I completely ignored their advice, of course, but when I arrived in Alice I discovered that I was the only person without them. By the end of the race, my forearms were so sore from gripping on for dear life, that I couldn’t ever lift a beer up to my mouth at the presentation.
My desert racing career went on hold for a couple of year, but last year I put my name down for the Hattah Desert Race in Mildura on the Husqvarna FE350 long-termer. First item on the agenda? Get a set of Steg Pegz.
Stephen over at Steg Pegz hooked both myself and Tech Ed Mat Boyd up with sets of the Desert King model. This version is more heavy duty than the standard model and comes with three rubber pucks per side that can be stacked for more grip.
The ‘Pegz bolted straight on without too much hassle. Admittedly, they are not the prettiest looking things, but let’s be honest, desert racing isn’t about looking pretty. It took all of half a lap for me to decide that I’d been missing out.
For someone who had rocked up to a four-hour sand race with no training, the ‘Pegz were a godsend. They allowed me to grip with my boots, lean back and take the pressure off my arms as I hurtled through the Mallee scrub.
I was still exhausted by the time I finished the race, but my arms were nowhere near as sore as they were following Finke and I was able to rehydrate in the time-honoured Australian way. The Pegz also allow you to stay in a more central position on the bike and you don’t feel like you’re going to fall off the back under acceleration.
If I have to give one negative, it would be that I found my boots catching on the rubber pucks. This mostly happened in the tight stuff when I was flapping around a bit more on the bike.
Aside from that, the Steg Pegz are a must-have item for any desert racer. They increase your comfort level on the bike dramatically. I even considered running them in the bush. Stay tuned for a full evaluation after Boydy runs them at Hattah again this year, on his Husky FC350 long-termer. Dylan Ruddy
$274
Stegz Moto Technologies
stegzmoto.com.au
support@stegpegz.com.au
