DIY Bicycle Pegs

I ‘ve been always wondered why cyclists don’t give rides to people.
If motorists do it , why don’t we? Bicycles are usually strong enough to carry 2 and maybe even 3 people, but for some reason most bicycles are not prepared by default to do that. They need some extra things like xtracycle. But why buy something if you can make your own solution? In this article I’m going to show you how you can make the DIY Bicycle Pegs or ‘How you can carry your girlfriend – and other lightweight people- on your bike’! I made them to carry my girlfriend around when she doesn’t have her bicycle with her. These are pegs not to stand on them, but just to put your feet on when you sit on the rack. I used to carry her without having the pegs and it was quite dangerous as the rack was very wobbly and it was a matter of time for something to break off.

When I use the pegs now though, the difference is huge. Not only she is very stable on the rack, she feels very comfortable, even in big rides. We ‘ve done many rides together like this with great success! She feels very comfortable and I ride just fine (it’s like touring with some heavy rack panniers) !

Few words about Carrying someone on your rack now: Without having too much technical knowledge, I believe that a good rack doesn’t break easily, even with a person sitting on it. What happens usually is, that the wobble of the load, makes the racks’ metal legs, destroy the threading of the bottom bolts that keep the rack on the frame. That can be solved with two ways: Nuts and Pegs. That way you make a) the load very stable and b) the bolt impossible to be removed by force.

Here are the pegs in action:

The concept:

The main concept behind the DIY bicycle pegs is this: You cut a piece of a wheel axle and you screw it on a nut half way. Then you screw that nut (with the piece of axle on it) on your bicycle’s rear axle. So the nut connects the two axle. I’ve tested them standing on them, and they are very solid. If you want the passenger to stand on them you have to reinforce them by weld two nuts together so there is more thread for the connection.

You are going to need:

You are going to need a round file, a thick stick, a bicycle wheel axle, a hammer, a drill and 2 extra nuts (this kind).

Take a good thick enough piece of a stick/branch (finger thick +). Using a hacksaw cut two pieces each measuring 6-6.5cm. These will be the pegs.

Do the same thing with the axle. Same length with the pegs. NOTE: Each part of the axle should have a round end (See second pic from the end).

Drill a hole through each of the Pegs. The drill bit should be a number
thinner than the axle. TIP: Drill half the distance from one side and the other half from the other side. That way when you hammer down the axle inside the peg, the wood won’t split easily.

Make the hole bigger with the file. It should be big enough for the

axle to be hammered inside the axle. It should fit very snuggly. NOTE: The round end of the axle piece should be outside and half a CM out of the peg (a half nut). If the axle doesn’t move when you hammer it inside the peg, take it out and make the hole a tad bigger.

Take a nut and screw it tighly on the axle end. That’s it! Now you can screw it on your bike!