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(Kidding to show that nobody on the internet can have any say about when people are done debating about something :D )
But seriously, how can you be done with Gwin? It's like Alonso, Hamilton or Vettel going around shopping for a new F1 team with quite a few top options being open (there weren't any, so Alonso's shopping this year wasn't interesting). It gets talked about, analysed, speculated, he/they get interviewed, asked about it on social media, etc.
We will be done with it about a month after he makes his plans clear. No sooner i'd say.
Bad pun aside, is Minnaar's contract with SC up this year?
Will he have a go at EWS Elites then?
Someone will always be willing to shell out for him, though, and he'll always be chasing that moto money.
Tomac was in multiple ads in each issue of the mags I read in the 90s. The Tomac name was a brand even before he had branded bikes.
They have been around the block and raced a lot of different bikes... Maybe its time they just have their own team where they are in total control and a program that could also better incorporate their Atherton Academy riders.
Maybe we shouldnt be looking to where they are off to next season but more who they would like to have as a frame sponsor for next year.
The Athertons will obviously go to whom needs an image boost and values associating their image with them and I think they bring quite a lot to the table. And I also believe they are pretty good with product development too, which can't be everybody's thing. Some people like to give Gee shit for not being likable in their sense of perception (as if it matters what some internet douches talk), but the dude is really friendly and polite and his professionalism was never something to question.
As far as friendliness goes I can tell you this short story: back in '04 I was team manager for our national squad and we went to Les Gets and Livigno on a budget so low you'd think I am kidding you and which I'd rather forget. I also needed to handle technical shit, which basically meant begging mechanics at teams to service some of our stuff and most of them were really cool helping out; help I will never forget. We were in Livigno and one of our guys bent a bolt from the linkage of his M1 copy. I asked around everybody I knew, but no one had such a long bolt. At some point I was told ”Go ask the Athertons, they ride M1's, maybe they have one!”. The Athertons were up and coming back then, they rode for Muddy Fox and Gee wasn't on Red Bull yet, but already had a van sponsored by Animal. I never talked to them before, but I asked them for the bolt and they instantly started looking for one in their huge toolbox. We searched together for like half an hour and couldn't find anything. They were almost pissed they couldn't help me. Also, they could've told me to piss off and do whatever else they pleased. For me, it showed a lot of character. They are a class act and I tip my hat to them.
I am probably biased, but I like what the Athertons have done for the downhill sport and community throughout the years. Maybe this is why I still keep those PRO sticker sheets that have their cartoons on them...
Mx
I wonder if their CNC methods would allow them to evolve and manufacture their parts quicker, with less QC issues, less intellectual property theft issues compared to manufacturing overseas...like everyone else does it.
-could be advantageous to a race program
-most definitely for Pole's development
-could be a win-win
also, it's clear that they are a Enduro and DH focused brand, no road bikes....
Always better to go with the most likely scenario
If your production is decently automatized (CNC machining is a case of this), it hardly makes a difference as to where you produce stuff. Look at how many cars are produced in Germany, which has the minimum wage of something around 1500 € net per month (probably around 2500 gross per month, ballparking it here).
Also, the Machine is the niche of niche products and can take the price. Would i like to see it being sold for 2000 to 2500 €? Yup. Would I be considering buying it at that price? Much more likely than now. Currently it's out of my price range (I mean you can get the new Radon 29er for the same price with X01, Kashima everything and Newmen wheels!!).
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