How to Put BMX Bikes Together

This step-by-step guide can help you on your way to putting together your own BMX bike. Despite what you may have heard, putting a BMX bike together is very simple. Putting a bike together on your own helps build your mechanical skills.

Things You'll Need

• Grease
• Flathead screw driver
• Phillips head screwdriver
• Adjustable wrench
• Allen wrenches
• Oil

Instructions

1. 

   Stand the frame up and place the headset in the hole in the top frame located at the front end of the bike. Then take the fork and place it into the hole from the bottom. Then insert your headset into the same hole as the fork but insert it from the top. Make sure to include any spacers and washers that you may need.

2. 

   Take your stem and attach it to your fork and insert your bolt or Allen wrench screw into the top of the stem to hold the fork to the stem. Now attach the handlebar to the stem with four bolts or Allen head screws.

3. 

   Put on your seat. Put your seat clamp onto the frame, then insert the seat post into the clamp hole, and finally attach the seat to the seat post. Be sure to tighten all nuts and bolts.

4. 

   Some frames come with the crank already attached. But if your bike does not, then you must turn your frame upside down so that the bike is resting on the seat and the handlebars. Once it is upside down, install the bottom bracket, being sure to grease the threads. The drive side is reverse threaded, which means to tighten it, you turn it in the opposite direction than you normally would. Once the drive is installed, you can put on your cranks and tighten them up.

5. 

   While your bike is still upside down, you can put on your wheels and chain. The wheel that contain the gear goes in the back and the other wheel without the gear goes in front. Place the chain around the gear on the back wheel and then around the gear on the crank and connect the two ends together by placing the pin that comes with the chain through the two ends. Then tighten the chain by pulling back on the rear wheel and tightening the nuts.

6. 

   To put your pedals on, you have two ways to go. You can leave the bike upside down or you can turn it right side up, which ever is easiest. Just grease the pedals and attach them to the cranks using a wrench.

7. 

   Attach your brakes to the back of your bike. It should curve around the top of the back tire. Once attached, put your brake lever on your handlebars. Which side of the handlebar to attach it to is up to you. Then run your brake cable from your lever to your brakes.

8. Test ride your bike. If your ride goes smooth, you're done; if not, come back and tune the bike.