Ask Ping!
Friday, June 3, 2011 | 9:30 AM
ODI dates back to the 1980’s as the leader in grip manufacturing. Focusing primarily on the bmx and mountain bike industries through the 90’s and early 2000’s, ODI re-entered the motocross scene when they developed the patented lock-on grip system that eliminates wire and glue. Continuing to advance the way riders hold on to their bikes, ODI has worked closely with the teams they support such as Troy Lee Designs to create the product that is now being used by some of the top teams in the industry.
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Hello There Mr. Pingereeeee,
What's wrong with these teenage racers these days? They are extremely fast, ride with great form and even crash with style (i.e.. Barcia at Hangtown). The problem is that many of them can't seem to finish a moto with their jersey tucked-in. Take Dean Wilson for example. He is an awesome rider, seems gracious and respectful and even has that funky Canadian/Scottish hybrid accent thing, but I swear I have never seen him get out of the first corner, let alone finish a race without his jersey hanging out. Is this a new phenomena, because I've seen you race many times and never saw you with this affliction as there always (and even to this day) seemed to be more than adequate pressure against the top of your pants to completely and firmly hold your jersey in place. Are the new jerseys made out of some type of slippery Teflon polymer material? Does this new group of racers lack proper asses to hold a jersey in place? Is Pro Circuit/Thor unable to afford the proper-sized jerseys? Maybe his mechanic could sew a giant patch of industrial-grade Velcro to the inside of his pants, or just squeeze a big dollop of quick drying Gorilla Glue inside the back of his pants while he's on the gate, or maybe Thor could make him a one-piece pants/jersey combo. That way he wouldn't have to worry about his pants falling down either (ala Josh Hill).
Just Wondering
Creepy guy models Dean's new gear.
Dear Wondering,
You see a lot more of the flapping jerseys now than a decade or so ago. I have a hard time believing that any of the gear companies have gone backwards in their design over that span of time. There are two things that contribute to this, in my opinion: Tall guys don’t have as much jersey to tuck in so it comes untucked easier. During my era I remember guys like Phil Lawrence, Travis Preston and Michael Brandes having a hard time keeping their jerseys in their pants. That’s an anatomical issue that just makes sense. I can’t really think of a time when McGrath had his jersey flapping all over the place, can you?
The other issue is that kids today wear their pants loose and down below their butt cheeks. If there was ever a look that says, “Hey, I have zero class and I’m practically unemployable” it’s this one.
The only other possibility is that these guys are more ass-less than a pair of chaps so there’s nothing to hold it up. Personally, I like the idea of a onesie for Deano. Maybe Thor could put together a suit with a stretchy neck so he could just slip in through the top and never have to worry about a flapping jersey.
PING
That could be you getting dusted out. Still like hard pack?
I was just wondering why promoters of notorious hard-packed tracks like Glen HelenHangtown feel the need to dump thousands of tons of sand on these tracks for the nationals? Whatever happened to the diversity of the riders being able to ride all different types of tracks? Whooped-out sand tracks or old-school huge braking bumps, deep rutted turns and fast sketchy flat turns… give me old school. I feel the promoters are trying to make all these tracks the same. and
Thanks,
D. Hansen, Sacramento CA.
Dear Hansen,
I’ve heard this from a few people over the last couple weeks and it really only makes sense in theory. Yeah, it sounds great on paper that the riders would be tested in all types of varying terrain, conditions and racing surfaces. The problem is that hard soil doesn’t hold water and so it becomes very dusty. How awesome is it to stand next to a dusty track as forty 450s go flying by? And how does that look on TV? And how safe is that for the riders? And if you put water on that hard-pack it gets so slimy and snotty that you have unnecessary crashes and your top riders get hurt. The idea of adding material such as sand, wood chips, sawdust, rice hulls and the like into the tracks soil is to allow for better, safer racing and spectating conditions. Nothing looks more “backyard” than a bunch of guys riding dirt bikes in a dusty circle and that is exactly what the TV broadcast would look like if the tracks let the course get dusty. There is plenty of variation between tracks even if it doesn’t look like it from the air-conditioned confines of your family room.
PING
Ping,
Did Dean Wilson have a short acting career prior to racing? I swear he played Rusty Griswold in a fantastic little piece of cinema called “European Vacation.”
“Mud Bucket” Mahony
Team Pro Circuit 2011-
Team Pro Circuit 2011-
Team Pro Circuit 2011-
Team Pro Circuit 2011-
Team Pro Circuit 2011
I’ll have to check into it but the photo you sent over sure would suggest it. I’m pretty sure I saw Blake Baggett in the movie Benjamin Button a few weeks ago. And Hanny had a lead role in the Spiderman films as the demented son of one of the villains. And when I met Tyla Rattray a few years back I knew I had seen him I just couldn’t place him. Turns out he had a spot on a Tom and Jerry cartoon years ago. Maybe it’s just something with the Pro Circuit team where they feel like they get the best results from guys with some experience in the movie biz. I mean, look how good Arnold Schwarzenegger worked out for the state of Calif…, well, you know, for the, uh, well for that kid that he fathered illegitimately. That kid is set, right? I’m just saying that it would be pretty sweet if your dad were The Terminator. Maybe Mitch Payton’s genius has been discovered? Hire former child stars! Somebody get DeCoster the number to that kid from Jerry McGuire who was always talking about how much the human head weighs; we might have a line on the next national champ.
PING
Got a question for Ping? Email him at [email protected].
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i must be some sort of bad ass, holeshot!
UR a bad man wiseoldman.I was trying to get it.
the pinganator.
Hey Ping,
To give the correct answer to the first question would be, Nobody wears " Kidney Belts " any more like we all did back in our days. This is what actually held the jersey from coming out because it was wrapped around so tight.
I wonder why riders don’t use them anymore ? Would be a better question.
Payton hired Hanny cuz he enjoyed #100's work in "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure".
get a room....
Straight up laughed out loud after reading Creative Ping quotes “Hey, I have zero class and I’m practically unemployable” Laughing as I write it....Except I employed one last weekend. His advantage was being 6' 5" tall. But his belt line looked 3 foot.,.. At least he wore 2 pairs of stylish under gear which kept me from harping on him to straighten up. With 21 yr olds need to pick the battles or the pouting becomes rampant. Plenty to harp on besides attire.
Bring back the 70's jumpsuits.
I agree with keeping the dust down and the slick flat track blue groove water
washout tracks softer.
Speaking of cartoons The Flintstones and Honda's Bam Bam
Always funny Ping thanks
I'll be watching the French GP on MX Life while it rains here near SF..Hangtown was great track was cool rice hulls fine by me
Bubbas been seen Riding a Suzuki ...????????
These were the three best questions he could come up with this week? I just wasted 5 minutes of my time that I can never get back. Thanks!
Riders don`t use kidney belts anymore because their "Abs" hold there kidneys in place..... The reason their shirts fall out is plain and simple, they wear there pants a size too large.
Johnny O'Hannah here and I would like to offer an explanation as to why Deans Wilson's jersey was un-tucked at Freestone as I was the first person to greet him as he came off the track at the podium. First a quick lesson in motocross apparel, equipment and rider technique. The jerseys of the 1980's and 1990's were made of thicker 100% cotton, material allowing sweat to be absorbed into the material and it would actually stick to your body. The bike seats were made of standard vinyl covers that were rather smooth. The scrub and hadn't been invented and the seat bounce was less effective on the slippery vinyl seats. Fast forward to today where jerseys are made of thin, light weight silk like polyester material, seats now are like fly paper and actually pull a riders pants down and riders are scrubbing everything, contorting their bodies on the bike. Couple that with a healthy seat bounce and the riders are getting so much grip on the modern bikes they are breaking the belt fastener on the pants, as was the case with Deans buckle. It fell off his pants at the podium and I gave it to a fan along the fence. So in conclusion; a combination of thin silky jersey, gripper seats, failing buckles, more powerful engines and techniques like scrubbing and seat bouncing are causing the jerseys to become un-tucked with more regularity.
Your welcome.
Johnny O'Hannah
YZF125 - I mentioned that in a post a few months back....Nobody wears the kidney belts anymore, weird.......do clothing companies even sell them anymore?... I started racing late 80's, all through the 90's..a few years in the new millineum then took a few years off due to injury....When I came back to ride, I think I was the only guy who had a kidney belt on.....was there some medical breakthrough or something......I was always told Id piss or Sh*t myself riding if I didnt hold my innards together.....but I am sure that is why we see untucked jerseys....
Blue groove hard packed tracks are for flat track. Motocross is better with loamy terrain over solid dirt-crete layouts. I'd rather ride in the dirt than on top any day.
The DW15 Thor onesie, haha!
Ping's jersey stays in place because his chubby belly keeps it in place. he's short, pudgy, and kind of like a Pembroke Welsh Corgi. Dean Wilson is thin and doesn't have the corpulent figure to keep his pants on. Wilson needs a belt, and Ping has acquired nature's belt. Do you think RC's pants would be falling down since his retirement? I don't either, but RC's no dummy and illusion is just as good as the real thing. RC has now moved to one piece outfits where bellies and belts matter very little.
Clear, understandable explanation about 'jersey-gate' for those who don't have any experience with the old materials used in Motocross equipment and apparel-
but do we really want to know someone saw Wilson's belt buckle fall off on the podium and they had the presence of mind to pick it up and gave it to a fan (hope it was a chick)...?
That's a little creepy...
People don't wear kidney belts cause the majority of pros are actually in shape . And there kidneys see less of a beating with modern bikes. No more peeing blood thanks to your 400 Husky.Just the thought of a giant patch of velcro INSIDE my pants makes me cringe...@yamalink you are SO correct.@ prime it's called a sense of humor and its obvious you don't have any.
Dean Wilson said in a interview he only tucks the front of his jersey because it's cooler (temperature wise).
Well I watched the run-up to hang town on Fuel TV and in there highlights from the 2010 season they have a shot of Blake Wharton taking his kidney belt off after one of the motos.
So, guys do where them, just not over there jerseys anymore. And if you don't think the guys in the 70's and 80's weren't in shape and HAD to wear kidnet belts.......look at some of those old photos, those guys were pretty tough. It be interesting to see the riders these days ride a 500 open bike.
Jerseys come untucked now because of grip seats. I never had a problem with it until I had a seat cover with grips on it.
Maybe they should make "crotched" jerseys, instead of the time-worn crotchless jerseys.
When you're tall, jerseys tend to be short. Jersey mfrs should make them longer in the back.
To resolve the grippy seat pulling the pants down, maybe they should have "overalls style" pants - could it be the new fashion bombshell of riding gear? I envision the Thrillbillies Signature Series, as well as the Bubba line. Not that Bubba, the original one, from Crusty.
Here's another idea for a boon to the motocross fashion industry. Jerseys that are connected to socks. Let's face it, crotched jerseys might put undue stress on the package, ripping it forward and backward under hard acceleration, braking, standing and sitting. Introducing socked jerseys. The jersey can't very well come out of the pants when it's connected to your feet. The double edged sword of socked jerseys and overalls might solve two of the worst design flaws in motocross gear history: jerseys that come out and pants that come down, enabling bermshots to pack sand down your crack.
The more I think about it, that idea sucks. Overalls would be like a funnel, collecting chest-roost and channeling it into your crotch. Coveralls might be the answer. They could be designed to appear to be not only a normal jersey and pants (sewn together), but they could also have "gangster" versions with the pants pulled down below the ass, and underwear hanging out the back, but all one piece coveralls.
Nah, forget I wrote that. Riders like to rip their jerseys off after a moto. Stripping one's coveralls to reveal European bikini style underwear (or worse, Bob Hannah style) after a moto might cost the sport a lot of spectators.
Shirts un-tucked are a LOT cooler on a hot day. Air flows from your neck down. Pleasant.
Im down at the podium at every race, those kids/fans want the cans the riders drink from, monster sweat towles, a glove, jersey, hat, goggles, empty chapagne bottle.. ANYTHING that the riders touch. Why would that be "creepy" if a kid wanted a piece of a riders equipment?? The buckle fell off on the stage and 10 yr old kid asked me if he could have it. The riders ARE NOT allowed to throw stuff to the fans anymore as some kids have been injured by over agressive adults diving for a pair of goggles.
Hey PING. Check out our soil here in the midwest! Its tilled in and watered ever practice. Some say its REDBUD esk. (I think I spelled that right). Maybe have a school here??? Check it out dcmxtracks.com
Thanks
E
Brown
DW's gear malfunction doesn't seem to slow him down any....so my solution would be to market the bare areas. Shocking that Monster hasn't branded a huge green tramp stamp on Dean's coolie. Just a matter of time.....
No disrespect intended, Johnny O'Hannah.
Just the way you set up the information & told the anecdote...
it came off a little weird.
Everybody has work to do/needs a job and if this is part of whatever you do for a living, more power to ya.
If you're independently wealthy and can travel the world of Motocross/Supercross and 'give' of your time for the fans sake, even better.
The fact that you're helping kids/fans participate in the sport by helping them get a souvenir from a rider is a cool thing.
Rock-on, wig man.
I like Ping's "onesie" idea. I think the apparel manufactures are really missing the boat on jerseys any way. Specially the riders that were a neck brace. Can't see their names under the spine tab. How about a slit and pocket for the spine tab to slip in to?
Hey Davey, what happened to the tiny side plate numbers and all that PR revenue?
The worst wardrobe malfunction I saw was Davi Milsapps in Las Vegas 2010.
His butt crack just simply amazes everyone evertime he hit those tripples!!!
Its because its the fad like wearing their pants hanging all low, such steezie style, leaving the starting gate with your shirt pulled out, "look at me everybody I am sooo coool" Its just the punk as style thats all..
Dear God please for all that is holy make a jersey that wraps around jairs neck and hooks directly to the rear sprocket. it's ok to put #7 on it.
I thought they banned Jair? WTH???
tonewall, that was the funiest thing I have seen for a while, made me spit my coffee
@Johnnyohannah,..... Dear sir, I take great offense to your analogy of why the drawers fall off riders nowdays. YES we did have "grippy seats" in the old days, heck I remember the first one I seen was on a 64 BSA........its called electricians tape,...yessir, just pop the whole seat off, wrap it entirely in electricians tape, reinstall it, and waaaa-laaaa grippy seat. expecially the warm days you'll have more grip than a raw monkey butt needs. The cure you ask?? Carharts or levis,...thank you very much, now if dean will just read this. :P
I wear a tank under my chest protector with a kidney belt over it and the jersey over that untucked. Much cooler to have a little more air flowing in 90 degrees plus here in Florida...
I ride in Colorado, where if you aren't at the track for the first few hours of prep day - despite the effort to stock the track with fresh loamy dirt trucked in from far off foreign lands - the track turns into a blue groove free-way with speeds approaching 200 mph. It's straight dangerous. With today's bikes and suspension, the top national dudes would be going stupid-fast if they weren't slowed down by a foot of fresh loam and the natty's would resemble those old faces of death movies or scennes from those "scariest police chases" shows every time someone had a get-off.
Since style (fashion?) seems to get recycled every 20 yrs, and since MX always seems to have its collective finger on the pulse of what's new and hip, I'm wondering where the Half-shirt is? Remember those? Cooler, wouldn't have to worry about the tucked-in thing ... A gate full of 35-plus C riders in guady-moto-print-half-shirt-jerseys ... yeah. Vintage-riders, hairy beer-guts ... now that's a good look!