If you aspire to be a hardcore BMX rider, you need to equip your bike with additional gear so you can perform tricks like rail, ledge grinds, and flatland maneuvers, as well as front wheelies and double peg grinds. For all that you need to buy a proper pair of bike pegs. They are designed for riders to put their feet and their weight over the centre of the wheel, enabling a more stable platform than the pedals and achieve a greater control over the movements of the bike. Bike pegs are used to “grind” along the curb, the concrete bench or rail, as the rider keeps the balance of the moving bike.
There are several features that you need to take into consideration when buying bike pegs. The number of pegs will depend on your preferences. You can choose between one and four pegs, and they can be installed in a way that there are two pegs on the back, two pegs back and front, or two on the right or left side only.
When it comes to the materials they are made of, you can choose between steel, aluminium, alloy, and plastic. There are cheaper pegs made from steel but they are not the best choice. There are also aluminium alloy pegs which give strength and are lightweight. The most popular type is the hard-wearing BMX plastic pegs which typically feature alloy inserts for strength and are used for longer and smoother grinds. If your BMX plastic pegs wear out eventually, you can always replace them. Along with the pegs, it is a good idea to buy wax which can be rubbed onto both pegs and rails/ledge edges to reduce friction for longer grinds.
Another important feature is the axle size of the pegs. Most of them are designed to fit the 14 mm axle standard of street and park bikes but also, many pegs can be bought with an adapter to enable them to fit the 3/8 inch standard found on race bikes. The length of the peg is usually around 100 mm, but longer ones (110mm) can also be found and these are suitable for riders with bigger feet or anyone who feels that with longer pegs better performance will be achieved. Additionally, there are pegs of just 30mm in length for less obtrusion for air tricks. Finally, the typical peg diameter is 38.5mm and there is also a possibility to buy some from 35 mm or less for lighter weight.
After you buy the pegs, the next thing to do is install them, which is rather simple. All you will need is a ratchet wrench, a socket, and a socket extension. First, loosen the axle nuts using a ratchet wrench and the appropriately sized socket. Then, slide the bike pegs over the axle. Make sure that the pegs are flushed against the axle base. The next step is to reinstall the nuts and tighten them as much as possible. In the end, make sure to test all pegs before placing full weight on them, and if there is any movement check to see if all nuts are properly tightened.