Brand loyalty and MvdP's deal with Canyon

[spoonrobot]

If you missed it, MvdP signed a 10 year deal with Canyon, which would conceivably take him to the end of his career.



Press release says he's got 163 victories on Canyon bikes already so this seems like a great deal for both of them.

My question is, could you do it? Have you already done it?

Assume if you race, racing the same brand. Or if you don't race, riding the same brand and only that brand. For the next 10 years. Yes/No? Why?

I wouldn't have a problem racing the same brand for the next decade. Most of my gravel races have been on Soma bikes and they've been good to me. Another 10 years would be fine - grave/MTB/road no problem. I could stop racing the couple other brands I own no problem.

I would have an issue with my day-to-day riding. I really enjoy variety and about half my time just riding is spent on other brands enjoying the differences from my racing bikes. It's nice to have race bikes that never change. I can take a month off riding them and when I get back on a week or two before an event it's like nothing changed. Having to ride the same brand seems limiting in a way that having to race the same brand wouldn't be.

[unterhausen]

I didn't realize riders could make separate deals with bike manufacturers.

I feel fairly confident that Canyon will make good bikes for that long, so I don't see any real downsides.

[nmrt]

He's only 29 years old. If the moolah from Canyon is YUGE, then I would have no trouble riding the same brand on a day-to-day basis. Heck, after 10 years, I am only 39, and my love affair with other brands will last the rest of my life.

Originally Posted by spoonrobot

If you missed it, MvdP signed a 10 year deal with Canyon, which would conceivably take him to the end of his career.



Press release says he's got 163 victories on Canyon bikes already so this seems like a great deal for both of them.

My question is, could you do it? Have you already done it?

Assume if you race, racing the same brand. Or if you don't race, riding the same brand and only that brand. For the next 10 years. Yes/No? Why?

I wouldn't have a problem racing the same brand for the next decade. Most of my gravel races have been on Soma bikes and they've been good to me. Another 10 years would be fine - grave/MTB/road no problem. I could stop racing the couple other brands I own no problem.

I would have an issue with my day-to-day riding. I really enjoy variety and about half my time just riding is spent on other brands enjoying the differences from my racing bikes. It's nice to have race bikes that never change. I can take a month off riding them and when I get back on a week or two before an event it's like nothing changed. Having to ride the same brand seems limiting in a way that having to race the same brand wouldn't be.

[RoosterCogset]

In a roundabout way, I think MvdP is saying that any major bike brand is as good as any other.

[AJosiahK]

I imagine any deal with a frame specific sponsor would be beneficial. Esp given their positive history, that can only improve. If MVdP has issues with a frame or geo or what not, its in there interest to adjust with either a one off or full on. The seasoned rider is after all who they are after. Why not "battle tested, pro approved"

Id be more of a stickler when it came to the other equipment ... personally: Id want to pick and choose wheels and group rather that be dictated to. Though you cant really go wrong with the big 3s offerings these days.

So all in all, seems great. Long lasting relationships in industries like cycling are becoming a thing of the past. I like to see these kinds of things happen to anyone, pro / semi / amateur etc.

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by RoosterCogset

In a roundabout way, I think MvdP is saying that any major bike brand is as good as any other.

This is the irony of product sponsorship.

The impression sponsors are trying to give is that, "If the best ____ in the world uses brand _____, then brand _____ must also be the best."

But on flip side, you have to ask, "If brand _____ has to actually pay people to use their products, does that mean brand _____ products may not be as good as products that you don't have to pay people to use?"

In the end, it is just a business decision, and not necessarily indicative of how good or bad a product is. About all you can conclude is, "if the best ____ in the world agrees to be paid to use brand ____ products, then brand ____ products must at least be good enough to not seriously impede their performance."

But to answer the questions, "Could you do it? Have you already done it?"

If the sponsor contract was large enough, then certainly I could do it. But no brand with any sense would be interested in associated my (lack of) performance with their brand, so I haven't even had the opportunity to do it.

[ssb94]

Nobody will ever pay me to ride a bike, but I still have loyalty to brands or shops that have gone above and beyond for me in some way. Has less to do with how the gear performs and more to do with how I was treated.

Durham Cycles and Felt will always have my loyalty because they got together and gave me a great deal on a crash replacement frame when I was hit by an uninsured driver as a college student. That meant a lot to me and I've never been shy about talking both of them up. That doesn't mean I won't ride or buy other stuff, but I consider it a sort of loyalty.

[Peter P.]

As amateur (or former) racers, I doubt any of us would have turned down a sponsorship because we didn't like the bike brand we were being offered.

Money talks.

[Alistair]

My LBS mostly sells Trek and gives me sizable discount for being on their “race” team, so most of my bikes are Treks (plus an All-City and a Niner, which they also sell).

[slowpoke]

Originally Posted by spoonrobot

Assume if you race, racing the same brand. Or if you don't race, riding the same brand and only that brand. For the next 10 years. Yes/No? Why?

If a company is paying my salary for the next 10 years and the only stipulation is I can only ride their bikes, I'll take that offer in a heartbeat. There are plenty of other hobbies that hopefully don't have any conflict of interest.

And would a Serotta repainted with the Canyon logo be alright?

[LegendRider]

Would MvdP's palmares be any different had he only ridden Madones or Tarmacs?

Maybe he would have won the race where is Canyon integrated handlebar broke, but otherwise probably not.

[AngryScientist]

I’m an enthusiast hack who likes a variety of bikes.

I have a job that pays my bills; the responsibilities for which I take seriously.

If riding bikes was my job paying my bills; I would have no problem riding one brand of bike for everything.

10 years sure is a long time though; especially with the turmoil the bike industry is in now. I don’t know how much confidence I’d have in a deal actually enduring for a full decade for various reasons. But “show me the money” and all that.

I’ve never ridden a Canyon; but I’m sure within reason they are as good as any of the other top dogs.

[dustyrider]

Has dude ever talked about bikes like most of the folks here do? Like do you think he’s on a bike forum posting about mm differences in wheel ID and trail? Is he scrutinizing over the cut of his jersey, height of his socks, or whether to wax his chains or not?

I know people that are really good at things like racing a bike that could care less about what they’re riding and know even less about the details of how it works. In fact some of least knowledgeable people I’ve ever met in bike shops were the racers. I’m guessing it boils down to the almighty dollar and that’s it, but I don’t really know the man and will most likely never buy a canyon just because he’s good at destroying cyclo-cross races while riding one!

[BRad704]

Originally Posted by Alistair

My LBS mostly sells Trek and gives me sizable discount for being on their “race” team, so most of my bikes are Treks (plus an All-City and a Niner, which they also sell).

This has been exactly me for the last 3 years. We're done with the sponsorship because the team has dwindled down, but we were basically getting employee pricing on everything through the Trek LBS. I've got several new bikes and multiple wheelsets from it, as did others on the team.

So yeah, even though the sponsorship is over, I'm still pretty dang loyal to riding Treks.

[charliedid]

I read that headline and wondered if that keeps him also locked to Alpacin Deceuninck for the duration as well? I suppose a switch to another team who wanted him would also need to negotiate a bike sponsorship deal.