Installing the front and rear wheels
Installing the front and rear wheels is a fairly simple process but one that should not be taken lightly. The wheels must sit firmly in the frame’s front and rear dropouts. If you have anything less than a tight fit, you could be risking the chance of a wheel coming loose, something that would be potentially disastrous if you were biking. Follow these steps and you’ll be in good shape:
1. Make sure that the brakes are open and there is room for the wheel to pass.
2. For the front wheel, align the hub with the dropouts in the fork and slide the wheel into place.
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• If you have a quick-release hub, you may need to adjust the nut on the opposite side of the wheel before the quick-release lever can be closed. Be sure not to use the lever to crank the quick release to a tight position. Instead, turn the nut opposite the lever until it’s almost tight and then close the quick-release lever.
When you close the quick-release lever, the lever part should be loose in the open position, start to snug when sticking straight out away from the frame, and tighten fully when closed. It should require enough force that it leaves an indentation on your hand. Any looser and it may not be secure.
• For traditional hubs with nuts, begin by tightening the axle nuts, alternating side to side a little at a time until both are securely in place.
3. For the rear wheel, start by making sure the right hand shifter is placed into the highest gear.
Hold the rear derailleur from the metal tab at the bottom pulley in order to open up the chain into a large loop. Make sure the rear cassette goes into the middle of this loop as you install it.
4. Maneuver the wheel into place so that the top part of the chain just above the derailleur falls onto the smallest sprocket.
5. With the chain sitting on the smallest cog, which is the cog it was on when you removed the wheel sprocket, slide the wheel into place into the rear dropout part of the frame.
6. Use the same procedures as you did for the front wheel to fasten the quick release or the axle nuts.