How to Assemble a Road Bicycle

Buying a new road bike is an exciting experience that should be made as easy as possible. However, with sometimes overbearing salespeople, traffic and/or lack of access to a dependable bike shop, many cyclists have turned to the online stores that offer full bikes for sale. Making the purchase is not a problem; it's when you get the bike in pieces in a box that things start to get out of hand. Fear not because this article will teach you how to assemble a road bike out of the box with a few simple hand tools.

Things You'll Need

  • Allen wrenches Pedal wrench Screw driver Razor blade knife
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Instructions

    • 1

      Open the bike box and examine the contents. Depending on the shipping method, the bike could have been treated rather roughly on its journey so you just want to make sure that all the parts are there and it is undamaged.

    • 2

      Pull out the loose packages inside the box. They contain pedals, skewers and the seat. The wheels, bike frame, chain, gears, and handlebars are all zip-tied together so grab the frame and lift the entire conglomerate free.

    • 3

      Open the packages and pull all of the plastic and wrapping material off of the bike frame. Cut all of the zip ties and lay everything out on an open floor so you have easy access to it.

    • 4

      Install skewers in the wheels by unscrewing one side of the skewer, sliding it through the axle of the wheel and screwing the end back on. Repeat for both wheels and then slide the front wheel into the front fork and the back wheel into the rear chainstays and tighten the skewers down.

    • 5

      Slide the handlebars onto the stem and tighten the stem bolts to secure the handlebars. Slide the seatpost into the seat tube and tighten down the seat clamp. Screw the pedals into the crank arms, paying attention to which pedal goes on which side (they are labeled R for right and L for left).