Can You Put Pegs On A Mountain Bike?

To customize your bike, you may have to make some modifications. However, the type of bike you own will determine how much you can modify. So, can you put pegs on a mountain bike?

You can put pegs on a mountain bike so long as it has a bolt-on axle that is long enough. Unfortunately, you could damage the bike’s fork and frame by adding pegs since mountain bikes are not engineered for pegs.

Notably, mountain bike frames are not hardy enough to carry passengers or hold your weight for stunt riding.

Pegs are best suited for BMX bikes and Single-speed bikes, which have sturdy frames and long bolt-on axles.

can you put pegs on a mountain bike? A Bike's rear wheel with pegs

What Is A Bike Peg?

The first step here should be demystifying bike pegs for a better understanding of the issue at hand.

Technically, a bike peg is a small metallic bar attached to the bike’s rear or front wheel axles. Mainly, they help stunt riders expand their ability for more tricks on the bike. Also, these pegs help riders during grinding.

Again, the bike pegs work as a footrest for passengers or luggage carried on the bike. As such, bike pegs help expand the number of people who can ride together on a bicycle.

However, it is dangerous for a passenger to stand on the pegs as the pieces of metal can easily snap, causing severe injuries.

Can You Put Stunt Pegs On Mountain Bike? Is It Safe Your Bike?

Mainly, you will find stunt pegs on BMX bikes to help riders showcase different skills in trick riding. However, can you put stunt pegs on a mountain bike?

Yes, it is possible to put pegs on mountain bikes, but the results could be counterproductive.

First, we mentioned that a mountain bike’s frame isn’t as strong as those of BMX or Single speed bikes. No matter how strong you feel your mountain bike to be, it doesn’t have a frame that can carry passengers.

While it is possible to put pegs on a mountain bike, it isn’t recommended. Whether it is for stunts or passengers, mountain bike frames may not withstand the stress.

Let’s look at reasons why installing pegs on your MTB is a bad idea.

Why Are Pegs Bad On Mountain Bikes

1. Insecure Installation

As we had noted earlier, the stunt pegs attach to the wheel axles of a bike. In addition, the most preferred axles are the bolt-on.

Unfortunately, most mountain bikes use quick-release skewers. The skewers are short and can’t accommodate the pegs. Simply, they are incompatible with stunt pegs in function and structure.

In addition, mountain bikes are adopting the thru-axles, but unfortunately, they aren’t good either because they are also short. As such, they aren’t made for lateral stress.

Consequently, this leaves you to either replace the quick-release skewers with bolt-on axles or install the pegs on rack fender eyelets.

Unfortunately, the second option is hazardous since the fenders aren’t built to withstand too much lateral stress.

Can You Put Pegs On Quick Release Levers

2. It Could Damage The Frame And The Fork

From the discussion above, it is evident that you can put pegs on a mountain bike if you change from quick-release to bolt-on axles.

You may overcome the first challenge but get into bigger problems.

First, the Mountain bike’s frame is prone to damage since it is longer and slimmer than the BMX bikes. Once you get on the pegs, they become levers placing a large amount of lateral stress on the fork or the frame.

Secondly, bikes made of aluminum or carbon fiber are susceptible to damage when subjected to lateral impact.

Aluminum is soft and has low tensile strength. Therefore, it can easily get damaged by lateral stress or even get cracked.

As for carbon frames, they can only withstand a small amount of lateral stress.

Unfortunately, cracking your bike’s frame or forks due to peg installation may nullify your warranty.

3. The Tire Can’t Support An Extra Passenger

If your idea of adding pegs on your mountain bike is to carry passengers, you better take a second thought.

First, it is against the law to carry a passenger on your bike pegs. Although having someone ride on the pegs could be fun, it is a dangerous practice. In addition, bike pegs aren’t meant to hold a huge amount of weight for a long time.

On the other hand, even if your passenger was to sit on the back rack and palace their legs on the pegs, the MTB tire may not withstand the overweight load.

As we had noted in the article “What happens if you put too much air in your bike tires?” mountain bike tires mostly run on low air pressure. Therefore, carrying a passenger along could eventually damage your wheelset.

4. Possible Damage To The Derailleur

One reason why riders use pegs on their bikes is for grinding and other stunts. Unfortunately, the rear derailleur is close to the axle and will be susceptible to knocks as you grind.

In addition, the derailleur could also bend so much and get entangled in the spokes. If this ever happened, it could rip the wheel apart. Notably, this is one reason why stunt riders use single-speed bikes.

What Factors Would Allow Peg Installation On A Mountain Bike?

Can you put pegs on a mountain without compromising on its quality? Yes, it is possible.

Although mountain bikes are not the best for stunt riding, some factors would make putting pegs on MBTs less dangerous. Some of them are:

1. Steel Frames

Steel can withstand more abuse than carbon and aluminum. Actually, that’s the reason why high-end BMX bike frames are made of Chromoly.

If you want to puts on your mountain bike, ensure that it has a steel frame.

2. Long And Strong Bolt-On Axles

As earlier mentioned, most mountain bikes utilize quick-release skewers. However, if you would like to put pegs on your mountain bike, it would be prudent to change to longer and strong bolt-on axles.

Notably, you can go for a 14mm BMX axle, which happens to be the same thickness for mountain bikes.

3. Change To Single Speed

Mountain bikes are multi-speed bikes by default. Unfortunately, the rear derailleur happens to be a weakness when it comes to stunt riding.

Actually, if you have been keen enough, you must have noticed that most bikes used for trick riding are single-speed.

Therefore, to eliminate this weakness, remove the derailleur in favor of a single-speed freewheel. Better still, you could go for a BMX hub such as the Dimart 36 Holes Metal Disc Rear Hub Set, which is much stronger than that of your MTB.

Peg Installation On A Mountain Bike

Can You Put Pegs On Quick Release Levers?

By default, bike pegs are mounted on the axles. Unfortunately, the quick-release skewers are too short for the pegs. As a result, you cannot tighten the skewers with the pegs in place.

Therefore, you cannot put pegs on a mountain bike that uses quick-release levers. Also, some skewers have plastic ends that aren’t ideal for peg installation.

Actually, if you want to install pegs on your mountain bike, switch to bolts that can accommodate the plugs.

What Kind Of Bikes Can You Put Pegs On?

Having pegs on your bike can take your riding experience to a whole new level. Unfortunately, you cannot install pegs on all types of bikes. So, what kind of bikes can you put pegs on?

1. BMX 

Pegs are most suitable for BMX bikes that are mostly used for stunts and trick riding. The other good thing about the BMX is they are single-speed bikes. Fortunately, most BMXX bikes come with pegs already installed.

However, if your bike doesn’t have stunt pegs, you can get some good ones such as:

  • Amotor Aluminum Alloy anti-skid bike pegs
  • Zelerdo Aluminum Alloy bike pegs for MTB
  • Amotor bike pegs (for kids)
  • KINGSPORT Aluminum Alloy bike pegs

2. Road Bike

The other bike that you could install pegs on is the road bike. All the same, the high-end road bikes use quick-release levers. However, on the lower end of the market, you will find steel bikes with long axles and lug nuts.

Other bikes on which you can put pegs are the MTB, track bikes, and universal bikes.

Also Read: Can you run pegs on a female axle?

Final Word

To this end, we have found that you can put pegs on a mountain bike, but it isn’t the best thing to do. The frame and the forks are mainly meant for a different style of riding and not stunt riding.

At the same time, mountain bikes wheels are not strong enough to support the weight of a passenger.

In addition, most high-end mountain bikes use quick-release levers, which cannot work with bike pegs. Therefore, you have to change to bolt-on axles to install pegs on them.

Also, the rear derailleur happens to be at risk if you intend to go grinding with the bike. So, you will have to change to a single-speed to be on the safe side.