Does the Bike Industry Need Brand Ambassadors?

The recent Specialized kerfuffle got me thinking about how gravel sponsorship has evolved and where it’s going.

Not every sponsored rider wants to be a “brand ambassador” or a “content creator” or an “influencer.” I personally know a few that just want to ride, train, progress, and race. Unfortunately, for people like that, sponsorships like those have become scarce, unless you’re an old-school European roadie. Expectations have changed dramatically in the last 10 years, and a lot of that is born out of the growth of gravel and other niche off-road disciplines, not to mention the elephant in the room that is social media.

So, when I saw the news that Specialized was letting go of some prominent brand ambassadors, I started thinking about how bike sponsorship ended up where it is today. If you’re looking for a hot take on Specialized, I’m sorry, but you’ll be disappointed.

Instead, thinking about it more broadly, this news is the bellwether of a bigger trend, especially in gravel cycling. But it isn’t a new trend.

A few factors converged to create a ripe opportunity for riders to earn a living off of sponsorships, despite not being single-mindedly focused on results and racing. Up until the last couple years, most endemic bike media had no bandwidth to cover anything beyond major races (i.e., WorldTour road racing, World Cup MTB, World Cup Cyclocross). It was risky to devote editorial time and effort to unconventional riding and racing trends, so if brands wanted exposure for gravel or adventure products, they needed to create their own media.

Lucky for them, there were several mature social media platforms that empowered resourceful riders … um, I mean, content creators … to present themselves as a solution to the lack of coverage.

In short order, you had lots of athletes out documenting their adventures on YouTube, Instagram, and other platforms. Plus, they offered this content to their sponsors to repurpose on their platforms. The alternative events and riding experiences get more coverage, the athletes get paid, and the brands develop and sell products for these new niches. Everyone wins, right?

Well, a funny thing started to happen about four or five years ago. Races got bigger, both in terms of sponsorship and registration. Many of the rides, routes, experiences, and events that were once niche started getting covered by major media outlets. I’ll admit, I had my doubts when we made a big push to cover gravel in my last couple years at VeloNews, but reader interest skyrocketed to the point that Unbound was beating Tour de France by the numbers.

Around that time, LifeTime made a big play when it bought what is now known as Unbound Gravel. And, of course, 2021’s LifeTime Grand Prix eclipsed practically all North American bike events.

So, if you’re sitting in the marketing department at Specialized — wait, bad example. If you’re in marketing at a bike company that is definitely not Specialized, and you have a major gravel race series that practically guarantees exposure from April to October, how do you weigh that opportunity against the unconventional, but arguably more authentic, experiences that a brand ambassador can offer on their platforms? And has their audience already been saturated with your brand’s message? Do their followers even care about your brand? What bikes are you even trying to sell in the first place?

I don’t have the answers, but I’m sure these questions are being asked. Plus, these questions are being asked during a significant downturn in the cycling industry. This isn’t a time when it is comfortable to experiment with unconventional marketing that rarely has a measurable impact on sales.

What I do know is that in a weirdly cyclical way, gravel, a riding style that was once alternative and underground, is now mainstream. And right on cue, big brands that want visibility with this audience of cycling enthusiasts are going back to the basics, back to mainstream strategies. Sponsorship is regressing to the mean.

For example, I have it on good authority that as many as five top gravel racers have win bonuses written into their contracts for major events. That’s a far cry from creating content and documenting new adventures.

It’s asking a lot for gravel to satisfy everyone from serious racing fans to alternative adventurers, but maybe those days are behind us.

But where does that leave someone like Sarah Swallow, one of the notable riders dropped by Specialized, someone who is more inclined to inspire fans with adventures than results? While maybe not as lucrative, there are still opportunities, and they probably lie with smaller core brands that aren’t as flush as the big players.

Fans still crave stories about authentic experiences, and they don’t all have an appetite for gravel’s tilt toward serious racing. Brands want to reach these riders. That pool of cyclists probably isn’t as large as the casual fans and followers of something like the LifeTime Grand Prix, but they’re passionate and devoted. For crying out loud, have you seen some of these bikepacking videos? You’ve got to love it to suffer like that.

Hopefully, this turbulence leads to some sort of equilibrium. If the right people team up with the right companies, ambassador roles can be fruitful. It’s asking a lot for gravel to satisfy everyone from serious racing fans to alternative adventurers. Maybe those days are behind us. Maybe better days are ahead.