Assembly Instructions

You will have noted that your cycle came in two boxes, here’s how to put your cycle together.

 

Follow these instructions carefully.  Failure to follow these instructions could result in injury or damage to the handcycle.

 

First check that you have received all the parts for your handcycle.  You should have:

□       Assembled Front Half of Bike

□       Rear Frame

□       Three Wheels

□       Left and Right Hand Cranks

□       Seat Back Cushion

□       Seat Base Cushion

□       Foot Rest Straps (should be attached to footrests)

□       Tool Kit(5mm allen, 6mm allen, 7/32” allen, 9/16” wrench)

□       Coupler Wrench (note only with purchase of SNS coupler)

 

Please note, when you remove your bike from the box, do so on a soft surface so as not to damage the paint.

 

You Will Need:

 

Various sizes of allen wrenches(included)

 

High quality grease to lubricate various parts (as instructed). We recommend synthetic lithium grease, however any high quality grease will do.  This should be readily available at any automotive or bicycle shop.  If your bike is properly lubricated at assembly you should be able to go a year or so without lubricating the bike again.

 

SNS coupler only:  you will need to obtain Teflon Bearing Grease (note this is not the same as regular grease).  We will have pre-lubricated the thread before shipment so you will not need to worry about this at the point of first assembly, but you should have Teflon Grease on hand in order to maintain the high tension necessary for the coupler and plan on lubricating as needed.  Teflon bearing grease is special grease and cannot be substituted with ordinary grease.  It is available through Intrepid Equipment; directly from Dupont; and other frame builders who use SNS couplers.

 

Attaching the wheels and seat

You will need: 6mm Allen wrench; 5mm Allen wrench.

 

You will be working with the rear portion of the bike.

 

First install the rear wheels by removing the rubber plug from the hub and securely tightening the hub nut with a 6mm Allen wrench.  Replace the rubber plug to protect the hub from dirt and grit build up. 

Pull the seat back upright from its flat packed position, and insert its telescoping support tubes.  Then secure the telescoping support tubes by tightening the clamp with a 5mm allen wrench.

 

 

Headset Assembly

 

Next you will need to assemble the headset.  If your handcycle is equipped with the optional SNS coupler, then skip the headset installation since it is preinstalled for you.  If your handcycle has the SNS coupler installed, then skip ahead to the SNS coupler installation instructions.

 

To install the headset, remove the collar and first four pieces of the headset from the steerer.

 

Ensure that the crown race, dust cover and lower bearing race are in their correct positions at the base of the steerer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lubricate the lower bearing race with synthetic lithium (or other high quality) grease.

 

 

 

Insert the steerer tube (front half) into the head tube (rear half).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Engage and tighten the nut that secures the rubber centering spring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Insert the upper bearing race, dust cover, upper bearing seat and compression ring on to the steerer in that order (same order that they were removed). 

 

Then slip the collar over the steerer and thread the compression bolt and head cap into the star-nut in the center of the steerer tube.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tighten down the compression nut with a 5mm allen wrench with enough force to preload the bearings.  This should require approximately 4Nm (35in lbs) of torque.  The rubber centering mount will compress slightly during tightening.  Insufficient preload force will result in a loose headset and too much force will cause the bearings to bind.  Either condition will cause premature bearing wear.

 

Finally securely tighten the binding clamp on the steering collar to lock in the preload.  It is essential that the steering collar is securely tightened to at least 7Nm (60in lbs) and can not slip.  If it does slip it could result in damage to the handcycle and severe injury.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This completes the headset assembly