[Closed] Gwinn leaves $pecialized. Where too now?

poah - Member
you would think with gwin being a bible basher he would have remembered that greed is a deadly sin.

http://ridemonkey.bikemag.com/threads/ [b]steve-peat-moves-to-santa-cruz[/b].134821/
http://www.rotorburn.com/forums/showthread.php?41180- [b]Steve-Peat-Leaves-Orange-and-goes-to-Santa-Cruz[/b]&s=4101836cba5e9df7b37c99b588be2279

I think he was quite open about the need to support his family etc. at the time

mike - but Peaty is OUR DH rider and doesn't profess (in public) to loving God which makes him better and not at all interested in money

It'd be impressive if Gwin can bring mainstream sponsors into DH again.

I can see that working with a road-style joint sponsorship deal also involving a bike company (think Giant-Alpecin) rather than something like the Honda bike. It'd be a huge opportunity cost not to have him flogging real-life bikes.

Since Audi has been mentioned, how about Audi-Canyon? Can't see it with YT myself, but I've been wrong before.

On a side note, is anyone else thinking his supposed demands of $500k pa are surprisingly reasonable for a rider who's so dominant and who could become the GOAT during his next three-year deal?

I thought Palmer was on more than 500 a year

Worth a read, greed and looking after yourself are different things
http://www.descent-world.co.uk/2015/12/28/opinion-why-gwin-moving-is-a-good-thing/

http://ridemonkey.bikemag.com/threads/steve-peat-moves-to-santa-cruz.134821/
http://www.rotorburn.com/forums/showthread.php?41180-Steve-Peat-Leaves-Orange-and-goes-to-Santa-Cruz&s=4101836cba5e9df7b37c99b588be2279

I think he was quite open about the need to support his family etc. at the time

and he hasn't been supporting them up until now?

Tell us how much you think Gwin should be allowed to earn please poah?

Why does he have to be moving to a bike company? I mean any company can sponsor/co-sponsor a team, just like a lot of other sports...

I am sure non-industry sponsorship could be interested, especially given the demographics of the sports following and the crossover with other related disciplines/sports now... So why not Audi or Microsoft or Starbucks as a main sponsor, YT supplying frames, SRAM, TLD and others making up the numbers...

Gwin could well be pulling together his own team, He's already seen and been involved with how some of the "pro" outfits on the WC circuit operate, He also has a MX background, so I wouldn't be shocked if he's decided to replicate/improve on what's already in WC DHI for himself...

It's a business, and as a rider Gwin has a limited window to make money from it...

I think it'd be good for the sport to stop being quite so self sufficient and bring in some new sponsors

I'd be surprised if the Trek deal that the Atherton's have done is worth less than 4-5million for the year, and the riers like Gwinn are probably thinking that they could and probably should be doing something similar. i.e. managing their own futures a bit more sharply

I heard it was [url= http://www.kmcchain.eu/ ]these[/url] guys.

It's Apollo bikes, he's on board for the re-launch of the Creed.

the Trek deal that the Atherton's have done is worth less than 4-5million for the year

I'd be surprised if the Trek deal that the Atherton's have done is worth less than 4-5million for the year,

😯

Seriously? I can't see it myself at all. I'd be very interested to know where that comes from if not just speculation.

There's Pro Tour Road Teams that run around that for dozens of riders, staff, travelling, kit, etc. These few guys and gals only need to make it to 8 stops including World Champs (of course there's other races and events but you get the idea)

[img] [/img]
Halfords and a sticker kit?

I think $500k is a very reasonable figure. Gwin - unlike many other DHers - is hugely marketable to not only bike consumers but all others too. He's rad enough to appeal to the "cool dads" market but not too extreme so as to scare corporate marketing departments at big companies. His faith is probably a bonus too as it makes him "real" and non threatening. I know STW don't like religion, but this is just a little bike forum for a certain demographic.

My money's on a CG style own programme with non-industry sponsors including Audi and KTM. Whoever provides the bike platform doesn't need to make such a big financial contribution if that's the case, opening the door to YT who have a market need for a DH rider to help crack that area, and of course help bolster US sales.

3-4 million a year for the Atherton deal. Get a grip it's more like half that for 3 years.

Aaron Gwinn is not in any way, shape or form "rad". I quite like him, he's honest and has a ruthless streak when it comes to racing and negotiating, but he's the least "cool" person on the circuit despite being the best rider.

Agreed.

, but he's the least "cool" person on the circuit despite being the best rider.

Well the problem is always how quickly they can get him a new bike that suits him. I'd expect a 3-4 year deal with the first a bit sparse for results.

I thought he'd gone in his first (poor) season at spesh, and look what happened there. Minnaar said he fully expects Gwinn to surpass his record WC wins, and to me if he does, then the question will be answered.
He may be a godist and a bit "vanilla" in terms of DH riders but he is fully awesome on a bicycle.
I'd like to see him go off the rails in a breaking bad way. Start drinking, being unreasonable and swearing. He'd be more popular then 😉

I quite like the fact that there's a top level DH bloke who isn't always poking his tongue out, throwing horns and acting like a dick. Same reason I quite like Minnaar too; lets riding do the talking moreso than a crazy public persona.

Credible suggestion on the Vital MTB thread that he'll be riding for a new set-up run by Martin Whiteley - but nothing solid on who the main sponsor(s) will be.

Got to remember he already had a diverse range of personal sponsors (which he left Whiteley's TWR to develop).

He's (quite deservedly IMO) wanting a lot of money especially with the inevitable first season dip whilst honing a new bike. For that reason I think a small/privateer/self branded team with TLD, SRAM, RB and bring in a big player like Audi, which will do the sport the world of good. He'll be on a Spesh to mitigate that "dip" on the new bike. I don't think KTM will be around for the aforementioned reasons, I'm prepared to stand corrected! But, what's to stop him working with YT in that first year when he has no bike allegiance? Year 2 could then see him bring on YT as the headline sponsor whilst potentially mitigating the new bike dip. He'll have a lot on, for sure, but as a business/self preservation/promotion plan it could tick all the boxes. Is it possible to win on one bike whilst developing another? Given his calibre and tyre/chain exploits if anyone can, it's probably Gwin.

Bruni has gone to Specialized

Maybe Fox put the arm on Specialized to drop him - after all, he seems to make a mockery of suspension technology by seemingly running his forks almost locked out(!)

Seriously for a minute, I never really read interviews with DH guys, but that Pinkbike one is well worth a read. It's a really impressive interview from Gwin and his answer below is frankly brilliant in how level-headed it is whilst avoiding just saying "what a stupid **** question".

Levy: Some people have said that you’re not “in love” with mountain biking and that you probably wouldn’t be doing it if you weren’t racing and winning. What would you say to them if given the chance?

Gwin: I'd say they were correct in saying that I'm not "in love" with mountain biking. However, let me explain what that actually means. To be "in love" with something is different than loving something. I'm not "in love" with mountain biking, but I do love and greatly enjoy it. I also love iced coffee and chocolate chip cookies, but I'm not "in love" with those things. To be "in love" with something makes it a governing factor over your life and your decision making. To just love something is to utilize it so as to enjoy your life. For me, to be "in love" with mountain biking would mean that I couldn't be happy without it.
To love mountain biking means that I'm free to enjoy riding and racing, but if I have an injury or bad result, I'm still content with life and happy regardless. I'm also then still happily motivated to continue riding with the hope of winning future races. Regarding my love for riding, it seems to grow more and more every year, which is crazy since I've been riding bicycles since I was three-years-old. There's no other sport that I enjoy more, and the fact that I get to do it for a living is a blessing that I'm thankful for every day.

So with that, I'm sure you get the point. You could say that I'm "in love" with God, or possibly "in love" with a hot babe (wife) someday, but a mountain bike, no.

...especially with the [b]inevitable[/b] first season dip whilst honing a new bike

You mean like when he moved from Yeti to Trek? That kind of inevitable dip?

I think he's smart enough to have learned from last time - and have already made sure that he can go as fast on whatever his new bike is as he can on the Demo.

poah - Member
you would think with gwin being a bible basher he would have remembered that greed is a deadly sin.

🙄

There's plenty of "bible bashers" that ride bikes, although off the top of my head, they all ride either "road" or "bmx" - two sports that're "comfortable in their own skin" and don't seem to attract the nuggets that downhill mountain biking does.

"comfortable in their own skin"

Cam Zink was tweeting this morning

"Wonder who Aaron Gwinn is riding for next year..."

Zink has a massive stake in YT and essentially bought them to American Market.

So... Loic Bruni goes to Specialized.

No he hasnt.

The specialized factory team is now just Troy Brosnan (unless they sign someone else).

Specialized are now supplying bikes to pure racing (Bruni, Vergier and Iles) who used to be supplied by Lappiere. They will be known as the Specialized Gravity Team.

Strictly speaking Loic Bruni hasn't gone anywhere. It's the exact same team setup with a new frame sponsor.

Edit: beaten to it

Ah. My bad. All this hashtagging is very confusing! 😆

[quote=nairnster ]No he hasnt.
The specialized factory team is now just Troy Brosnan (unless they sign someone else).
Specialized are now supplying bikes to pure racing (Bruni, Vergier and Iles) who used to be supplied by Lappiere. They will be known as the Specialized Gravity Team.
No one else read that as the Specialized Gravy Train?

http://www.mbr.co.uk/news/loic-bruni-will-leave-lapierre-for-2016-season-335688

This says they [i]were[/i] signed to Pure but the article makes it sound like two Spesh teams.

Edit - so [i]still[/i] Pure then -> http://www.mbr.co.uk/news/loic-bruni-will-leave-lapierre-for-2016-season-335688 <(I'm going to slee now :lol: )

Substantial price hikes on the new 2016 YT range.

Biggest clue yet that they've hired Gwin, I reckon.

How much is substantial ? I didn't think they were much of a hike and mostly due to the fact the bikes now come with Fox or Rockshocks.

(Probably because there were too many issues with the BOS suspension)

Anyway, YT is a small company and Gwin is massive. Id be surprised you could join those two dots together.

chakaping -
Substantial price hikes on the new 2016 YT range.

Biggest clue yet that they've hired Gwin, I reckon.

Biggest clue that they no longer need to be a discount / budget brand and they can pocket the savings they once passed on to the customer.

Just because Specialized have lots of cash doesn't mean they want to spend lots, the press release said that they didn't want to pay what Gwin was asking, not that they couldn't.

I still think he'll be doing a one man team and choosing his bike not specifically riding for a bike brand. Jerome Clementz & Cedric Gracia already do it successfully.

I think you're correct about the way he (or Martin Whitely) will structure things podge, YT hiring him was wrong choice of words. Sponsoring more accurate.

Anyway, YT is a small company and Gwin is massive. Id be surprised you could join those two dots together.

Looks like it's gonna happen though - the lack of any gossip in any other direction is another strong clue.

chakaping - Member
I think you're correct about the way he (or Martin Whitely) will structure things

Has Martin Whiteley been confirmed? I hadn't read it anywhere but it was the obvious thing to happen.

Has Martin Whiteley been confirmed?

no but rumoured, seems likely to me

possibly delaying announcement while he signs up more brands?

Dint Martin Whiteley run the Trek team that Gwin left under not so nice terms?

thepodge - Member
Dint Martin Whiteley run the Trek team that Gwin left under not so nice terms?

Yep but they're both grown ups and I'm sure wouldn't let a bit of "business" get in the way of business.

Or is Whiteley/23 Degrees running the GT team now?