There are several companies out there that offer this type of team free uniform. Basically you wear a free uniform and they get their products marketed at races. It's a good deal if you like/use their product. In this case they also give discounts on their bikes and affiliated wheels company. If you ride/like Javelin then go for it.

I believe Timex, Degree, and Baker's Breakfast Cookie had similar teams last year that you could also look into. I believe Javelin is still a sponsor of Ironman North America, so If you do any of their races I'm sure they may have some special offers for team members at the races.

I'm going to try and put together race uniforms (at least jerseys and maybe hats) for this season (thus the introduction of the new logo), but I probably won't be able to match the price of free as i don't have bikes to sell to recoup costs :). But hopefully as membership grows we can arrange local race get togethers and support for trifuel'ers.

Also look into a local club. They are usually around $50-$75 for the year and usually they give out a uniform with that and also discounts and many local bike/tri/run shops. Plus you'll find training partners and a group to head out to races with. Here some in your neck of the woods:
[url]http://www.trifuel.com/yp/index.php?PID=51[/url]

Sorry if I sound a little against the corporate sponsorship. I know a few pros who count on sponsorships to earn a living and marketers have found a way to get free marketing through these types of programs rather than invest in programs with professional athletes. Imagine if baseball and basketball players didn't get sponsorships and instead you went to little league games where uniforms were Sprite green or had Nike all over them and all they had to do was pay for the uniform. My little rank, sorry :(

tribro, now you talking! can we take a peek of the jerseys?

Hell yeah!! I am up for that, any tri clothing is a great buy, and to help spread the word, you cannot put a price on that... pls let me know when this goes down..

Tribro - when are you planning on putting out these race uniforms and hats???

I'll try to work on some designs and look into uniform options (i.e. which brand to go with) over the next few weeks and then try to have something available in February.

[QUOTE=tri-duckee]Hell yeah!! I am up for that, any tri clothing is a great buy, and to help spread the word, you cannot put a price on that... pls let me know when this goes down..[/QUOTE]

Yeah, tri-duckee, you can put a price on it, and it's done by market research companies world-wide. They study an event, analyzing column inches of print space in newspapers, time of coverage on radio/tv, billboard space and many other parameters, including swag: free gear like t-shirts, water bottles, sweatbands, caps, etc. distributed, and they come up with a price for the promotion. I used to sell such promotional packages to companies like Jeep-Eagle for ski races.

Tri-bro's point is well made.
We depend on sponsors so that Race Directors can put on the races we enjoy. If they had no sponsors, chances are we wouldn't be able to afford the race fees they would have to charge.

The other side of the coin however, is that established races like IM Canada are so lucrative that the owner, Graham Fraser , could give away the race fee and still make money. But that is a case of demand for spots forcing the race fee to $575 for 2005.
Anytime you get a large group of people together: athletic events, political demos, craft fairs, dog shows, there is a chance to sell stuff. That's why it has a price on it.
Nike used the "Be like MIke" promotion to get millions of fans around the world, dumb sheep, to wear their t-shirts etc. I urge you to consider the merit of the company whose logo you wear.
Back in the sixties, Arnold and his buddies used to wear t-shirts around the gym in Venice, California and around town, that said:
"Dianabol, Breakfast of Champions!"

Personally, I feel that Nike should pay me for the privilege of having their logo on my back.

PoC
maybe when I win the TdF..:)

[url]http://vergesport.com/[/url] is our (Arizona state cycling) team's clothing company. Very nice stuff.

[url]http://www.asucycling.com[/url]

[QUOTE=PrinceofClydes]Yeah, tri-duckee, you can put a price on it, and it's done by market research companies world-wide. They study an event, analyzing column inches of print space in newspapers, time of coverage on radio/tv, billboard space and many other parameters, including swag: free gear like t-shirts, water bottles, sweatbands, caps, etc. distributed, and they come up with a price for the promotion. I used to sell such promotional packages to companies like Jeep-Eagle for ski races.

Tri-bro's point is well made.
We depend on sponsors so that Race Directors can put on the races we enjoy. If they had no sponsors, chances are we wouldn't be able to afford the race fees they would have to charge.

The other side of the coin however, is that established races like IM Canada are so lucrative that the owner, Graham Fraser , could give away the race fee and still make money. But that is a case of demand for spots forcing the race fee to $575 for 2005.
Anytime you get a large group of people together: athletic events, political demos, craft fairs, dog shows, there is a chance to sell stuff. That's why it has a price on it.
Nike used the "Be like MIke" promotion to get millions of fans around the world, dumb sheep, to wear their t-shirts etc. I urge you to consider the merit of the company whose logo you wear.
Back in the sixties, Arnold and his buddies used to wear t-shirts around the gym in Venice, California and around town, that said:
"Dianabol, Breakfast of Champions!"

Personally, I feel that Nike should pay me for the privilege of having their logo on my back.

PoC
maybe when I win the TdF..:)[/QUOTE]

PoC -

I dont think he was literally saying "you can't put a price on that" instead he was stoked at the fact that TriFuel is putting together clothing. Kinda like Visa's promotion of: "priceless: blah blah blah". :D Nice write-up, and analysis though!

That's what I was saying, ..I am stoked at the possibility of a tri fuel clothing line..

in the future, I will watch my words carefully... :confused:

my team used sugoi stuff for past years, but we're switching to verge stuff this year...
[url]www.mitcycling.org[/url]

[QUOTE=tri-duckee]That's what I was saying, ..I am stoked at the possibility of a tri fuel clothing line..

in the future, I will watch my words carefully... :confused:[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I know :)
just havin fun with ya.
No worries, mate. No harm meant.
Nothing I wrote was aimed at you personally, I just used it as an excuse to jump onto Tri-bro's bandwagon. That's all.

all the best for 2005,
PoC

ok, so how do you go about finding a sponcer in your area?

Nell,
If you are a USAT member or not you can go to their website and click on your state or neighboring state to find triathlon clubs in you area. My club in Nashville is sponsered by so many people it's not funny. We get exclusive discounts on new things and the onwers always take care of the triathletes. Hope this helps

I would love to get picked up, helped out by some sort of sponsorship. Even the discounts would be really cool. Thanks for the advice Cedriclburden. I will have to look into it.

A buddy of mine thought about going into the local bike shop and talking to the owener seeing if we could some how get a deal going. You know travel around the midwest this summer racing, with his gear and his jerseys on, trying to drum up interest and business.

We are thinking if we could post some wicked good numbers in the begining of the season, maybe by mid season we will be up and running with someone.

:D Keep dreaming I guess...

It's tough getting sponsorship on the pro side as well as if you're an age grouper.

I have seen a few elite age groupers get good local sponsorship though. Hitting up the local tri or bike shop is good, but most likely they already have kits or a cycling tri team. If they do, try some other local business that want to reach the same audience, for example: message therapists, health food stores, banks, real estate, mortgage (my brother got a mortgage guy to pick up his travel expenses a couple seasons back), nutritionists, stuff like that.

And check around for successful local businesses who's upper management are triathletes, the best way in is to know someone who controls the budget :)

Also,may be of interest: [url]http://www.trifuel.com/news/general/markallenonlinecom-and-trigenix-spor...

[QUOTE=tribro]I'll try to work on some designs and look into uniform options (i.e. which brand to go with) over the next few weeks and then try to have something available in February.[/QUOTE]
What's the latest on 'Trifuel' gear?

Sorry, ya this plan didn't quite work out. I contacted a few companies back then and many had already done there spring line. I've just re-checked with Sugoi a few days ago, which seems like a good option, but the upfront costs on just 100 uniforms is steep and they wouldn't be ready til August.

I still hope to do the unis but I need to stay in budget. So, maybe smaller t-shirt type stuff until I can do the uniforms - professional club style tri tops is my goal. sorry...

Any thoughts on doing some prepay order kind of thing and seeing how much interest there is?

ya, that'd make things easier. My concern with that is the lead time. Tough to ask for you guys to buy a tri-top now and then not be able to deliver it for 3 months? If some of you are willing to do that though I'll investigate it further. I know I can do smaller runs if necessary. I think they'd end up around $40 for the sleeveless type of form fitted top.

I'd be in. I figure I'll be doing tris for at least 3 or 4 more months ;-)

I'm in for at least one maybe two! What about regular t-shirts and visors stuff like that?

I'd be interested. Jersey, t-shirts whatever.

Count me in:)

interested...

I'm interested too!!

count me in on the trifuel uniforms...great idea! keep me posted!

Interested in T shirts, but I already have my LBS team jersey...

Get the money up front. I am a member of another forum that set up an aid station at a marathon. Other members put in orders for special drinks and nutrients. Basically a lot of people didn't show; DNS's, DNF's, and whatever. One person went on the forum to ask for donations so that she didn't have to take a loss. Then she got criticized for asking for money.

i am definitely in!

due to the fact that some of us have local sponsorships...what if we were to be able to send our tops or bottoms in on like a 2-3 week period that we have off...and the trifuel team logo could be put on it?

i was actually thinking about that today. I need to find someone who can do dye sublimation as opposed to heat transfer so it works better on lycra. I'll check the local bike shop this week and see if they can make any recommendations.

Then I could do a simple logo and order blank jerseys and hopefully cut down on the production time. Also open up more jersey options like TYR or De Soto.

I'll let you know what I find out.

[QUOTE=TriMarine4027]Hey everyone, I just stubled on a website javelintriathlonteam.com Is anyone a part of this team or know anything about it? Does it cost money? It says that you get a free unifrom and discounts on other products. Just looking for a little inside info. Thanks.[/QUOTE]

I received my gear by Canada Post today. Stuff looks pimp but unfortunately it will be odd decked out in Javelin gear riding my Guru...

I was somewhat skeptical as to receiving it but looks like they came through. I prefer my Pearl Izumi's 3D's over the Sugoi though.

I really like the idea of sending in our gear, or having a patch/logo that could be sold and added to our current tops or bottoms. Personally i know im kind of picky...zippers, necks, length of inseam...etc. So to have the option on slappin on a logo to a piece of gear i already wear sounds like an awsome idea to me!

I'm In!!!!!!

[QUOTE=toseen]I received my gear by Canada Post today. Stuff looks pimp but unfortunately it will be odd decked out in Javelin gear riding my Guru...

I was somewhat skeptical as to receiving it but looks like they came through. I prefer my Pearl Izumi's 3D's over the Sugoi though.[/QUOTE]

Getting back to the original post, i actually got my javelin uniform sent to me a few weeks ago. I was suprised that they really did follow through on it. The uniforms are nice, especially for free.

I would be proud to wear some trifuel gear or have that logo put on as well. I always wear a visor when i run, so that might be a nice thing to have.

Bro - I was kinda sponsorded as a Clyde a few years ago. I had sought sponsorship from several high profile tri related companies but because I was still active duty military, I was unable to endorse some products because of a Dept. of Defense policy. I got some free stuff from Asimba.com (nice hat, coolmax socks, T-shirt) and Dog Head Designs (race hat, stickers, GU gels & flasks, lace locks and a GU patch for my Tri suit). I asked them for support for my race season and in return I would wear/recommend their products and services to my training partners and friends who in fact did purchase items from the companies. My point is...what do you want in return? Word of mouth advertizing is the best way to get your site recognized and I would be more than happy to assist you in any way possible (within reason). If you were to offer let's say a DeSoto Power Suit or equivilent at an "athletes discounted price", that would be cool. Water bottles are good too and easier to move as long as they are high quality and don't reek or leak. Again, great work on this site. I've seen it evolve over the years and is a lot friendlier/less intimidating than the "other" forum.

Sua Sponte
De Oppresso Liber

[QUOTE=Deejay]Getting back to the original post, i actually got my javelin uniform sent to me a few weeks ago. I was suprised that they really did follow through on it. The uniforms are nice, especially for free.

I would be proud to wear some trifuel gear or have that logo put on as well. I always wear a visor when i run, so that might be a nice thing to have.[/QUOTE]

I also received my Team javelin suit a few weeks ago. It fits me perfectly and is really comfortable (most things don't fit me right so this was pretty amazing). I don't mind wearing it even though I ride a QR - if they want to send me free clothes and gear, I'm all for it. As for discounts, you get them on fuel belts, Javelin frames, and Zero wheels, and maybe Triathlete mag?

If there were trifuel suits, jerseys, etc - I'd definitely wear them! It's easy marketing not just at races, but wearing them around town riding, on bike trails, etc.

you make it... i'll buy it... gear bag, swim bag, t- shirt, visor, dew rag, whatever... just do it!!!

Me too! Imagine all the little triathlon chicas I could impress with my Trifuel gear!

My brother says he found a guy in LA that does a good job on the logo sublimation process. I'm going to have him follow up this week on his pricing, then we'll probably just start with logo printing on plain jerseys this year and full team outfits next.

o.k. I've finalized the logos for this year's run of Jerseys. If you're still interested in wearing Trifuel gear you can purchase a Visor and/or TYR singlet here:

[url]http://www.trifuel.com/shop/shop.php[/url]

sweet thats awesome I just ordered a visor. How long will shipping take do you think tribro? Great work thatnks a bunch.

I'll place the order to have them made at the end of this week or beginning of next. From there I should hopefully get them in a week and then out to you. So, hopefully 2-3 weeks tops. I'll start ordering extra to have on hand with this batch so in the future I'll have some in stock, but wanted to get a sense of volume and size breakdowns on the jerseys for this initial run.

Awesome job, Tribro! I just ordered a singlet and visor:) Can't wait to get 'em and wear 'em at my next race:)

ok man, i just ordered my new singlet. should replace that non-visible grey 'car-target' jersey i usually wear. and my wife even likes it! even better.

maybe it will be here in time for SJIT?

Hey, Toseen... I checked out the Javelin site. How'd you get your application through from Canada? I'd like to apply, but can't seem to get around the whole "what state do you live in? what's your five-digit ZIP code?" issue.

tribro,

DOES THE WOMEN'S SINGLET HAVE A BRA TOP ATTACHED- VERY IMPORTANT TO KNOW THIS IN ORDER TO FIGURE OUT CORRECT SIZING!

THANKS,

AMY

Yay! I just ordered my singlet and visor. Great job on the logo tribro. I'm excited to wear them!

TriBro,

Does the men's singlet have the same thing on the back that the women's does? And if I ordered today-when do you think it would arrive? I only ask cause I am moving soon.

Wow! those are some sweet designs. Thanks man!

Honestly real quick-I haven't said this in awhile-thanks for a great site all around!

Amy Lee - I don't know that they do. They are TYR Singlets more info here:
[url]http://www.tyr.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=SSOL6...

Indy Eric. I hope to have them out to you by the end of the month. And yes same design on the back.