shovelhd

He used to ride for Jelly Belly. Lapped me twice in the last training crit we were in. I still haven't recovered from that.

For those who do not get gsteinb's obtuse humour, he rides a Giant TCR. Not an ugly bike. I can't say the same for him.

Looigi

...but that's in central CO.

gsteinb

I'll write them and tell them they were wrong for cartman to say 'hella.'

topflightpro

I ride an Argon 18 because the LBS that sponsors my team gives us great deals on them. I'd bet this area is about the only place in the country where you will see a bunch of guys riding Argons in a group ride.

My previous team had a deal with a different shop that soldd Trek, Specialized and Cannondale. My wife got a Tarmac when I was on that team.

And I do try to give my business to the businesses that sponsor my team or other teams in the area. I selected my dentist because he gave money to a lot of teams. And I will drive out to one of the burrito places that sponsors teams and hosts profit-share nights where 10 percent of sales goes to one of the local teams.

gsteinb

that wasn't humor, or obtuse. I believe the bikes he was actually referring to are propels in a fantastically ugly paint scheme.

for that matter, most of the paint schemes on the TCRs are ugly as well.

shovelhd

Well I think your TCR looks pretty damn nice.

gsteinb

agreed. thanks. the all white and all black bikes are quite nice. we speculate the majority of ugly colors is a deal giant makes with the other bike builders it fabricates for.

crad159

And then there are the Abramovich's of cycling like Team Tinkoff Saxo owner, Oleg Tinkov. https://twitter.com/olegtinkov A multi millionaire who likes cycling so decided to buy a team. He also apparently thinks he's good enough to join the team and rides with the members on their off days. If you skip through his twitter photos you will also find that he likes buying the team lots of champagne...

roadwarrior

...and then the race started...

Just kidding.

bitingduck

I know at least a few local businesses who sponsor teams who are almost certainly seeing a ROI. One is a local realtor who's also a team member (I think now a second team member joined his office as well). Even with the relatively high cost of being a title sponsor of a big team in SoCal, if one or two people choose them to buy or sell a house, that more than covers what they spent on sponsorship. He was my realtor (referred by a bunch of coworkers) before he was a title sponsor, and he's very good, so he's probably seeing pretty good return). I also know a contractor who's probably seeing decent return-- getting a decent contractor is notoriously difficult, and if it's someone who you've known for a while and who's going to be around for a while, that's a big plus. He did a lot of work for a coworker around the corner and is also very good.

Then there's the assortment of massage therapists, doctors, dentists, etc, who people start to go to because they need to find a new one and a good place to start is the person who's sponsoring your team. I suspect a lot of them see a bit of return.

Moyene Corniche

A Club / Team / Sponsor needs to be a synergistic operation. In order for sponsors to at the very least gain valuable exposure for their brand name it needs to be on an organized team/club. That is the fundamentals, a team club needs to attract memberships, it cannot be just about a small team unless all the team members are (1) successful career wise (2) it's only a team revolving around racer's Cat 3 and up and all are seriously ambitious and driven for results then it's all about the lifestyle. But this type of team is rather the exception rather than the rule.

Otherwise a club needs to have a core of serious no nonsense riders, a segment designed to pull in new rider's hopefully some will become new racers, take care of the existing ones, nurture Juniors and women ( not enough of that ) be heavily involved in promoting both itself and the sport. All of that requires resources, people inside the club who are adamant about what the sponsors need and what the riders need and how those two sometimes opposite realities can coexist. I have been on a great team and also a club team where even though we had the sponsorship, the actual race day support from non existing teammates to ... left much to be desired. For this to work, there needs to be separate segments and people within the club focusing on the separate needs of those segments. Both on and off the bike.

Is there potential revenues ? Can a club and it's sponsors operate successfully in the black ? It can happen and it does, but it's about running a business versus a hobby, all the while not losing sight on the actual sport, the riders / racers that if they are successful throughout the season then that brings back exposure to the shop and the sponsors. The shop itself needs to be no nonsense, it has to sponsor the riders if it is on the jersey. Seriously, it's not good enough to have a shop emblazone itself on the jersey's but basically the riders are left to be on their own.
Butch Balzano ( Pedro's-Specialized-Mavic-Campagnolo ) would have some viable insight into this process and what is required versus what does not work or actually impairs the sport.

For myself I have no clue as to what club or team I will be racing with in 2015, I do know this, most importantly is to go to a race and have at least a couple teammates that I know, have ridden with and the goal is for us to work cohesively. Goal being to get our team as high up in the GC or result as possible. I have no desire to show up at a race solo time and time again. Forget that, I'd rather then form my own club/team with my business on the jersey rather than someone else's name that isn't even there either monetarily or support wise.

bbbean 

They also generate a lot of publicity and credibility for the shop. When people see a pack of riders with "Larry's LBS" kits, they're more likely to think of Larry's the next time they need a bike or gear.

BB

Poonjabby

I'd like to know the money Garmin drops on their team. Just because their up the street.


Poon