Chris Childs: S&M No Exit Bars

Chris rides with speed, commitment and one of the best turndowns going around. He can make a simple transition clip look huge just through timing and body position. It is proper, timeless BMX style rather than whatever happens to be fashionable this month. Transition riding looks simple until you watch someone use the whole ramp properly. Speed has to be carried instead of manufactured at the last second, the bike needs to stay composed and the rider has to know exactly where the landing is before leaving the coping. Going high is one thing. Going high with shape, control and enough speed for the next wall is another. That is why a clean transition clip can be more memorable than something packed with extra tricks. The rider is working with the ramp rather than fighting it. When that timing is right, even a familiar line looks bigger, faster and far better than it has any right to. That is the bit we wanted to celebrate with Chris Childs. The riding has a clear point of view and you can recognise it without needing a name slapped across the screen. Plenty of people can copy an individual trick. Copying the way somebody sees a spot, carries speed or puts a line together is a completely different job.

S&M No Exit Bars. S&M literally says it is tailor-made for folks who turn up for clicked turndowns. Bars are a simple-looking part that riders can be unbelievably fussy about. Rise changes the front-end height, width changes leverage and the sweep affects how the wrists and shoulders sit on the bike. Even a small change can make manuals, hops or landings feel different. That is why signature bars are usually more personal than they first appear. The shape reflects what the rider has become comfortable with after years of riding. It is still worth comparing the numbers with your current bars before changing anything. A setup that feels perfect to one rider can feel completely wrong to somebody with a different build or style. None of that means bolting on Chris Childs's parts will suddenly give you the same riding. Sadly, BMX does not work like that. What you do get is gear shaped by somebody who knows exactly what they like. Use that as a reference, compare it with your own setup and make the call from there. The bigger point is that Chris Childs has put enough time into BMX for those preferences to mean something. The setup has been tested through actual sessions, travel, filming and the ordinary missed attempts that never make an edit. That background is what gives a signature product some weight. Watch: Chris Childs S&M Bike Check Hero image: S&M Bikes.