Bike assembly. $10.00 or a child's feeling of accomplishment?

Mom and sis built me a bike! And I helped!
Time it took: 2 1/2 hours

Time it should've taken: 0 if you buy it already assembled ($10.00 more), or maybe 45 minutes.

I'm sitting here, having my celebratory glass of wine after spending the evening with my 4 year old son and my 19 year old daughter assembling a bike. Yes, we did it together, amazingly without killing anyone... much less breaking anything.

Of course, he started out with the easy job, unwrapping and showing us each part. I did the second easiest thing, taking pictures and trying to figure out and remove whatever looked like plastic or rubber bits of protective pieces... of which there were many.

And my daughter basically figured out how to put it together and did much of it herself. We tried using the instructions, but they were rather useless. The instructions were written for a whole line of bikes, not specifically this one. None of it really matched up too well. So the brain took over, and this time, I was just an assistant.

Here we go:
1) Take out all the parts, unwrap and make sure you've removed all the extraneous stuff. Some of it can fool you, until you try to figure out why it doesn't fit with the piece it's supposed to. (Yes, I did, and here's the one I almost missed.)

2) Now, for the first part, tell your 4 year old to go watch tv or have a snack so you can figure out how to get that front wheel squeezed into the fork. Yes it seemed impossible, until my daughter decided to remove one of the nuts and just shoved the darn thing together. Well, it worked, and it holds together. And logically, it should be safe to ride. I don't think we could've gotten it together the way it was... Of course all the nuts and necessary parts were on and it's solid, or we would've gone back to the store and paid the $10.00.

3) Put on the training wheels. My son actually did one side, while my daughter did the other one. This was easy. Put the pieces together like this, and make sure the part that sticks out on the silver piece is in the slot so it won't slip around. Think logically.... My 4 year old did this part with minimal assistance.

4) Adjust the seat. Easy enough, stick the seat in and tighten the screw. Ours has a quick release lever, so once it's adjusted properly, you can flip the lever and make any other adjustments when your child grows taller.

5) Put the handlebars in. Remove the little cap on the end (if it has one), it might be covering the mechanisms to hold the bars in place. Yes, this is where I had a brainfart... BUT after the lights went back on, I figured it out. Line them up and tighten the nut. It REALLY helps to have a competent assistant to help hold the front wheel in place while you keep the handlebars from moving.

6) Pedals were easiest to put on. They are labeled R and L. Must I explain what that is? Hmmmm... even I figured that one out. My 4 year old did one side, tightening with a wrench and did a better job than my 19 year old. She had a bit of problem with the wrench.

7,8,9,10... yes, it should take a while) It's almost done! The brakes were not too hard, here's a quick look at how the cable fits into the hand brake. There is a little knob in the end that slides into a little groove cut precisely for it. The cable slides into another groove, and the end piece should easily fit into the end of the hand brake... you know., uh. ahem..... male-female like. Okay, uh... now the male part naturally screws into the female part. Make sure nothing slips out (get your mind outta the gutter!) as you pull the cable to tighten the brakes. Squeeze the brake pads together while you tighten the cable and screw it tighter to hold it on. (SHAME ON YOU!) Okay... well, you get the picture... NO, NO, NOT THAT ONE! Here are a few real ones to help you visualize the actual process.

Cable end goes into the hole.

Slide cable through the slit.

Male-Female connections, uh..yeah... screw it in.

Cable end is like another male-female connection. It should just, um... slide right in. This one is sticking out and not doing the job. Oh my....

And lastly, pull cable and tighten up the screw to hold it in place. Whew... a job well done. You deserve a smoke... uh... a glass of wine. ;)

Honestly... we all went to sleep feeling happy and very competent. The job was done and now, my daughter, who can't coordinate her fingers to play a video game, is feeling a bit more capable in the world of tools. And of course, 4 year old little boys always feel capable amongst nuts and bolts. So was just $10.00 savings worth it? Yes... and then some.