The Feed

Watching the Daytona SX, I started thinking about Tuff Blox when Justin Cooper hit one in the 250 final. He got cross-rutted coming out of the tunnel and hit one on the inside with his front tire. The block deflected about a foot, and Cooper rode behind it and got back on the track in the sand section. This is what got me thinking about Tuff Blox, and the following questions came cascading into my head: How much do they weigh? They are certainly much lighter than old-fashioned hay bales, based on how much they move when a rider hits them. What’s inside? Is it just foam rubber? Who owns them? The AMA, the race promoter, the companies that advertise on them? Thanks for any answers you can provide.
Reese Dengler // Kent, WA

Thanks, Reese—we don’t actually use them for Lucas Oil Pro Motocross, but I asked someone on the supercross track crew to help with some answers. He explained: “Traditional hay bales weigh up to 40 lbs. each, but Tuff Blox weigh between 12 to 20 lbs., depending on the density of the foam that they are made of. Most of the current ones are referred to as ‘Super Bocks’ because they’re the length of two or three hay bales, so double or triple the weight. When originally designed, Tuff Blox had a pouch at the bottom of the block to insert additional weight, like sand bags, but the additional weight was never added. The series promoter [Feld Entertainment] owns the Tuff Blox and places the logos of series sponsors on each of them.” There you go! DC