I save my skin suits for extra hard workouts where I need some motivation. Nothing worse than putting on a skin suit and going slow

Couldn’t help but notice , last weekend that MAAP seems to be the new official kit of 9W

Mark Taylor said:

Couldn’t help but notice , last weekend that MAAP seems to be the new official kit of 9W

It seems that the group that formerly was 'sponsored' by Rockstar Games has switched from Castelli to MAAP.  

mugwump said:

Mark Taylor said:

Couldn’t help but notice , last weekend that MAAP seems to be the new official kit of 9W

It seems that the group that formerly was 'sponsored' by Rockstar Games has switched from Castelli to MAAP.  

I saw that,
but clearly the label has exploded in NYC , not just the pink and blue kits of the former rockstar team .

Anyone have a line on the MTB kits fit-wise?

Nathaniel Picard Busky said:

Anyone have a line on the MTB kits fit-wise?

I emailed Ben about fit. I will let you know as soon as I hear. I assume it is safe to go a little larger than usual

I received the following info from Ben

@PatrickGrehan Thanks!! I think I'm gonna stick with my road size and we'll give it a whirl

Arrived at stillwell this morning only to find the metal thing missing from my jersey , not the first time this has happened with champ sys

channeled my inner Britney 

What did y’all think about Ineos new kit? I think is slick as hell.

The Grenadier is a new SUV made by INEOS. That is why it is part of their name.
https://ineosgrenadier.com/

Ohhh, that is disappointing...

I mean if pro cycling's funding model wasn't so completely effed up, an evergreen team/brand would give casual "ball sports" fans an easier way to latch onto the sport.

David Yang said:

I mean if pro cycling's funding model wasn't so completely effed up, an evergreen team/brand would give casual "ball sports" fans an easier way to latch onto the sport.

Agree with this, of course.

There are no evergreen teams, but there have been some long sponsors, that for one reason or another see significant value on supporting cycling. Not to mention regional teams like Astana, shout out to Cofidis! You also have brands like Red Bull, who are super committed to cycling, granted not road cycling, and have found a way to invest in it differently.

The changing of sponsors could be a cool thing is the perceived value of cycling was higher, and a leaving sponsor wasn't typically viewed as a bad thing. Examples when soccer teams change some sponsor, or how Nike sponsors USATF events, etc... It is not hard to imagine that world, it existed, think if teams were sponsored by Coca-Cola, or Apple, or Google, or Nestle, or Johnson & Johnson, or Gatorade, or Audi, or Verizon, etc, etc... Imagine how the contracts would look like if brands of this caliber thought it made sense to support cycling, and had to compete to get a team/talent. All sorts of great things would happen. The quality of the races would be higher, more talent would gravitate towards riding bikes, and possibly equipment/gear prices could be lower for us (as the cycling industry companies would not have to take on the cost, or even sponsor teams directly)

Of course, these high level brands are understandably adverse to risk, specially on their marketing efforts. The scarcity of sponsors in 2020 is completely connected to doping and the Lance Armstrong exploits specifically. The story is not a good one.

Part of the funding issue is absolutely sponsor 'stickiness' the other is the sharing of TV rights.

But back to sponsors .. I don't see auto makers sponsoring a sport that promotes a competing form of transport and Apple, Google, Amazon are so omnipresent that they don't need to advertise that hard and team sponsorship risks losing more customers than they gain - such as Yankees fans moving to Android were the Red Sox to be sponsored by Apple (that might seem too crazy a concept here in the US, but not in the rest of world with nasty rivalries like Man Utd vs Liverpool, Roma vs Lazio, Boca vs River Plate, etc).

And for all of the efforts of the UCI, cycling remains a primarily European sport, which does not suit global sponsors.

My post was about dreaming, Ian. Dreams. If cycling had a better story, it would be more global and would better fit these type of global brands. 

While I used Verizon in my note, T-Mobile was an important sponsor for many years, so was Motorola (when they were the top of cell companies), and of course, Movistar is not in the US but it is a seriously global multinational phone/communications company.

There's a pretty strong tradition of modes of transport sponsoring cycling in some way. Fiat, Peugeot, etc... Skoda today sponsors ALL the cars of the tour de france. Mercedes Benz is the title sponsor of MTB World Cups. Etc...

eloy said:

There a pretty strong tradition of modes of transport sponsoring cycling in some way. Fiat, Peugeot, etc... Skoda today sponsors ALL the cars of the tour de france. Mercedes Benz is the title sponsor of MTB World Cups. Etc...

I do like the idea of McLaren being concerned that people buying bikes are going to affect car sales 

McLaren sponsorship is remarkable really given that they were perilously close to bankruptcy in June, only a very significant credit line from The Bank of Bahrain saved them

They are dropping out already 

Those of you who ordered a mountain bike kit in the most recent kit order should post photos of how fabulous you look in the new threads! Inquiring minds want to know

I ordered a kleenex for my neck neck warmer and was a little underwhelmed. Ditto for the lycra shower cap helmet liner.

patrick
i ordered MTB kit , was just at red beard and my kits not there 

The only notification I have of backordered items is a pair of bibs. I will check with CS.

The mtn bike kit should be part of the blue kit order. Remember that the white and blue kit orders are bagged separately, so members may have two bags to pick up.

Everyone check carefully, but please let me know if part of your order is missing.

Jules said:

I ordered a kleenex for my neck neck warmer and was a little underwhelmed. Ditto for the lycra shower cap helmet liner.

Agreed. I'm not really sure what the neck gaiter is intended for. It seems way too thin for a face covering, winter warmer, or even cool weather UV protection. 

RobertMullen said:

Jules said:

I ordered a kleenex for my neck neck warmer and was a little underwhelmed. Ditto for the lycra shower cap helmet liner.

Agreed. I'm not really sure what the neck gaiter is intended for. It seems way too thin for a face covering, winter warmer, or even cool weather UV protection. 

It's a summer neck gaiter.  Perfect for wearing when you're just lifting it up over your mouth for brief moments in warm weather. 

I can see using it in the spring and fall, provided it's only cool out.  

I actually love it for winter riding. I find merino gators too warm (especially with heavier breathing) so the bit of cool that it lets through helps me stay cool without blasting my face with winter air

I think our "winter" might be a little different

Haha yeah that’s totally fair. NY had a “winter” last year 

I'm with Matt, tho, love the kneck gaiters, and omg the lycra hats are my favorite, under the helmet! love them, wear them everyday but the hottest days. 

I'll give it a shot for sure. I bought it with the intention of using it as a face covering though, so my expectations may not have been correct.