To race with a team or solo.

[Jessica]

Greetings Forum,

 

I'm thinking about trying a few races this year and I'm wondering about these bike teams I see.

 

Those that race with a team, what are the benefits? How did you select your team?

 

We moved to Texas from upstate NY, and I never saw any valve in racing as the only woman in my age group. I'd seriously cringe thinking of standing alone at a podium accepting a participation trophy. Most social activities were usually centered around the local imba chapters. It's so different here, having a larger population. But enough back story

 

 

 

 

 

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[DesertNomad]

First off, most teams want to see a racing background, pedigree, and some successes and even that is not a promise of getting a spot on a team. It can be very competitive.  If you have a race resume, then that is a step in the right direction.  

Usually, it's the team that finds you, not you finding the team. See above - they look for success stories that show promise.

Race teams have sponsors. Sponsors want to see their logos on jerseys and apparel worn by their race team members.  They especially want to see them on a podium, and/or plugged in social media.  You have to be ready to be a brand ambassador for the sponsors of your team.

The benefits vary based on how hard core the team is and how badass you are.  Most local shop teams will offer cheap or free pre-race tunes, discounted labor rates, and discounts on stuff purchased through the store.  Accessory industry sponsors will offer deeper discounts on their product and may even supply you with things to use in races for free (but they may want the stuff back at the end of the season).  Bike/frame industry sponsorships are very hard to come by, generally require the rider to race and podium at the pro-level, but can include insane discounts, free bikes to ride, travel expenses, or even a full free-ride plus salary if you are hard core enough.

Race teams though will require you to attend a certain number of races per year and will have must-attend events.  They can be very demanding in terms of training volume too.  They will not care much if you are by yourself on the podium or not - they just want the sponsor exposure.

There are also clubs to join such as Mafia, TRG, etc.  They usually have a low event requirement if any, lesser discounts, but a wider range of industry partners.

The Peddler is looking for racers right now by the way, but of course have their list of requirements.  They are in Cedar Park.

Just remember that racing for a team requires a level of commitment that can completely suck the joy out of cycling to where racing and the training become a fulltime job, rain or shine, and riding with friends or just for fun does not fit in the plan.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 9, 2018 by DesertNomad

[AustinBike]

You should check out Team Shazam, a bunch of local racing ladies, not heavy duty racers, lots of social. Their group is a private facebook group but I can get you in touch with the right people. PM me.

Edited December 9, 2018 by AustinBike

[AntonioGG]

If you mean the clubs, a lot of it is the social aspect of it, where they are based, whether you like riding with them or just plain like the people.  I don't know of any clubs that have closed rides.  I've ridden with the 787 team (hardest core road team I've ridden with, I couldn't keep up, but it was fun while it lasted) but also ride with my club (BSS), with the EnduraRace people, ARR, etc.  Go on a few group rides.  What I like about my team is the large presence in pretty much any event.  There's always a tent, people to hang out with, people to drink beer with, and people cheering you on.  

Where in upstate NY?  I was born in Rochester (bud didn't live very long there.)

[CBaron]

As someone who earlier in my cycling life has managed 3 different racing teams/clubs, I can give you insight into what 'we' use to look for and require.

In basic terms we wanted someone who was plugged into the cycling community, had a good reputation (both personal and riding/racing), and could agree to the commitment that we required.  We cared less about actual results (although that did help), and more so about someone being a form of "brand ambassador" for the team [shop, sponsors, etc].  All of my teams were focused on the TX State Champ Series (TMBRA Spring) and we required you to race/attend the minimum amount of races required to place in the overall standings.  I.e. if there were 8 races and riders had to have 6 races to qualify for championship status...then we required participation in 6 races.  Additionally, we required attendance 1x per week in one of the more 'major' local rides: Austin Tuesday Nighter, Driveway Crit Series, etc..  You also had to participate in PayDirt (as a way to give-back).  And then lastly, you had to be available for sponsor stuff when called upon:  Working a shop event, volunteer at an event, man the booth at a race, etc...  There may be other things but they would be minimal.

In return, we would provide $20 back per race entry if you completed the race.  A shop discount that varied (from team to team) but was around 20-25% off.  We usually issued 2 team riding kits (top & bottom) and would sometimes provide a hotel room (subsidy) when races were far enough away.  Each season depending on the sponsor, we'd usually have some free team gear & swag for the riders: Tifosi glasses, box(es) of Cliff bars, 2 pair of Hutchinson tires, free Giro helmet, etc... were some examples.

In summary, we wanted to affiliate ourselves with riders who were out there involved in the cycling/racing community and would represent the organization well.  For us, even though we were a XC focused team, we also took into account if the riders were multi-disciplined (road, CX, marathon, gravel).  

The selection process was usually made known through shop channels (primarily word of mouth).  I'd have to say that relationships were the primary way someone would know and then find out about the (our) process.  This was way before social media was a thing.  Most often the team/rider selection process was done around the end of summer or early fall.  We'd have to have sponsors & fund raising finalized right around inner bike (mid-Oct).  And then have swag and clothing made available around first of the year (Jan).

The above is my own personal experience that ranged from about 98'-2010' and was centered primarily on XC MTB Racing.  YMMV.

Cheers, -CJB

[Jessica]

Thank you for the information, there is a lot to process here. It will take me a while to consider all the information here.

I'm not particularly a bad ass rider, and at 41, I'm pretty satisfied with my 9-5(or 6-6 in my case). Any racing I do is purely a hobby.

I just switched over to 29er from 27.5+ for 10 months. Before that I rode a 26 for about 8 years (in Rochester, and Ithaca). I'm finding the slacker set up makes some trail features less intimidating. This may be a set up I feel comfortable trying an Enduro race.

I also changed my diet to get faster climbing. I cringe at the motivation to finally drop 15 lbs, but I'm pretty satisfied with my downhill speed and flat speed. If I want to go faster, I have to carry less potential fuel. I learned that November 18th. If I want to be successful in endurance, I also have to start an upper body strength training.

Thanks again for all the great reference information. I may check out Pedlars Pass.








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[Sluggo]

https://www.bicyclesportshop.com/club

Perks included and many members race. 

Edited December 11, 2018 by Sluggo

[fontarin]

Yep, I highly recommend the BSS Club!  We have both racers and non-racers - very nice group of people!   There are some nice perks with the club and some additional perks for volunteering for rides and such.

Happy to answer any questions you have about it. 

 

[Jessica]

Thanks, BSS seems right for me. Got my touring bike and mountain bike frame from them. Thanks for the guidance.

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[FJsnoozer]

Thank you for the information, there is a lot to process here. It will take me a while to consider all the information here.  

I'm not particularly a bad ass rider, and at 41, I'm pretty satisfied with my 9-5(or 6-6 in my case). Any racing I do is purely a hobby.

 

I just switched over to 29er from 27.5+ for 10 months. Before that I rode a 26 for about 8 years (in Rochester, and Ithaca). I'm finding the slacker set up makes some trail features less intimidating. This may be a set up I feel comfortable trying an Enduro race.

 

I also changed my diet to get faster climbing. I cringe at the motivation to finally drop 15 lbs, but I'm pretty satisfied with my downhill speed and flat speed. If I want to go faster, I have to carry less potential fuel. I learned that November 18th. If I want to be successful in endurance, I also have to start an upper body strength training.

 

Thanks again for all the great reference information. I may check out Pedlars Pass.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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If racing XC, that weight makes a massive difference. If you can maintain power at the same level, 15 pounds on a female frame is just insane. You will probably be 8-10+ minutes faster in your average XC race.

 

Most of the teams here are really clubs with discounts. The big shops give out very little if any discount, so it’s about making friends and giving back with a group and networking.

 

I personally just enjoy making my rounds to tents after the races and chatting with my fellow racers who are on teams.

 

 

Big MTB presence:

Weaver technologies

Yeah!

Primetime

Mafia racing

 

Smaller:

Texas heating and A/C

787

Das wow

Snacks

Troublemaker

Chumba (fast guys that own chumbas)

Etc

 

I’m forgetting many.

 

Then you have all of the cycle shop “teams” which could mean the person is literally paying to be on the team by a membership fee or required jersey purchase, or you are just buying bikes there(all forms of you paying) or the shop team could have 10-30 bike discounts and support (that varies greatly!) I’ve literally been offered cost on Bikes from a smaller shop that wanted me and my wife to race for them. The big stores in Austin don’t have to offer these types of deals. Lots more discounting outside of Austin going on.

 

The teams are competing for team overall points, so it is kind of a numbers game. It helps for them to have racers in all categories and age groups. At one point last year it felt like 1/3 of people were racing in a weaver kit.

 

 

 

 

 

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[Jessica]

Ok, we are down 13 lbs, my attempts to join a team killed the desire to race and group ride tho. [emoji16].

Seems I'm content to lone ride it the rest of my time in Austin.



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[FJsnoozer]

Ok, we are down 13 lbs, my attempts to join a team killed the desire to race and group ride tho. [emoji16].

 

Seems I'm content to lone ride it the rest of my time in Austin.

 

 

 

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JD

 

No need to join a team really, just hang out at the races and drink beer with everyone. Ask them about their suffering after the race and enjoy the stories.

 

A group ride for me is when one or two people Join me and my wife for the bike ride.

 

 

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[AustinBike]

You should show up to a Tuesday R&I. They'll probably be urban for the next few weeks based on weather, but you'll find people to ride with and you'll have fun. The team Shazam people I talked about are almost always at the R&I as well.

[Ridenfool]

Keep in mind what Groucho Marx said and roll with it, "I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member"

You can always jump on the odd opportunity to be a part of a makeshift team for some specific event, like a 24 hour race or some such.

There are those unique and special teams, though less organized, such as Team Meat Weapons (where your team name must include a reference to both a meat and a weapon).  Such as  Fuhlauto Balogna.

It is safe to say we are all members of Team AustinMountainBiking.com.