C
cambridge
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What Tools do I needed?
* Allen wrenches (5mm, 6mm)
* Regular wrenches (10mm, 12mm, 13mm, 14mm, 15mm, 17mm, and 19mm)
* Pliers (with cable cutter in middle)
* Bicycle pump (preferably with pressure gauge)
* Rubber Mallet
* Cresent Wrench
* Chain Breaker
* Tire Levers
* Cup Press
* Grease
* Lubricant
* Loc-Tight
* Dirty Rags
* Radio
* Twinkies
It is always a good idea to grease all the bolts and nuts on you bike so that at any further date they will be simple and easy to remove. Building a bike takes time to do correctly, Don't rush it. The fastest I've ever built a bike from scratch is an hour and 45 minutes.
The Headset (Sealed)
1. To install the headset you must press the upper and lower bearing cups. To do this go to your local bike shop and have them press them for you if you don't already own one. Or you can tab them in with a mallet or some wood laying on the cup and hitting them down.
2. Now slide the lower bearing race onto the fork and seat it properly. By opening up a cresent wrench and laying it on top of the race and taping it down or takeing a piece of PVC pipe and sliding it over the steerer tube and then tapping it down.
3. Then slide the fork into the headset and push the compression ring down the fork until it meets the headset's upper bearing.
4. Slide the stem onto the exposed portion of the fork steerer tube and tighten the headset adjustment on top of the stem.
5. You may notice that there is some play or rocking in the headset area. To remove the play in your headset you will need to undo the two steerer tube bolts on the back of the stem. Next tighten down the bolt on top of the stem. Do this slowly and check to see if the play is gone.
6. Finally when at the correct tightness you should just be able to feel the bearings turning in the headset and it should move freely. Be very careful not to over tighten the bearings, witch will result in permanent damage to the bearing and bearing races. Once there is no play, realign the stem to be perpendicular to the fork, then tighten down the two steerer tube bolts on the back of the stem.
The Handlebars
1. -First remove all 4 bolts from the stem and remove the clamp plate.
2. -Position the handlebars so the knurled area at the bottom of the bars sits in the recess of the stem. -
3. Re-install the stem clamp plate and start the threads 4 clamp bolts just enough to hold the bars.
4. -Set your bars to the desired angle and then tighten down firmly, using the X pattern (upper left, lower right, upper right, lower left) to ensure proper seating and grip of the handlebars on the knurled area. Ensure the clamp plate sits squarely to the stem and the bars are unable to move.
5. -Then slide your brake lever(s) onto the handlebar and then install your grips with some water splashed inside the grip or use a air compressor and twist them on. Slide the brake lever next to the grip, set at desired angle and tighten down with 5mm Allen Wrench.
6. -Finally put the barends into the end of the bars and tighten down with whatever size wrench is needed.
The Seat
1. First take the seat post and insert the adjustable end into the underside (guts) of the seat. Then tighten down the seat gut bolt(s) on the seatpost. Leave them loose so when you put it on the frame you will get the right angle you want.
2. Slide the seat post clamp onto the frame, but leave it loose for now.
3. Insert the Seatpost/Seat into the frame, align to the frame and set to desired height, then tighten the seatpost clamp snugly.
4. This is the time to tighten the seatpost guts in the seat and set it to the desired angle.
Now that you have something to work with flip your bike over onto the handlebars and seat to finish the assembley.
The Cranks (Sealed)
1. To install the cranks you must have cups pressed into the frame. If you have a Euro BB you get off easy and can just thread the cup/bearing assembly right into the frame. But if you have a Spanish, Midd, or American you must press the bearings or cups, pending on which type, into the frame.
2. Go to your local shop and have them pressed. Or you can just tap the cups and bearings in with a block of wood and hammer or mallet, and tighten up the compression mechanism to fully seat them. They should go ahead and install the space that is inbetween the two bearing for you. Insert the spindle into the BB and then put on the opposite drive arm on (the one that doesn't have the sprocket on it) and just loosly tighten it so it stays put.
3. Now take a moment to assemble the drive crank arm and sprocket (chainwheel). The Sprocket is bolted to the crank arm and then the arm/sprocket is slid onto the spindle.
4. Finally tighten the crank arms down with the arm bolts on the ends of the spindle so that they are snug. In this particular case crank bolt tend to loosen up quicker than normal bolts on a bike so it is advised to put some loc-tight on them to keep them secure.
The Pedals
1. Both pedals will have either L or R stamped into the end of the pedal axle. L meaning left, R meaning right.
2. Before you fit your pedals, put a little grease on the threads of pedal's spindle, this will stop any binding or rusting, making it easy to remove at a later date.
3. Finally, thread the pedal's into the crank arms on there according sides. The Left pedal will be a Left hand thread so you must turn counterclock-wise to tighten it.
The Wheels (Freewheel, Right Hand Drive)
1. Your wheels usually come built for you so I'm not going to explain how to lace the hub and rim. All you have to do is install the freewheel and mount the tires.
2. To install the freeewheel you must lube it and simply screw it onto the large or small side of your hub pending on if your running a 13t freewheel or a 16t.
3. Then put your rim liner on the inside of the rims to protect the tube from possible spoke punctures. Then put one bead of your tire onto the rim using your tire levers and and then place the inner tube inside the tire putting the vavle into the hole in the rim.
4. Put the outer tire bead onto the rim and pump up the tires to the correct pressure.
5. Then screw the valve caps onto the inner tube valve.
6. Now you can put your Front Wheel on the forks and tighten the axle nuts down.
7. Finally do the rear wheel, positon it about a 1/4" from the inside of the dropout, but just hand tighten the axle nuts because you still have to do the chain.
The Chain
1. Take the chain and run it throught the sprocket (chainring), the frame, and the rear freewheel pulling it together to take out the slack. Mark the pin that must be removed and then break the chain with a chain breaker. If you don't have one the local bike shop will do for you.
2. Now re-run the chain throught the sprocket, frame, and freewheel pulling it all together and put the masterlink in it to couple the two ends. Lock the master link with the clip that is included.
3. You need to ensure the chain has the correct tension now before tightening down the axle nut fully. If the chain is to tight it will cause damage to your bikes bottom bracket, rear hub, and freewheel bearings. To loose and the chain will jump off the chain wheel. You should be able to squeeze the chain a little.
4. You must also make sure the wheel is aligned centrally in the frame. When centrally aligned the chain will run smoothly and setting up the rear brake is much easier.
5. Once the wheel is aligned properly, tighten the axle nut down firmly.
6. Finally lube your chain and wipe of any excess.
The Brakes (Rear, Straight Cable)
1. First we need to install the brakes to the frame. To do this you need to grease the brake post, then slide the brake arms onto the post and tighten them down using the supplied bolts that thread into the top of the brake post.
2. Then adjust them with the correct spring tension by pulling them apart and tightening them down. This way whenever you hook up the brake cable you will have good tension to hold everything steady.
3. Now run your cable from the brake lever by inserting the ball crimped onto one end of the inner cable (the wire) into the brake lever itself. Then turn the barrel adjusters so that the slot through the brake lever is open and the cable can go inside.
4. Turn the barrel adjusters back to normal position and run the inner and outer cable down the handlebars to the frame and then put a zip tie onto the top tube of the frame and the cable to keep it still. You must leave ample cable suspended from this zip tie point and the brake lever so the handle bars/fork/front wheel assemble can spin a complete 360 degress.
5. Now the other end of the outer cable (the hollow tube) will be a little to long to reach the cable stop on the top tube (if you have seatstay brakes) or the bottem tube (if you have chainstay brakes). So it must be cut with the pliers, but first go back and remove the inner cable (the wire) and then cut it. Once it is cut put a cable cap on the open wound.
6. Then re-run the inner wire and put the cable into the cable stop on the frame. Get your cable hanger and run your inner cable from the brake lever into it and tighten the nut that secures the cable down about a inch or so from the cable stop on the frame.
7. Now you still have some excess inner cable (the wire). Cut it off leaving a half-inch or so and put a cable end on it and crimp it.
8. Now take the end of the straddle wire with the crimped on ball on it and hook it to the left brake arm slot at the top of the arm and run it through the cable hanger and then to the opposing arm to the the barrel adjuster nut on the right brake arm pulling the brake arms to about a 1/8" away from the rim on both sides. Tighten this nut.
9. Finally toe in and position the brake pads so that the front of the brake pad touches the rim before the rear looking down on the brakeand they are at the correct angle corresponding to the rim. The pad should sit away from the rim just a slight bit.
10. Once the brake pad is in position, tighten down firmly and repeat on the other side.
Final checks
Before you rush out on your bike, thinking you have finished, I recommend you carry out these simple checks.
1. Clamp the front wheel between your knees and see if you can twist the handlebars. If you can, the bolts on the back of the handlebar stem need tightening down.
2. Sit on the bike and squeeze the brakes and rock the bike back and forward testing to see if the brakes work ok. If not go back through and check everything.
3. Check tire pressure. Make sure the tires are inflated to the correct pressure as stated on the sidewalls or to your personal preference. Too low and you will suffer from ‘snake bite’ punctures. Too much and you rish bursting your tubes (although extremely difficult with a bicycle pump).
4. Check your seat and make sure it is set at the correct height for you and all clamps are tightened down properly.
5. Check all the axle nuts to make sure they are tightened properly and that the chain is at a suitable tension.
6. Check the Cranks for any play. If there is some, tighten the crank arm bolts a little.
* Allen wrenches (5mm, 6mm)
* Regular wrenches (10mm, 12mm, 13mm, 14mm, 15mm, 17mm, and 19mm)
* Pliers (with cable cutter in middle)
* Bicycle pump (preferably with pressure gauge)
* Rubber Mallet
* Cresent Wrench
* Chain Breaker
* Tire Levers
* Cup Press
* Grease
* Lubricant
* Loc-Tight
* Dirty Rags
* Radio
* Twinkies
It is always a good idea to grease all the bolts and nuts on you bike so that at any further date they will be simple and easy to remove. Building a bike takes time to do correctly, Don't rush it. The fastest I've ever built a bike from scratch is an hour and 45 minutes.
The Headset (Sealed)
1. To install the headset you must press the upper and lower bearing cups. To do this go to your local bike shop and have them press them for you if you don't already own one. Or you can tab them in with a mallet or some wood laying on the cup and hitting them down.
2. Now slide the lower bearing race onto the fork and seat it properly. By opening up a cresent wrench and laying it on top of the race and taping it down or takeing a piece of PVC pipe and sliding it over the steerer tube and then tapping it down.
3. Then slide the fork into the headset and push the compression ring down the fork until it meets the headset's upper bearing.
4. Slide the stem onto the exposed portion of the fork steerer tube and tighten the headset adjustment on top of the stem.
5. You may notice that there is some play or rocking in the headset area. To remove the play in your headset you will need to undo the two steerer tube bolts on the back of the stem. Next tighten down the bolt on top of the stem. Do this slowly and check to see if the play is gone.
6. Finally when at the correct tightness you should just be able to feel the bearings turning in the headset and it should move freely. Be very careful not to over tighten the bearings, witch will result in permanent damage to the bearing and bearing races. Once there is no play, realign the stem to be perpendicular to the fork, then tighten down the two steerer tube bolts on the back of the stem.
The Handlebars
1. -First remove all 4 bolts from the stem and remove the clamp plate.
2. -Position the handlebars so the knurled area at the bottom of the bars sits in the recess of the stem. -
3. Re-install the stem clamp plate and start the threads 4 clamp bolts just enough to hold the bars.
4. -Set your bars to the desired angle and then tighten down firmly, using the X pattern (upper left, lower right, upper right, lower left) to ensure proper seating and grip of the handlebars on the knurled area. Ensure the clamp plate sits squarely to the stem and the bars are unable to move.
5. -Then slide your brake lever(s) onto the handlebar and then install your grips with some water splashed inside the grip or use a air compressor and twist them on. Slide the brake lever next to the grip, set at desired angle and tighten down with 5mm Allen Wrench.
6. -Finally put the barends into the end of the bars and tighten down with whatever size wrench is needed.
The Seat
1. First take the seat post and insert the adjustable end into the underside (guts) of the seat. Then tighten down the seat gut bolt(s) on the seatpost. Leave them loose so when you put it on the frame you will get the right angle you want.
2. Slide the seat post clamp onto the frame, but leave it loose for now.
3. Insert the Seatpost/Seat into the frame, align to the frame and set to desired height, then tighten the seatpost clamp snugly.
4. This is the time to tighten the seatpost guts in the seat and set it to the desired angle.
Now that you have something to work with flip your bike over onto the handlebars and seat to finish the assembley.
The Cranks (Sealed)
1. To install the cranks you must have cups pressed into the frame. If you have a Euro BB you get off easy and can just thread the cup/bearing assembly right into the frame. But if you have a Spanish, Midd, or American you must press the bearings or cups, pending on which type, into the frame.
2. Go to your local shop and have them pressed. Or you can just tap the cups and bearings in with a block of wood and hammer or mallet, and tighten up the compression mechanism to fully seat them. They should go ahead and install the space that is inbetween the two bearing for you. Insert the spindle into the BB and then put on the opposite drive arm on (the one that doesn't have the sprocket on it) and just loosly tighten it so it stays put.
3. Now take a moment to assemble the drive crank arm and sprocket (chainwheel). The Sprocket is bolted to the crank arm and then the arm/sprocket is slid onto the spindle.
4. Finally tighten the crank arms down with the arm bolts on the ends of the spindle so that they are snug. In this particular case crank bolt tend to loosen up quicker than normal bolts on a bike so it is advised to put some loc-tight on them to keep them secure.
The Pedals
1. Both pedals will have either L or R stamped into the end of the pedal axle. L meaning left, R meaning right.
2. Before you fit your pedals, put a little grease on the threads of pedal's spindle, this will stop any binding or rusting, making it easy to remove at a later date.
3. Finally, thread the pedal's into the crank arms on there according sides. The Left pedal will be a Left hand thread so you must turn counterclock-wise to tighten it.
The Wheels (Freewheel, Right Hand Drive)
1. Your wheels usually come built for you so I'm not going to explain how to lace the hub and rim. All you have to do is install the freewheel and mount the tires.
2. To install the freeewheel you must lube it and simply screw it onto the large or small side of your hub pending on if your running a 13t freewheel or a 16t.
3. Then put your rim liner on the inside of the rims to protect the tube from possible spoke punctures. Then put one bead of your tire onto the rim using your tire levers and and then place the inner tube inside the tire putting the vavle into the hole in the rim.
4. Put the outer tire bead onto the rim and pump up the tires to the correct pressure.
5. Then screw the valve caps onto the inner tube valve.
6. Now you can put your Front Wheel on the forks and tighten the axle nuts down.
7. Finally do the rear wheel, positon it about a 1/4" from the inside of the dropout, but just hand tighten the axle nuts because you still have to do the chain.
The Chain
1. Take the chain and run it throught the sprocket (chainring), the frame, and the rear freewheel pulling it together to take out the slack. Mark the pin that must be removed and then break the chain with a chain breaker. If you don't have one the local bike shop will do for you.
2. Now re-run the chain throught the sprocket, frame, and freewheel pulling it all together and put the masterlink in it to couple the two ends. Lock the master link with the clip that is included.
3. You need to ensure the chain has the correct tension now before tightening down the axle nut fully. If the chain is to tight it will cause damage to your bikes bottom bracket, rear hub, and freewheel bearings. To loose and the chain will jump off the chain wheel. You should be able to squeeze the chain a little.
4. You must also make sure the wheel is aligned centrally in the frame. When centrally aligned the chain will run smoothly and setting up the rear brake is much easier.
5. Once the wheel is aligned properly, tighten the axle nut down firmly.
6. Finally lube your chain and wipe of any excess.
The Brakes (Rear, Straight Cable)
1. First we need to install the brakes to the frame. To do this you need to grease the brake post, then slide the brake arms onto the post and tighten them down using the supplied bolts that thread into the top of the brake post.
2. Then adjust them with the correct spring tension by pulling them apart and tightening them down. This way whenever you hook up the brake cable you will have good tension to hold everything steady.
3. Now run your cable from the brake lever by inserting the ball crimped onto one end of the inner cable (the wire) into the brake lever itself. Then turn the barrel adjusters so that the slot through the brake lever is open and the cable can go inside.
4. Turn the barrel adjusters back to normal position and run the inner and outer cable down the handlebars to the frame and then put a zip tie onto the top tube of the frame and the cable to keep it still. You must leave ample cable suspended from this zip tie point and the brake lever so the handle bars/fork/front wheel assemble can spin a complete 360 degress.
5. Now the other end of the outer cable (the hollow tube) will be a little to long to reach the cable stop on the top tube (if you have seatstay brakes) or the bottem tube (if you have chainstay brakes). So it must be cut with the pliers, but first go back and remove the inner cable (the wire) and then cut it. Once it is cut put a cable cap on the open wound.
6. Then re-run the inner wire and put the cable into the cable stop on the frame. Get your cable hanger and run your inner cable from the brake lever into it and tighten the nut that secures the cable down about a inch or so from the cable stop on the frame.
7. Now you still have some excess inner cable (the wire). Cut it off leaving a half-inch or so and put a cable end on it and crimp it.
8. Now take the end of the straddle wire with the crimped on ball on it and hook it to the left brake arm slot at the top of the arm and run it through the cable hanger and then to the opposing arm to the the barrel adjuster nut on the right brake arm pulling the brake arms to about a 1/8" away from the rim on both sides. Tighten this nut.
9. Finally toe in and position the brake pads so that the front of the brake pad touches the rim before the rear looking down on the brakeand they are at the correct angle corresponding to the rim. The pad should sit away from the rim just a slight bit.
10. Once the brake pad is in position, tighten down firmly and repeat on the other side.
Final checks
Before you rush out on your bike, thinking you have finished, I recommend you carry out these simple checks.
1. Clamp the front wheel between your knees and see if you can twist the handlebars. If you can, the bolts on the back of the handlebar stem need tightening down.
2. Sit on the bike and squeeze the brakes and rock the bike back and forward testing to see if the brakes work ok. If not go back through and check everything.
3. Check tire pressure. Make sure the tires are inflated to the correct pressure as stated on the sidewalls or to your personal preference. Too low and you will suffer from ‘snake bite’ punctures. Too much and you rish bursting your tubes (although extremely difficult with a bicycle pump).
4. Check your seat and make sure it is set at the correct height for you and all clamps are tightened down properly.
5. Check all the axle nuts to make sure they are tightened properly and that the chain is at a suitable tension.
6. Check the Cranks for any play. If there is some, tighten the crank arm bolts a little.