On Track Off Road No. 188

FEATURE
Perhaps somewhat surprisingly
Fly Racing
have inched towards the
position of vanguard when it
comes to progressive helmet
technology, thanks to their
recently released Formula
model. However for the last
two decades the brand have
also established their name
and quality for riding and racing
gear. Any regular readers
of OTOR will have seen some
of the range of items that Fly
produce - both for off-road
and street - but the depth of
the catalogue (and the commitment
that requires) does
not mean they are ‘easing the
throttle’ on finding new possibilities
for that jersey-pantglove
combo.
Putting Sales Manager, MX
lynchpin and former racing
star Jason Thomas on the
spot, we decided to find out
more about Fly Racing’s work
and their priorities.
How do you go about testing
new apparel?
It changes depending on the
product. Our latest one was
the Formula helmet and we
have been pushing very hard
in the media and trying to
educate consumers and dealers
alike on the technology
we have developed. For something
like that you are talking
about multiple years of testing
before it ends up in the consumer’s
hands. We’ve learned
that we needed multiple ‘levels’
of riders to test a product.
In the past we’ve depended
on Pro level testing too much
but we learned that what a
Pro rider needs out of a product
means his demands are
quite different to the average
consumer. We’ve instituted a
programme where we’ll have
our core guys testing but also
‘intermediate’ riders that are
specifically contracted and
then beginner and novice
riders also because as the
brand grows you are really
engaging all of those people.
Riders who will be using entry
level product and the type
of wear they are generating
is important; it’s because of
those different demands. We
have learned a lot along the
way and building product only
for Pros will not work with a