With so many old school bmx setups making comebacks these days–things like seat & seat post combos or front brakes–I thought I would make the case for something near and dear to my heart.
The pad set.
And if not the complete pad set…
At least the cross bar pad.
I started running one a while back after a session at my local pump track.
There was a downed tree in a particular section and I had to duck every time I went under it. Every time I ducked my grill was super close to the cross bar. I soon realized a hockey player smile was in my future if I ever happened to slip a pedal and come into contact with a cross bar.
After the session I dug through some old BMX parts and found an old cross bar pad. It was pretty basic but it did the job. I’ve since upgraded to something more stylish, which you can see below.
Cross bar pads are hot! Just look at the flames on this one...
I’m not sure exactly how much protection it actually does offer but a little is better than nothing…dental work can be expensive.
And for those of you that chipping or knocking out a tooth on a cross bar is no big deal…cross-bars can get you in other ways too…just check out this Chester Blacksmith clip.
Ouch!
cruiser revolution 
First off, very nice ride you have there! I put on a stem pad, hated banging my knee off the stem!!
Pads are about to become cool again, surely? The stem pad is a real knee saver, so many sharp edges on the stem and so close to your knee. Not sure how useful the bar and top tube pads are, but if someone started making some pads with nice designs on them I’d consider them.
Just wondering, what would you consider as a cool design as I may start making some?
The top tube pad always seemed a little pointless, but I’m all for stem and crossbar pads.
I want a set of blue and white checkerboard for mine.
BTW that Chester is always nearly killing himself, check him out on youtube with the live footage of the worst leg break I’ve ever seen in (if you dare)!
Oh man, if pads make a comeback I’ll feel like an 8 year old kid again, and that’s not a bad thing at all! I’d rock the stem and crossbar for sure, but I never understood the toptube pads.
[…] especially like crossbar pad he’s rocking. (Told ya they were making a comeback.) LD_AddCustomAttr("AdOpt", "1"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Origin", "other"); […]
[…] “Padsets: poised for a comeback?” […]
[…] His 22″ setup is pretty sweet too…in addition to the aforementioned ATF frame….it’s got some Hoder Bars, 22″ Revenge wheels, Speedball tires and (to keep things moto) a stylish crossbar pad. […]