How to Work a Pivotal BMX Seat

A pivotal BMX seat is an alternative to the standard rail seats that come on most stock BMX bikes. These seats were developed by trick riders for trick riders. They are made of a hard plastic composite which is not comfortable to sit on and are not meant to be a replacement for a regular seat for the everyday rider.

  1. Replacing a Rail Seat

    • Before a rider can focus on adjusting a pivotal seat it is important to remove the existing rail style seat from the bike chassis. This involves removing the entire rail seat and post from the frame of the BMX by loosening the pole nut at the point where the seat post meets the main body.
      The new pivotal seat post is coated with copper grease to prevent the post from rusting to the body of the bike and then slipped into position with the seat clamp unsecured. The height of the seat is adjusted and the seat clamp secured to finish the install.

    Adjusting the Pivotal Seat

    • Pivotal seats don't have the range of a rail seat. They don't slide back and forth along rail. They only tilt forward and backward. To adjust the tilt on the seat, insert an Allen wrench through the rubber gasket in the center of the top of the seat. Turn it counterclockwise to loosen the seat. Adjust the tilt by applying pressure to the back end of the seat. Do not put pressure on the front as some models are very weak in this area and can break. This is one of the tradeoffs when changing from a sturdier rail seat to a lighter pivotal seat.

    Typical Orientation

    • Most BMX trick riders prefer to keep the nose of the seat tilted at an upward angle. The seats are low and used primarily to keep the rider from contacting the frame of the bike. Riders spend most of their time standing up on the pedals when they are doing tricks and the upward orientation of the seat allows them more clearance for 360 degree, 540 degree and 720 degree tailwhips. Some riders will adjust the pivot so the back end of the seat is higher to perform flatland tricks that require seat grabs.

    Customizing the Seat

    • If you would like a more cushioned feeling on the pivotal seat you can customize it by adding a gel insert seat cover for use during flatland and grind tricks. This should be an elastic slip on so that it can be easily removed while riding for big air tricks (this can be a nice addition to a bike park run). Of course, adding a gel cover will increase the weight of the bike counteracting the reason for purchasing the lighter seat in the first place. Still, a gel cover can keep a rider more comfortable during a flatland or grind oriented session.