Elbow Pads
Browse BMX elbow pads for sale from riders across the UK. The category covers slip-on sleeve pads with soft, impact-hardening armour and hard-cap pads with a plastic shell, sized on forearm and bicep circumference from roughly 20cm to 35cm. It suits park and street riders going over the bars onto concrete, and racers who want coverage under a long-sleeved jersey.
What types of elbow pad are there, and which should you choose?
The two designs mirror knee pads: a stretch sleeve holding soft armour such as D3O or SAS-TEC, or a hard plastic cap over foam held on with two straps. Sleeves are cooler, fit under a jersey and stay put on the arm, which matters because an elbow has less to grip than a thigh. A hard cap slides rather than catches on concrete, which is what you want when you go over the bars at speed. Fox Launch, 661, TSG, G-Form and Leatt all make both styles.
How do elbow pads compare with knee pads?
Knees get hit far more often, from pedals, bars and top tubes, so most riders buy knee pads first. Elbows get hit harder and less predictably, in the over-the-bars crash where your hand and forearm land first and the elbow follows. That difference shows in the pads: elbow pads are smaller, lighter and built more for abrasion and a single big impact than for repeated knocks in the same spot.
How do you stop elbow pads sliding down your arm?
An arm tapers the wrong way for a sleeve, so fit is the whole problem. Measure around the forearm about 10cm below the elbow and around the bicep 10cm above it, and size to the tighter of the two. A pad that only grips at the bicep will rotate on the first hard landing. Sleeves with a silicone band top and bottom hold better than plain elastic; strapped hard caps let you tighten the lower strap independently, which is the one that stops the cap creeping toward the wrist.
What wears out on elbow pads?
The outer fabric on the point of the elbow abrades first, because that is what touches down. On hard-cap pads the shell scuffs and eventually cracks at the rivets or the strap anchors, and a cracked cap no longer spreads a hit. Sleeve elastic stretches out over a season of pulling pads on and off, and the foam behind the cap takes a set where you keep landing.
Do you need elbow pads if you wear body armour?
Most pressure suits in the body armour section include elbow coverage built into the sleeve, so separate pads would double up. Separate pads make more sense if you want elbow protection alone on a hot day, or if you already own a suit and want something lighter for street riding. Either way they go on under or over the rest of your BMX kit without affecting how you hold the bars.
How much should you spend?
Basic sleeve pads cost little and are worth having for learning grinds and manuals, where you fall at low speed. Spending more buys certified armour, better sleeve fabric and a shell that survives repeated concrete contact. If you ride ramps or trails at speed, prioritise a helmet and knee pads, then match the elbow pads to how often you actually go over the bars.