Assembling a bike

[Prisoner 24601]

Evening all, my new bike has arrived in a large brown box.

I now have two options, take it to a local bike mechanic who’ll assemble it for £20. Or, have a go at assembling it myself. I know some of you are guffawing now!

But I don’t have a bike stand, or a torque wrench, or lube or grease. Or experience. I think it’s probably pretty easy, but how about without all those things? At least I know the mechanic would set it up correctly and should be 100% good to go.

What to do. First world problems lol.

[wastedyouth86]

Where is the bike from? Usually they come 90% assembled and you just put pedals, wheels on and straighten the handlebars. What you will need is a good set of Allen Keys, mainly a 6mm but worth investing in a decent set from Park.

[Prisoner 24601]

wastedyouth86 said:

Where is the bike from? Usually they come 90% assembled and you just put pedals, wheels on and straighten the handlebars. What you will need is a good set of Allen Keys, mainly a 6mm but worth investing in a decent set from Park.

Cheers mate, the bike is from Planet X, London Road. The handle bars need to be attached in their entirety. I’ll check YouTube for some tutorials 🧐

[wastedyouth86]

Prisoner 24601 said:

Cheers mate, the bike is from Planet X, London Road. The handle bars need to be attached in their entirety. I’ll check YouTube for some tutorials ??

That will be simple enough, as a planet x i am guessing it is a fully rigid bike so no suspension to set up. Bars are simple enough. Undo the bolts on the front on the stem, line the bars up, do the stem up loosely so you can adjust the bars for your preference then tighten in a cross pattern.

[Harpoon]

Is there anything else to fit like the pedals? They should need either an allen key or a pedal spanner. You could possibly use an adjustable wrench instead of the pedal spanner. I do grease the threads on the pedals before fitting them.

[wastedyouth86]

Harpoon said:

Is there anything else to fit like the pedals? They should need either an allen key or a pedal spanner. You could possibly use an adjustable wrench instead of the pedal spanner. I do grease the threads on the pedals before fitting them.

Also pedals usually have opposite threads so they do not undo as you pedal.

[Scabutz]

Is it a carbon bike? If so you really should use a torque wrench.

But also, you dont sound like you know what you are doing. I would definitely do a lot of research and watch plenty of videos. Last thing you want is your handle bars coming off at high speed. The park tools website is a good place for detailed tutorials.

Bicycles are pretty easy to DIY and dont need a massive array of specialist tools

[Freakuk]

Everything that has been said above, it will be pre-assembled.

Last one I did took 20-30 mins, straightened the bars, adjusted for my riding position, same as the seatpost, then fit the pedals.

Gears/indexing should be done so you should be good to go.

[millen]

Even my s/h Canyon team bike came with a cheapo torque wrench and sockets in the box. Plus bell, reflectors etc. Perhaps a legal requirement for selling in EU?

Real question for the OP is whether they're going to do most ongoing maintenance/adjustment themselves or return to LBS for anything beyond punctures?

[Scabutz]

millen said:

Plus bell, reflectors etc. Perhaps a legal requirement for selling in EU?

Not sure if EU, think its UK law. A bike has to be sold with a bell. But there is absolutely no requirement to keep it on the bike or use it. Reflectors must be red on the back and amber on the pedals. Not sure how SPDs work in that regard

[Siao]

Scabutz said:

millen said:

Plus bell, reflectors etc. Perhaps a legal requirement for selling in EU?

Not sure if EU, think its UK law. A bike has to be sold with a bell. But there is absolutely no requirement to keep it on the bike or use it. Reflectors must be red on the back and amber on the pedals. Not sure how SPDs work in that regard

Didn't know that. My Planet-X came without a bell, not that I complain about it

[okgo]

For 20 quid, assuming he can do it now, just get someone else to do it. I have all the tools and could build a bike from components and I'd still pay 20 quid (probably a lot more actually) for someone else to do it.

[Dammit]

On the other hand I'd rather build it myself even if assembly was offered free by a mechanic - only myself to blame then.

[Mars]

Dammit said:

On the other hand I'd rather build it myself even if assembly was offered free by a mechanic - only myself to blame then.

Me too.

I think I know what I'm going to do in retirement.

[anonymous-user]

I’ve done plenty of full builds. But there is a learning curve.

Is the bike fully cabled? If so that’s a big job and one that it’s nice not to have to worry about.

If the stem is on the steerer and the steerer has been cut, putting the bars on the stem is easy peasy: centre them, hand tighten, recheck centring, tighten properly. If there are four bolts on the stem face plate tighten sequentially working diagonals.

If the stem is on the bars and needs to go on the steerer, that’s a little less easy: is there are bung/expansion thing in the steerer and is it in the right position? If you need to cut the steerer to the right length, give it to a bike shop to sort out.

Other things to check: are the brake shoes firmly secured in the callipers? Are the front and rear mechs indexed? Is the seat post secure? Is the saddle pointed up/down/level to your preference?

And if you have to put the pedals on: both sides rotate towards the front of the bike to tighten.

[Prisoner 24601]

millen said:

Even my s/h Canyon team bike came with a cheapo torque wrench and sockets in the box. Plus bell, reflectors etc. Perhaps a legal requirement for selling in EU?

Real question for the OP is whether they're going to do most ongoing maintenance/adjustment themselves or return to LBS for anything beyond punctures?

Thanks to everyone who responded. I like the question above, it’s a great question and goes to the heart of the matter. And I’m not sure of the answer at this stage. Anyway, I’m going to have a go at assembling it myself,

[Prisoner 24601]

Just a quick update….

1) it was very straightforward to assemble in the end, as you know. Although I did have to head out and buy a little portable topeak torque tool and some grease, good to have in the garage for future maintenance.

2) it’s my first time with drop handle bars, do you think the angle looks ok?

[Prisoner 24601]

[stargazer30]

You can set the handlebar angle however is most comfortable, take it out and tweak it as needed. Mine has the bar level and has a riser stem on it as I’m weening off using a more upright bike with flat bars . When you did the stem you did tighten to top nut before the side nuts right?

[Prisoner 24601]

stargazer30 said:

You can set the handlebar angle however is most comfortable, take it out and tweak it as needed. Mine has the bar level and has a riser stem on it as I’m weening off using a more upright bike with flat bars . When you did the stem you did tighten to top nut before the side nuts right?

Hi StarGazer, I didn’t assemble the stem, it came out of the box inserted and tightened, I just double checked it and cracked on.