising they're not too fussed about the DH scene.
Why does it need to be quantifiable?
AHAHAH that is funny right there....
My original planned rejoinder to Kevin's comment was to remind everyone of Giant's top dollar marketing team creating the laughably false "bottom line efficient" video or SCB's much maligned donkey shuttle spot, but then I remembered: dentists
Dentists probably *love* bottom line inefficient drivel and S shaped axle paths, plus they likely also appreciate a good tijuana donkey show. So with that in mind, gold star to those top dollar marketing teams
Btw, we really need a dentist emoticon.
Cuz I wanna know why bikes cost so fuckin much!
The new website rebranding is already in the works... Schlongawongadonga Bikes is coming!
I'm concerned about the graphic implications of this change... Wouldn't you need to make downtubes even longer for the logo to fit properly? Anyway, Enderpo geometry has you covered... It could even give you a nice motto: "the brand that justifies 'lower, longer, slacker with its name!'"
SWD bikes for short.
I prefer 'dong....so people get caught saying "I love riding my Large 'dong"
Wow, that was fast @mtg...that said, I can't say I'm particularly impressed with the new GG/DH
As for "dong bikes", that may cause some problems in my case -
"So yes, technically it is a medium dong, but hold on...wait...where are you going? It has a really long top tube that is usually a large for most people! I swear, it's long dong! Just look at it!"
At first I was like "yes a worlds thread" then I was all "wtf did I click the wrong one?"