steg pegz are little rubber pucks that you can anchor your boot against so that gripping your bike with your legs becomes very easy... once you get the hang of them you don't need to grip with the legs much at all, and it takes almost all the load off your arms and hands.
the majority of guys who use these love them, almost everyone in our little riding group uses them now and they are very popular here in australia where they are made. however, a small percentage of riders struggle with the idea of NOT gripping the bike for a second or two on very steep descents so that your boots can slide past the rubber pucks. the vast majority have no issue with this, or just take a ride or two to get used to it.
they are expensive, but as an older guy these have become a must as carpal tunnel syndrome and the first signs of arthritis are kicking in. this is a review i did on the basic steg pegz last year:
https://youtu.be/gPyg20KnP7Ia few months ago i switched to their desert king version... not because i'm desert racing but due to the carpal tunnel syndrome and arthritis kicking in more. these are really beefed up - there are three rubber pucks each side, and the plates are thicker so they don't bend under the strain.
the aussies who desert race always use these and rave about them. but i wasn't sure how they'd go with the technical riding we do. after a few months i'm loving them. once the legs are locked in the arms and hands have virtually no load on them at all. the only issue i've found (other than expensive.. ouch) is on very steep descents i have to spread the legs quite a bit to slide the boots past the pucks. i'm used to doing this from trials riding but some riders would find it very awkward.
it's not much of an issue on normal downhill runs as we've been applying the body positioning that chris birch taught us in our coaching sessions and on intermediate descents we don't move back on the bike but just crouch down to lower the center of gravity.
i think the desert king version could be great for anyone into desert riding, mostly flat terrain, or like me really struggling with medical conditions that make taking all stress off the upper body a priority.
here's a video review i've done of the desert king version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtmJku0YMII