Jump to content

Trials Rider Wages


Aidan97

Recommended Posts

apparently Danny mac is on £70,000 a year from red bull .. which is pretty decent.. and all travel is paid for plus expenses for there shoots. and thats just one of his sponsors, although probably the largest..

Seriously doubt he's on that much

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You Leech doubters must be young, you have no idea of the impact "revolution" and "Evolve" had when they came out (1998) that for me was the very coolest era of trials.

My 'doubting' comes from the fact that it doesn't really seem like he's done that much since then? I know he's had the odd video part here and there, but while other riders went down the progressive, pushing-themselves route and stuck to riding, it seems he took to the more lucrative demos/chatting at people side of things. He's now sort of solidified that with his new gig that he's doing (the whole yoga/life coach/personal trainer role). Basically - I saw Evolve and thought "Holy shit Ryan's amazing!", then when I was waiting for the next video my expectations were raised but weren't really met. That just carried on, really...

He's definitely done some cool stuff, but then you look at Lenosky who was one of the more unsung heroes of Evolve, and his riding just keeps going and moving forward, whereas it seems like Leech just sort of does his same old demo stuff. His demo rig looks like it's been absolutely identical for over a decade...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You Leech doubters must be young, you have no idea of the impact "revolution" and "Evolve" had when they came out (1998) that for me was the very coolest era of trials.

He is the man who dented a top tube with his ball sack. This is a fact. That alone deserves respect!

Like others here are saying, people watch Ryan ride & see a mountain bike, everyone's ridden a mountain bike so it's not some alienating weird sight, as opposed to a mod rider in a leotard.

Plus he's still more technically skilled than a lot of todays great riders, even if he's not going as big.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My 'doubting' comes from the fact that it doesn't really seem like he's done that much since then? I know he's had the odd video part here and there, but while other riders went down the progressive, pushing-themselves route and stuck to riding, it seems he took to the more lucrative demos/chatting at people side of things. He's now sort of solidified that with his new gig that he's doing (the whole yoga/life coach/personal trainer role). Basically - I saw Evolve and thought "Holy shit Ryan's amazing!", then when I was waiting for the next video my expectations were raised but weren't really met. That just carried on, really...

He's definitely done some cool stuff, but then you look at Lenosky who was one of the more unsung heroes of Evolve, and his riding just keeps going and moving forward, whereas it seems like Leech just sort of does his same old demo stuff. His demo rig looks like it's been absolutely identical for over a decade...

Not so much aimed at you, I know you've been around a while, more the "he's crap" stuff, which is a bit sad & surely couldn't come from anyone who was around to buy "Revolution" or "Evolve"

I totally agree on his lack of progression though, I'd kill for another "Evolve" but I know it won't happen, but he's made a load of money and I doubt he has regrets.

I've always loved watching Lenosky too and glad he kept going, just makes me sad to imagine how good Leech would be now if he still had the drive to really push it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not so much aimed at you, I know you've been around a while, more the "he's crap" stuff, which is a bit sad & surely couldn't come from anyone who was around to buy "Revolution" or "Evolve"

I totally agree on his lack of progression though, I'd kill for another "Evolve" but I know it won't happen, but he's made a load of money and I doubt he has regrets.

I've always loved watching Lenosky too and glad he kept going, just makes me sad to imagine how good Leech would be now if he still had the drive to really push it.

My age has no relation to my opinion on him as a rider. As with most things, the elders of a society will always look back on 'the good old days' so to speak.

I can understand how he's rated in terms of pushing the sport into the eyes of the media with dvds, demos and such.

I can also understand how it's impressive that he can even get on the back wheel of a norco.

HOWEVER. Even with all that taken into consideration, he isn't earning big money based on his riding ability. It's his long term commitment and social skills that have got him where he is.

He's naff though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

By todays pure trials standards yes, he's not up there at all, but these days you're pretty much judged by how high you can sidehop/far you can gap, you're never gonna sidehop 50 inches on his bike, nor will you be doing 10 foot static gaps, but his bike allows him to do so much more than inch pinching, but put him on a modern pogo stick & I guarantee he's got the skills to change your mind, he just chooses to do what he does best & show it to people for money, good for him.

Edited by LEON
Link to comment
Share on other sites

He is the creater and master of smooth-ness How can you dislike him!. Actually I think I could argue Stan Shaw being smooth :P

hes american, rides a non trialsy frame, has suspension forks, hes the most annoying voice, in his videos i could fall asleep, i could carry on but i cba...

maybe it's just me, i don't know but i find him boring and the way he uses suspension forks annoys me as you could say it's cheating to be honest ahhh well

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Trials pays nothing! Look at Danny Mac, he is awesome, but he only rides like 2 months a year, due to his injuries, his riding is not getting better, his vids are not as good as they used to be. Im pretty sure Red Bull will stop their sponsorship in upcoming years. I dont think he has earned enough to retire and live with enough for the rest of his life. Neither Benito. How many pro trials riders live from trials? Benito, Abel, and a few others, thats it! And im sure they dont make what they should be making.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm pretty sure they wouldn't fly him to america for surgery if they were just going to get rid of him. He's been all over the place recently.

and as we can see from this topic, you don't have to improve to have a long career in trials.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have to admit, I wouldn't get up a curb on his setup. And he has a huge rep and following. I have his art of trials DVD - dire. But he simply doesn't compare to any modern riders.

Crux is still one of my favourite videos though. It's been a while since I've seen it but some of the riding in that's still more creative and appealing to me than most videos released these days.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Really not sure what the top comp riders get but I would imagine they will have to do shows/work to add to what they make from riding comps. Almost all paid riders rely on doing shows with the exception of only a few. So if they dont ride they dont get paid. It will vary a fair bit but I personally am on a pay per hop basis so as long as I do a load of back hops each show it works out not bad.

With regards to Danny I am not sure exactly how much he gets but it cant be that much as he struggles to pay me his rent every month.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I did read an interview he did for the Daily Record where he said people think he earns a fortune whereas he probably earns enough to run a car but thats about it

I've still got Sprung 3 on VHS, along with Revolution, Evolve, Tricks & Stunts 1 & 2, Chainspotting, just no video player to play them on......

I'll upload Sprung and Revolution so you can download or watch them online

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ryan Leech still gives me alot of inspiration.

Im just so annoyed by all this backwheel hopping and correctionhops everywhere.

Everytime a trials rider is going up a 10" wall, they stand and hold their balance by correction hops, and then goes all pogo and backwheel hops onto the ledge..Why not use zap tap, or "batman" (Putting your frontwheel on the obstacle and go straight up to backwheel from two wheels)

All of the easy stuff i do when riding, i try to do manifesto. Just because its fun and i hate all this hopping.

offcourse, i do correctionhops, and rearwheel hops. But only when nessesairy :)

Ontopic: TRA is doing gerat with his sponsors. He is also appering alot on norwegian tv. So he's earning good money. :)

Edited by Skorp
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...