Pinkbike Poll: How Much Should a Top DH Racer Be Paid?

 Exactly. 99.999% of the population doesn't give a shit about DH racing and probably 90% or more don't even know that it's a thing.

 As the sport grows so will the income. Its not too hard of a concept. I can't figure out why this always comes up. Soon enough, the riders will unionize, go on strike for a season and boom, you'll have a nice income and still get paid when you are injured and get an awesome retirement.

 What is the average ENGINEER at a bike company making vs. say SHOWA, Suzuki, KYB, HONDA etc. That will tell you the $$$ figure between Bicycles and Motorcycles real quick. Also cost per full page ad in a print publication? The whole industry makes and spends way more in MX....

 It amazes me how many times I have to explain to people what DH racing is. It's a shame that more people aren't aware of it, though I don't care whether or not people like it because you can't force someone to like something.

 As much as I want to see these guys thrive and get paid more and more, all that comes w making that happen is usually big business BS.....

 I think if DH got more time in the spotlight it could easily compete with if not eclipse Moto in popularity. I think Red Bull has a good platform to bring DH to live TV given their existing relationship with NBC, but whether or not they'll pursue that remains to be seen. Once DH is on TV bigger sponsors will see a good marketing platform, more money will come into the industry, and rider/team salaries will go up

 Just some food for thought and let you fill in the blanks. Fort William estimated to sell 30k tickets to people to come watch DH racing, in the middle of friggin nowhere. Anaheim stadium sells out SX at about 45k (I'd say thats a good average of all the SX stadium sizes), in one of the largest metropolitan areas of the world (so-cal)....Sea Otter gets an estimated 40k people to pay to see some bike stuff, so, both have a great following, we know that.

Live streaming from Redbull of the DH world cup is some of the highest rated/viewed action sports on the network, we are not at liberty to share the actual numbers, but, they are more than the highest viewed MX event, which is Redbull straight rhythm, and don't even talk about Rampage, as that breaks all records...but;

While DH and slope events get massive coverage for the sport, they are few and far between-There are 17 Supercross events, 12 Outdoor MX, 1 live televised Monster Energy Cup, Live Straight rhythm, those moto guys almost have a full year of racing for the fans...heck thats just in america! throw in MX GP's in europe and you have so much exposure for those athletes, compared to bike.

So, we as a brand are involved deeply in both industries; Bike and Moto, we love both, it seems Bike has bigger 'hits', just less of them? There are ONLY 7 world cups a year, that makes it really difficult to get year long exposure with those great numbers that the live events DO provide us with. The beauty in this though, is it creates a lot of video content from the bike athletes, to keep you satisfied all year, that is often more enjoyable to watch than a race run-moto doesn't get these cool video projects, they never have time!

The big moto brands are also backed by a bigger corporate engine, KTM, Honda, Yamaha, Kawisaki, Suzuki have much higher revenue streams than bicycle companies, and race bikes are their halo product, with large budgets grandfathered in over the years.

I think we'd be better served comparing apples to apples, and thats bicycle road racing to mountain biking-with road racers making millions, and there is no MTBer making millions, that is odd eh?

 The reason DH Racers get paid poorly is because the world cup after parties are priceless Rumour has it Brannigan doesn't even get paid, he does it to get laid........ haha !

 TLD spot on, speaking of the WC I'm more interested in knowing what effect the IOC level of luxury the WC officials are lavished w has on all aspects of DH....

 @Alias530 yes that is true, out of all the people I know, nobody new DH biking even existed, until I introduced my whole generation to it. I think we as mountain bikers should be introducing new people to the sport. All the people I showed DH biking to, they were tripping out at how rad it is.

 I do notice a lot more people who do bike watching the world cup dh and rampage events. I think Dh racing is becoming a little more mainstream each year

 @troyleedesigns - Spot on. Concerning road biking athletes getting paid more I think its because more people care about road biking. People are more aware of it (probably because they see them on the road to work, you don't see DH racers anywhere but bike parks) and since road biking is arguably less dangerous, more people participate. You probably wouldn't see Aaron Gwin on a box of Wheaties but you'd sure as hell see Lance Armstrong on one (in his prime anyway, just an example).

 Still the amount of pro road riders making that kind of money is a fraction of a percentage of international pro road riders. Theres no money in bike racing period, sure if your top 10 in the world in any given discipline you might be able to make a decent living but beyond that forget about a living wage. Guys like Chase have it all figured out, market yourself right, get contracts with big brands like Go Pro and Red Bull and just put out a ton of digital content. Far less effort than training to be a top tier rider, and also far more profitable.

 I think what you mean is "sorry to be so predictable that my comment is already called out in the article, and I further apologize for being so dull that I posted it anyway"

 I'm disappointed most people voted for 200k... If you can't buy a Veyron with Donald Trump's daughter in the passenger seat after your first season, you're not getting paid enough to race World Cup DH. Yes, I just called The Donald's daughter a prostitute and you're all cheap bastards.

 Simply put, the market dictates the value of a person's services. It's not right or wrong, it's just the way it is. Comparing a mtber's earnings to other athletes is pretty pointless in my opinion. There's no such thing as "deserve" when it comes to making money. Otherwise doctors, nurses, social workers etc would be making more than elite athletes.

 @troyleedesigns : Thanx a million for that perspective! And if there is one thing that every dead serious DH fan can agree with it is the need for more races on the calendar.

@mike levy : I come from the motorcycle world and I don't believe for a moment there is more appeal.

 Sports people get paid for their entertainment value not their athletic ability. An actor in a blockbuster movie gets paid much more than an equally talented actor in a local play. In the same way a top athlete in a mainstream sport will earn more than a equally talented athlete in a sport with a smaller profile.

 Why do I suddenly have an urge to buy a TLD A1?

 @beachboyottawa: Sure, the market will eventually figure it out and athletes will eventually get paid what they are worth. It works on a grand scale. But there are plenty of short term market imperfections where things are out of equilibrium and people are making a shitload of money while others are getting screwed. The UFC is a great example of this. Just because the market will eventually work itself out doesn't mean people aren't getting screwed in the short term. However, none of this really applies to DH racing. I'm surprised they even make $200k.

 Coming from a background of being self employed but also riding trail and DH....Although I strongly feel DH racers should be compensated primarily based on the amount of risk they take per the money made on related sales, i know that's likely a pipe dream.
Instead, if I were a DH racer, I would simply take advantage of all the marketing that's being done around me by the big sponsors and use it to build my own biz I.E. coaching biz.
I mean...how many aspiring DH riders would pay a bit of coin to receive exclusive video access to say, Sam Hill, Gee Ath, or any of the other pro DH'ers?? Imagine dropping $100 on a year's worth of exclusive video lessons by any of these riders. It's invaluable.
Why let the industry determine your wage???? You're that dedicated to being excellent on the bike while taking serious risks? Hell...go get your money with that same drive using your skills and the beauty of the interwebs.

 f*ck yeah @troyleedesigns keep supporting DH racing and DH racers!!!!!

 @downhillnews Engineering pay will likely be similar. Benefits may vary depending on the size of the company.

 Priced a 450 SX lately?

 The money behind the top vehicle sports in the world is absolutely ridiculous. Even oil companies and governments get involved. I'd be willing to bet there are way more highly paid engineers than drivers as well no matter the pedigree of driver. Really no comparison...mt/rd bikes don't run on gas. Also, not saying bike tech is invisible but compared to all the areas of motorsport tech, well bike tech may be microscopic in comparison.

 I didn't think they were making anything like 200k so good on them i reckon

 This guy is on the money. How much could Sam Hill charge for a coaching clinic. Graham Jarvis comes to aus. $200 bucks for a coaching clinic where they go thru bike setup, nutrition, riding basics and a trail ride. A good day out and you get to ride with best in the buisiness and hang out.

 Are you kidding...200. Priceless.

 I'd take $10 a year to go play bicycles for a year, as long as my "sponsors" pick up my beer tab!

 Looks like someone at @troyleedesigns is really good at their job.

 I just bought a Suzuki. Pretty happy with it so far.

 Exactly my thoughts about this article. I think about 200.000 per year is too less because of the risk they take and when you are about 35 or older only few riders can compete in the top five. At an age of 40 most riders are out of the circuit and then what to do?? With a payment of 200.000 per year you can not chill your life but getting a job at that age at least in Germany is not easy! But the publicity is not enough for paying that much as a moto rider or something like that..
DH on TV would be the first step!!!

 @troyleedesigns, How the roadies gonna pay for all of their "suppliments" if they dont get paid more than mtb'ers?

But seriously, surely everything spoken about here is proportional, the MX industry and sport in general makes more money, therefore the athletes make more. Their sport is televised, ours isn't. Their product is more expensive (just). Their sponsors are marketing to a wider audience (average joe who wants to put oil brand A in shitty commuter bike because james stewart uses it).

The list goes on, and i dont see how mountainbiking can compete, yet.

 I think the question is a bit naive. The word 'should' implies some sort of moral right to be paid a certain wage, which in the real world doesn't always exactly line up with what someone is in fact paid.

For example a healthcare worker works the same hours as his manager but doesn't even get close to earning the same money, even though, in the Netherlands at least, the difference in investment (i.e. number of years in college and tuition fee) is certainly there but doesn't come close to covering the difference in salary they receive.

 I was pretty shocked when Tracey Hannah had to quit racing WC DH after an amazing season as it got her in financial trouble. Obviously it is more expensive as she had to spend an entire racing season on the road. But still, she was a top 3 racer or so! I'm not too interested in those top salaries but I believe well performing athletes should be able to receive financial support to stay above a certain minimum income. Not to take anything away from the consistently amazingly performing French and Brits, but I'm sure that with the financial thing taken care off, the Australian and NZ riders could do just as well on the, primarily, European hosted WC DH races. Would Greg Minnaar (SA) have been able to do as well if Steve Peat didn't support him back in the day?

 Thanks for the input TLD. That's what I love about this site. Insider info. T.V. is a dinosaur. As it dies we may become bigger but it's not like MX racing is mainstream or anything either. I don't think Suzuki or Kawasaki or Yamaha ever funded an F1 team so I think we may be in good hands with Red Bull.

 I am an architect in Sweden and I have an 2nd league roadie in my family. He earns 30% more than I do and has only 1 side sponsor. Once he leaves racing he will be given my half year salary by national fund steered by national cycling association of his country as a good bye bonus. Imagine what top roadies get...

 Roadies, XC racers and ballet dancers should all make the same money considering they all perform with balls out nutthuggers spandex.

 I would also like to point out at race participation. In Sweden, major "classic" road races have thousands of participants. Biggest Swedish XC marathon aka fire road rally, had almost 30k people on start line. Swedish Enduro series: 250 people at best. DH... 50?

 I don't care how realistic or unrealistic it is, I WANT to see our top level DH, Enduro, and even XC racers making a million plus per year. Why? Well I think they put enough on the line and give so much brand exposure to their sponsors. But also if for no other reason than it drives me crazy to see a benches full of rapists and thugs, I'm sorry, I think I meant NFL, NBA, and MLB players and top level boxers and UFC fighters, being celebrated, paid gross amounts of money, and being driven into peoples living rooms.
Our athletes deserve so much more. I know its not completely realistic, but hey, Why NOT!?

 yeah, and i want our soldiers to earn a million plus a year, and i want our doctors to earn a million plus a year, hell, im an engineer, i design things that keep assets and people safe, why shouldn't i get a million per year?

you're right its not completely realistic, and it never will be, sometimes we just have to accept reality as it is, the world we live in is not perfect, and wont become so just because its morally right to do so.

 If you're doing it for the money you're in the wrong sport. I would guess most racers would, and probably do, feel happy to break even over a season.

 @downhillnews

What an engineer makes in each industry vs what a pro makes isn't really all that relevant though... for two factors:

1) Making the bikes (whether they be downhill or MX) and racing the bikes are actually two different industries in themselves. Biking itself could be huge, therefore justifying a large engineers salary, but the amount of people actually going out to see bike races could be small, therefore not justifying a large racers salary. In fact, MX is probably a good example of this when compared to MTBing. Way the hell more people mountain bike than they do motocross, yet the race scene in motocross attracts far more spectators.

2) Engineers are something you kind of have to have, and they have a market rate. The vast majority of engineers aren't going to take a crap salary when they can go to any other industry and make a much better one. So really, whether biking was huge or not, or MX was huge or not, engineers are probably not going to be making THAT much different.

 I couldn't begin to comment on what these guys/gals should get paid, seeing as I have no idea how much revenue the sport generates.

But, one thing I do know is that they'd help themselves financially if they were marketed more. Myself being a big Gwin fan I've tried in vane for almost a year to try and see if I could at least get a poster of him for my son's room. I've commented on his FB, Instagram accounts, etc asking about one. I've even written to TLD to see if they had anything. I almost feel like a stalker. Why aren't their sponsors selling that kind of stuff, esp the bike manufacturers? T-shirts, hoodies, hats, posters, mouse pads...easily produced goods. I'd buy it and I'm sure other PB users would as well. Get your riders' names out there.

 How can I think to get bigger in my sport and live from it if in my country I have Cristiano Ronaldo running after a ball and gets paid like hell. Poor Emanuel Pombo and Francisco Pardal, the Best Portuguese Downhill Racers

 I'd agree with Troy but add that anything dirt is on such a small scale compared to anything road related. Most road sports get categorized at national or larger sports in terms of advertising dollars. These sports attract viewers that don't actually do the sport they watch and in fact may only be interested because of national affiliation. These sports have a complete different scale system of contracting. The size of sponsorship is the main difference because of the advertising dollar penetration but keep in mind doping and scandals has hindered the whole shebang so it's declined as a whole. The very very large sized companies has reduced their involvement in fear of tarnishing their brand. What I have seen though is that the top cream of the crop have taken all increases and the main field has dropped some.

Anything dirt related is categorized as enthusiast sport and only pulls sponsorship dollars from within industry with the largest company size of around 1 billion. Energy drink companies have skewed this and that is a worry of some insiders. I feel the best way to describe this is to compare the largest sponsor in DH outside of the personal sponsor energy drinks to a road sponsor like Rabobank. Rabobank housed a EU fine for over a billion. Sorry but that dwarfs most of the industry businesses. Biggest industry sponsor is probably Giant at a couple billion in sales, then I assume Trek and the Merida.... Or is that Specialized.

With all that said I recommend to you dad and moms out there to think about what sport or profession to make your kid(s) pro in. You yelling at your kids at the Orange Y is not going to make him pay your retirement so lay off him and have him enjoy it. He/she is only 5! Back to my question, if your Bud Light lubricated brain has not thought about your boy playing golf slap yourself. Colleges are heavily recruiting golfers. If you have a girl, teach her how to make handbags, or better yet ballet flats. All you have to do is get her on Oprah and she'll be living in a 30 million dollar flat in NyC in a few years and since she travels so much you'll have a place to stay. She may even let you borrow her G650 when she upgrades to her G700 parked at her new hangar. Tory Burch net worth is just over a billion with the divorce. Tiger Woods net worth is just over half of hers and he had to sink a lot of putts from obnoxious distances.

 Campbellpath@ my son's want nothing to do with golf. . . . So I bought a couple of demo 8's and a trailer. PRO-GRT here we come!

 Getting your kid to pro at something is such a bullcrap - as if being a pro made someone happier than not being a pro and having a normal job, just because some kid talks about how passionate and fortunate he feels to be able to ride bikes for living. Only poorest fkrs could believe this fairy tale and not realize that there is next to no chance they would take sacrifices pros take to be where they are, and they would definitely not like to see their kids take those. Andre Agassiz dad was forcing him to play tennis, so did countless other dads, guess how many ended on top and how many got emotionally screwed for life. First off you have to be excellent at biking and be in an environment with other great riders (Jackson Goldstone hello) to give your kid exposure to best of the best. Theeen your kid has to have good genetics. Welcome to the lottery mr ambitious daddy. I talked to Bas de Bever about how to get my kids into MTB and he said, bring them to the BMX track and let them play. If they have potential, it will show and then you can find them a good coach and try to push them, if not, let them just play. So... play, appreciate the fact that MTB is a niche sport, otherwise your kids would have to go nuts with training just to get to some 4th league. When I see what husband of my sister in law goes through, I would never like my kid to be a pro cyclist to such an extent. Never. This is almost over tough and retirement of Emmeline Ragot is a great example that days of fun are over. PROshit is coming.

 Filling in the blanks, it seems location and ticket sales are highly important as long as you have large corporate backing to fund all of this in the first place. It's a bubble until your race program works and the bike sponsor sells more bikes.

 @vinay where did you see Tracy Hannah is quitting WC DH??

 old story @chinaboy. She had to take a break just before she joined UR Polygon Hutchinson, cuz trips for World Cups left her with a substantial debt on her credit card, with not many sponsors willing to cover it.

 @CampbellPath

Giant is largest bike manufacturer globally, reported sales of US$ 1.8 billion in 2012 and I've heard from insiders nearly US $2.5 billion last year, showing good growth.

Bulk of this revenue is from Giant Factories in Taiwan and China manufacturing bicycles for "brands" (Giant, Liv, Trek, Cannondale, Canyon, Scott, etc.) and also making aluminium alloy tubesets for clients like Merida, as well as wheel manufacturing both for cycle and motorcycle markets, plus random stuff like aluminium extrusions for non cycle market

Merida is second largest, owning nearly half of Specialized.

Still, small beer compared to many industries outside of cycling

 WIKI@ I am guessing you weren't pro. . . . So the little WIKI's are destined to be pack fill. . . . . ?

 Athletes are not "athletes", are publicists. His salary is in harmony with the image that gives companies.

 I like it how people see the road race as an athletic competition. Oh that new dude is in the break! Yes he wants to win a stage, for himself and for the team AND.... he is there to provide exposure to logos on his vest since Eurosport camera shows him for half of air time. Football - yea love for the game aaaand you have to watch commercials eventually drink beer because that what everyone does on matches, it is so cool to sit and drink beer. Look how many commercials of breweries - you see them all the time on screens along the pitch. Then how about you use your expert knowledge for betting. You can earn money! Now Downhill... Oh Steve Peat is coming... what was it written on his jersey? went so fast... he is in the hot seat, I don't even see what the brand of his helmet because he put it under his legs and camera shows him tired from waist up. Oh there was some banner in the woods, what was that?

 @waki nice theory about getting your kids into sport. ask tiger woods how he feels about it, or Lewis Hamilton.

 What Waki doesn't get is that downhill and Enduro's are heavy talent and road and XC are heavy on genetics!

 Tiger woods and Lewis Hamilton are the exception 99.9% of kids resent there parents for pressuring them into sports at a young age.

Anyway half of me thinks 100k are year is too much considering they only actually race over a course of a season for 25mins (what kind of sport is that?) and the other half thinks they should get a percentage of the back of the amount of product they shift which I'd imagine is way more than 100k.

 Don't chase the paper, chase the dream. That's a notorious bit of advice.

 Thats good advice,,, I spent too much time chasing tail and burning paper.

 @ brussell

True but it is the grand scheme of things. The bike industry engineer at $50K vs someone at SHOWA at double that to start. Granted the standards to work at a bicycle company vs a Powersport company is a fair bit higher. The entire bicycle industry spends less, from advertising, marketing, payroll the whole nine yards. The Pro athlete is a form of marketing for the companies so an operational expense...

 MX298, what you don't get is that success in sports depends more than anything on a relentless capacity for practice and work. Additionally, success in motor sports depends on a family that will invest 7 figures in their shining star's development, with 1,000-1 odds against succeeding.

 So true...F1 is a joke, not really, hate that you have to have that backing just to get a seat. Happy that biking will never get that big...impossible.

 Codypup@ I could tell you story after story about motocross family's that spent more then others, living at MTF. Racing every amateur national while most kids are in school. Traveling in huge motor homes! Factory bikes! ! ! I see alittle bit of that in downhill and enduro's too. Who can travel to an Enduro a week early to study the course or who can travel the country to every PRO-GRT . . . . People with time and money. When wins come by tens of a second you can't tell me that stuff doesn't help.

 Nope he came here last year. Was booked in for this year but he had to cancel at the last minute.

 Not to mention all the endorsements that MX riders like Roczen and Dungey have. Bass Pro Shops, Dodge, Levis, RhinoLinings, ArmorAll, Caterpillar, etc. Have you ever listened to a guy like Villopoto after a win and count how many companies he would rattle off that seem sorta random to the sport? So many companies/corporations that have barely a fraction to do with the sport, but are sponsoring these guys because they can advertise their product to these riders' fans while in the hands of their favorite athletes, AND quite a few of these commercials end up on broadcasted television (MTV, Fuel, RedBull). Sure, MTB has a few riders that advertise for some items in magazines and some internet ads, but many of these companies are primarily in the bike business already. At least we've had Cam McCaul backflipping a car in a Mazda commercial.

Fact is, and @troyleedesigns pretty much hit the nail on the head already, this sport just needs more exposure to the masses who like to turn the TV on to something exciting in the coffee shop, or the bar during happy hour, or just have something running in the house while they cook. And remember, MTB is still relatively new compared to a lot of other disciplines (Tour de France began in 1903). MTB racing will probably take some more time to get the exposure it deserves.

 I will tell you @MX298 and @jaame why it is a bullcrap. It is a bullcrap for 99.9999% of the world. You give me an example of Hamilton - so what do you say about 10 guys on the grid who rarely get into first 10? Did they have a shitty daddy? How big chance there is that guy finishing the season 17th had a totaly different life story than Hamilton? Let me take you further: Tell me, do you divide the people into two bags: achievers like Senna, Hamilton, Woods, Gwin, Zinc, Oprah, Sir Sugar, Higgs, Cox, and then second bag: miserable beings who never got anywhere in sports or business? Or let me put it to you straighter as sports and business are just the mean of what you l really like about them. The name of the second bag in your world view porbably is: miserable beings who never got famous. Those include plumbers, sewage cleaners, calculation engineers - you know people who make it happen for you to fkng live, who will never get on prime time TV talking self righteous bullshit about the dream they are living, because that dream is often the collective dream and how on earth can you tell if Hamilton is any happier than you are?! Because you wanked to Pussy Cat dolls and he doesn't have to, he shags one? He probably wanks to visualization of a woman looking like your wife. Oooor maybe famous people don't wank? They don't fart either and their poop smells of sandal wood. Tiger wood. There was this idiotic viral video "what if money were no object", people were crying, "sooo trueeee", which in fact took a bit of Alan Watts lecture out of context. Listen to more of it and you will come to the bit called "the dream of life" - look it up, how ironic. If people were to listen to this Utopian pish the world would end in a matter of days. Everyone would pursue a dream of being Hamilton or Woods. But guess what, Hamilton is not going to come to your house and take away your garbage and you would not fancy a situation where you take your poop all the way to the sea. So now if you are a dude living in Orkney and watch some vid with a kid talkign about living a dream cuz he rides a frickin' motocross bike for living, and want to become one, then in order to meet your Jaame and MX298 criteria, he has to first go to church and pray, then read book Secret and visualize himself in front of EpicTV camera. In short: he needs supernatural intervention. His dad must help him, must support him, if not he is a shit dad no no no... then you have a kid born around Vegas, whose parents like Motocross and buy a ranch. It happens to him. No? Not in world of people worshiping achievers, you have this perfect dad who fights soooo hard to get his kid up there and the kid is a talent (which he got by being really good) and off course, he doesn't fart and his poop smells of sandal wood. So... you glorify people for being hard fighters and achievers yet you take all that shit for granted. Genetics, mental and physical, place of birth, family of birth, local sport community. BDS series is mini World Cup, you learn from the best - German DH cup... mmm...

So far I have seen very few with healthy attitude to it like Senna and Gwin. Aaron dude who simply cannot believe why he gets paid to ride bikes and gives away his WC overall winner jersey to a random guy by the Spec tent. That's all he had, a trophy and the jersey. Something a douche dad would keep above his chimney until 80 and watch it with his ass leaking.

MX298 - your comment differentiating talent and genetics is really something special, congratulations, nobody gets everything (in genes)

 How do you know I used to bat off to Nicole from pussycat dolls?

 I'd be more worried if you wouldn't.

 Have you seen how hot she was before PCD? When she won American Pop stars... Oh my gosh. Insanely hot. At least i take solace from the fact that Lewis Hamilton didn't get with her until she was past her best!
By the way, what I was meaning is that most people go to work to get money. Some people love their job, and an even luckier few love it and get paid an absolute shit ton of money too. I'm one of the unlucky masses who neither loves it or makes a lot of coin.
I started racing downhill in 1993 or 1994. I still feel resentment towards my father for not getting behind me. Selfish of me I know. At the time I didn't understand why he would always let me know that he didn't want to drive me to races, and always told me that I didn't have what it took to win. That he was right was irrelevant. I never received that level of support that tiger woods, Lewis Hamilton or Casey stoner received. I'm not even close to world class at anything, but I would have liked to have been given the chance to figure that out for myself after a bit more support and encouragement from my old boy.

 Very similar story here jaame, I was always told I am too weak, but while wound still burns, I know my grandma - his mother did worse wounds to him. She did enough damage to me. Nothing ever comes from nothing. Tabularasa concept has been proved false long in evolutionary psychology, long time ago. I recently heard that tendency to depression, anxiousness can be imprinted into your brain from traumas of your grandparents. There is very little you can do about it. Malcolm Gladwell who wrote Outliers talk so much about 10k hours, where does he underline the psychological predisposition to commit to doing things related to one subject for 10 years? We have our lives and need to make the best of it, each one of us matters. I will never forget what PB dude @Betsie wrote once. That he is proud and motivated, his work help millions of patients every year. Look at what he does, put it against a Wrold Cup racer and you can easily find people saying that he is deluded, what he does is boring that he is a office rat, surely buying XTR Di2. If someone feels like a pack fill, then there is no way that winning a World Championship would fill him. The roadie in my family is a mess despite best support from his family. I feel so sorry for him an his wife (my sister in law), so many times. He almost lost a team this year and could not find one for half of a year. Look up his Facebook and he is living a dream. Being outside everyday, travelling all over the world, training camps on Canary Islands. Racing since 16, not doing anything else, no shool, no credentials what so ever. End of career is the end of the world in most cases. That's what bugs me. We see athletes as people living a dream, so do we, it's the fame and public persona that blurs it. We all need to be appreciated but with fame it tips to fake very quickly. People forget the famous people rather fast... all it takes is a career ending injury. If you are not appreciating yourself, relying on strangers, then sooner or later you will be in deepest of pains. It is a gamble and just like with any form of it, only Casino always wins. So in general I meant that feeling a great daddy, cuz you send your kids to races is a fkd up game. I am not sure how great daddy will my roadie be. My wives dad was a daddy's boy half-pro skier, and I don't want to even mention how I feel about him, how he raised his kids. I will support my kids because I can. Only because I can.

 I've got a mate who's a pro. I wouldn't change places with him, but this is a shit sport for earnings. I wouldn't encourage my kids to get into it. Golf on the other hand... Absolutely.

 Dh is growing so fast, in some ways supercross and motocross are dying, dh is on tv, also Aaron gwin has a Porsche 911 2015 model so I think downhillers are paid quite well. Redbull Rampage generates so much more views on the web than any motocross/supercross race does, so the viewership is there it just needs more promotion on mainstream media. In order to become a mainstream sport.

 @camerontreloar: Gwin is the exception. He is a class apart. There must only be a handful of guys making anything like what he makes. Most of the guys outside the top ten, you see them driving shitboxes in their edits.

I love this sport but you shouldn't get into it for the money

 @Peter443: don’t know why this has been seen as a negative comment

Totally relatable.

White collar business men riding around my local forest, screw you guys.

 except for Fairclough, I bet he earns a little more than the guys on the top 15~top 10 because of the media attention he gets, pretty much every photo epic has at least to nac-nac/whip/scrub/huck from Brendan and every video he release has a lots of views, also Rampage

 I'm sure you're correct. When I was racing a lot in 08 we hit up a race at Fontana where some pretty big pros showed up without the usual fancy factory support and their personal cars were cheap 2wd pickup trucks.

 As with any industry, you're paid what you're worth to the person paying you.

 Being in the bike industry, as a whole, is a terrible, terrible strategy for pulling in an acceptable income. In the years I was working within the industry, and young guys would ask me how they could do what I did, the answer was a simple "don't". Working in a bike park or a shop, no matter what sort of knowledge, experience, or effort is brought to the table, will generally only result in poverty-level income. Major manufacturers seem to be the same way. I currently do the exact same job (now far, far away from the bike industry) as I did for a major manufacturer, and get paid double my bike industry salary, with the added bonus that I'm not so easily replaced by one of the thousands of shop rats who wants my job.

As far as absolute top-tier athletes are concerned, it seems as though they're all living a pretty comfortable lifestyle. Nothing to sneeze at when you're training and riding for a living, but I hope more of today's top-level guys are thinking about what they're going to do when they're no longer able to compete (Cam Zink is a great example of someone who has set himself up really well). All of the VERY talented mid to bottom-of-the-pack pro guys that I've known, though... they all had 9-5 jobs and didn't get paychecks from sponsors. Most were paying at least dealer cost, if not more, for their bikes, and sponsorship perks were usually some free jerseys and a deep discount on gear. Training had to happen when they had time, and as such, it's very rare that one of these guys gets themselves onto a factory ride. All the talent in the world is rarely enough to compete with someone who has unlimited time to train, and virtually none of the stresses that a 9-5er deals with.

It's a rare combination of TONS of talent, TONS of hard work, and TONS of support that makes a top-tier pro. If they're pulling 250k per year, it's well deserved.

 Comparing downhill to MX doesn't make sense. There are only 7 world cup mountain bike races a year. Moto guys race 17 super cross events and 12 motocross events a year. Thats 29 races they have to be fully committed too and some with no factory support just like downhill or even enduro racers.

I would exchange my " normal" 60K a year job to make 6 figures riding my bike in the blink of an eye.

 @ajayflex Being paid what you're worth is an economics myth. In reality you're more often paid what you can negotiate.

 I think the Pro's should make more as they are very underrated. But every one complains about bike prices. Where do you think their salary comes from? Would you pay 10% more for a bike from a company that has a Pro team?

 I agree wholehardently with this! While I like professional sports, I think that these athletes are grossly overpaid. I absolutely understand the economics behind this but society should be embarrassed that we pay doctors, teachers, engineers, etc as poorly as we do. These are the critical people in our lives that deserve much more!

 College professors at a decent school make pretty good money. I think that teachers pay should be dependant on how well the students do. I've had some amazing professors that deserve a raise and also some terrible professors that don't deserve it.

 @dualsuspensiondave That would be a horrible hypothetical way to do it. That way all the best teachers would fight over the smartest crop of students (who arguably require the least instruction), whereas the children most in need of structure and a positive educational experience in their life would be stuck with the lazy shitty teachers who are just as happy if the kids don't show up because it means less work to do. All the rich over privileged white folk would pay tens of thousands of dollars a years for their kids to attend the best private schools with the best teachers, while the masses of people below the poverty line get access to second-rate education at best, and perpetuate the cycle of no education/ low paying jobs, creating a massive divide between the wealthy and everyone else.

You know... kind of like North America

 Doctors are poorly paid... wait... what?

 I was speaking figuratively. Teachers pick the 'pools' of students they teach. Teachers compete for jobs at prep schools, which pay far more. They don't compete for jobs at inner-city public schools with metal detectors at the front doors.

The best teachers go to prep schools and teach children who are already pre-disposed to get good grades and move on to university. According to your thought, their students have the best grades, so they should be paid the most, whereas a teacher working at an inner-city school in Chicago with a 40% graduation rate should make peanuts because his students do poorly, even though he has a far more difficult task. What I was trying to say, is that it would make a much more positive big picture impact to reward a great teacher more for turning the 40% into a 65% graduation rate at a shitty school, than it would to have that great teacher wasted on improving Johnny all-american and his hero friend's grades from an A to an A+, you see what I'm saying?

 @dualsuspensiondave As someone in that biz I can say that it doesn't work that way at the university level. While teaching is valued in academia, it's just not the primary aspect of the job for a prof. Their skill and interest in teaching is totally variable and does not correlate with the respect they get within the system.

@bderricks is spot on- in primary and secondary education environments where your idea could potentially be implemented (and has been) it leads to problems across the population on the whole.

 @Martis, yes, doctors are poorly paid for what they do. I know I'd gladly pay their annual salary in one shot if it meant my life.
Don't underestimate the value of just about any teacher also. They shape our society and should be far more highly valued and paid.

 I guess it depends on what the doctor specializes in, research, etc. Pittsburgh has a huge medical community and there's certainly no shortage of Lamborghini-driving, mansion-dwelling neurosurgeons and cardiologists in that town.

 Also, keep in mind that I admittedly know virtually nothing about healthcare in Canada and have no idea what the pay scale is for doctors there. I'm assuming the inexpensive (relative to the US, at least) care may have something to do with it?

 @bderricks- That's always been the case and rightfully so. People pay big money for that. The higher paid teachers are going to be working for a school that is privately funded. That's common sense. I'm not talking about private schools. I'm talking about implementing this in public schools. I'm not talking about the kids with the best grades, I'm talking about improving all of the kids knowledge and relating things rather than teachers that rely so much on the book to teach for them. Interaction with students, individualizing teaching for different students with different learning patterns. Relating to students and and doing their part to help the students to not feel so left out. There's much more to being a teacher than grades, that's the problem I'm talking about.

 The private sector is very small in education (at least in the USA).. I didn't realize my comment would strike such a chord, but glad it did. As a teacher for 18 years, I love it, but may have to leave due to the stagnating income. Its all too common, many good teachers leave every year because it simply does not pay enough to make a comfortable living anymore in today's economy (especially if you don't have a partner with an income).

 I guess my point is.. $200k for a bike racer? That is like 4-6 years salary for a teacher. I know the life of a DH racer is short, but they most likely can still work when they retire from racing. Pro athletes just make way too much money all around in my opinion. We live in a very sad world where being an athlete is more prestigious than people who give back to society. It also creates such false hope for many kids, the reality is that so few every make it to that level, yet many are robbed of their childhood to try to reach that goal. I have taught for 17-18 years, I can't imagine how many kids I have come across, yet I haven't met one yet that has made it in pro sports, but a few have gotten full scholarships and that is nice to see.

 That could be the dumbest thing that I've ever heard.

 Using this logic, loggers, coal miners, linemen, and construction workers should be paid more than the CEO's of their companies, as their jobs tend to be quite a bit harder and more dangerous than sitting in an office. I hate to say it, but I don't see this happening anytime soon.

 How about just a little more equity? Clearly everyone is needed in our economy, why should there be such a disparity?

 If you are in the top 100 (or 500) in the world at something people give a shit about you should expect to get paid. How much you make depends on how many people give a shit. It may not seem fair to you but some people are born with the talent and drive to excel at something that makes money. Athletes aren't overpaid at all. The amount of heart it takes to play almost any sport at a professional level is beyond most people's understanding.

 The amount of heart it takes is beyond my understanding? Sounds a little melodramatic if you ask me. You need to lay off the NFL montages set to dramatic music.

 Like with plenty of sports where the top athletes don't earn a great deal, they're doing it for the love of the sport. I'd take a pay cut from my current salary if it meant I could spend my day riding my bike rather than sat in an office! There's more to life than money.

 @ninjatarian

Don't start me on top footballers... they make a little shy of £200k per week. Yes £10 million for kicking a silly round ball around a field.

I say top MTBers should be paid a lot more.

 What I love and respect about the Aussie sporting system is that most of them are just normal blokes earning a normal salary, living in a normal house and driving a normal ute. Total contrast to the overpaid show ponies in English footy. Plus they are a lot harder working and less entitled than their UK based counterparts.

 You cant compare an athletes job to another job, or any two different jobs for that matter. Risk factor, career duration, skill level, public exposure etc. If they are some of the best in the world they should be commensurately. People don't need to get all sour because others earn more playing a sport - they make sacrifices too.

 I think the career span argument is a load of rubbish. Why do sportsmen think that they should be able to make enough money in fifteen years to allow them to retire at 35? How about, work until you're sixty like everyone else? I'm 35. I'd love to retire this year, but I don't have that feeling of being entitled to do so because I'm a sportsman! It's risible. Maybe you're too old to play footy at 36, but you're not too old to clean toilets, make bread or fix cars. Get off your high horse.

 @jaame many athletes in sports like DH racing don't expect to retire at 35 at all. Most of them pick away a a university degree while they compete, while trying to hold a job down in the time they aren't racing, so they can pay for school to have a career past sport. Calling athletes like that over paid is bullshit because chances are they forked out upwards of $80,000 to get to the point where they can even make money. I know olympians that still live at home with their parents at 25 during the offseason because they can't afford to pay the $50,000 worth of rent, food, and competition costs on a $18 and hour wage for three months of the year, and receiving only $30,000 of prize money of they podium twice and have some more top tens. Being an athlete is f*cking hard. If you think making a living from sports like mountain bike racing is easy, even without making enough to retire on, you seen too many hockey trades and need a wakeup call.

 I was referring to mainstream sports really. I don't think many mountain bikers make any money.

 @jaame Interesting topic although late too it.
Just on you're comment about why you love and respect the Aussie sporting system. Not sure I agree or get where you're coming from tbh. If you're just looking at just the Premier League then yes it's massively overpaid, the most in football but that goes for all of the top Leagues in Europe. If Football was as popular in Aus, they'd be having to fork out the crazy wages to get the best players as well.
Apart from Football, in Australia players in sports like Rugby League get massively more than players in the Super League. A top player in Super League may get £130-150k, over in Aus they get $!m or more. Even in Cricket,where more people watch it in England than Australia but yet the Australian national side gets double what the English players get, due to the Aussies getting a direct cut of their TV deal. Aussie rules players get paid a very good wack in Aus as well. So I'm not sure where you get that Aussie sportsman are all some normal blokes earning a normal salary, living in a normal house and driving a normal ute. Where I used to live in Sydney I bumped into plenty of RL players and they're certainly not. I can assure you that if an Aussie gets paid a decent wage he's going to be just as much of a show pony as their UK counterparts.
I lived in Australia for 8 years, married an Aussie girl over there but now we're back in England & I don't even know where you came to the conclusion that Aussies are a lot harder working and less entitled than their UK based counterparts, seems a strange thing to say tbh. In what way are they and In what line of work are you talking?
Brits and Aussies are very similar in so many ways, from work ethic, to morals, to humor, our shared history makes it not easy to see why.

 Just the ones I met when I was over there working in Coogee. Barry hall, mozza, Stephen hoiles, Nathan hindmarsh. Barry hall used to drive up to our juice bar in his Holden ute. mozza came in a few times. There was no air of superiority, no crowds or paparazzi. They just seemed normal. It sounds like I'm wrong though. Maybe they alldrove Lamborghinis too

 Not saying you're wrong mate, I was just trying to put a bit of perspective when it comes to other sports..I wasn't sure if you were comparing our Football League to theirs or Sport in general. Your comment aboit' they are a lot harder working and less entitled than their UK based counterparts.' made it unclear.

Tbh all the Rugby guys from both sides of the world I've met are generally cool down to earth guys, who don't live the high life. It was just that one of the noticeable differences when I moved down there, from going watching Leeds, Bradford Wakefield etc's players motors leave the ground , to then watching the Bunnies. Roosters & Manly players motors leave, that they're on a much bigger wack out there.

Like I said It was more a comment about if you leave the Football guys out of the equation, that a few of the same sports are higher paid in Aus & most of our lads are the same hard working normal guys, living a normal life.

Coogee's a lovely place mate, I was up in Manly and Newcastle for a bit.
Cheers.

 cool.

 Gwin gets a bonus from Jesus.

 Looking at the top 5 makes for a silly pb poll (not that there's ever been one of those before) - a bit like asking how much should a computer programmer be paid then comparing salaries of Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. It doesn't really represent the average pro. In someting like MTB there is a bit of game theory going on as well - the fact the top guys get paid 200k motivates those lower down the ranks to try harder, so with a free market the industry doesn't need to pay as much to keep the average pro in the game. This might not be a conscious choice of the sponsors, I'm just saying people will do the job for less because they think they might make it big. I think it would be more enlightening to discuss pay for the top 100 riders not the top 5.

 Well put above, it is both a question of how many years they can race vs how well paid should the top 20-40 guys be paid. With a bit of planning, a racer earning 200k for 4-5 years can set himself up for life easily by paying off a decent chunk of a house or investing in a business, when these guys retire at ~30 they need some options.
The big question is how many guys are trying to "go pro", ignoring education/work experience to ride outside the top 20 for little to no pay. I'm not saying it is a bad lifestyle for an 18-24 year old, but I dont think it leads to a healthy sport.
Also, sadly, hard work/performance doesnt correlate to pay all that much, when you consider how many privateers there are in the top 40 of enduro, it may have changed in the last year, but a lot of the younger fast guys were basically getting bikes/expenses and no pay for all their hard work, even tho they are helping sell the most profitable bikes. (sorry for the rant)

 What happened to Cam Cole?

 nice point! That wasnt higlighted at all in the article. MTB should stay as it is, that way there's less superficial BS.

 You said it: "He makes me want a Demo". The pros are publicists; they earn in proportion to the effects of their advertising.

 Best comment.

 Let's say a WC DH race lasts 4 minutes on average, and there are 7 a year, so about a half hour worth of time being filmed in action. At best. That's if you're there for every race. A race with spectator numbers that are probably in the hundreds, and usually locals, or part of the teams/crews with nothing else to do.

A Supercross rider does 20 minute main events, with roughly 10 minutes of qualifying (also televised), and does this 17x through the winter. 16x through the summer with 35 minute races 2x a day. That's a total of ~27 hours of exposure, assuming the camera is on you the whole time (if you're a top guy in the action like Roczen can be), and events with thousands upon thousands of spectators.

The top Supercross guy gets to be talking on TV thanking his sponsors on major ESPN/FOX sports channels.

The top DH guy, who usually needs to take some speech therapy lessons and has something vulgar to say when he's in front of the camera, gets a minute on a fringe sport website, or some streaming service that doesn't reliably work.

$200k for a half hour of performance in front of hundreds and not really televised versus $3M for 27 hours of performance in front of thousands and televised. By that comparison, the top DH guys are underperforming and lazy.

The same comparison can be made about MTB freeriders trying to command a similar salary to freestyle MX guys for a few minutes of performance, where freestyle guys go on TOURS and throw down equally (or more dangerous) stunts, with far higher consistency, multiple evenings a week, with fireworks, distractions, messed up lighting and other riders around them. NOT able to compare.


Comparing these sports is silly. Mountain bikers trying to compare their compensation/value with that of anything powersports related is even more stupid. If they were smart, they wouldn't bring it up and get their employers thinking about that comparison at all..

For those trying to justify a higher base pay for their efforts, WHO should pay it? And WHY?

 lot of good points put forward on that argument there. appreciate your thought and effort in the response.

 This is like a stand alone burger joint complaining it doesn't earn as much as the whole macdonalds corporation, the shear number of people who ride mx bikes is so much massively higher than those who ride dh, at my local trails there are mx trails too, on any given weekend there might be around 4-6 riders on the dh track, whereas there are always over 30+ mx riders screaming around.... There are also about 3x more places to ride mx than mtb on the sunny coast.... So some basic maths indicates there may be as many as 18x more mx riders than mtb riders in oz alone, so mx riders deserve a much higher wage as they have so much bigger exposure, its simple economics people!

 ^ that's a thing?

 www.google.co.jp/search?q=cappuccino+art+star+wars&client=safari&hl=en&prmd=ivsn&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&fir=iyB97N5Wui6TtM%253A%252CjR0u9pagBAswQM%252C_%253BVuW6Q7hpNK5hYM%253A%252CiBj-lF4oWplzPM%252C_%253BDoKRD0cDaNaxWM%253A%252CsedpgvtimG26aM%252C_%253BuSYXB8V5xres7M%253A%252C1nzl3UX_A4B03M%252C_%253BJnOInpSRcBpLZM%253A%252Cl-JnuFkIDxqnSM%252C_%253BpHjRocovitE0JM%253A%252Ckju7CuF2kBtZXM%252C_%253B3cVbDM0zBKdOXM%253A%252CwWAMBA0IldZUuM%252C_%253BqLDUsNn72WF9mM%253A%252CAd4PYg-zVh5WEM%252C_%253BbOgThUBPSjR0FM%253A%252C_rb7VbSpU4jjwM%252C_%253B9aIYUn_aWwvIIM%253A%252CLIlOjGLGGYQYRM%252C_&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjdu5CC9p_JAhXKG5QKHe3sAb0Q7AkIGg&biw=641&bih=420&usg=__XTl8x7MHCcyKqEhwQoOoVB55Or0%3D#imgrc=iyB97N5Wui6TtM%3A&usg=__XTl8x7MHCcyKqEhwQoOoVB55Or0%3D

 Most dh racers don't get paid at all.

Is she proven to be one of the best teachers in the world?

I'm sure your gf is a great teacher, but its two very different things

 Yep. She is one of the top DH race...I mean top teachers in the world.
I realise that it's all relevant and I'd rather the riders have a better pay packet than have the big corps steal it all away but a job is a job. If we're talking about how much top DH racers should earn (which is what we're talking about, not racers who don't get paid) then they should earn a decent wage just like the rest of us working hard for our money.

 Good analogy with the teacher comment... teachers, and soldiers, are the most underpaid jobs anywhere. And there's the reality that they're being paid that much for doing something they'd likely still be doing even if they weren't getting paid. People all around the world pay money to do ride dh... just because these guys happen to excel at a hobby doesn't qualify them to earn huge amounts of money.

 It's not a hobby for them

 Cycling is a hobby, they just do it professionally. No one teaches as a hobby, no one does accounting as a hobby... things like cycling, martial arts, body building, surfing, etc, are hobbies that some people can make a living at the point is that, absent a career doing it they'd likely still parakeet in that hobby. Getting paid to do it professionally is just a bonus.

 *it's not just a hobby for them.

 It doesn't matter, it's still a hobby... and they'd still be riding if they weren't getting paid.

 Okay, I'm not arguing here. Just putting some thoughts out there: my gf has just as much passion for her teaching as many of us and the top DH racers do for bikes. It's her whole world. Would she be working as hard if she wasn't being paid? No, probably not because it's a lot of work for nothing. But if you offered her a nursery of her own to work for free she'd be there (as long as I could earn enough to feed and house her). My question/ point is; would the top 10 racers be working as hard as they do (training on and off the bike, media, etc) if they weren't getting paid. If you took all of Josh Brycelands pay cheque away would he still be a contender for the overall, would he still train and work as hard for the win if there was no money involved? Likewise if you took one of the privateers, offered him 20k a race for top tens would he then put more work in and train harder? I think so, I would. And that's why it's not just a hobby. It's a job imo.

 Of course its not a hobby, if you think it is and you just happen to get paid as bonus then I don't think you have thought about what it means to be an athlete.

 No offence, but you are probably on the wrong site then. Just imagine we're all in a pub with pints in our hands. I don't think there's any harm intended - plus we should be thankful that we even have a community to facilitate mountain bike related conversation.

 I don't think that was the intent of the article. I think these are to see different opinions of pink bikers as the title states. It's worth seeing what different people think about a subject and why.

 Ok then I'll just say it : keyboardkilla is a stupid name.

 Woah cowboy who said anything about drunk? Also, why are we in a bar fight?

 Sick of it too.... We ride because we love it and i know its the same with the pros. being able to ride and live from it sounds like a heck of a deal to me!

 When one sees how much time a day that a professional athlete puts into their training, then the pressure to perform at a high level, only then will they realize what the big deal is. It's a good 60 or more hour work week that taxes the mind and body more than anything else does. The longevity of an athletes career is very short and the quality of life from multiple injuries is usually really bad after retirement. That money made then has to last them a long time too. It's no walk in the park.

 Your words betray your age,

 I honestly think pro athletes are way over paid as well. I think a large portion of the money should be redistributed to the engineers that design bikes and such. What would happen if they all quit? Things seriously would get screwed over. THAT is an important job that adds value to a product.

 Seiously people you need a lesson in markets and economy, take a course or something. I too think it is absurd that someone like Tom Brady or Lionel Messi make 40 million dollars a year but 200k for a top level DH racer who's career is reatively short is too little IMHO.

 If their career is 5 years and they make 200k a year that's 1 million over their career. Some one working at minimum wage would have to work more than their entire career to make that much. People get on high horses about income inequality when it concerns businessmen and lawyers, but as soon as it involves an athlete in a sport they care about they turn the other way. It's not like they are rendered completely incapable of working by the age of 30 and need that extra cash. Pay your top DH racers 80k a year a plus benefits and put the extra cash into R&D...Do you think anyone would turn that down if they weren't already used to a big cushy paycheck? Just because someone has something doesn't mean they need it or that they need more. I'm sure there are plenty of people (maybe even including you) who think they need gucci underpants or a nice benz.

 diego-b, you don't really understand my reply, do you?

 Exactly. They do not become incapable of work at age 30-35. When you can't play sport any more, get a job like everyone else. That money does not have to last a lifetime if you get job like everyone else. Also ticket prices for stadium sports are miles too high. Families are pretty much priced out of going to English footy games. It should be two quid entry, not a hundred.

 Amen!

 What's a few beers? Less than drinking a few energy drinks on race day, that's for sure. I'm not disagreeing with you, just pointing out that the calories in beer wouldn't be anything for anything for these athletes to handle the next day.
The moto guys may know they that they have more eyes on them, if you will, and are more wary about what could happen if they were caught up in something while intoxicated.
Also, unless you are involved in cycling outside DH, you may not know that the cycling industry/community is VERY big with craft beers, more-so than any industry I know of. So there's lots more of breweries sponsoring races/events than in the moto world. This also taps into the average age of the viewers. There's lots more underage viewers of MX than DH racing, that may play a part too on the sponsors side for what's expected of the athlete.
Again, not disagreeing at all here, just another viewpoint.

 You're definitely right, but I really do believe that most of the trainers are worried about those calories. And most of the serious riders don't drink energy drinks. Just water through a sponsor's bottle. And yes, I definitely know about the craft beer. One of my favorite parts of cycling. Don't need to be in DH for that, Cyclorcross is the biggest into the craft beer world. As you said, beer definitely has a bigger market in cycling than in moto. It used to have a niche in moto. You used to see Bud Light and Miller out there, but those days are long gone.

 It has little to do with calories but more the impact alcohol has on your physical abilities to train, recover and grow muscle while eroding mental alertness (for days after consumption).

 This is true of all the riders that I know.

 Yep. Baseball, basketball, supercross, oval racing tennis... They are all easy to cover with only a few TV cameras. DH races are not. That makes a massive difference to the sponsorship, rights, advertising and ultimately the pay checks.

 Its just difficult to compare mountain biking, which is a sponsor driven sport to the major sports which are spectator driven. Its just two different dynamics at work. In the major sports, the team itself is the product. They players salaries are a direct investment in the product they are selling. On the other hand, riders are not the product the companies are selling. The riders are simply a vehicle for advertising the products. The bikes, the clothing, the helmets, etc. In sponsor driven sports the athletes are basically no different than a billboard or a TV commercial. They are advertising. So it makes perfect sense that an athlete like a mountain biker would make far less than what and NFL, MLB, soccer, or any other mainstream sports player. I mean if you look at almost any industry, the amount a company invests in the development of its actual product is going to far exceed their advertising budgets. Because at the end of the day, making a good product is what will allow a company to succeed, not the advertising.

 Good points and fair enough. In the end, it's all about the Benjamins. If enough eyes, sitting at home, watching MTB on tv, the money will roll in. As you say, product…brands etc, advertising. Imagine if we all said Steve Peat 'deserves' $2 million. Well, who's gonna pay, and where's the money gonna come from? If and when…is the story for mountain bike salaries. The way the industry is going, much more rich people are entering the sport: doctors, dentists, lawyers etc. MTB used to be a blue collar game. Who else is buying 10-$12,000 bikes? Well, some guys really stretch for it, but it's mostly rich dudes. So as the sport expands, the salaries should go up. And I want a piece of it!!!!!!! I deserve it for all my typing.

 More money coming into the sport does no always mean more money going to riders. Like I mentioned, there isn't a direct relationship between the money coming in and the player salaries. In the major sports they have unions and collective bargaining agreements. As the revenues of the sports increase the players renegotiate how much of the money they get and demand larger contracts. With biking its not the case. Just because more rich guys are buying bikes, doesn't mean these companies will automatically expand their marketing budgets. Its always a cost benefit analysis. They will only pay these riders to the extent that they feel it will increase their sales in a meaningful way.

 Yeah, totally agree. But it should come naturally. When I watched Crankworkx on tv this summer, it was almost unbearable to listen to one of the broadcasters. He was trying so hard to make it sound soooooo dope, and yelling, and hype. Dude, let the sport speak for itself. I assure you, people are buying pricey Santa Cruz bikes because they have finally figured out how dope riding is - the thrill of the action, and the attraction to nature, not because of crazy hype. Doesn't mean we don't need 'some' hype, marketing etc. - that's all part of the game. But just chill balls and believe. If it grows big, great. If it doesn't that's fine too. There's nothing worse than a sport, or any endeavor in life that is contrived for a hopeful or particular outcome. Blah, blah, blah...

 Not necessarily that simple. For example he mentions in the article that racers are secretive about their compensation. Well there is a lot of research that shows a lack of wage transparency leads to less pay for all employees in any workplace. No reason to think racers aren't getting screwed by the taboo against discussing comp the same as the rest of us

 Well sure but that's on them. If they want more money and wage transparency works, put it out there.

 Out of those 3 examples you cited it's funny how the 2 board sports have what seems like a lot of more money to spread around, especially compared to bmx. Skateboards are cheap, and snowboarding appeals to the masses whereas the general public still have an antiquated view on bikes and their cost.

 No idea about the santa cruz team, but usually pro riders have quite a list of sponsors + I guess they get some money for winning + they get paid for all the advertisements they are being used in. Also i think generally a sponsor like red bull or monster energy will pay more than a cycling company.

 I'd rather ride the rampage course on a slope bike, than hear fore on a golf course that shits sketchy!

 I would do a lot of things for a shockingly small amount of money.

 What if the even playing field was benefit to society? Talent Is great, but many talents aren't worth a damn thing to anyone.

 There is only one rider on the WC circuit making more than 600k today and this guy is Gwin... and guess what? He wants more! The guy has only been around the WC scene since 2010ish and managed to be the best and get the biggest pay check! That's crazy. Expect some big move from the Gwinner really soon.....

 Oops I didn't want to reply there... sorry

 have you seen XC mtb in the olympics? we need to keep DH out of the olympics as long as possible

 Have you seen XC ski vs Super G at the winter games?

Who wants to watch XC anything?

 But you won't win them and that's what matters.

 Very true ????

 Luckily i searched for 'ski' comments and found yours. Skiing and MTB are directly relatable to one another, winter vs. summer. They both have slopestyle events, balls to the wall racing down the hill, all-round racing with maybe more of a focus on the down parts (enduro vs. touring skiing competitions), freeride events and the up and down long haul races - XC.

The thing is, skiing in all forms overshadows MTB in all of it's forms.

 *too

 Ha thx! I just got served.

 Yes!

 I blame it on my pre-production grammar

 I thought that too Tmack, but companies like Suzuki make a TON of $ from super cross, so I think the riders should get a piece of that.
I also agree that $200 000 is a still a comfy living (It's more than I make) and that number goes up when you consider endorsements and movie appearances. I'm sure Red Bull cut Cam McCaul a cheque for his commentary at the Rampage, and so they should. Every rider I know, myself included appreciated his sense of humour and the fact that the guy calling the race can ride like a badass.

 They are also getting paid too much

 @Tmackstab-your teacher was underpaid

 *paid.

Teacher was overpaid. WAY overpaid.

 Hahaha in my defence I was a little drunk last night.

 Yes. Way less.

 That was when Mountain Dew was headline team sponsor, Pepsi Co money!

 Supply and demand. Gwin is in demand. Joe Nobody is not.

 You are the winner! Sort of ridiculous how this poll neglected to have that option. Makes it largely irrelevant.
Many people seem to be fixated on a dollar amount , not realizing the marketplace establishes the worth of the industry and what a sponsor can and will pay to promote their product/service. Sponsoring racers is entirely a marketing department exercise. Would any of us stop riding if they stopped paying people to race? Doubt it.

 Unions are part of the free market, provided you're not obligated to or prohibited from dealing with them.

 Unions are not part of the free market when they are government workers and mandated by those government workers on private projects. I have several projects underway and Socialist local governments mandated prevailing wages (unions) into the project as part of any approval.
They are fixing the system. Part of the problem.

 That's nice, but we're talking about pro DH riders, not government employees.

 That's probably more due to them being Swiss than riding Enduro.

 Boring!