Upgrade to enjoy this feature!
Vital MX fantasy is free to play, but Premium users receive great benefits. Premium benefits include:
- View and download rider stats
- Pick trends
- Create a private league
- And more!
Only $10 for all 2026 SX, MX, and SMX series.
It is what it is. Pros and cons for both. I do think there is an "ideal" range, but, when it's all said and done, it's about the rider.
On injuries, Cam is right about flexibility. There are other factors, conditioning being critical as well. Maybe height does have a few disadvantages when it comes to injury, but I'd say that genetics plays a much bigger roll.
One thing you should remember is , it's not how tall or short you are in this sport , it's the will to win or do the best you can. There are waaayyyy to many tall guys who made it big and did very well.
I'm not going to even try and debate this because i "know" i'm right. Being 6' 1" , i never had a hard time moving around on the bike. I got beat by shorter and taller riders , it really just depended on who was there and who i was racing against. I raced in and out of the Pro / Int stuff for 15 years , so i would think i have had some experience in the matter.
The Shop
Free shipping: VITALMX
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
Strijbos
Vuillemin
Ramon
DeReuver
Philippaerts
Pourcel
Mackenzie
De Dyker
Leok (A)
theres plenty like Pichon, Aranda, Coppins, Leok etc just a fraction under too. Id say little guys like Cairoli and Nagl are more the exception.
I do think tall riders may be susceptable to injuries in some cases due to having less muscle but it doesn't matter what height you are it is the rider skill that matter, being small has advantages and disadvantages as does being tall.
However, these ideas of 'fixing' the disdavantage are silly. It is what it is. I have as much fun on the track as the 5'7 guy I'm racing against, that's all that really matters. I don't mind having to maybe work harder than the other guy to beat him.
I think part of the reason you don't see so many big/strong/tall riders in the sport is that those guys have many other sporting options. MX is one of very sports where being small isn't a huge disadvantage, which may give little guys more incentive to gravitate toward it 100%.
i crash like a rubber ball!
My guesses:
I have no idea what your name is but Rick Mellon is my best guess.
You are 16 or 17.
You don't race. If you do, you probably get beat by short guys constantly. Because of your upbringing, nothing is ever your fault, so you simply make excuses for your failures.
I'm sure, if you were shorter, you woulda and coulda been the GOAT.
"Ever since Jeff ward started winning the writing was on the wall for the big guys that MX was going to be the domain of the short people.
I want to see anyone that wants to race to be able to have the same mid corner speed and the same corner to corner speed, and right now that ain't the case. The big boys transfer so much weight (that is higher up on their bodies) from the front of the bike to the rear that they are really not riding in the same class with the same advantages as the mighty mites. If we had rules that created an equal playing field I think you'd see different people winning regularly.
Now I'm only just about 1/2" over 6' and about 185 (when trained down to fighting weight), and I fit the current bikes just fine, so don't say I'm suggesting this because I'm one of the big guys but, as a current pro I would still have some disadvantage against the smaller guys. I think Windham and Millsaps must both be phenoms based on the disadvantage that I know they have, even though neither is my favorite rider. That throttle pinning radical kid Josh Grant is my favorite and he fits the bike perfectly.
When I was young, in pro MX we had the 500 class and it was where all the 6'+ boys rode, some of them were even 6' 3"+ and a few over 220 lbs., example; John Finkelday, Alan King, etc. Back then, and now, the little guys could lift weights and train to put on body weight, where the big guys had to stay too skinny and that really hurt them when they crashed. Even back then the little guys had the start advantage and after about 1985 the suspension rebound got more controllable and the forks ridged enough to negate any real strength and larger body that was needed. As soon as Jeff Ward started winning on a 250 (1984 & 1985) it was clear that big bodies were a big handicap and the days of the big guys were all but over. .
Its even worse now! Look at career longevity vs height in MX/SX and you will see exactly what I mean! The tall guys don't last long, with just a few exceptions (Larry ward)! Look at success vs height, there is a even bigger disparity there. Travis Pastrana is a perfect example, the kid was too big to have been on 125's when he was on 125's and still he won. He went over the bars a few times too many, and his skinny body broke instead of rolling like Charmichaels always seemed to do, and it ended his seasons and eventually his career early. Travis needed bigger bikes, with a longer wheelbase to minimize the weight transfer, and keep him from going over the bars, and he needed to get stronger (and weigh more) so he could stay together after a big crash.
Watch the video of Windham beating Charmichael at the 2001 Washougal national. Windhams bars are over the front fender and he looks about a foot too tall to be on the bike. He was leaning forward over the front fender like a ski jumper just to get down the straights. It was a miracle win. He got to the 4-stoke asap and he knew he had to, to stay competitive. It helped until everyone esle got a big thumper also.
The short guys have such an advantage on the start, at most of the races they are at the front and it has to change. Charmichael's 24-moto win steak, was due to hotshots and acceleration, both are due to his combined bike and rider weight being way low. Stewarts streak was due to his outright speed but, both Sewart and Charmichael are short small guys that always start at the front, even if they gate badly, there is no bigger advantage.
The acceleration of the bike with its rider has to be the same for everyone, no matter what the riders body weight!
I want to see the big guys fit their bikes and have the same acceleration and chance to get the hole shot, and just be able to pin it and hang on like the little guys do, and not have to fight the weight transfer from corner to corner and everywhere else.
I have been thinking that we need a second set of bike rules for the larger riders. How about a bike that the little guys are too small to ride well with 23" front wheel and 21" rear. Those larger wheels would lift the bike 1" and necessitate raising the suspension above the wheels another 1". It would also create more mass by increasing the weight of the wheels and that would have to be overcome by the riders strength. Still, how would we prevent the "Charmichael mods" of shrinking the sub frame, lowering the travel and still winning just because he's weighs 100#'s less? We have to have some kind of bike + rider combined wight minimum just like in every other form of motor sport.
So what do you guys think will work and even the field, more displacement, larger wheels, what do the big guys need to be able to have the same speed?
Ridge....I "think" he is saying he "is or "was" a pro.......he's also mentioning that he trains in MMA i take , since he felt it obvious to post his "fighting weight" at 185. Trains in MMA , like just about every other guy out there does now days....they are all going to be the next Chuck Liddel......just ask them. "
ROFLAO!
Thanks Ridge, I needed that today.
Pit Row
Its not a fair playing field. Yes, there are exceptions and outdoors favors a slightly taller rider, actually it favors longer legs, but not too long and not a big or long upper body.
I don't want to ruin the sport for anyone, I love this sport, always have, I just want to see more big guys, and midgets riding and for them to be on equal equipment for their body. I hate that ours sport is dominated by average guys. I hear it all the time from the people that don't know how hard is is to hang on to that bike for any length of time, they think MX is a true motorsport where the bike wins and you just hang on, and the small guys winning all the time reinforces their observations. Its not that the small guys have an advantage, its that the bigger guys loose because they weigh too much and the CG is too high for the current bikes. Mostly its the physics of the higher CG that hurts the big guys. Its all physics and they suit the middle and not the extremes, the bike rules should be more flexible to suit the different body types.
There was a guy once who was a midget, a real midget not like you guys that are just too short, and he had a special dispensation from the NMA to race 50's in an adult 50 class. That guy was a great rider, and there are others out there that are over 6'6" and under 5'5" that also could be pros if they could fit the bike and have a fair shot with the physics.
Why ask a guy that gives his life to a sport to play with a disadvantage when we can make it fair for anyone, easily. If you guys would contribute and stop talking shit and whining and trying to make me into an MMA fighter. dumbass'.
If you guys will start at the beginning and read all the comments you'll see that this is a valid point, not like the point on your heads, and its not about you local riders that are never going to be pro, its about getting any pro, no matter how short small or big and tall, the tools (bike) that allows him to deal with the physics of his challenge to the same degree that the middle sized guys have.
Ever seen a supper successful 6' 8" 240Lb guy that has worked his whole life to ride MX? You won't, because he will loose early as an amateur and realize that he needs to go to another sport quickly, if he wants to be a successful athlete.
Oh, and by the way, you are all banned permanently from any AMA and GNC competition for life, as soon as I get your names, Ha Ha???
Any ways just had to throw out a couple of facts no big deal and not looking for a pissing contest. Thanks Louie Peick
Speaking of tall off road riders how big is that king guy?
MX results ( as opposed to SX results) adds very little to a young riders worth these days to the US factories, unless the team thinks he can win the series at some point, not just finish well but I'm sure you know that. If he's an outdoor guy think about Europe, his size is not such a disadvantage over there. Here, I would try to feature him at tracks where the short guys have trouble and play to your strengths, hype is everything and youthful potential is always rewarded in this industry.
I truly wish he didn't have to be so much better than his competition to still finish behind inferior athletes with inferior riding abilities.
I am truly sorry that his name came up and he was personally mentioned as the big rider example, and I hope he will prove me wrong and turn that size into an advantage. I'd sure like to see that happen with him specifically!
I started this post for kids like your son. There disadvantage should have been corrected a long time ago, then we'd all know who Weston Peick was, he'd be the champ. Hopefully he will be the next champ even if nothing changes!
I wish you both the best.
He just needs to be no more than about 185Lbs. and he can be the next "big thing". I thought you guys were suggesting tht he was 6'8" and 230 or something.
He fits the bike, he can win any race here at that height, just make him train.
Your argument about low CG is valid but for the powers that be to make adjustments to the rules to compensate for it are about as asinine as the NBA giving short guys stilts to offset their height disadvantage.
BTW, Ryan Dungey kills your argument as does Christophe Pourcel. They were the two elite riders last year in the 250 class and they are both at or near 6' tall.
You know, there is great porn on the net, you should check it out.
Do you know the difference between a factory 250 and the one that you try to ride, Bone-head? Those guys are also great riders and even greater athletes. They win even though they have a very slight disadvantage in weight or height, but not much. Their upper bodies are light, they don't have much CG problem, well Dungy has more than Pourcel.
Being 2" above or below average height is not going to make too much difference, and that is more than made up for by being on factory ($$$) equipment that blows up after 3 hours and is on the ragged edge making tons of power while it is alive.
There is a thing called "reading comprehension", it basically is the act of trying to understand what the words mean. You need to work on that. Average height is now 5'10.5" I belive I wrote that in a earlier post, that is only 1.5" under Dungey and Pourcel's height.
Do you often post with no point or comment or reason what so ever? Try the porn I suggested or drugs, either would wok for you.
Post a reply to: Big strong and/or Tall guys have no place in pro MX/SX these days