New tuff-block cover tech needed?

MX-Files
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MX-Files
Edited Date/Time 1/21/2019 2:12pm
After watching Blake Baggett and track guys struggle right in front of us to get the tuff block cover out of his rear wheel (and what happened to AC-didn't see it) I think there could be a case for tuff-block cover being made of new material that easily shreds if it goes up against, wheel, sprockets, chain and horsepower. Something "paper-like" that you can print on, be durable, etc. A "super-duper-rice-paper thing". Sure, you would have to print extras and change them more often. But to see a guy's season go down the tubes for something that didn't have anything to do with "racing" is a shame.

I know he wasn't thinking it, but maybe "Where the f--k is Josh Grant to ride this thing?"
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chris225
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chris225 1/20/2019 9:42am
1/20/2019 9:42am
I figured the teams would come up with some type of carbon sprocket guard by now




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Johnny Depp
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Johnny Depp 1/20/2019 9:46am
1/20/2019 9:46am Edited Date/Time 1/20/2019 9:47am
This has been on Vital forever, year after year. Feld apparently shows us they care more about the advertising dollars than rider safety and fair competition. Of course they'll always say "just don't hit them".

It's not just the getting them stuck in the bike, they bounce all over the track creating moving obstacles, we see it on the start every week. They will catch a footpeg and cause a crash also.
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eric513anderson 1/20/2019 9:52am
1/20/2019 9:52am
Looks like they just cover the tops and sides of the block. Why can’t they make them like a sleeve that zips up? Problem solved
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Motofinne
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Motofinne 1/20/2019 10:58am
1/20/2019 10:58am
They should use the same blocks that races like Bercy and Genova uses.
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early
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early 1/20/2019 11:03am
1/20/2019 11:03am
Hay bales
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Boomslang
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Boomslang 1/20/2019 11:14am
1/20/2019 11:14am
eric513anderson wrote:
Looks like they just cover the tops and sides of the block. Why can’t they make them like a sleeve that zips up? Problem solved
Best solution right there. Will push the cost up a ball hair but in the bigger picture that will be peanuts.
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Calihusky
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Calihusky 1/20/2019 11:18am
1/20/2019 11:18am
Maybe rather than a square shape they go with a triangle so it’s harder to catch on foot pegs and sprockets.
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crockett
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crockett 1/20/2019 11:44am
1/20/2019 11:44am
Can’t expect riders to avoid them when they use them to shape inside lines on corners.. plastic floatie time
crockett
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crockett 1/20/2019 12:04pm
1/20/2019 12:04pm
Can’t expect riders to avoid them when they use them to shape inside lines on corners.. plastic floatie time
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dirtwalker 1/20/2019 1:45pm
1/20/2019 1:45pm Edited Date/Time 1/20/2019 1:46pm
Print the advertising straight into the block?
Or stickers on each side?

so no cover at all.
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Sir Roostsalot 1/20/2019 1:51pm
1/20/2019 1:51pm
eric513anderson wrote:
Looks like they just cover the tops and sides of the block. Why can’t they make them like a sleeve that zips up? Problem solved
Agree 100%, someone's gonna get hurt soon.
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eric513anderson 1/20/2019 2:14pm
1/20/2019 2:14pm
eric513anderson wrote:
Looks like they just cover the tops and sides of the block. Why can’t they make them like a sleeve that zips up? Problem solved
Sir Roostsalot wrote:
Agree 100%, someone's gonna get hurt soon.
It’s only a matter of time. Emig in ‘97 at Indy (I was there for that one) Josh Grant at A1 in ‘09 and now Baggett. I’m sure I’m forgetting some but those are just ones I remember. You’d think they would have this issue fixed
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Mr. Info
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Mr. Info 1/20/2019 4:07pm
1/20/2019 4:07pm
If they screen print them they have to raise the price of tickets
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newmann
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newmann 1/20/2019 4:20pm
1/20/2019 4:20pm
Where is that "industry" guy to tell us that the simplest solution is for the rider to not hit them. Same guy that says no run off room is needed along the edge of the race course. Laughing
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newmann
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newmann 1/20/2019 4:23pm
1/20/2019 4:23pm
How many 18 wheelers are required to haul all those outdated things around?
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GuyB
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GuyB 1/20/2019 5:04pm
1/20/2019 5:04pm Edited Date/Time 1/20/2019 5:07pm
eric513anderson wrote:
Looks like they just cover the tops and sides of the block. Why can’t they make them like a sleeve that zips up? Problem solved
They do. I think they made a lot of changes to the covers after Trey got hurt.

Having looked at them up close, for the most part they're completely enclosed, and have a velcro closure around the bottom. I will guess that the mud and dirt after a few rounds doesn't help the velcro.

For Supercross futures, they're all re-wrapped in Futures covers. I messed with one of the Tuf-Blox in Glendale (before taking a photo) to make sure all the flaps were closed up, and saw close up how they work.

They're definitely head and shoulders above the old days, when they used to only wrap around the top, and didn't have a bottom to them.


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GuyB
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GuyB 1/20/2019 5:08pm
1/20/2019 5:08pm
newmann wrote:
How many 18 wheelers are required to haul all those outdated things around?
Multiple.

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GuyB 1/20/2019 5:11pm
1/20/2019 5:11pm
early wrote:
Hay bales
I've been around long enough that I remember when they used haybales...or haybales with covers.

The first time they get hit, they blow up, and scatter over whatever area they're in. The hay is also extremely slippery in the areas where it gets scattered.
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GuyB 1/20/2019 5:21pm
1/20/2019 5:21pm
disbanded wrote:
Spray paint some memory foam
Sounds fairly terrible...and would look like hell after a couple rounds.
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newmann
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newmann 1/20/2019 5:38pm
1/20/2019 5:38pm
newmann wrote:
How many 18 wheelers are required to haul all those outdated things around?
GuyB wrote:
Multiple.
Triangular shaped ones would take up half the space to haul, the advertising would be angled up for better viewing by the fans and tv viewers and be safer for the riders. They are, after all, a replacement for trackside banners and haybales to simply line the race course.

Or as I have mentioned for the past decade plus, pre printed inflatables. Could save tens of thousands in transportation (maybe hundreds of thousands per season), ease of handling to position on track and stake down and could be inflated in a minute with a cordless handheld inflator. Of course, I was also told that was a stupid idea by the "industry" guy. Heck, there's more than one!Laughing


https://www.vitalmx.com/forums/Motodrive,19/Tuff-block-covers,850650?ex…
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eric513anderson 1/20/2019 5:38pm
1/20/2019 5:38pm
eric513anderson wrote:
Looks like they just cover the tops and sides of the block. Why can’t they make them like a sleeve that zips up? Problem solved
GuyB wrote:
They do. I think they made a lot of changes to the covers after Trey got hurt. Having looked at them up close, for the most...
They do. I think they made a lot of changes to the covers after Trey got hurt.

Having looked at them up close, for the most part they're completely enclosed, and have a velcro closure around the bottom. I will guess that the mud and dirt after a few rounds doesn't help the velcro.

For Supercross futures, they're all re-wrapped in Futures covers. I messed with one of the Tuf-Blox in Glendale (before taking a photo) to make sure all the flaps were closed up, and saw close up how they work.

They're definitely head and shoulders above the old days, when they used to only wrap around the top, and didn't have a bottom to them.


GuyB always coming in with the inside scoop
EZZA 95B
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EZZA 95B 1/20/2019 5:43pm
1/20/2019 5:43pm
eric513anderson wrote:
It’s only a matter of time. Emig in ‘97 at Indy (I was there for that one) Josh Grant at A1 in ‘09 and now Baggett...
It’s only a matter of time. Emig in ‘97 at Indy (I was there for that one) Josh Grant at A1 in ‘09 and now Baggett. I’m sure I’m forgetting some but those are just ones I remember. You’d think they would have this issue fixed

early
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early 1/20/2019 6:39pm
1/20/2019 6:39pm Edited Date/Time 1/20/2019 6:48pm
early wrote:
Hay bales
GuyB wrote:
I've been around long enough that I remember when they used haybales...or haybales with covers. The first time they get hit, they blow up, and scatter...
I've been around long enough that I remember when they used haybales...or haybales with covers.

The first time they get hit, they blow up, and scatter over whatever area they're in. The hay is also extremely slippery in the areas where it gets scattered.
I've watched some old SX races on YouTube when they did bales without covers and there was so much hay on the track it looked like a dang horse barn. I do like the aesthetic of hay bales and flag banners.

Obviously they aren't going back to bare haybales. What about bare yellow blocks for inside the first turn and other places that are likely to get run into.

The square block offer better protection of they are landed on vs triangle blocks. Ferrandis got lucky at A1 practice when he body slammed the block on the face of a jump and walked away 100% okay.
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dirtwalker 1/20/2019 6:57pm
1/20/2019 6:57pm
Part of Baggett’s problem came from the fact the cover was damaged already - probably from foot pegs and axles. It might have been enough if the track crew removed it as soon as it got loose or damaged. They could plan for this situation in tight corners.
RedDirtDog
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RedDirtDog 1/20/2019 7:11pm
1/20/2019 7:11pm Edited Date/Time 1/20/2019 7:21pm
Motofinne wrote:
They should use the same blocks that races like Bercy and Genova uses.
Agreed, was thinking that watchng bercy





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kb228
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kb228 1/20/2019 8:02pm
1/20/2019 8:02pm
Lets assume they change them. Is ANY soft material NOT going to get sucked into a chain and sprocket if it grabs? No its not.

Only solution i can think of is to make the blocks with a hard, thin but crushable outer shell. One that holds shape if bumped by a bike but is soft when a rider lands on it.

Or dont hit them.
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