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What is the name of the part, often seen on BMX bicycles, that allows an additional rider on the back the bike? It appears to be a set of relatively short but thick poles that go on either side of the axle of the rear wheel so a passenger can stand on it and—holding onto the shoulders of the driver—can be transported with minimal effort.

What is that part called?

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Please mark one of these answers as "accepted" (the check box below the up/down vote arrows). This is proper StackExchange etiquette. –  rally25rs Sep 10 '11 at 20:43

2 Answers 2

They are called Pegs.

Pegs are mainly used by BMX riders to help perform various tricks.

Flatland trick (standing with all of his weight on one peg, not damaging anything): enter image description here

Grinding a wall on the rear peg (imagine the forces when the rider jumps on the wall, still: no damage to the hub but of course to the peg and the wall): enter image description here

Images from Wikimedia Commons

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Yes, that's what they are called. They aren't meant for another person to stand on. –  Kibbee Sep 7 '11 at 1:28
+1 for Kibbee's comment, specifically they are NOT designed for someone to stand on. They are designed for trick riding (grinds, etc.) –  rally25rs Sep 7 '11 at 13:51
Yes, but probably 4x as many are used for the second rider as are used for doing tricks. –  Daniel R Hicks Sep 7 '11 at 18:28
That really isn't true, at least outside of grade school. And it really does damage your bike. Not at all recommended. –  zenbike Sep 8 '11 at 18:48
It does not damage your bike at all. Read my comment to your answer. –  erik Feb 18 at 11:23

They are called pegs. Designed for tricks, in a BMX park or Flatland style. And they are not meant for another person to stand on.

Quite the opposite. It is dangerous to ride a second person in that manner. And you risk damage to the hub of the bike, since the axle can bend or break.

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-1. You probably wont damage to the hub of the bike, since the axle will not bend or break from a person standing still on the pegs. Have you ever seen a BMX rider jumping on a rail or the coping of a halfpipe? I think that is much more power (impulse). It is the weight of the rider + the bike + the drop on the rail (metal to metal). Not a soft shoe stepping carefully on the pegs. Flatlanders are standing all the time on their pegs! –  erik Feb 18 at 11:17
@Erik, yes, I have. I've also seen a number of axles which break for those reasons, also. Pros get paid to ride, and can afford to break both their bikes and there bodies. This is a primary reason why many axles were upgraded to 14mm from 9.5mm, back in about 1995. –  zenbike Feb 26 at 13:42
Ah, your experience is from 1995, that explains your opinion. :-) Today nobody uses 14mm axles but 10mm. And the axles don’t break. The material properties have improved. –  erik Feb 27 at 8:27
@Erik, I have been working in bike shops as a mechanic since 1992 to current. Most of our bikes in the shop, as of today are 14mm axles, at least on the rear. The front is more of a choice. The front axle isn't 10mm, it's 3/8" or 9.5mm. And the material properties of cro-moly and high carbon steel haven't changed, but thanks for your condescension. –  zenbike Feb 27 at 18:18
If you want to bug me: An inch is 2,54cm, hence 9,525mm. Which kind of bikes do you sell or repair? BMX bikes? You mean the cheap ones (sold for 100 Euros)? Then maybe you’re right. They surely brake more often then real BMX bikes. –  erik Feb 27 at 21:37

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