I'm part of a 10 rider masters team. It's just us and we are affiliated with a shop but not primarily sponsored by this shop. We wanted to be our own team so we could do our own thing. We changed helmet sponsors this year so we are all getting/buying a new helmet (at a very good price). Yes, it was encouraged to get this helmet but I don't think any of us didn't want to anyway. Really that just keeps us looking like a team. We're all over 40 so we don't have much other than trying to look good. We have a bike sponsor but only a couple of us have gone down that road and that's not been a problem.