[Closed] Gwinn leaves $pecialized. Where too now?

German also heard ktm...

Interesting.

GT have already announced a strong team.

Syndicate still with Peaty, Greg & Bryceland this year.

If it's not YT then have Canyon announced their DH team yet?

They'd have the biggest pockets and money to spend now Barel has retired. They already sponsor at the highest level of road racing too.

We don't know where Bruni is going yet either, do we?

Bruni and the rest of the old Lapierre team are on Canyon aren't they? Which doesn't leave much cash left for million dollar Gwin

Gt have got brook and Sam dale so not them. Leaves only YT really, which could be interesting as I'm not sure he'd get the support from them that he does from Specialized

Reading between the lines in the Gwinn interview on PB, it seems that Spesh decided to allocate the funds elsewhere which means Enduro (Graves). Hardly surprising; I'd bet they sell a lot more enduros than they do demos.

There is a interview with him on pinkbike which is quite interesting and refreshingly honest . I reckon bruni on spesh and gwin ? Well I'm not sure who could pay more than specialized that haven't announced there team already . Be interesting to know what graves is getting compared to what gwin asked for

Bruni and the rest of the old Lapierre team are on Canyon aren't they? Which doesn't leave much cash left for million dollar Gwin

Nothing has been announced, and they have been spotted as a team testing the Demo in the last few weeks.

I'd be amazed if Gwin was on YT. I can't see them having the budget to pay him if Specialized arn't. They only make 2 bikes & sell fraction of the numbers Specialized do.

I heard it was gonna be YT a while back, but sure if they've announced a 2016 team yet this ?

Bruni and the rest of the old Lapierre team are on Canyon aren't they

I know there had been some chat about it, was it confirmed? Good fit if Barel's hanging around anyway.

Be great to see Troy Brosnan as the top guy on Specialized too, he's potentially the biggest threat to Gwin's dominance IMO.

I think your right about brosnan , he was pretty close to a couple of wins last year if it wasn't for crashes and he still got top ten .
Don't get me wrong gwin is amazing and to see him in full flow is mind blowing but if you look at his results it does seem to be feast or famine , so you could pay him a ton of cash worrying he would not start paying it back till year 3 of his contract .

Pretty sure someone like Giant would have enough to buy him, Not sure how many companies could afford him.

I agree, Giant or back to Trek. Yt won't have the budget, GT are already settled. Ktm would be interesting but have they got the bike?

EDIT. Wonder if he'll sign up to multiple sponsors and setup his own team? (strokes chin)

Hardly surprising. I'd bet they sell a lot more enduros than they do demos.

Canyon? Along side Berecloth?

Pretty sure someone like Giant would have enough to buy him, Not sure how many companies could afford him.

All of Gwin's mates are pro MX and SX racers. He probably feels a little hard done by in comparison. As the worlds most dominant downhiller he probably makes a fraction of someone running mid pack in the AMA.

That interview is horribly passionless and business like. Multiple uses of the phrase 'moving forward'. He sounds like a politician. I know it needs to be done but maybe it should be left it in the office and out of sight.

Gwin had everything going for him at SBC and I bet he was already the most expensive rider in the world. Hard to imagine jumping ship to an unproven set up.

Canyon available in the USA this year too, would tie in

Giant is an intriguing idea, it would certainly make the most sense financially.

They have a new carbon Glory and a full range of MTBs, they've got a great global presence to leverage sales - and they're finally shaking off their dowdy image a bit.

I would think YT would have the money, plus they need a Dh rider as they have the bike. The USA connection would open up the us market nicely. It will be interesting to see how this works out!

Wonder if YT would be able to make bikes quick enough?

They seem to sell out their current production runs no problem.

Canyon's DH bike looks like it's there to fill a gap in the range and hasn't really developed for years. Their focus is obviously elsewhere.

YT appear to be on the march. Their bike is also excellent. They also can't make the things fast enough.

He already has a relationship with KTM as they supply his MX and Enduro bikes. But they don't even have a DH bike on show and seem to be pushing e-bikes. I doubt they'd be looking to make such a grand entrance on the WC.

Canyon's DH bike looks like it's there to fill a gap in the range and hasn't really developed for years. Their focus is obviously elsewhere.

They're heavily rumoured to be going bigger on DH though.

Possibly a carbon bike in the wings too. Obvious gap in their line-up.

Athertons on Trek so he won't be going there. My understanding is the bloke who owns YT is a bit of a trustafarian hence money isn't in short supply. So he could go there but again is the bike good enough for Gwin?

I think whatever he does he'll do it as a privateer style ride similar to what Peaty used to do before Santa Cruz. Team Gwin which then means the bike supplier is irrelevant. A lot of the AMA guys do this I think, makes sense as you're then the one and only rider in a team rather than having to share resources with team mates.

I quite like his attitude to racing, it's clearly not the most important thing in his life which as he says means he can do it for enjoyment as well as a career. Must be nice to be in that position. He reminds me quite a bit of Stoner but without the whinging

I don't think YT will do it, they're perhaps not as big as we might think and they don't have a WC team do they do not only would they have to pay the biggest salary in WC DH (by all accounts) but also build a team and it's probably not cost effect to run a whole WC team for one rider.

I seem to recall Warner dropped a bollock interviewing Minnaar and mentioned Gwin's name? I know they're all meant to be very different characters in the Syndicate, I'm not sure the super serious, devout Christian Gwin will fit in with their vibe - but who knows eh? Anyway SC could do with a big name with Peaty starting his farewell tour and rumors of Minnaar going elsewhere- has Ratboy signed for '16 yet?

I don't think trek will be wanting him back after he left them in the lurch to move spesh

YT would probably be a good investment they've got a great DH bike and just started selling in the USA, could they afford him tho? dunno but theyve sold a lot of Capras !

Surely not the Syndicate. They already have two of the very best male racers and Ratboy should only get better.

I guess they'll bring in some new talent next year when Peaty's retired - hopefully a woman.

Trek already revealed the Athertons.

it's not a negotiation unless you're prepared to walk away from the deal if you don't get the compromise you were looking for so that's a good bit of hard headed business. I think the statement has been carefully worded so as to be as dispassionate and respectful to all parties as possible. Don't burn any bridges at this stage.

Who knows who it will be but the YT thing has been rumoured for a while. It'd be great if it were true but I'm not sure YT need him giving the amount of bikes they currently shift on their value vs performance. Having said that, If they added $100 to each bike they sold to pay for him, would anyone really notice? It's oft been said they need a WC presence, why not start at the top?

I dont believe he will go to YT, they are all party hard & neck tattoos, Gwin is all business so IMO he'll be on a small or solo team with someone supplying a proven frame or even buying them in. My guess is Troy Lee stumps up the majority of the cash.

YT makes sense to me -they have most to gain from paying him big bucks - it instantly moves them from being perceived s a cheap direct sales outfit to making them a legitimate player in the DH world. Gwin is as close to guaranteed success as exists in the game

And YT are flogging their DH bikes at 600 off right now- they'll announce Gwin and a new bike at the same time for the ne season.

My money is on small / solo team with independent sponsors too, possibly even a non trade team too ie the troy lee monster dh team or something like that.

If no one company is willing to pay what he's asking then maybe a few have clubbed together

There is a interview with him on pinkbike which is quite interesting and refreshingly honest .

I found it a bit odd that Gwinn wanted to get in first with an interview all about telling the world Spec couldn't pay him what he thought he was worth. It doesn't come across well to me. The move to Spec wasn't exactly smooth PR-wise and it just adds to the negative view some have of Gwinn

Flippin' quick rider though!

YT makes sense to me -they have most to gain from paying him big bucks - it instantly moves them from being perceived s a cheap direct sales outfit to making them a legitimate player in the DH world. Gwin is as close to guaranteed success as exists in the game

YT is the best fit as I see it too. Gwinn doesn't need a team and neither do YT. Gwinn seems to want big bucks and has more than enough experience to know what it takes to win while YT want instant race credibility.

I don't think YT will do it, they're perhaps not as big as we might think and they don't have a WC team do they do not only would they have to pay the biggest salary in WC DH (by all accounts) but also build a team and it's probably not cost effect to run a whole WC team for one rider.

They seem to have gotten hold of a some of the top slope and DJ guys without any trouble and seemed to sponsor every other thing this year at Rampage. I don't think of Polygon making much money either but they seem to have a lot of big names on the freeride side too.

After all this I'd laugh if he turned up as a privateer on a Demo 8.

In a Dirt interview a few years ago the owners of YT explained why they hadn't entered the WC yet. They basically said that everyone judges the performance of a DH bike on its race results regardless of who's riding it. So if the Tues couldn't win races on the world cup everyone would think it was a crap bike. All of which is true if a little unjustified. They said they'd only play if they could win. They've obviously been thinking about it for years and I wouldn't be surprised if they'd been saving up to make a move just like this.

Plus, it might have a positive effect on the market price of my own Tues if I decide to sell up 😉

EDIT:

I don't think of Polygon making much money either but they seem to have a lot of big names on the freeride side too

Polygon is one of those enormous, corporate owned entities that sell tonnes of bikes of every type at every price point. They're like the GT or Mongoose of Asia.

I think Team Red Bull Troy Lee Design downhill team riding whatever bike he wants.

If no one company is willing to pay what he's asking then maybe a few have clubbed together

It's certainly a possibility, but I don't see what extra benefit TLD or Red Bull (as suggested by others) would get compared to their existing deals with Gwin.

YT looks like the most-popular rumour but it was previously claimed that he'd talked to them and it hadn't worked out - so that could be a red herring.

Canyon or Giant would make most sense to me. Giant probably the best fit TBH - but they tend to sponsor less-expensive riders rather than the top dogs in DH, Enduro and road, so it'd be a change in approach.

I was just over at Vital to see if 'team rumors' had drawn something about Gwinn - nothing as yet, but the posters over there are thinking a bit more 'leftfield' and are talking about Audi???? Or perhaps KTM, but not KTM Bicyles, mostly because they don't currently offer anything like a DH bike and partly because they don't have much money? Anyway they're talking about KTM or Audi building a non-production special like Honda did 10 years ago - I don't think so myself.

I still think he'll end up at SC, maybe a year earlier than planned but perhaps the new owners will want a bigger team than they run now and Gwin will almost certainly be at the sharp end with Minnaar and Ratboy (and fingers crossed a Podium-fast fairytail send-off for Peaty).

Anyway, these things usually run to calendar years don't they - announcements in early Jan.

They basically said that everyone judges the performance of a DH bike on its race results regardless of who's riding it. So if the Tues couldn't win races on the world cup everyone would think it was a crap bike

That's why I can't see Yt signing him. They're doing pretty well at the moment and if the best rider around at the moment suddenly started getting some dodgy results/didn't win any races people are going to start pointing the finger at the bike so it could do them more harm than good.

KTM pedal bikes just licence the name from KTM motor bikes, they aren't the same company so can't see the motorbike lot making a pedal bike or it'd likely infringe and cause all sorts of cross marketing.

If someone like troy lee and red bull were title sponsors they get far more coverage than being a third or fourth tier sponsor.

Gwin put some pics on instagram when he did a photo shoot with audi but with his business brain I'd be surprised if he was giving away clues at all.

Gwin's been filming commercials for Audi for a while in the off season. I reckon he'll structure a deal similar to Cedric Gracia - his personal brand is strong enough to support it and thanks to tyreless and chain less exploits, he has achieved mass market recognition outside of MTB. That in turn makes it easier to get non bike industry sponsors and build his own programme.

Fair play to him - his global audience is huge, his potential career lifespan is quite short and fraught with risk, so it makes commercial sense to make hay while the sun shines. Pretty much all MTB racers are grossly underpaid relative to roadies of similar positional status, and even more so against other sports. Hopefully this is the start of a more professional approach to sponsorship and athlete marketing 🙂

I reckon there's room for him at GT. One of his team mates has gone there too (though I'm not sure if that'd make much difference).

Cannot see him at SC, more likely SC spend some cash on a Enduro team as the Syndicate is strong enough. They would most likely want Bruni over Gwin IMHO, younger and less praying to baby jesus. Plus Bruni would fit in better imho, Gwin on a team with Rat, Minnaar and Peaty would be a strange mix.

Plus Bruni would fit in better imho, Gwin on a team with Rat, Minnaar and Peaty would be a strange mix.

Think that was being mentioned for the post Peaty days
[img] [/img]
They both seemed genuinely happy that Loic won

Gwin on a team with Rat, Minnaar and Peaty would be a strange mix.

To paraphrase, winning has a beauty all of its own. If you've got Gwin plus the others on SC you have potential podium sweeps at every single race.

you would think with gwin being a bible basher he would have remembered that greed is a deadly sin.

Hmm, it would take a large bike company to support Gwins wages and his involvement it developing product, a large, huge, big, ginormous bike company...what I'm saying is I think it will be Giant.

poah - Member
you would think with gwin being a bible basher he would have remembered that greed is a deadly sin.

http://ridemonkey.bikemag.com/threads/ [b]steve-peat-moves-to-santa-cruz[/b].134821/
http://www.rotorburn.com/forums/showthread.php?41180- [b]Steve-Peat-Leaves-Orange-and-goes-to-Santa-Cruz[/b]&s=4101836cba5e9df7b37c99b588be2279

I think he was quite open about the need to support his family etc. at the time

mike - but Peaty is OUR DH rider and doesn't profess (in public) to loving God which makes him better and not at all interested in money

It'd be impressive if Gwin can bring mainstream sponsors into DH again.

I can see that working with a road-style joint sponsorship deal also involving a bike company (think Giant-Alpecin) rather than something like the Honda bike. It'd be a huge opportunity cost not to have him flogging real-life bikes.

Since Audi has been mentioned, how about Audi-Canyon? Can't see it with YT myself, but I've been wrong before.

On a side note, is anyone else thinking his supposed demands of $500k pa are surprisingly reasonable for a rider who's so dominant and who could become the GOAT during his next three-year deal?

I thought Palmer was on more than 500 a year

Worth a read, greed and looking after yourself are different things
http://www.descent-world.co.uk/2015/12/28/opinion-why-gwin-moving-is-a-good-thing/

http://ridemonkey.bikemag.com/threads/steve-peat-moves-to-santa-cruz.134821/
http://www.rotorburn.com/forums/showthread.php?41180-Steve-Peat-Leaves-Orange-and-goes-to-Santa-Cruz&s=4101836cba5e9df7b37c99b588be2279

I think he was quite open about the need to support his family etc. at the time

and he hasn't been supporting them up until now?

Tell us how much you think Gwin should be allowed to earn please poah?

Why does he have to be moving to a bike company? I mean any company can sponsor/co-sponsor a team, just like a lot of other sports...

I am sure non-industry sponsorship could be interested, especially given the demographics of the sports following and the crossover with other related disciplines/sports now... So why not Audi or Microsoft or Starbucks as a main sponsor, YT supplying frames, SRAM, TLD and others making up the numbers...

Gwin could well be pulling together his own team, He's already seen and been involved with how some of the "pro" outfits on the WC circuit operate, He also has a MX background, so I wouldn't be shocked if he's decided to replicate/improve on what's already in WC DHI for himself...

It's a business, and as a rider Gwin has a limited window to make money from it...

I think it'd be good for the sport to stop being quite so self sufficient and bring in some new sponsors

I'd be surprised if the Trek deal that the Atherton's have done is worth less than 4-5million for the year, and the riers like Gwinn are probably thinking that they could and probably should be doing something similar. i.e. managing their own futures a bit more sharply

I heard it was [url= http://www.kmcchain.eu/ ]these[/url] guys.

It's Apollo bikes, he's on board for the re-launch of the Creed.

the Trek deal that the Atherton's have done is worth less than 4-5million for the year

I'd be surprised if the Trek deal that the Atherton's have done is worth less than 4-5million for the year,

😯

Seriously? I can't see it myself at all. I'd be very interested to know where that comes from if not just speculation.

There's Pro Tour Road Teams that run around that for dozens of riders, staff, travelling, kit, etc. These few guys and gals only need to make it to 8 stops including World Champs (of course there's other races and events but you get the idea)

[img] [/img]
Halfords and a sticker kit?

I think $500k is a very reasonable figure. Gwin - unlike many other DHers - is hugely marketable to not only bike consumers but all others too. He's rad enough to appeal to the "cool dads" market but not too extreme so as to scare corporate marketing departments at big companies. His faith is probably a bonus too as it makes him "real" and non threatening. I know STW don't like religion, but this is just a little bike forum for a certain demographic.

My money's on a CG style own programme with non-industry sponsors including Audi and KTM. Whoever provides the bike platform doesn't need to make such a big financial contribution if that's the case, opening the door to YT who have a market need for a DH rider to help crack that area, and of course help bolster US sales.

3-4 million a year for the Atherton deal. Get a grip it's more like half that for 3 years.

Aaron Gwinn is not in any way, shape or form "rad". I quite like him, he's honest and has a ruthless streak when it comes to racing and negotiating, but he's the least "cool" person on the circuit despite being the best rider.

Agreed.

, but he's the least "cool" person on the circuit despite being the best rider.

Well the problem is always how quickly they can get him a new bike that suits him. I'd expect a 3-4 year deal with the first a bit sparse for results.

I thought he'd gone in his first (poor) season at spesh, and look what happened there. Minnaar said he fully expects Gwinn to surpass his record WC wins, and to me if he does, then the question will be answered.
He may be a godist and a bit "vanilla" in terms of DH riders but he is fully awesome on a bicycle.
I'd like to see him go off the rails in a breaking bad way. Start drinking, being unreasonable and swearing. He'd be more popular then 😉

I quite like the fact that there's a top level DH bloke who isn't always poking his tongue out, throwing horns and acting like a dick. Same reason I quite like Minnaar too; lets riding do the talking moreso than a crazy public persona.

Credible suggestion on the Vital MTB thread that he'll be riding for a new set-up run by Martin Whiteley - but nothing solid on who the main sponsor(s) will be.

Got to remember he already had a diverse range of personal sponsors (which he left Whiteley's TWR to develop).

He's (quite deservedly IMO) wanting a lot of money especially with the inevitable first season dip whilst honing a new bike. For that reason I think a small/privateer/self branded team with TLD, SRAM, RB and bring in a big player like Audi, which will do the sport the world of good. He'll be on a Spesh to mitigate that "dip" on the new bike. I don't think KTM will be around for the aforementioned reasons, I'm prepared to stand corrected! But, what's to stop him working with YT in that first year when he has no bike allegiance? Year 2 could then see him bring on YT as the headline sponsor whilst potentially mitigating the new bike dip. He'll have a lot on, for sure, but as a business/self preservation/promotion plan it could tick all the boxes. Is it possible to win on one bike whilst developing another? Given his calibre and tyre/chain exploits if anyone can, it's probably Gwin.

Bruni has gone to Specialized

Maybe Fox put the arm on Specialized to drop him - after all, he seems to make a mockery of suspension technology by seemingly running his forks almost locked out(!)

Seriously for a minute, I never really read interviews with DH guys, but that Pinkbike one is well worth a read. It's a really impressive interview from Gwin and his answer below is frankly brilliant in how level-headed it is whilst avoiding just saying "what a stupid **** question".

Levy: Some people have said that you’re not “in love” with mountain biking and that you probably wouldn’t be doing it if you weren’t racing and winning. What would you say to them if given the chance?

Gwin: I'd say they were correct in saying that I'm not "in love" with mountain biking. However, let me explain what that actually means. To be "in love" with something is different than loving something. I'm not "in love" with mountain biking, but I do love and greatly enjoy it. I also love iced coffee and chocolate chip cookies, but I'm not "in love" with those things. To be "in love" with something makes it a governing factor over your life and your decision making. To just love something is to utilize it so as to enjoy your life. For me, to be "in love" with mountain biking would mean that I couldn't be happy without it.
To love mountain biking means that I'm free to enjoy riding and racing, but if I have an injury or bad result, I'm still content with life and happy regardless. I'm also then still happily motivated to continue riding with the hope of winning future races. Regarding my love for riding, it seems to grow more and more every year, which is crazy since I've been riding bicycles since I was three-years-old. There's no other sport that I enjoy more, and the fact that I get to do it for a living is a blessing that I'm thankful for every day.

So with that, I'm sure you get the point. You could say that I'm "in love" with God, or possibly "in love" with a hot babe (wife) someday, but a mountain bike, no.

...especially with the [b]inevitable[/b] first season dip whilst honing a new bike

You mean like when he moved from Yeti to Trek? That kind of inevitable dip?

I think he's smart enough to have learned from last time - and have already made sure that he can go as fast on whatever his new bike is as he can on the Demo.

poah - Member
you would think with gwin being a bible basher he would have remembered that greed is a deadly sin.

🙄

There's plenty of "bible bashers" that ride bikes, although off the top of my head, they all ride either "road" or "bmx" - two sports that're "comfortable in their own skin" and don't seem to attract the nuggets that downhill mountain biking does.

"comfortable in their own skin"

Cam Zink was tweeting this morning

"Wonder who Aaron Gwinn is riding for next year..."

Zink has a massive stake in YT and essentially bought them to American Market.

So... Loic Bruni goes to Specialized.

No he hasnt.

The specialized factory team is now just Troy Brosnan (unless they sign someone else).

Specialized are now supplying bikes to pure racing (Bruni, Vergier and Iles) who used to be supplied by Lappiere. They will be known as the Specialized Gravity Team.

Strictly speaking Loic Bruni hasn't gone anywhere. It's the exact same team setup with a new frame sponsor.

Edit: beaten to it

Ah. My bad. All this hashtagging is very confusing! 😆