We’ve evolved the bike, not the rider

Bicycle Assembly –  Let Us Assemble Your Bike! 

Professional assembly is the difference between a good bike and a great bike. Assembly is even more important than the brand.

We offer bicycle assembly starting at $75 for a basic adult bike and $65 for a kid’s coaster brake bike.

Why would you want Bicycle Evolution to assemble your bike?

A bike that we assemble will last longer and ride better than the exact same bike assembled elsewhere.

When bicycles are shipped from a manufacturer like Raleigh, Diamondback, Public or Brooklyn, they are about 70-80% assembled. When you order a bike online, they often tell you that you must have the bike assembled by a professional bike mechanic.  They say this for a reason, sometimes the instructions are difficult to follow as they assume you know how to put one together.  Special tools are often required (How many people have a headset press laying around their tool drawer?) 

Packaged bikes are often rush to box.  Components are hung on bikes quickly at the factory important details are left to the final assembly.   After all, they expected a professional bike mechanic to put it together, why do they need to spend that kind of time?  Because of this, brake and shift cables tend to be stretched too tight. Components may not have enough grease—or too much grease. Wheel bearings might be too tight or worse, not tightened at all!    The spoke tension on factory wheels is almost always too loose (how many people have a tensionometer at home?

Getting the details right will make your bike last longer, and make it more fun to ride!

Below is a list of just a few of the extras things we do to make your bike last and last and last:

• We lubricate key nuts and bolts. A lubricated bolt resists corrosion and holds proper torque better than a dry bolt—this is crucial for parts like stem, bars, seat, pedals, cranks, and wheels.
  • If you get tired of readjusting your seat, you know why this matters. Properly greased, and torqued, a seat bolt will NEVER come loose!
• We add grease to the wheel hub, steering headset, and crank (bottom bracket) threads and bearings. We remove the fork and crank and treat the inside of the frame with rustproofing.
• We grease the inside of the frame at the headset and bottom bracket areas to resist rust and prevent dirt and debris from destroying the bearings.
• We replace the lower stack headset bearings with loose balls. This triples the life of the headset and makes the steering smoother. We ensure that the bottom bracket sleeve is installed if necessary—these are often missing. 

The spoke tension of factory-built wheels is always too loose. We tension each spoke to their rated specifications—sometimes this can be over 200 pounds of tension each! Then, we stress relieve the entire wheel so that it stays true—this helps avoid breaking spokes. We also lubricate each spoke nipple with a special blend of anti-seize and oil so your spokes hold tension longer and turn properly at your next tune-up.

Think our assembly price is expensive? Maybe, but take a look at this,  Here’s the approximate individual shop labor “a la carte” charges are (Red) and are subject to change without notice.  These are all included in our assembly price! 

• True, Tension and Dish the wheels  ($40)
• Add the proper amount of grease to the wheel bearings (hubs) ($35)
• Grease the steer tube [keeps the rust at bay] and add grease to the steering bearing (headset) and replace the lower stack bearing cage with loose balls [triples the life of the headset and makes the steering smoother] ($25)
• Remove and lubricate the crank bearing [bottom bracket] ($25)
• Lubricate the inner cable of the brakes and gears
  [Smooth braking and shifting] ($10)
• Align frame and fork Drop-Outs
  [Makes bike track straight and prevents bearing failure] ($15)
• All nuts and bolts are torqued to their maximum tightness
• Lube all threads
  [these last 2 steps keep things from loosening up and rusting] (Priceless)
• Finally, we give the bike a Tune-UP ($120)
• This final step involves YOU!
• Like all machines, a bicycle has a “break-in” period. You MUST bring your bike back to the shop for a FREE initial ‘Tune-Up’ [really a re-torquing of all parts and any readjustments needed] after 100-200 miles of riding or 60 days whichever comes last. ($35) Failure to do so can void your warranty!

• The below table adjusts the base labor for the myriad of bicycle types and equipment options when we assemble something as these kinds of things may take extra time (this isn’t included in your assembly price — if you don’t understand why something costs extra, you are welcome to watch us work.  In fact our shop is wide open and we welcome people inside – though we might ask you to look away if we have to hit something with a hammer  .. just kidding.