This is my first bike assembly, I’ve ridden bmx in the far past, mtb in the near past, but have never assembled a bike before; does anyone have any first time bike assembly tips or tricks that you may have missed or come across to make the assembly/riding experience more enjoyable? NBD!
by ahass25
7 Comments
Use grease, don’t over tighten things and tighten the stem bolts in an x when putting the bars on if that makes sense. Have fun these things are tanks.
Everything must be checked. Best practice is to assume anything that could be tightened prob needs it.
If you’re not experienced, I’d give it a whack but I wouldn’t ride until your local bike shop checks it over
Make sure the correct pedal is put on the crank arm. Otherwise you’ll thread it.
-Make sure the chain is not too tight in the drop outs, and the tire is centered in the frame
-Handlebars go parallel with the fork, stem tightened in an X pattern
-Left pedal is threaded backwards
-Tighten the 17mm axle nuts TIGHT!
-Run the tires at the very high end of their range, if not higher.
-Get the brakes snug with the barrel adjuster. If they still aren’t really working well I recommend red pads for like $10. Clears are too noisy
After a few weeks of riding, check spoke tension on the wheels. Some wheels can come a little loose after settling in.
Sunday!! <3
I build a lot of these. Three things: 1. Toss the safety washers on the front wheel into the trash. 2. The brake lever perch WILL crack if you over tighten it. 3. The left crank arm is going to come loose. Crank that fucker down.
The rest is straightforward bike building. Use grease on everything.
put grease in the pedal threads so then you can take them out when replacing it.
after a couple sessions tighten your spokes so your wheels last longer (if you can, check that they don’t go through the rim strip.
Nice bike you got there!