We don’t want you to ever send you bike back to us as we want you to be out on the trail enjoying it, but we also understand things go wrong from time to time and we are here to help if they do, so we have listed some simple tips and tricks to get your bike packaged up for a safe return back to us.
You will need to source a bike box – if you still have the box your bike was delivered in then great, you can re-use this. If not, we recommend asking a local bike shop if they have any boxes you can use. We would start by recommending that you start the boxing up process using a workstand or similar. This makes it nice and easy to complete the first few steps of the boxing process. We would recommend clamping the bike on the top tube of the bike as the seat post will need to be adjusted during the process.
Step 1. Setup. Shift your bike into the biggest cog on your cassette so that the derailleur is as close to the hub as it can be. Lower the saddle to its lowest point and lower the dropper post so that the collar of the post is resting against the frame. You will also need to loosen off and the top tube cable guides and remove the cables from them to give you extra slack in the cables. Once the cables are removed tighten up the cable guide bolts so they are not lost.
Step 2. Remove the front wheel from the bike. We recommend that you remove the front rotor if you can (Screw the rotor bolts back into the hub so they don’t get lost). Fit a pad spacer into the brake caliper, if you do not have one of these a small section of cardboard will do the trick. Re-install the front axle into the fork, but do not tighten it fully as this can damage your fork. Once this is done add a layer of protection to the bottom of the fork and the brake caliper. Masking tape and pipe lagging are a good solution for this, but cardboard will also do the trick.
Step 3. Wrapping. It’s a good idea to wrap all tubes in some form of protection in case anything becomes loose in the box that could cause damage. Areas such as suspension stanchions and shafts are important to protect. Once again cardboard and masking tape work well for this section. Other elements that are good to protect are the crank arms, the front brake caliper and also the saddle.
Step 4. Loosen off the stem face plate so that the bars can be removed and able to hang loose. Replace the stem face plate and bolts and wrap some protection around the stem. Wrap some cardboard around the centre section of the bar that is now visible after they have been removed from the stem. Once this has been done you can then secure the handlebar to the bike. We would suggest zip tying the grips of the bike to the inside of the fork and also to the top tube of the bike. If possible try to place some extra protection between this interface so that no brake levers or similar can rub and damage the frame.
Step 5. Put some protection over both ends of the front wheel hub endcaps and put some protection over the derailleur and the non-drive side of the rear wheel hub.
Step 6. Put the bike into the box and put the front wheel into the box alongside the non-drive side of the bike.
We don’t want you to ever send you bike back to us as we want you to be out on the trail enjoying it, but we also understand things go wrong from time to time and we are here to help if they do, so we have listed some simple tips and tricks to get your bike packaged up for a safe return back to us.
You will need to source a bike box – if you still have the box your bike was delivered in then great, you can re-use this. If not, we recommend asking a local bike shop if they have any boxes you can use. We would start by recommending that you start the boxing up process using a workstand or similar. This makes it nice and easy to complete the first few steps of the boxing process. We would recommend clamping the bike on the top tube of the bike as the seat post will need to be adjusted during the process.
Step 1. Setup. Shift your bike into the biggest cog on your cassette so that the derailleur is as close to the hub as it can be. Lower the saddle to its lowest point and lower the dropper post so that the collar of the post is resting against the frame. You will also need to loosen off and the top tube cable guides and remove the cables from them to give you extra slack in the cables. Once the cables are removed tighten up the cable guide bolts so they are not lost.
Step 2. Remove the front wheel from the bike. We recommend that you remove the front rotor if you can (Screw the rotor bolts back into the hub so they don’t get lost). Fit a pad spacer into the brake caliper, if you do not have one of these a small section of cardboard will do the trick. Re-install the front axle into the fork, but do not tighten it fully as this can damage your fork. Once this is done add a layer of protection to the bottom of the fork and the brake caliper. Masking tape and pipe lagging are a good solution for this, but cardboard will also do the trick.
Step 3. Wrapping. It’s a good idea to wrap all tubes in some form of protection in case anything becomes loose in the box that could cause damage. Areas such as suspension stanchions and shafts are important to protect. Once again cardboard and masking tape work well for this section. Other elements that are good to protect are the crank arms, the front brake caliper and also the saddle.
Step 4. Loosen off the stem face plate so that the bars can be removed and able to hang loose. Replace the stem face plate and bolts and wrap some protection around the stem. Wrap some cardboard around the centre section of the bar that is now visible after they have been removed from the stem. Once this has been done you can then secure the handlebar to the bike. We would suggest zip tying the grips of the bike to the inside of the fork and also to the top tube of the bike. If possible try to place some extra protection between this interface so that no brake levers or similar can rub and damage the frame.
Step 5. Put some protection over both ends of the front wheel hub endcaps and put some protection over the derailleur and the non-drive side of the rear wheel hub.
Step 6. Put the bike into the box and put the front wheel into the box alongside the non-drive side of the bike.
