BICYCLE OWNER’S MANUAL IMPORTANT: This manual contains important safety, performance and service information. Read it before you take the first ride on your new bicycle, and keep it for reference. Additional safety, performance and service information for specific components such as suspension or pedals on your bicycle, or for accessories such as helmets or lights that you purchase, may also be available.
GENERAL WARNING Like any sport, cycling involves risk of injury and damage. By choosing to ride a bicycle, you assume the responsibility for that risk, so you need to know — and to practice — the rules of safe and responsible riding and of proper use and maintenance. Proper use and maintenance of your bicycle reduces risk of injury. This Manual contains many warnings and cautions concerning the consequences of failure to maintain or inspect your bicycle and of failure to follow safe cycling practices.
CONTENTS 1. First 4 2. Safety 5 3. Tech 6 3A. Saddle 3B. Stem 3C. Mudguards 3D. Wheels 3E. Chain Tension 3E. Basket 3F. Stabilisers 3G. Pedals 3H. Brakes 3I. Gears 3J. Rotor / Giro 6 7 9 10 14 15 16 17 18 22 26 4. Maintenance 28 5. Torque Specifications 33 6. Weight Restrictions 34 7.
1. FIRST We strongly urge you to read this Manual in it’s entirety before your child’s first ride. At the very least, read and make sure that you understand each point in this section, and refer to the cited sections on any issue which you don’t completely understand. WARNING It is important that you exercise extreme caution when riding or performing any maintenance / building tasks on your bike so as not to trap fingers or any other extremity, which can cause serious injury. 1.
2. SAFETY Make sure your child’s first ride is in a quiet area away from cars, other cyclists, obstacles etc. Make sure your child becomes familiar with all the controls and features of their new bike, especially brake performance. If you feel anything about the bike is not as it should be consult a qualified bicycle mechanic. Always wear a helmet! Safety gear is also available for knees, elbows, back, shoulders HELMETS SAVE LIVES! and more. It is highly recommended.
3. TECH 3A SADDLE INSTALLATION & ADJUSTMENT SADDLE HEIGHT Saddle height is very important in order to make your child’s cycling experince more enjoyable and of course safer. The correct saddle height should not cause their knee to lock out with their foot on the pedal in the downward most position, however their knee should only be slightly bent. i To insert saddle or to adjust saddle height, you need to release the seat clamp by turning anti-clockwise.
SADDLE FORE AND AFT ADJUSTMENT Some saddles can also be moved backwards and forwards. For optimal riding position your child should be able to comfortably reach the handlebars and use the breaks and gears (if applicable) whist riding with their arms slightly bent at the elbows. i. To adjust saddle just unfasten the nut under tha saddle using either a spanner or an allen key and turning anti-clockwise. ii.
i To adjust or install stem, you need to loosen the centre bolt enough so that the stem will fit / become loose in the steerer tube, by turning it anti-clockwise with allen key provided. ii You can then insert or adjust the stem. You can rotate it left to right and you can also adjust the height. It is very important that you observe the minimum insertion mark and that you insert the stem beyond this. This must not be visible once the stem is installed.
WARNING You MUST make sure the stem & handlebar is inserted beyond the minimum insertion mark. If you don’t you may damage the bike or the stem. You may also lose control and fall, which could cause you serious injury. Once you have finished assembling you should test the stem by holding the front wheel between your leg and trying to turn the handlebars. If these turn without turning the front wheel you need to line the handlebar back up and re-tighten.
3D WHEEL INSTALLATION & ADJUSTMENT The wheel axles are inserted into slots, called “dropouts” in the fork and frame. Examples below FORK DROPOUT REAR DROPOUT Dropouts come in way too many different shapes and sizes to be able to illustrate them all here, but these examples should guide you to indentifying where your dropouts are. NUTTED WHEEL SYSTEM WHEEL HUB DROPOUTS NUTS 10 How does it work? The wheel hub is clamped in place by the force of the nuts against the dropouts.
Installing and adjusting a front wheel with a nutted system If your bike comes with a nutted front wheel, the nuts will usually come already on the front wheel. i Make sure the wheel nuts are loosened by turning anticlockwise, exposing as much of the thread as possible. NUTS LOCKING WASHER AXLE ii For this step, as long as your saddle and handlebar are installed, it helps to turn the bike upside down.
IF YOU HAVE A TRADITIONAL BASKET If your bike comes with a traditional basket the bracket for this needs be installed before we can secure the wheel in place. You will need to remove the nuts completely from the front wheel before sitting the wheel in the front dropouts. a With the wheel sat in the fork, insert the locking washers on to the axles, securing the pin in place as shown. b Then insert the basket bracket, with the flat part facing towards the bike frame as shown.
Removing or adjusting a rear wheel with a nutted system This step is easier with the bike upside down, resting on the saddle and the handlebars. For that purpose, the images here show what these steps look like with the bike upside down. i Should your bike have gears, shift the rear derailleur to high gear (the smallest, outermost rear sprocket). ii You then may need to release the brakes to get enough clearance for the wheel to pass through.
3E. CHAIN TENSION Single Speed Bikes There should be approximately 10mm total movement in the middle of the chain underside. Having the chain too loose can lead to it coming off, too tight can make it difficult to pedal and lead to premature failure of the freewheel, chainwheel or chain. Chain tension is varied by loosening the rear wheel and moving it in or out slightly (see wheels section).
3F. BASKET INSTALLATION If your bike is either a heritage or trekking style bike, it may have come with a basket. There are two main types of basket, traditional and quick release. Traditional basket If you have a traditional wicker or faux wicker basket, first you will need to fit the basket bracket on the wheel axle. This explained in the wheel section of this manual. If your wheel is already installed, you may need to loosen the nuts to get the bracket in place.
iii Line the holes in the basket plate and the frame bracket up and insert the screws / washers / fixing plate as shown. Then from behind the frame bracket, place the washers on the screws and screw the nuts on clockwise finger tight. 3G. STABILISERS i Remove the outer nut and washer from each side of the back wheel by turning anti-clockwise using the spanner provided ii Place the bracket over the thread ensuring the tabs lock in the dropout, followed by the stabiliser, the washer and the nut.
3H. PEDALS Pedals are marked wether they fit in the left or the right. It is very important to insert the correct pedal into the correct crank arm, as if you don’t you could cross thread them and cause irreparable damage not covered by warranty. i Stickers indicate the left and right pedal. If these have dropped off, look at the end of the thread where it is imprinted. ii The correct pedal needs to be attached to the matching side of the bike i.e. left pedal to left side and right pedal to right side.
3I. BRAKES It’s very important for your child’s safety that they learn and remember which brake lever controls which brake on your bike. Traditionally, the left brake lever controls the rear brake and the right brake lever controls the front brake; but, to make sure your child’s bike’s brakes are set up this way, squeeze one brake lever and look to see which brake, front or rear, engages. Now do the same with the other brake lever.
RIM BRAKES Rim brakes work by squeezing brake pads (usually made out of rubber) against the rim in order to slow the wheel down. Brakes are a very important part of the bike, and you need to familiarize yourself with which type of brake you have. It is important that you keep these serviced. You may need to adjust the brakes, and you may need to release and engage them in order to replace a wheel. In this manual you will find a guide on how to do these.
V BRAKES To release your V brakes in order to fit or replace your wheel, pull back the black rubber protector and squeeze the to brake arms together. Whilst holding these you can pull the brake out by the noodle as shown. To re-engage your brakes once wheel is fitted, you need to squeeze the brake arms together again and reverse step ii.
CALIPER BRAKES If you need to release your caliper brakes to install or replace a wheel, slightly loosen the cable pinch bolt. Turn it anti-clockwise with the spanner provided as shown. This will open up the break pads so the wheel fits through. Once the wheel is in place and tight, squeeze the brake arms together until there is a 1 - 1.5 mm gap betwen the brake pads and the rim. Both sides should be equal.
3J. GEARS Before riding your bike make sure your gears are properly adjusted and that you are happy with how the controls work. If your bike is equipped with gears, it will have either one or two shifters. The shifter fitted to the right hand side of the handlebar controls the rear gears. These are where you have a number of cogs on the rear wheel, and the chain is moved accross them by way of a derrailleur.
Derailleurs Gears are usually conrtolled by derailleurs, which are the mechanisms that move the chain up and down the cogs. The rear derailleur is controlled by the right hand gear shifter, and the front derraileur by the left shifter. Setting gears on a rear derailleur i Turn the pedals and shift the gear on the right hand gear shifter to the highest number / lowest cog. ii Look at the derrailleur and the cog and these should be in line.
Setting gears on a front derailleur LIMITER SCREWS These are marked ‘H’ & ‘L’, and are sometimes found in different positions on the derailleur i Whilst turning the pedals, set the left hand gear shifter to the lowest gear (smallest cog at the front), and the right hand shifter to the highest gear (smallest cog at the back) ii You should check that the chain is running freely through the cage on the front derailleur without catching. If it catches you can move the cage by slightly adjusting the ‘L’ screw.
TWIST GRIP GEAR INDICATOR Tells you what number gear you are in GEAR SHIFTER Rotate to shift gears up and down the cogs CABLE TENSION SCREW Can be turned to add or remove slack to the gear cable 25
3K ROTOR or GIRO Some BMX bikes come equipped with what is called a rotor or a giro. This enables the user to turn the handlebar a full 360 degrees without the cables tangling. If you plan to use your BMX for stunt riding, ramps or the like, this may invalidate your warranty. i Feed the shortest cable through the nearest hole to the brake lever and the longest cable through the furthest hole. Shortest cable ii Screw the cables in place by turning the cable bolts clockwise as shown.
iv We then need to fit the cable to the break lever. Ensure the slots on the cable tension screw are in line with the slot on the brake lever housing. v Squeeze the brake lever and insert the brake cable into the slot as shown below. vi With the brake lever closed, you can now pull the brake cable outer casing and insert the cable through the sloths in the brake lever housing and the brake cable tension screw.
4. Maintenance WARNING It is important that you exercise extreme caution when riding or performing any maintenance / building tasks on your bike so as not to trap fingers or any other extremity, which can cause serious injury. Tyres & Tubes Bicycle tyres come in many designs and specifications for different types of riding. THey range from general purpose tyres all the way to specific tyres for different weather / terrain.
Replacing an innertube We recommend you always carry a spare innertube when out on your bike. Puncture repairs are ok for an emergency fix, but an inproper repair or too many repairs may cause the innertube to fail, resulting in you losing control and falling. Remove the wheel from the bicycle, you can follow the wheels section of this manual if you have are unsure on how to do this. Let all the air ouf the tube.
Break-in Period: Your bike will last longer and work better if you break it in before riding it hard. Control cables and wheel spokes may stretch or “seat” when a new bike is first used and may require readjustment. This manual will help you identify some things that need readjustment. But even if everything seems fine to you, it is often best to take your bike to your local mechanic for a checkup. Dealers typically suggest you bring the bike in for a 30 day checkup.
• Check the frame, particularly in the area around all tube joints; the handlebars; the stem; and the seatpost for any deep scratches, cracks or discoloration. These are signs of stress-caused fatigue and indicate that a part is at the end of its useful life and needs to be replaced. As required: • If either brake fails, don’t ride the bike. Have your local mechanic check the brakes.
Cleaning & Lubrication It is important in order to keep your bike in good and safe working order to make usre it is clean and lubricated. Always wash off any excess dirt and dry well, before lubricating moving parts. Below is a guide that may help you with your maintenance schedule, but this will depend on how and where you ride and also on how often you ride.
5. Torque Specifications Correct tightening torque of threaded fasteners is very important to your safety. Always tighten fasteners to the correct torque. In case of a conflict between the instructions in this manual and information provided by a component manufacturer, consult with a qualified bicycle mechanic or the manufacturer’s customer service representative for clarification. Bolts that are too tight can stretch and deform. Bolts that are too loose can move and fatigue.
6. Weight Restrictions It is important that you don’t overload your bicycle, as this can cause any of the components to fail causing serious injury. The weights specified below are maximum bicycle capacities, so are a combination of rider plus any luggage / bags etc.
7. Warranty Statement Argos offers a 10 year warranty on steel frames and rigid forks for any problems relating to manufacturer workmanship or arising from material defects including breakages or cracking caused while riding (other than rider misuse). All other components including aluminium frames and forks are guaranteed for 1 year for problems relating to manufacturer workmanship or arising from material defects with the exception of consumable components for example brake blocks, pads, tyres and tubes.
CUSTOMER SERVICES NUMBER: 0161 813 1745
