Answer pulled off a small masterstroke with their sponsorship of the Red Bull Factory KTM Team in 2017 MXGP. The American brand are looking – and pushing – for further international expansion with eye-catching gear sets like Alpha, Elite and Syncron and with Tony Cairoli in full flow with Glen Coldenhoff also firing in the race starts and some top-five speed has meant the ‘17.5’ collection has been hard to ignore.

Endorsement and sponsorship deals often place the bucks at the front of the queue, especially in the case of Cairoli and the all-conquering Austrian manufacturer (that is known for strong ties with Alpinestars among a few other key companies) but with Answer the team have been impressed about the attributes of their Syncron race gear this season and the practical aspects involved with the pants, jersey and glove sets.

‘There are normally different levels of quality but these days most of the big brands use pretty good material and then it comes down to fitting,’ says Coldenhoff. ‘We went to Answer last year and they made a custom fit for both me and Tony; we tried various pants and shirts and some were good on the leg but then tight on the waist. Then the leather [knee] patches need to be in the right position for the knee braces, so those kinds of things were changed.’

‘It is one of the best brands and they put a lot of effort into the look and fit,’ the Dutchman adds without hesitation and after previously having been a Fox rider. ‘It looks really nice; the black and blue design we are using now ‘jumps out’ and especially with the Sidi boots – I use the full orange and Tony with the blue. Every three GPs we have new colours and there are some coming up that are even nicer.’

Answer are not exclusive to KTM in the Grand Prix and their MX2 effort comes through the Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki team and Seva Brylyakov and Darian Sanayei. With Tommy Searle rejoing the MXGP field in Germany last week after his knee injury.

At the recent Grand Prix of Europe Brand Manager and former racer Randy Valade flew in from California to do the rounds of the FIM World Championship paddock and we grabbed some time to find out more about where Answer are going and how the firm feels about its surge of interest and visibility on the world stage. ‘Right now we have introduced our 17.5 line – our spring collection which some of the guys here in MXGP have been wearing – and we are in the progress of getting ready for our 2018 launch, which is in August,’ he says over a coffee in Holland. ‘We’ll do the media intro at the end of July and you’ll see riders like Tony, Glenn and the Monster Energy Dixon Racing Team Kawasaki boys wearing it in that month also.’

In MXGP there seems to be a decent frequency of change. Is that important just for getting the range of the catalogue out there?

It is for us, even though with some of the sponsors it can be tricky, for example KTM are pretty specific on the colours they need to wear. I’d like to get them in everything, but we have regulations…the Dixon guys [Vsevolod Brylyakov, Darian Sanayei and Tommy Searle] mean that we can mix it up and show our gear.

Are there any differences to working with GP teams compared to squads in the U.S.? Do you still have those regulations?

We do, especially for some of the bigger teams and when Dean Wilson was at KTM we had the same guidelines, which means the same difficulties sometimes; like we’ll produce gear with logo designs and due to sponsor issues it means having to reconsider that. We work around it and everything generally turns out well.

Having Red Bull KTM and Tony and Glenn is pretty big for Answer. How are you coping with the exposure and the demand?

It has been really good for us. We need to expand outside the U.S. because the market at home is pretty saturated in apparel. I guess Europe as well but if there is anywhere we can expand then we are looking into it and the KTM team help us with that. Looking internationally is the biggest area for growth right now and sponsoring a team like that only helps for sure.

It means being more flexible, even when it comes to supply and time zones…

Definitely. The time line is obviously a lot longer to get the gear over here. It is tougher. Whereas in the States we have a weekly supply to the race paddock we don’t have anyone on the ground here so we are looking to get over to as many races as we can to help out.

Glenn was talking about the customisation for the gear. Sounds interesting: can you tell us more?

Some of our guys fit fine into the stock sizes we produce but when we came onboard with KTM we wanted to make Glenn and Tony as happy as we could so we offered to make them custom gear and went into real detail. For example they both use a 31” waist whereas we normally only produce a 30 or 32. So a few changes here-and-there but they run the stock jerseys with their personal graphic application. Overall they have been super-easy to work with and once the platform is set in place for what they wear then all the specs are the same for whatever they wear.

For people curious about Answer what would you say is the main forte for the gear? For example, one brand will talk about four-way stretch fabric and Fly Racing will show-off their waist ratchet system…

Right now our high-end gear is the ‘Alpha’ that has all the bells and whistles you’d expect: the ratchet buckle, side adjustment for a true fit. We use high-end fabrics like most of the other brands such as leather in the knee areas and a heavier denier in the saddle, which helps with grip on the seat. Our Elite is mid-level and is similar to Alpha but without some of the same fabrics. What has actually been very successful for us is the entry level Syncron pant. Some of the guys in MXGP race with it and like the very light weight even though it will wear a little quicker but honestly the Syncron is one of the best-sellers for us because the performance-to-price point is exactly people are looking for. We have put a lot of effort into it and we honestly believe it is the best entry-level riding gear you can buy. We don’t stop there though and want to make that claim for high-end as well; right now we are working on a new pant which is pretty unique and uses some different stretch fabrics as well as a new material in the knee area that has a very high level of heat resistance. It is lighter than leather and very effective.

If you look at a goggle then products like the Forecast, Prospect or Airbrake are offering more and costing more. Will it be similar for riding gear? Will there be more durability and performance for a higher price ultimately?

Yeah, the new pant, for example, is something we have been working on for a couple of years now and we’ve had guys testing it in the U.S. Nick Wey was brought onboard as a brand ambassador and test rider. He has been offering his feedback and then a few other guys at Answer. Some other brands are coming out with high-end pants but they don’t last very long and our goal is to release this product that will wear longer and withstand a few rides or one fall. That has been our main focus and why it has taken us two years to produce it. The price obviously follows what you can offer.

Talking design: I imagine you are already working on 2019 and 2020 lines but can you really take a direction with your own ideas or do you have to keep an eye on the market as well?

You kinda have to look at the others – I’d be lying if I said I didn’t look at our competitors. I think every brand does. Brands like Fox and Shift will come out with new stuff, so you have to acknowledge and look at it and you never want to ‘knock something off’ but you can get ideas and pick up on features by looking at the rest of the market. We also look at the fashion market. We have good design staff right now that is pretty keen and hip on what is happening in fashion and moto; they are doing a good job. Like you mentioned the 2019 line has already been designed, so we are refining that and we are also working on protection. We have never really had a high-end helmet and while we have a good chest protector now we are developing something lighter. Chest protection is compulsory here [in MXGP] whereas its not in the United States so we are looking at something the guys will really like, fits well and want to use. We have other things in the pipeline that I cannot really talk about but we have an entry-level boot that we are pushing up to mid-level. I would never really go after the Alpinestars/Gaerne piece of the market – that’s not really us – but I’d definitely like to finalise something that GP riders would be comfortable win and is not up in the 600 dollar range.

Lastly, Answer offers head-to-toe products for riders but I have just enough money to buy one piece apparel/gear: what should I choose?

Our gloves are really good. That was one of my main focuses when I moved over to Answer. I think it is a key part and you don’t want blisters while you hold on, so our gloves are really good. In terms of gear then the Syncron Pant-Jersey is our best set at the price point. When the new pant comes out I will say something different but for now gloves and Syncron…

Photos by Ray Archer