BMX pegs and child seat footrests

BMX pegs are tubes fitted to the wheel axles, which you grind along a ledge or a rail and rest your foot on during freestyle tricks. Choose them according to the axle diameter, 14 or 10 mm, and the material: steel, aluminium or plastic sleeve. This page also offers replacement footrests for child seats and balance bikes.

What are BMX pegs for?

A peg is a cylinder around ten centimetres long fitted to the wheel axle, at the front as well as at the rear. In street and park riding, it lets you grind along a ledge, a handrail or the lip of a ramp, balance on an obstacle or push off during a trick. Most riders fit two, on the side they grind on, others four. Pegs are not made for carrying a passenger: the bike becomes unbalanced and a fall is likely.

Steel, aluminium or plastic: which material?

Chromoly steel pegs absorb impacts best and last a long time, at the cost of extra weight. Aluminium lightens the bike but wears faster on concrete. Plastic-sleeved pegs, in nylon sometimes reinforced with glass fibre, surround a metal core: they slide more easily, make less noise and spare the edges of skateparks, and a worn sleeve can be replaced without changing the core. Lengths are around 4 to 4.75 inches: a longer peg leaves room for your foot; a shorter one passes closer to the obstacle.

Axle diameter and fitting

The peg slides onto the axle and is then held by the wheel nut. Check the diameter: 14 mm on most BMX rear wheels, 10 mm, or 3/8 inch, on many front wheels. Many pegs are bored to 14 mm and supplied with an adapter for 10 mm axles. The axle must stick out far enough for the nut to engage all its threads, and a hub guard prevents damage to the hub or the sprocket during a grind.

Footrests for child seats and balance bikes

This page also brings together replacement footrests for child seats. Fixed to the seatstay or to the rear wheel axle, often folding, they give the child's feet somewhere to rest and keep them away from the wheel spokes, with straps to hold them in place. Each manufacturer has its own fittings: take the model designed for your seat. Others screw onto a balance bike, so that the child can rest their feet while gathering speed.

Other cockpit components

Pegs are part of the cockpit components, along with the handlebars and stems that set up the BMX cockpit; grips and clamps are in handlebar and saddle spare parts.

Which brands of pegs and footrests?

Bobike, a Dutch child seat brand that is part of the Polisport group, offers its replacement footrests, such as the folding 1110s fitted to the seatstay or the 1118 mounted on the axle.

Thule, which took over the Dutch Yepp seats, supplies the footrest bar for these seats.

BSD, a rider-owned BMX brand, offers the Rude Tube, Dan Paley's signature peg with a chromoly core and a replaceable plastic sleeve, as well as the Hubba and the Crack Pipe.

Odyssey BMX, a Californian maker of BMX parts known for its Gyro rotor, offers the Graduate, with a steel core and a replaceable plastic sleeve, and the JPEG in chromoly.

Eclat, a brand founded in Cologne by the Wethepeople team, injects nylon around the chromoly core of its Venom; the all-metal Slotmachine has cut-outs.

Cult, a Californian brand from Santa Ana, offers the Butter, a peg with a steel core and a replaceable nylon sleeve.

BMX pegs on sale

Pegs and footrests from previous collections are reduced in spare parts clearance, and new arrivals appear in new arrivals; keep an eye out for the summer sales.

Frequently asked questions

What is a peg on a BMX?

It is a metal or plastic-sleeved tube fitted to a wheel axle, which sticks out from the frame or the fork. It is used to grind on obstacles and to rest your foot during tricks.

How many pegs should you put on a BMX?

Two pegs on the same side, front and rear, are enough for most grinds. Four pegs open up more tricks but make the bike heavier.

Can you put pegs on a mountain bike?

Rarely: you need a solid threaded axle, held by nuts and long enough, which mountain bikes with a quick release or a thru-axle do not have. A mountain bike frame is not designed for the lateral impacts of grinds either.

Plastic or metal pegs?

Plastic slides better, makes less noise and spares surfaces; its sleeve wears but can be replaced. Metal lasts longer and stands up better to impacts.