Collegeboy312

Hey so today I ordered this bike. https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...lite_trail.htm
If I had the money I would have bought a bike from the REI down the street from my apartment but as a college kid It would take a couple more months of saving up before i could afford an REI or LBS bike so decided BD was my best route. I'm stoked to get the bike to use as commuting around campus/downtown and for light trail riding over the summer.

I dont have experience assembling/tuning a bike so I was wondering if someone here could give me a list of things to check on the bike before I take it for a ride. I don't really have money to get it professionally assembled but want to learn how to maintain my own bike. On campus we have a bike shop where they will let you use the tools for a small fee and help you fix/adjust your bike. So I was hoping someone here could give me advice on what i'll need to tune so I can take it to the bike shop on campus and have them help me with it.
Also what kind of multi tool should I get to maintain my bike? Thanks for any advice, I'm excited to get the bike and learn how to take care of it.

MisterK

Well you're gonna have to assemble the bike...so you'll handle everyting yould need to check. They're not gonna drop a fully assembled bike on your doorstep if that's what you're expecting

rebel1916

It is pretty much fully assembled. Wheels, handle bars and pedals are all that need to be done. There are may vids on Youtube showing how to tune everything. I think Park Tools has a channel.

oldpuck81

Good decision for all the right reasons! I've bought 2 BD bikes- Motobecane carbon Immortal Spirit & Moto Fantom 29er. Love 'em both! To assemble your bike, go to your local bike shop and get one of those multi-tools that resemble a Swiss Army knife where they have all the necessary bike tools. That's all you really need to assemble. You will have to mount the disc brake components on the wheels with an allen hex wrench, put the seat into the seat tube, mount the handlebar into the head tube, put the quick release skewers into the hubs and mount the wheels. That's about it. Most everything can be done with 2 or 3 allen hex wrenches. The gear shifting should be fairly well adjusted and shouldn't need much fine tuning. Don't forget that the left pedal has left handed threads and goes on opposite spin from the right pedal. The pedals have an L & R stamped on them so check that all out first. Adjusting the disc brakes can be a little tricky if you find that the calipers are dragging the rotor. What you do is loosen the caliper mounting bolts so the rotor is centered after squeezing the levers, so while the lever is squeezed, tighten up the brake bolts with your allen wrench, let go of the lever, then tighten the bolts to their final torque. Remember, if you have a gorilla-grip, don't over tighten bike bolts. There are a lot of aluminum parts and the threads will strip if you over torque them. Go buy a bike pump that has a dual chuck (shrader & presta valves) because you will be pumping up your tires about every week or so. Also go buy a water bottle and holder, an cheap little saddle bag, an extra tube and stow it all in your saddle bag. Maybe a safety flasher and mini-LED headlight so you can tool around campus at night. Your survival rate will increase if you're more visible at night- very important! Enjoy your new bike! BTW- Bikes Direct have good customer service check everything over and if something's wrong, they can help you out via email or phone.

Collegeboy312

Thanks for the thorough reply. I think i can handle most of that with the help of youtube but ill bring it to the bike shop on campus so they can help me with the disc brakes it seem that part will be more tricky. I'm so stoked to get my bike and start riding

dminor 

Follow the instructions that BD provides you on their site: https://www.bikesdirect.com/instructionhelp.htm

Astrozombie

^ lol exactly, if not youtube has assembly videos

U.V.

might be worth popping into your local bike shop after you've finished it and asking them to give it a quick check-over

roccobike

Careful, be very careful not to cross-thread anything. Take your time, you're expecting this assembly to last a long time. Remember, the left pedal is reverse threaded, not standard thread.
BTW, what college are you in? If a member is close by, they might come by just to make sure you've got it right.