The question of whether you can put pegs on a mountain bike is a hotly debated one.
On the one hand, there are people who argue that it’s impossible to put pegs on a mountain bike because they’re meant for dirt and pavement, not off-road terrain. And on the other hand, there are those who insist that they’ve seen people riding bikes with pegs in both dirt and pavement environments without any issue. But is it possible? If so, how?
Yes, absolutely, you can put pegs on a mountain bike. The first step is to install steel-core axles in your wheel hubs. Once they’re on, go back to the fork and find the dropouts.
They should be metal plates that form a channel for the axle to fit into snugly as it slides out from the fork. Take one of your forks’ two quick release bolts and tighten it tight around the tab that forms one end of your dropout channel where it’s closest to one edge of the rear frame triangle so that it holds your axle rigidly in place with enough resistance so that you won’t have any trouble snapping on a skewer on top of an axle later without loosening up this bolt first.
Bikers attach pegs to their bikes for a variety of reasons, mainly for balance when doing stunts. There are metallic and plastic pegs, but the more durable ones are metallic.
The best forged pegs are made of steel. Steel is expensive, so many people looking to buy a set of pegs opt for cheaper alternatives like iron or aluminum.
Alloy blends of aluminum and chrome steel are the best sellers in the industry.
Mountain bikes are built for rough terrain, and their make accommodates specific features to fit this criterion. However, sometimes the impulse to pull a few stunts with your mountain bike may be too strong, and you will succumb to attaching pegs to your mountain bike.
Does A Mountain Bike Have Pegs?
Few mountain bikes have pegs. Pegs are one of the additions to a bike that make it perfect for off-road activities. The front fork has two rounded legs on each side that extend downward and attach to either side of the stiff steel pedal crankset axle.
These legs serve as points for your feet when you’re standing on the pedals pushing down in a pedaling motion. They also can be used as footrests when you’re not pedaling.
This allows you to maintain an upright position instead of leaning forward over handlebars or keeping one foot on the ground as is necessary with other bicycles or during some parts of braking maneuvers like skid recovery skills or emergency turns typical in track racing events like slalom or super-mini.
Pegs are attached to the bicycle wheel’s axle, which the modern quick-release technology in recent modern mountain bike designs doesn’t support. The better mountain bikes on the market offer through-axle skewers to position the rear wheel to the bike’s frame. Skewers usually have plastic end tips, which are not appropriate for attaching metallic pegs.
These skewers are incapable of having pegs. You have to switch to a more robust axle to fit pegs on your mountain bike; otherwise, quick-release skewers are a total no-peg-zone. The weight you apply to the wheels will not be supported on the quick-release skewer.
Therefore, all store purchased bikes don’t have pegs because this usually comes from a rider’s preference to fit their mountain bikes with pegs. Personalization only happens when the bike owner replaces the wheel type from a quick-release technology-fitted wheel to a traditional axle technology with a peg addition space. There are only one-way mountain bikes that can have pegs: by adding them on yourself.
It would be best if you realized that getting stunt pegs on your mountain bike is slightly farfetched but definitely possible. Firstly, the process will definitely cost you a pretty dime since you need to replace your rear wheel since the quick-release feature inhibits the accommodation of pegs. After that, you require to get another gear set, another rear derailer, and another shifter after getting the wheel.
Most mountain bikes lack pad-bearing bolts on the back wheel. Since most mountain bikes are made of carbon or aluminum alloys, the frame material will give away as soon as you apply personal bodyweight on these pegs. You will need to heat treat the bike’s frame to ensure a lack of torque and shear stress between the peg and the frame, which will fail you amid a grinding stunt.
But you can have pegs on your mountain bike, and there is a way to get them. Here is a small quick tutorial on how this could happen.
Can You Get Stunt Pegs For A Mountain Bike?
Yes, you can get stunt pegs for a mountain bike but only if you’re willing to spend some money. You’ll need to replace your rear wheel with one that has through axle skewers so that you can fit nuts which will allow the peg to go on the axle.
Also, many new bikes are designed with their own type of pedal and don’t have space for an axel converter which is what a drift/stunt peg uses.
This means it’s often necessary to replace your pedals as well, find a derailer that will work (which might not be easy), as well buy a shifter else make modifications like taking off the gears train inside the bike frame and installing one manually in order for there to be enough space for the peg to fit.
You’ll likely need to get a new rear wheel as well, since with some mountain bikes, you can’t unscrew the axle from the old one and screw it into the new one. This is because they’re different sizes. This means also that you can’t keep your original gears/derailer, and the new wheel might have different gears already attached to it from the factory.
The pegs you require for your mountain bike should be smaller since most are smaller than BMX bikes and have a 3/8 inch axle, so you need to consider this diameter for your pegs. You need two of these 3/8 inch pegs, a hacksaw, an a3/8 inch shaft rod, 3/8 inch wrenches, and some garage grease. The tutorial will only fit on an MTB casing with a demi-horizontal dropout.
Cut off both peg front ends where it is supposed to screw on the shaft using a hacksaw. The bike peg needs to be dense and hefty to support any weight. Since most rear wheels are installed with quick-release, you need 04-inch axles to make your metal pegs are slit in proper lengths.
Remove the rear wheel with the two wrenches and loosen the bearings of the nut on both sides. Slide the axle through, screw back in your bearings into the two sides and return your nuts tightly to make it very stable.
Suppose your mountain bike contains a cartridge, oil the region, and put the axle from side to side without necessarily screwing back the bearings. Always ensure you fasten the nuts, though, because a loose nut could easily cause you serious accidents. Fix back the tire to your bike, nail up the chain then screw in the peg to your bicycle frame.
On the inner side of your peg, mount washers and fasten nuts, then use a pair of pliers to hold them in place tightly. Ensure it is on the inner side of the wheel and not on the axle, otherwise, it is just as useless and will fall off.
Buy New Bike Or Put Pegs On My Old Bike?
If you’re looking for a bike that will support your backyard stunt work and won’t break, we recommend you buy a new bike. Though many people are happy with their old bikes, it’s best not to use them when you’re trying difficult stunts.
It is possible to install pegs on your old bike, but depending on the type of frame and wheel design of your bicycle, it may be very difficult or even impossible without expert help (or modifications).
The risks are too great for most riders to take given how easily these parts can get damaged during stunt riding; if the frame breaks completely where they’re installed, they could end up as dangerous hazards.
This does require some costly purchases and could cause complications with returning what you’ve already owned, but you can buy a new mountain bike for $500 or less and the parts needed to properly install pegs on it will cost about $100.
The process of installing a peg onto your mountain bike can be difficult and expensive. The entire process will require many different parts, including pedals which are not generally made for use with pegs. In addition, the frame may need to be modified or replaced in order to install them properly.
There are some risks involved as well. If you’re an amateur rider who doesn’t do stunts on their regular mountain bike, there’s no real reason to take these risks just so that you can have more fun doing tricks off small ledges around your neighborhood!
