We did not have sponsors when we started our trip in 2002. I, like many about to set off on a big trip, thought that touring bicycle and camping gear companies would be jumping on the chance to sponsor us. After all, we originally planned on a seven year trip through some exotic and challenging places.  The twenty-five or so companies we wrote and called turned us down; what a big surprise.  We bought our bikes and all of our gear at full retail price and left.  It was not until we had been on the road for two years that our web site was receiving enough traffic that we were contacted by perspective sponsors. The mystery around sponsorships and bicycle touring is intriguing and I have not totally figured it out yet but I keep trying different things.

Currently, we have a few sponsors for our bicycle tour. (more on these below). Our arrangements with these businesses are win win for both parties, we get free gear and in return they get exposure and direct sales from our web site.  We track, and earn commissions, from these sales and know our sponsors are getting their investments back several times over. 

I have also written other manufactures of equipment we like and trust with no response.  Laptop computer manufactures are high on my list because we push a computer to its limits, know a lot about traveling with one, and I think we could sell them from our web site.  They never answer my emails.  We have had a touring bike sponsor in the past where we bought the bikes at manufactures cost (pro deal in bike shop talk) and sold them on commission.   We ended this relationship once we discovered problems with a poorly designed headset and no longer could ethically promote their bikes.  We have a track record of selling several US3,000 bikes annually from our web site and I think we could work well with the few brands of bikes we like but they are difficult to convince.  So, you can see, we are not experts in bicycle touring and sponsorships.  Below is what I have learned so far.

Perspective sponsors always ask these two questions: 

How much traffic do you get on your web site? and how long will you be traveling?  They seldom ask how difficult a trip will be or through what exotic places.  We could be riding around the neighborhood as long as it generated enough traffic to our web site to promote their products.  Sponsors also do not want to invest in a bike trip if it is short term.  They know, that it takes a lot of time for these relationships to be profitable and, if the trip ends quickly, the web site traffic and exposure goes with it.  When dealing with businesses always remember that they are primarily interested in turning a profit.  Instead of concentrating on what they can do for your trip think about what your tour can do for them.  Offering to put their corporate logo on your jersey or bike is not going to cut it.  They need far more eyeballs than that to make a profit.

We are picky about our gear so there are only a few companies we can potentially work with.  We do not carry much so what we do have in our panniers is critical for our trip's success and even our safety.  Our own personal rule is to only accept sponsorship of gear we would buy anyway, use on our bicycle tour, and believe in.  Cyclist and travelers trust our experience so we do not endorse equipment we do not like.  I do not think these standards are uncommon in the cycle touring world.  Touring cyclist are a notoriously picky bunch once we figure out what we like.  For us, this is especially true for touring bicycles because there are only five or so production bikes we would feel comfortable taking off the shelf and riding through the developing world or remote wilderness stretches.

Real sponsorship is not common in the bicycle touring world.

Bike touring sponsorship should not be confused with affiliate programs.  Anyone with an accepted web site (not porn, hate, or illegal) can go to an equipment brands web site and sign up for their affiliate program (if available) and earn about 5% from sales originating from their web site.  Anyone with enough computer skills can make an account, create the ads, copy the code, and insert it on their web site.  Instead of sponsorship this is commission sales and common on the net.  Almost everything sold on DownTheRoad.org is through various affiliate programs.

Discounts are not sponsorships.  If a company is making a profit on the items you buy then they are not sponsoring you they are giving you a discount.  This explains why so many cycle touring and extreme sports web sites appear to have impressive looking sponsor pages filled with corporate logos linking to the manufactures.  Sometimes I think there are people out there more interested in "looking sponsored" than anything else and the slightest discount warrants a banner and a glowing review on their web site.  I have even seen these reviews appear before the bicycle tour even starts or just a few months into a trip.  I believe that no piece of bicycle touring equipment can be put through its paces until 9 - 12 months of continuous travel are completed.

Warrantee replacements are not sponsored gear.  This is a little like the discount scenario above.  Any reputable company will replace gear with manufactures defects.  I have worked in many different bike shops in the past and have come to believe that if a customer contacts a product brand with a new-ish broken item they will replace it with few questions asked.  While this is a good business practice and shows a dedication to their customer's satisfaction it is not an equipment sponsorship.

Our current sponsors

Ortlieb has been working with us for years supplying over a dozen items including all our panniers (saddle bags) handlebar bags and more.  We would be buying all these Ortlieb bags ourselves if it were not for their generosity.  This was my favorite brand of pannier long before our sponsorship. 

Big Agnes supplies us regularly with new tents, sleeping bags, and sleeping pads.  We have used several different brands of tents, pads, and sleeping bags before we settled on Big Agnes.  They use us as field testers to work with their design engineers.  I guess we make good testers because we have slept in a tent about 1000 times over the past three years or so.  We have ridden out lots of intense storms while camping.  Their sponsorship saves us a lot of money on gear we would have to regularly buy and there is nothing like getting a new tent.  It is like getting new sheets. 

Tubus Bicycle Touring Racks and Luggage Carrier Systems   We have used our Tubus Racks for the first seven years of our trip and have never broken one.  They sent us 2 stainlesssteel sets just so would have the latest and greatest to show the world but we could use our original ones for another twenty plus years.

Phil Wood gave us four hubs several years ago but we have yet to wear these out so no replacement is necessary.  They are a great company to work with.

(see our finances page)

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