Fans speculated wildly for over a month about where the hottest property in mountain bike racing would end up after Aaron Gwin broke the news in a Pinkbike interview last December, that he and Specialized could not come to a financial agreement for the 2016 racing season - and that he had signed another deal. Now, it's official. In the following exclusive video interview, Aaron announces that YT Industries is his title sponsor and that he will be racing for a new team, owned and managed by Martin Whiteley, the same man who Gwin raced for during his record-breaking winning streak with Trek World Racing. Aaron will be joined by Angel Suarez Alonso, a young Phenom from Spain who raced his first full World Cup series last year under the Intense flag.Why YT?Many insiders were hinting that YT would be Gwin's new team, but logic, dollars, and the fact that Aaron has raced for the sport's most legendary names, strongly suggested that Aaron would headline a mega-brand in 2016. You wouldn't be alone with your presumption if the YT deal caught you by surprise. Those familiar with YT, however, know that the letters are an acronym for "Young Talent" and that the brand was founded upon gravity and freestyle riding, and devoted to providing up-and-coming riders with race-worthy bikes at attainable prices. According to Gwin, he and Angel will be riding the same carbon Tues (say: Too' - ez) that YT sells to the public - which is quite a performer according to both Gwin and
PB's Mike Kazimer. | Literally, every change that I wanted to make to my last bike, geometry wise, was where their bike was now. I kind of had a laugh at that. |
Supporting SponsorsGwin's choice to join forces with a maverick, direct-sales bike brand from Germany with little World Cup DH experience raises as many questions as its announcement puts to rest. And, if the YT deal failed to pique your curiosity, a quick read of the team's melting pot of supporting sponsors will.
One of the luxuries of being at the top of your game, is being able to pick and choose your sponsors. That said, most of the usual suspects, like Shimano, SRAM, RockShox, DT Swiss, Schwalbe, Maxxis, Easton and Enve do not appear on the roster. YT will be supplying their Carbon Tues chassis, suspension will be Fox Factory, with e*Thirteen wheels and drivetrain parts, Onza tires, TRP brakes, Renthal cockpit items, SDG saddles, Motorex chemical products, and ODI grips. Gwin's personal sponsors are Alpinestars clothing, Red Bull, Troy Lee Design helmets, Giro shoes, HT pedals, Smith Goggles and KTM motorcycles. It is an eclectic mix of seasoned World Cup competitors and up-and-coming brands that will probably need some hand-holding to get up to speed.
Team Owner Martin WhiteleyGwin's ace in the hole is Martin Whiteley. When Whitely assembled the
G Cross Honda team, the automotive giant's prototype RN01 was the only mountain bike it had ever built, its roller-chain gearbox was untested, and its one-off suspension was made by Showa Japan. Riders Greg Minnaar, Matti Lehikoinen and Brendan Fairclough were fresh-faced kids who must have been culture-shocked by the military secrecy of Japanese style racing. But, G Cross Honda podiumed regularly, and earned the constructors' championship twice in a row. By contrast, the corporate sterility that surrounded Whiteley's Trek World Racing team must have seemed like an easy gig, but Gwin's back-to-back World Cup series titles proved that whatever may come, Whiteley can keep a pro-level racing program on point.
| I have always had a passion for helping the younger kids. I'm trying to give somebody a shot that I feel deserves one and could really take it far. I was just one of those kids a few years ago. Somebody gave me a shot - and here I am. |
Final Thoughts:Gwin and Team YT are scheduled to debut their full kits and race bikes early this week, which we were not allowed to show you, and we are sure to discover more details of the program then. For now, we can only speculate how Aaron and Angel will fare as the first World Cup approaches this spring. I have huge respect for YT founder and CEO Markus Flossmann's grasp of the gravity side of the sport - YT lives it. The diversity of the team's sponsors could become an issue, but far less of one than may have been so in Gwin's earlier years. Aaron seems to have matured considerably in the past two seasons. He has won victories in spite of bad luck and shaky team dynamics, and done so aboard a variety of bikes. He comes to Team YT squarely in the driver's seat, and carrying a lot of momentum. If Aaron comes out swinging for the fence again (and there is little doubt that he will), even if he doesn't win right away, 2016 is going to be incredibly entertaining. - RC
MENTIONS: @YTIndustries, @foxracingshox,
@lambertphoto,
@Odigrips,
@carherrero
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YT is the new kid on the block, and i will buy myself a tues later on this year, if its good for Andreu, Cam, KellY.. its a beast
Seems like in his extensive years of testing, Gwin has determined that chains are overrated (hence no chain sponsor), but tires might just have a use after all (hence Onza being on board)...
Well, it was cool having you in the sport Gwin. Shame you are gonna die on the first corner at Lourdes in April...
Didn't see that one coming!
Onza tyres though will be interesting me.... I have their Citius on my DH bike and they grip like a bitch but are not in the least bit durable (which I suppose doesn't matter to a pro). Hopefully Gwin running them won't make the cost fly up as they have been half price on Evans Cycles for like ever!
Onza, E13, TRP w/ a smattering of SRAM drive train components....seems like the end of the year sale special I put together every year with whatever I can find on blowout clearance.
Interesting to see one of the big guns use the non-standard S* company (Sram Shim) stuff. Have a feeling everyone will be paying close attention to any mechanical issues.
The Onza reviews I have found this morning seem to all say the compounds are great in the dry and wet, and the tread pattern looks very Minion-esque.
This is basically gwin these days.
youtu.be/3XGAmPRxV48
This will be interesting to see.
Clearly neither Shimano or SRAM thought he was worth whatever he was demanding and said no.
There is a pattern here.
Big bike brand don't think he is worth what he wanted
SRAM don't think he is worth what he wanted, and actually are getting his team to pay for kit
Shimano don't think he is worth what he wanted.
Big tyre manufactures don't think he is worth signing
The best rider in the world, given no sponsorship affiliation, chose SRAM mechanicals over Shimano...AND HE IS GOING TO PAY FOR THEM!!!!!
You can't buy good press like that.
bike-discount.de is your well oiled German version of CRC
Cool article BTW!
Considering the question of women in team, I think Trek, Saracen or Polygon are greater team compared to SC (no offense Kathy)
www.trpbrakes.com/products.php?catid=184
I think this continues to build brand awareness and legitimacy en route to a trail bike release that will compete in the most sought after part of the market, against the Stumpys, Remedys, Bronsons, etc. The sh*t is going to fly once their trail bike comes out. Better make that first order from Taiwan a massive one or there'll be a 12-month backlog for the customer. Stoked for Gwin and the whole YT family, as well as their future projects in the pipeline. Ride in peace McGazza, 2016 is for you!
Here you can see the bikes an gear.
Love hearing this.
All this other stuff about the bike, and the team, the brand whatever else is just fluff. Its meaningless. If Specialized or any other company had offered more money he'd be riding that bike. This is a business after all and that's how this stuff works and no one should get on him for doing whats best for him. By most accounts the YT is a really good bike, but to think that Gwin's #1 preference is to be on Onza tires and TRP brakes seems a little ridiculous. I have no idea how good these products are as I've never ridden then, but given tho choice no top rider is going to pick those as part of their kit.
Also, it's not like he's riding Paul V-Brakes and 45North tires.
gravity-magazine.de/de/article/es-ist-offiziell-aaron-gwin-f%C3%A4hrt-mit-yt-industries-serienrahmen-den-2016er-world-cup
On a separate note does Aaron have any sorth of engineering degree? Or is his experience only empirical? Nothing wrong with that, just curious
He'll be too busy riding hisktm to make any sick bike videos
"Literally, every change so I can get as much money as possible! I kind of had a laugh at that"
Well I have even more respect for Martin Whitely, for the crap he took 3 years ago and has been able to overcome that and rework with Gwin, shows money is bigger than God in this example!
I didn't compare them to the YT so I honestly wouldn't know, but it would certainly be no surprise if the new demo, which kinda has his input implemented already, ended up being the same... Cause that's what he was actually saying.
YT Tues = YT Do It!
This quote makes me happy!
You know you built up some bad karma when your ex-athletes say this in public interviews (Specialized Bikes)
if you want your company to get big you have to take the risk to hire the BEST. now to all of the YT haters out there, can you shut up now on that YT is a small company bandwagon? =)
BTW: the background shadows from light guy are awesome
Ok,people,bets are open. What will Gwin be riding in 2019??
Gwin schooling everyone on how to be a human being. #futureofthesport
Here is the thing, your sexist ignorance would have sponsors pull support from female riders to what? Support more 15yr boys? Ha.
Women are part of this sport whether you like it or not. We spend money, and some of us no names out here will blow you off the trail. We already had our tiny piece of RedBull coverage cut in half. We are lucky to get two lines of apparel from a major brand, prizes are less at races that the boys, and we have to put up with you and all you other sexist cry babies pecking on keyboards.
Why even try and make this point? What effect does the support of women in mountain biking take away from you riding experience that you would make such a feeble attempt to deface the level of women's riding today?
www.bikemag.com/videos/valentina-holl/#ZiVokLo7l8OqthTl.97
I thought it was the standard PB response.
Looks like a ......
Lyrics of the song turned out to be tragically fitting.
I dont give a f*ck who he is riding for...