pjcampbell

Trying to ask this without ranting.. does anyone's AMATEUR (we're talking Cat 2 and down) team require equipment purchases beyond a kit?

Hida Yanra

nope - and any team that does isn't one worth being on.
(source: I'm the main guy running our team in my free time, and on the job am the liason with 5-6 other teams my shop sponsors)

carpediemracing 

No.

There is some minor encouragement - great pricing etc - but in the end we use what equipment we want.

pjcampbell

I understanding wanting to look pro and all, but I'm not a pro and neither is anyone else on the team. It seems obnoxious to me, especially when I have perfectly good working equipment.

gsteinb

what team? and yes, that's stupid. If they want everyone on the same gear they should supply it.

Creatre

This.

mattm

lol

Racer Ex 

By "equipment" are you talking about EPO? And by "Cat 2 on down" do you mean Radio Shack?

The answer is no. We are encouraged to "prepare" but we set up our own doctors and shipments.

Klodie.

Commodus

I can't imagine any team doing this. I mean we get a good deal on bikes, but there's certainly no suggestion that anyone has to buy one.

Virten

My first time being on a team this year and they don't require it but have made hints that I should take advantage of great discounts etc for a bike.

It's because of my BD Schwinn.

pjcampbell

Specifically helmet and shoes. I meant cat2,3,4,5, so not an elite team. There is a blossoming "elite" or domestic pro team side of it, I think perhaps they're trying to keep the sponsors over there happy.

I think what I will do is get out my old 7 year old shoes and stank old helmet and wear those.

MDcatV

to an extent. the Pres and VP of the club owns a bike shop, which is one of our "sponsors". before they opened the shop, one of them worked at a LBS that was a cannondale shop. cdale was the frame sponsor for our club. they painted up a club specific caad9 then caad10 for us, and it was sold at a pretty palatable price for club members and provided free to elite team members. the new bike shop is not a cdale dealer. we were encouraged to purchase a new team frame in a brand that is sold in the new shop. since the cdale frame was free and the new one is not, it created a bit of contention.

same situation for helments, pedals, and wheels. we're sponsored by specific manufacturers and incentivised to purchase from those sponsors through the lbs. since all are good products and the discounts are nice, it's actually not a bad thing.

Hida Yanra

yeah, doesn't matter. This here sport is beer-league softball with tight pants... being forced to buy things is a bridge too far.
There is a local team that does this, and you may be shocked to know that it isn't an isolated symptom for the team's attitude. Only shows the deeper mentality, if it isn't free and they don't have a contract with you, why should you .

On the other hand, the local squads with an elite/pro side are run quite separately than the amateur squad because the whole game is 100% different. One local team with an elite squad and an amateur side gets it - the amateur side doesn't get anything, the elite side gets airfare, several team vehicles, a full-time pro mechanic, a full-time team manager, a full-time (and famous) DS, and all the goodies. They are serious business, and get serious results. Their sponsors know this and don't expect to make up any margin on the cat 3-4-5 flunkies. If the "sponsors" are trying to cut their losses on the backs of 3-4-5s, that's a real bad sign.

rbart4506

Nope, not a requirement and not encouraged...

Wife and I have bought frames and wheels because the price was right and we wanted to make a switch bike wise due to sizing...

Virten

how do you guys feel about being forced to pay for individual coaching to become a member of a team?

rkwaki

Screw that....

Virten

Cool..that's what I thought and is why I'm not on that team lol

gsteinb

It really depends on the team and it's reason for existence. Since you're from NY I suspect I may know the team you refer to. Don't want to pay to be coached by that person join a different team. It's not really that complicated and it's certainly out in the open.

echappist

We talking about nyvelocity or whatever that team is currently called, righr?

They have 50+ people on their team and charge $1500 if not more per season. Yeah, individualized.

There's also another team that does similar things, i think.

thechemist

Do they dominate?

rbart4506

It can become an issue when a number of local teams start doing it...It kind of limits who you can race for...

gsteinb

Start your own team then. There's enough **** in life to whine over already without complaining about the rules of someone else's sandbox when building your own isn't particularly complicated.

merlinextraligh

Agreed. If a group of people want to pool their resources to buy coaching and compete together as a team, that's a perfectly reasonable choice.

And it's likely only a workable model if everyone on the team participates, given that it would be too easy to be a free loader.

You just have to decide if it's worth it to you.

Virten

Agreed - it's out in the open.

Yup, Siggi's/nyvelocity.

Lol, not whining...and like I said, I joined another team...I was simply asking what other people's thoughts were.

Virten

They have a lot of good members and they have good attendance in the local races. So I guess you could say that.