By the way, Mark Allan won Hawaii on a Huffy back in 1991 and went 8:0x.
By the way, even though I live in Canada, when I do break down and get that P2k or P3, it will likely be from bikesport michigan, due to the free info that Tom D gives away on this board.
I believe Jeff Devlin had the fastest bike split that year riding a Merlin road frame with drop bars, shorty clip ons and grip shifters at the ends of the drops. Anyone run out and get that setup?
Sponsorships influence me absolutely zero.
Now paintjobs, marketing, and looks… that’s another story. Hey, I’m human.
None. I’m 30. I’m not 18 anymore. I realize that said “pros” are using/wearing stuff because they get it free or get paid to use it. I alos realize that said pro and I are about as different as 2 folks in the same species can be.
Am I really gonna overpay $100 on some sunglasses because Pro X wears them? Will those sunglasses do anything for me other than make me look like someone who is willing to overpay so they can associate themselves with Pro X?
A Bike? I don’t know who rides what and I don’t even know what what looks like. If a salesman tried to sale me a bike by saying “So n So rides one” rather than describing the bike and explaining why it’ll go faster than other bikes, I’m not buying it. “So-n-So rides it” means it doesn’t stand on its own without the endorsement or the salesman thinks I’m an idiot that will fall for anything.
Plenty of people seem to buy stuff just for the look. More in this sport than I originally thought. Looking around at tri pics (my new hobby) you start to see “The Jones’s” and all of their following. Even the last place dude has everything the first place dude has. The most unique poerson I’ve seen isn’t the one with $2K worth of gear, it was the dude swimming in swim trunks .
I buy whatever gives me the best quality for my limited dollar. I don’t care if it’s made in America, riden by Lance, used by Bush, plasma hi-def or whatever, etc. I buy on merit, not seniority or endorsement.
If I can finish 50th on a $600 bik and finish 50th on a $2K bike, then the latter is an idiot that spent $1400 bucks too much.
It’s just my opinion … I could be wrong (Sorry, Dennis) … but, I’m not.
Generally I don’t pay too much attention to what the pros use, since I also know that there’s a lot of good stuff out there that the pro’s don’t use. However, I will on occasion NOT buy something based on what I see the pro’s using. For example, if I was looking for a new group last summer, I probably would have toughed it out on my old stuff until the DA 10speed was released. The last time a pro influenced my buying decision that way was when I bought my Mavic Heliums. Saw them used by the pro’s so waited until they were released to the public the following year.
“If I can finish 50th on a $600 bik and finish 50th on a $2K bike, then the latter is an idiot that spent $1400 bucks too much”
That brings up an interesting point. What if you could finish 45th on the $2000 bike? What if that was the difference between placing in your age group or just missing? What is the money/performance equation and how much would everyone spend for improved results. Then if you beat the guy on the $600 bike by a couple seconds on your $2000 bike do you feel satisfied? I am not picking on your statement just trying to get a feel for the value of improved performance. What if everyone had to use the same equipment? Would results be more meaningful? Of course we would all have to train the exact same amount and have the same stresses in our day to day lives 
I had a “Devlin like” gripshift at the end of my cowhorn bars on my Kestrel 200 SC that year. I liked them there vs on the aerobars because the bike was more stable while shifting (remember guys with the “shift wobble” when they shifted while aero), and I could also shift gears while standing. This was pre STI.
Hey, Devlin’s position was just the same “slam” position that Cobb speaks off. He was just ahead of his time :-)…and there were a few Merlins sold :-).
I was influence not to by Nike because of their sponsorships. More money to the athletes than the people who make the shoes.
I am really impressed when an athlete uses a rebranded product, a la, the P3 in the 2002 Tour. If Michael Jourdan wore rebranded Reboks, I would probably be wearing Rebok stuff.
Bob Sigerson
I have to admit I bought my first Felt tribike because of Craig Walton. I should qualify that: I liked the way the bike looked, realized I couldn’t afford a DA, did some more research into Felt’s less expensive models, got fitted and made my move.
The pros always look great in whatever they wear or ride. How many of us have tried on that cool tri singlet only to feel utterly silly while looking into the dressing room mirror? I bet a lot of us. Leave out the amused reactions of our significant others while they witness us in our “tri suits.” To hell with them if it makes me feel faster or more “Walton-esque” that’s my trip, I’ll deal with it.
As for deodorant…I use my wife’s unscented Secret, because it IS strong enough for man.
Yes Tom, I’ve purchased many things because the pros use them. I’m a dork. But a relatively happy one.
T
I want to talk about the idea that “sonsorship equals credibility”.
I always thought that companies with inferior product were more willing to unload a ton of money on a big name to endorse their product to cover up for the lack of quality.
All that money spent on endorsements and sponsorship could have went to R&D and product improvement. It’s not about quality, it’s about sales.
The funniest things are “new on the market supplements”. The supplement has been o the market for a whole 2 weeks, and there’s already an athlete that “swears by it”. Somoene that has been a champion for 2 years, but now … can’t live without this product. Yeah … and Bugs Bunny eats at McDonalds.
It’s easier to have a big name say what he’s paid to say or ride what he’s paid to ride, than it is to make a product that stands on its own.
Having sponsorship definately works though. Michael Jordan has sold a lot of crap outside of basketball equipment.
If the product is exactly as available to the public, then yes it does influence my buying habits. On another note, I won’t buy anything by Ralph Lauren (sport clothing or not) because of them dropping sponsorship of Tim Deboom after his first Kona win! Not that they are a major player in tri anyway.
Not much… I agree with a lot of folks that have mentioned that sponsorships provide me with knowlege that a given product exists, but I’m more inclined to run brand x because I’ve heard good things about them from people whose opinion I respect, rather than because pro y runs it.
Having said that, I do lust after Tyler’s R2.5 Carbon, and Mike McCarthy’s WCS pursuit Yamaguchi
It affects my buying intentions quite a bit. I’m a fan of Oakley and Nike because of what they did for Lance, as someone else has already mentioned (though I no longer wear Nike shoes; I do like some of their apparel, however). I also just bought a pair of Adidas running shoes this past weekend so I could get a $2 entry into the River Run in Jacksonville (Adidas is a major sponsor of that event). I probably wouldn’t have considered Adidas without the basically free entry into the race. And, like others, I switched to Degree because of race sponsorship.
As far as bikes go, I won’t buy a bike just because a certain athlete uses that particular model. But I do try to support the organizations that support the events in which I participate. They help provide me an avenue in which to compete, and I try to oblige by purchasing their products from time to time.
And for what it’s worth, I really like the Adidas shoes. If they continue to feel as good as they have recently, I’ll be a customer for life. And to think, I’d never given them an inkling of consideration if they didn’t sponsor the River Run.
"Sponsorships influence me absolutely zero.
Now paintjobs, marketing, and looks… that’s another story. Hey, I’m human. "
Sponsorships are just another marketing channel, all of which should be designed to lead to increased brand awareness and growing revenues !!!
I keep thinking about this, Tom, and why I buy products from the companies I do. (Or at least the companies I like to buy from.) I said earlier that sponsorships don’t influence me. And that’s true. What I really care about is customer service, product quality, customer service, a company that is willing to take risks in an attempt to be innovative, customer service, and the level of involvement of the company in those things I’m interested in. (E.G. triathlon) If such a company were to get a big name sponsorship, then that makes me happy to see them get the visibility, provided the other things don’t suffer. So I was happy to see Cervelo sign CSC and Larsen, and I was also happy when Yaqui landed Lessing. (Too bad that’s over.) But that’s never going to be the sole reason or even a contributing reason to buy one of their bikes. Now, the importance of customer service and individual attention is closely related to the price of the product I’m buying. So for clothing, I don’t care too much what brand I buy. Now for a frame, wheelset or other big ticket item, the company needs to earn my business. Signing some big name pro who will do nothing to make my ownership experience better will do nothing to help do this.
I’ve listed them before and I’ll do it again. Companies I wouldn’t hesitate to buy from again (or for the first time), and in many cases look forward to buying from include:
Yaqui/Mandaric, Nimble, Renn, Desoto, 1up, Elite
As much as I love my Klein, I’ll probably never buy another one, or anything significant from Trek again. Say, who does Trek sponsor??
Somebody already mentioned it - but when I see a pro using a piece of equipment that has been rebadged for sponsorship reasons, I assume rather strongly that it’s better than the sponsor’s equivalent gear - assuming they do have a comparable product.
I used to think it was somehow shady. But I realize now (assume) there’s all sorts of legal wrangling going on when this happens, and everybody’s cool with it.
-Zo
Sure. From that perspective, sponsorships serve to provide product awareness and therefore have an impact on me. OK. But I’ll never pick a bike, or wheels, or glasses over another because Johnnie-I’m-Hot-Right-Now uses them.
I will readily admit that, after reading Lance’s first book, I went out a bought a pair of Oakley shades in the style he wears. It was his statement that Oakley and Nike were the only two sponsors that unhesitatingly stood by him. Oakley even put him on the payroll so he could get their health plan. So, now I’m an Oakley sunglasses wearer for life, just like Lance.
I still hate Nike, although I have some of their running clothes and hats.
Slowman doesn’t “endorse” the T1, but I bought one sight unseen based on his recommendation.
“…I won’t buy anything by Ralph Lauren (sport clothing or not) because of them dropping sponsorship of Tim Deboom after his first Kona win!”
But at least they sponsored triathlon for a while, which is more than you can say for a lot of companies. To steal a popular expression: “It is better to have sponsored and stopped, than to have never sponsored at all”.