Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 40 total)
  • £40 to enter an enduro…why?
  • markyboy
    Free Member

    Thinking of entering the no fuss perthshire enduro then i saw the price!..I realise there are costs involved but cant get my head round paying £40 to ride a route i can ride the next week for free…help convince me.

    Nobeerinthefridge
    Free Member

    Check out the price of a game of premiership football.

    jam-bo
    Full Member

    Timing, marshals, insurance. Plus loads of other stuff.

    takisawa2
    Full Member

    You could buy a bike for that.

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    but cant get my head round paying £40 to ride a route i can ride the next week for free

    One is a race one is not.
    OK from the top
    Insurance
    Marshalls
    Medics
    Timing
    Organisation
    Rubbish Collection
    Porta Crappa’s
    Prizes
    Results

    Or go by yourslef

    Drac
    Full Member

    Food
    Signs
    Tape
    Marker spray
    Advertising
    Fuel
    Timing
    Radios

    the list is massive until I started helping out I didn’t realise myself just how much work goes into them.

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    £40 seems reasonable, look at how much DH races are (almost double that) and you’re getting 5 timed DH tracks!

    mactheknife
    Full Member

    Its not just about riding the trails though, is it?

    Its about entering an event that is well organised, with top medical cover, so that you can race and have a great day doing it safely and have a cracking day. With signs, marshalls, food and water usually provided. Along with insurance and timing dibbers.

    There is a lot goes into these events and £40 is a decent price i reckon.

    I did a few of the trails round Birnam Hill today and i really wish i could race next week 😯

    markyboy
    Free Member

    just checked the price of tomorrows uk gravity at innerleithen..£60 😯

    guess i didnt realise how much these events cost!

    Sancho
    Free Member

    if you are asking questions like this I guess you dont understand racing.

    markyboy
    Free Member

    guess i dont..thats why i asked the question.please enlighten me.

    Sancho
    Free Member

    probably best you stick to riding on your own or with your mates.

    mactheknife
    Full Member

    F@@k me Sancho, you are in an arsey mood tonight??

    maccruiskeen
    Full Member

    please enlighten me

    Why do you need to know? Do you ask for cost analyses of everything you might buy? Carrots – why do they cost money, they just sit in a field and grow all by themselves. Gold, why’s that expensive? its just sitting there in the ground waiting to be found – like carrots. Carrots. Carats. Should both just be free shouldn’t they? 🙂

    markyboy
    Free Member

    probably just a bit tired from all the dead serious racing 😉

    Sancho
    Free Member

    lol you could say that, but for me people are racers or they are not.
    if you want to race you want to race, you go to an event to pit yourself against the other racers.
    you dont look for value for money a t-shirt etc etc.
    like I said some people are not racers.
    it’s like Steve Mcqueen said
    “Racing is life, everything else is just waiting.”

    if you need an analysis youre not a racer.
    i race and I organise races, you either get it or you dont.

    had a few Mahous too but dont take it offensively

    markyboy
    Free Member

    maybe i am a racer and just dont know it yet!.recon ill give it a go and report back.

    Sancho
    Free Member

    then get on it go as fast as you can and try beat everyone. 😉

    i hope you love it, I do, yes its expensive at times but who cares, youre racing and all you have to focus on is your speed, its the best feeling in the world.
    when you analyse every inch of track every line, the entry points in corners, braking points, cheeky fast lines, talking to yourself to keep pushing, the prep of the bike getting your number etc etc, there is so much to focus on money is immaterial in a race.

    wrecker
    Free Member

    £60 for two days entertainment is pretty cheap.

    Northwind
    Full Member

    £40 is a bargain, provided you like that sort of thing. If you don’t, then it’s not. I’ve had a tiny bit of involvement in running some of these things so I know there’s a ton more work than you’d believe involved, and even then I don’t know the half of it.

    One thing about enduro is that the entries are more limited in size- it’s not xc where you can have 1500 riders, the format restricts you to generally maybe 300, 350 so those costs have to be spread quite thick.

    No comment on the UKGE events til sunday as I’ve never actually raced one of theirs yet!

    BearBack
    Free Member

    One of the sea to sky regions most popular and established races is in June. 75km point to point xc event

    $95 dollar entry fee, 1000 riders, fastest its ever sold out is 4 minutes.

    Race is almost entirely staffed by volunteers, swag, course food and apres entertainment provided by sponsors and the finish area coral has paid for expo tents.

    They do an amazing job organising, co-ordinating and laying on a superb event and bringing people to Squamish and there is a percentage amount that goes into trail work, more into the local club and more again into grass roots kids programs. Still, its a pretty good sideline for the director of the ‘not for profit’ company that organize this race in a 4 race series… I wish I had the time to put together something this well supported and successful.. sadly not, so each year I pay my entry, da8n near kill myself, hate life for at least one hour of it but at the finish line look forwards to ‘racing’ again the next year!

    Test of Metal

    DaveyBoyWonder
    Free Member

    £40 to enter an enduro…why?

    Because you’ve been sucked in by marketing and bought an ‘enduro’ bike and now you need a suitable race.

    stufive
    Free Member

    Are they paying marshalls now? 😉

    oldnpastit
    Full Member

    I was in a road sportive the other day (ok, so not a race). The guy I was with somehow managed to cycle into the kerb, then went OTB and landed on his elbow. He took a look at the blood coming out and fainted.

    At this point we dialled 999 but the emergency services eventually decided we weren’t worth an ambulance and left us to our own devices. Fortunately, the private ambulance service put on by the sportive organisers (Action Medical Research) showed up, patched up his arm and took him and his bike back to the event HQ.

    I’m not entirely sure how we would have got back to the start without their help (about another 25 miles) given that he later fainted again when he was in casualty. I guess we could have found a taxi somehow but it would have been awkward dripping blood all over their upholstery.

    Stuff like that makes the entry price seem amazingly cheap.

    eskay
    Full Member

    Quite a few donate money to local charities as well.

    Diane
    Free Member

    If you use Forestry Commission land (Inners etc) you have to pay a big wad to them and even pay for the priviledge of providing caterers too

    br
    Free Member

    Are they paying marshalls now?

    The guys at Innerleithen do, although I’ve never cashed the cheque.

    pjm84
    Free Member

    Just had this come up. Mate in Davos suggested the 24hr race in June. Entry fee for a team of four riders equals £360……

    nickhead
    Free Member

    £40 is pretty good value for a race these days. Enduros are (arguably) more risky than an XC race but considerably more spread out than a DH race, and the infrastructure required reflects that.

    One-day (gravity) enduros range in price from a bargain £35 for the Enduro1 series, to £45 for the Mini Enduro… which as it happens is a bit on the steep side for me, for a one day event.

    The UK Gravity Enduro is run over two days with practice and seeding on the saturday, racing on Sunday. The biggest cost for them (and the Mini Enduro, i think) is the timing. If you want accurate, real-time results – then you have to pay for the good stuff. The consistent cock-ups at the old (reasonably priced) Kona Mashups pretty much sealed the deal on that. One of the reasons that the Enduro1 series is reasonably priced, is that they don’t have seeding, so stage start times can be set ahead of the race, and the pen/paper & stopwatch-based results are only available 3 days later.

    So you get what you pay for, and for me – gravity enduros are a great excuse to really push yourself, provide that extra bit of training motivation, and are a good social day out. Let’s face it – 80% of entrants (myself included) don’t expect to win, but partly to see how they rank against their peers and maybe beat or set a few personal goals.

    So give one a go, it’s unlikely you’ll regret it

    munrobiker
    Free Member

    I put on an XC race a few years ago and it was £10 for about 100 riders. That charge covered-

    Medics
    Course tape
    Prizes
    Insurance
    Portaloos

    and a few other bits I can’t remember.

    That’s all you REALLY need at a race, however, we were timing using stopwatches and people watching riders through. As soon as timing gets involved the cost goes up vastly. Enduro races need several different timing systems because they have several stages, and that does add a lot of cost. So about £40 isn’t too bad.

    However, £60 for the UK Gravity ones is taking the piss.

    Harry_the_Spider
    Full Member

    You wouldn’t believe the cost of staging events… and how they have gone up in the last 3 or 4 years. 😐

    acehtn
    Free Member

    As aleady stated above.

    Land fee’s are huge, the landowners get a serious amount of money for just letting someone use there land.

    Some get greedy and just price themselves off the market.

    DH race few years back down south, low entry caused the promoter to cancel the race. Cancelation fee clause came in effect. Next time he had a low entry, only 40 racers he ran the race, as it was cheaper to run at a loss than to cancel.

    Going rate for marshals seems to be £40 a day in DH racing, if you don’t have enough marshals the BC rep can pull the event on safety grounds.
    DH race uplift costs are linked to fuel costs.
    Expect £60-70 for a weekend of DH racing. One day push up races are closer to £20-25.

    The road cycling events have the exisiting Club network behind them, this dosen’t exisit in mountain biking on the same scale.
    So a road sportive can keep costs down by using the local club members as marshals.

    Nothing like doing a race 🙂

    br
    Free Member

    And just using a public road (for free), whereas with MTB/DH you need to use dedicated routes/centres/courses, which cost.

    trekstar
    Free Member

    No fuss are a business and need to make a profit from entry fees.

    There is thread similar to this here – http://www.trailscotland.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?f=86&t=5294&hilit=perthshire+enduro

    amedias
    Free Member

    I enter a lot of the local XC races and they range from £15 – £25 which I think is fair (I have also marshalled a few and it’s always been volunteers, never known a marshall that’s been paid), it’s low enough that it’s not a barrier to entry, and (just) covers their costs.

    £40 for two days is good value in my mind, I skipped our last local Enduro cos it was £50 for a single day, which was just too steep, there’s no way I’m gonna part with a fortnights worth of food money for a single day race.

    My Solo entry for 24/12 was only £55 and that includes 3 days camping, much more worthwhile.

    Seems like the OP has a valid point, he wants to enter, was a bit put off by the entry price (as many are) and needs convincing, once you see all the costs it’s easier to justify, would all you guys having a pop at him and saying ‘just pay it and don’t question it’ still enter events if the cost was £300 a go? course not, but that’s because you’ve done the cost/value analysis already but not everyone does realise what is involved until they ask.

    Whatever your thoughts about value, the cost of events is a genuine problem both for people taking part and organisers.

    If organsiers can’t cover their costs then events will dry up and stop, but when they start getting too expensive then it’s a barrier to entry for the less well off and starts to price people out to the point where the only people entering are those that can afford it, and you devalue the racing.

    It’s especially a problem for younger kids getting into the sport now unless bankrolled by well off parents or lucky enough to get backing from a local shop or a team.

    Northwind
    Full Member

    DaveyBoyWonder – Member

    Because you’ve been sucked in by marketing and bought an ‘enduro’ bike and now you need a suitable race.

    You can’t believe that’s true though… It’s exactly the other way round, most folks these days don’t want racy xc bikes, they want durable, capable mid-travel allrounders. Which is exactly what enduro calls for. It’s the race style that matches our bikes and our riding.

    (though ironically I’m leaving the “enduro” bike which I’ve owned since before anyone was talking about enduro in the garage this weekend and riding my hardtail)

    nickhead – Member

    The UK Gravity Enduro is run over two days with practice and seeding on the saturday, racing on Sunday. The biggest cost for them (and the Mini Enduro, i think) is the timing

    Which is ironic really because this is the first year it’s worked 😉 Their current system seems bang on but pretty manual and labour intensive and the kit doesn’t look cheap at all. Lots of checks and double checks, very good. I reckon the sportident chips are a perfectly good option tbh but the live timing is pretty cool!

    johnj2000
    Free Member

    Does everyone go with the Sancho way of thinking back on page one? I have spent the majority of the last 6 years entering trail races as a runner. Very few of those races were about beating another runner but they were about beating the course, my last time, my brain. IMHO you don’t have to want to race others to be a racer or to enter a race as a runner surely the same can be said for riding?

    Sorry, I know it’s not the OP’s point but I am just getting into this mtb lark and if this is the attitude at races then maybe I am best staying own my local trails.

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    For reference
    Average Costs of doing stuff…
    Premier League Min £30 up to £60 (standard not corporate box)
    Round of golf at an open venue – minimum £100 up to loads (not a golfer so relying on google for the numbers)
    Cinema Ticket £10?
    Cost to enter XCO at Oceania Championships a few weeks back $190 (AU) = £125

    theboatman
    Free Member

    All i can add is thank god bikes are so cheap. You could save yourself a further 70 quid by not bothering to start a ‘what tyres for x endure race’ thread.

    teamhurtmore
    Free Member

    Don’t get in to triathlons then!

    Personally I think £40 is pretty good value although I have sympathies with the OP. I stopped doing triathlons when the gap between the pleasure (yes sancho I loved racing) and the price – loosely the value from the event – became too wide. But in tris case, the cost was 3-4x the enduro ( and more of you went for crazy marketing BS like IM branded stuff). That is one reason why I switched to ultra marathons, AR and as a follow on MTB. Great fun, outdoors and awesome VFM. An ultra for £5 with feed stations, marshelling and a hot meal at the end!!!!

    I have no doubt that it costs a lot of money to organise an enduro event and would not be surprised (from tris) that few make a decent return on the hard work. But that is a different question. OP it’s for you to decide, and you only, if it represents VFM. We are living with the consequences of years of people ignoring that question and borrowing to quench their insatiable appetite for the next must-have. There is not harm in breaking that chain now.

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