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It may just be Minnaar putting the internet on fire with a few messy smileys. But if that's true, that would be a hell of a move. That would mean Syndicate is ready to get some fresh blood aboard. But that's hard to trust such allegations based on an instagram pic...
Maes would be cheaper, ill give you that. Athertons would cost a lot, there is a reason for that.
Having spent time around Martin, I can say he's a true pro and barely 18. He is the future - and believe he may not "just" be an enduro racer forever. Remember, he was 2nd at Jr Worlds in DH.
Put another way, ROI on the Athertons may be worse than you think...
where are the industry wizards to ease my worries!?
It'd be rude for Rocky not to have a fast American on their team.
Trek family racing?
Rude to Rocky seems a realistic senario, he was posting stuff about wishing to ride DH on his instagram all season long. On the other hand, he just made it to the top in Enduro, something that will be much harder in DH.
What would happen to Martin Whiteley if Athertons moved to Trek, I guess they would bring all their own staff, etc.
Nothing may change!
I hope something crazy happens though.
They can ride hardline, Rampage, World Cup DH, EWS and podium at all of them.
They build relationships with huge businesses. They would probably pretty much own Martin right now, although of course hed get another deal if he went somewhere else. They are a business, man. Working with people as savvy as them is desireable to most businesses. You pay for it, but you know what youre gonna get.
You obviously have a relationship with Martin which is cool but if i was a big company like GT, Id put my money with the Athertons. Cant compare them.
My point is more to the effect that you don't get the sort of splash now that you got earlier with them. When they were signed, GT had some pretty awful bikes. Now they've got some kick ass bikes and have been proven in a number of disciplines. The Athertons are largely responsible for this helping put the limelight on how good the bikes are and perhaps a bit on the R&D side too (Dan with the Sanction for instance, Gee with the geo of the Fury)
However, I'd argue that the brand perception is now "good" with or without the high dollar team making their price perhaps a bit too lofty. Not sure how many DH bikes get sold these days anyway. Keeping Martin would keep their enduro/trail offerings in the limelight which may be more important when it comes to actually selling bikes people ride.
So yes, while you can't compare Martin and the Athertons - if I were running the team I know what I'd likely do...
Which is exactly what the Athertons have been doing the whole time, they've never been a factory team, they've been their own team, they bring the management and all of that.
Sure, GT shut down the factory team after signing them, but still, they're sort of the 'racing team' a big manufacturer hires to make a racing product (most notably in the motorsport world), very few manufacturers have a true works racing team. And even if they do, it's often a separate entity (think Mercedes F1 team).
As for the bike sales, XC is where it's at, numbers wise. Other than that, DH vs. enduro is not a contest, a Pinkbike article quoted an unnamed big manufacturer saying they sell 50 enduro bikes to one DH.
Enduro is the everyman's bike that can be ridden for an hour after work. DH is not, not in my eyes.
....oooooor, Barel could ride a wheelbarrow and do well? Ya think?
There are a bunch of pros that are unhappy with their bikes, but that doesn't stop them from doing their jobs. Also it doesn't really stop them from still being damn fast
Proof of that is the 'normal' everyman's geometry plus the longer race geometry.
All I said was that they had a completely new platform out in no time and that it seems to work (from all I heard), I didn't even mention Barel's results.
About that Enduro vs. DH discussion:
Why do so many of you think that results in DH racing have anything to do with people buying DH bikes? It's the same effect as with F1 racing, you can't even buy a F1 car, but still companies invest millions. I've worked in a bike shop and there were 50 years old guys coming in, who probably never saw a DH track in real live, talking about Sam Hill's latest victory and who ended up buying a Stumpjumper or Enduro 29". It's just about emotions and excitement, and DH is much much better at that than Enduro. A fact that also makes it much more interesting for sponsors outside of the bicycle industry.
There will be no Trek world racing next year. Both brook and George are on the move.
Athertons are looking to Partner up with Trek for the 2016 season. Rumor has it.. Atherton has not much left in him.
I love racing. I want to see a ton of support for racing. But you have to be part of a very big company going for a very interesting "brand image" to justify full on WC support in this day and age. My $0.02 anyway.
DH bike sales are not influenced by the WC standings or results, Maybe slightly for some existing DH riders who are also WC fans. But the most influential factor in DH bikes.. is BUDGET.
Every year , there is more of one bike than the other by far and this comes down to the availability and cost to the customer. I remember 2010 it was the release of the TR450 which boomed, The Trek session and then onto the glory.
I would agree with the 50 enduro bikes to every 1 DH bike. This year, there were NO Kona 2016 DH bikes bough into NZ only the AM.Enduro line of process'.
However, I do not agree in saying that the WC is not enough to warrant full blown support. DH is a specatator sport, and I do believe Television coverage and more is growing by the year. DH Is the platform for suspension technology advancements, this is where the bikes take the hardest beating and where suspension design is at its top level.
Automotive brands race for a lot of reasons. Recognition being one, R&D being another. Lets not forget however that each one automotive company is bigger than the mountain bike industry is as a whole. You can afford to spend more when your revenue is measured in $B not $M.
Don't get me wrong, I think a successful WC DH campaign can certainly help a brand, but we're all crazy to think its the *best* use of money for every company.
It's kind of like how WC DH (and EWS) PRO bikes seem to be awesome, but are completely useless for the average out of shape rider.
Less travel and a lighter overall weight also mean higher stresses on the components, since the beating an enduro bike takes is not that much less than a DH bike has to endure.
Case in point, Canyon has the shapeshifter technology in enduro, but not in DH. Dropper posts platform shocks (now with proper performance, look at the CCDB CS, maybe even the Topaz, Monarch Plus, Float X, etc.) and 1x drivetrains were also given free reign due to enduro, at least mostly in the case of drivetrains (the benefits of weight and chain retention surely are the greatest in this case, while the wide range is also a benefit for most people when going 1x).
When you say they descend like downhill bikes a few years back I assume you mean like maybe ten? The whole "it descends like a DH bike" is written by a) marketing people, and b) people that havent ridden a DH bike for a while, or c) people searching for a description of a bike that generally descends well.
The pinnacle technology depends on the definition:
The pinnacle of compromise - enduro bike, yes.
The pinnacle of outright suspension performance - DH bike.
When you say enduro with a lower case "e" i assume you mean riding around, or mountain biking? Thats really the genesis of droppers, not Enduro (as in the discipline, the sport). You will find that droppers were around before "Enduro" became popularised. People riding around were who asked for it.
And the point around which sports sells what, its all semantics. Advertising is advertising. Just because my favourite DH riders in on ABCD doesnt mean Ill buy one - it means Im aware of it, and have some kind of trust it can perform. At this stage I dont think anyone can say "Enduro sells more bikes than DH". Id say that DH WC gets more exposure than EWS, therefore its probably better advertising. Enduro is certainly utilising a product more aligned with what most riders use, but hell my aspirations arent around what i normally use! How many people know Sam Hill? And how many people think Santa Cruz is great? Is that because Syndicate are fast, rowdy and cool as hell? Or is it because....wait who races them in the EWS?
Anyway Im probably way off topic now, and I dont really have any more rumours to add!
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