A few notes / remarks on assembling the Haibike Sduro Trekking RC

[Nick S]

I received my new 2016 Haibike Sduro Trekking RC via UPS yesterday. The bike seem well packed, and as requested, the two accessories I added to my order were already installed on the bike (Ergon GP-1 grips, and a BodyFloat suspension seatpost with the correct springs for my weight).

I assembled the bike about an hour ago, and thought I'd run quickly through the steps in case this helps another member of the forum. Much of this info may apply to other models. The tools I used were a variety of metric allen keys (probably 2.5, 4, and 5mm), a flat head screw driver for the spoke reflectors, and a medium sized Phillips head screwdriver for the fender tab and front light screws.

I had my wife help me with removing the bike from the box (I didn't want to destroy it in case I needed to send the bike off for a warranty repair), mostly just to grab the loose handlebar and make sure I put no strain on the wires. The front wheel was fitted into a cardboard sleeve next to the bike, and had plastic pieces fitted to either side to protect the brake rotor, as did the rear wheel (which also had a plastic piece protecting the derailleur). Unlike many online videos I watched, the stem was attached to the handlebars rather than the headset, and a protective cardboard tube was placed on the headset between the top cap and the spacers.

My order of assembly was to first remove the top cap and cardboard sleeve from headset, then attach the stem and handlebars. Rotate the fork until it's straight, then tighten each of the two bolts on the stem a bit at a time until very snug, then snug down the top cap.

I then inserted the skewer through the front wheel, with the clamp on the disc brake side, inserted the loose spring onto the skewer with the small end towards the wheel, and loosely attached the nut. I then inserted the front wheel into the dropouts. It would have been very helpful to have someone to help steady the bike while doing this, but you can do it alone if you're careful or have a bike repair stand. Note: My bike shipped with a plastic piece inserted into the front disc brake caliper. Remove this before attempting to install the front wheel. After aligning the rotor into the calipers and seating the front wheel, I rotated the nut until snug, backed off a 1/2 turn, and closed the skewer clamp. It should be very firm to close, and leave a mark in your hand after closing. If it closes too easily, open the clamp, snug the nut slightly, and try again.

I then attached the kickstand, after extending the sliding foot 1/2 way and snugging the screw tight to hold it in that length. This uses two stainless machine bolts that were in the same plastic bag that the reflectors were enclosed in, I believe these were 4 or 5mm allen head; just look for the two mounting holes on the rear left of the bike (farther back than you might expect; this kickstand happily is well clear of the cranks. Some force is required to install the bolts, probably because of paint on the frame.

With the kickstand on and deployed, I then attached the front SKS fender; this shipped rubber-banded to the front wheel. This was the one part of assembly I was unsure about, and called the shop for advice on how to mount. The person I spoke to kindly emailed a photo and confirmed that the fender stay connectors just friction fit on the bottom. First, insert the fender from the rear of the wheel forward, and use the wide Phillips head screw to attach the fender tab to the center hole on the back side of the fork arch. The screw was in the same bag with the reflectors. Then, back out the two stainless machine bolts from the braze-ons on either side of the fork about 1/2 way, until you have sufficient clearance to snugly pop the connectors on the end of the stays onto the bolt heads. I did need to loosen the tiny allen key nuts on the stay side of the connectors slightly to pull the stay out maybe 1mm on either side to provide sufficient clearance for the tire to avoid rubbing, then re-tightened. Make sure the tire rotates freely and adjust either the stays or the center tab if necessary.

The other slightly confusing bit, because I'm a bit of a dunce, is how to mount the front light. I first thought the Suntour branded panel on the front of the fork arch was just snapped in, but couldn't get it to come off by prying (happily I gave up before snapping it). You need to remove the two Phillips head screws from the rear of the fork, on either side of where the front fender is attached. Save those screws; you'll place the light bracket where the panel you just removed went, and use those screws to attach the front light from the rear. Use an allen wrench to loosen the pivot of the front light, and adjust upward to illuminate the right location.

The rest was very simple; just remember that the left pedal (labeled on the end of the threaded piece that goes into the crank) is reverse threaded. The spoke reflectors use the two white plastic pieces to attach; place the reflector on with a spoke in the vertical groove in the center, then insert one of the white plastic pieces, and rotate clockwise with a flat head screw driver to attach. The coin-cell CR2032 battery inserts into the display with the positive (labeled) side facing you; I found a US quarter worked well to loosen and attach the battery cover.

After carefully checking the bike for any transport protection pieces to remove and making sure the brakes worked, I took it for a spin, without the battery inserted. If I had any trouble shifting, I didn't want the additional torque of the motor to cause damage. Happily, the bike shifts up and down smoothly, with no grinding or clashing noises, and the brakes work smoothly without squealing.

It took me maybe 1.5 hours to finish assembly, but I'm pretty slow and methodical and this was the first bike I've ever "put together". That includes puzzling over the front fender for maybe 20 minutes and a 10 minute phone call to the shop. I hope the info above saves someone a little time and confusion. If I was to do it again, I don't think this would take more than 20-30 minutes. There's no reason you need to pay a bike shop to assemble, I'd save that money and pay for a tune-up / fitting session.

 

[Joe Remi]

Keep an eye on those front light bolts. Mine backed out and went bouncing down the highway on my first ride. I haven't figured out what size they are yet (my stash of water bottle bolts don't fit) so right now the light is not-very-tightly attached to the fork with zipties. Not a great solution.

 

[piper109]

I too assembled my 2016 Sduro Trekking bike about 6 weeks ago so reading your post seemed very familiar. I would add that I too had a problem with the headlight attachment.
After I removed the Suntour plate, I saw there were 4 screw holes in the back of the the fork cross member. I first used the same screws to attach the headlight in the outer holes but it seemed like the screws stripped or came close to stripping the plastic in the headlamp bracket. After fussing over the issue for a bit I saw there were places inside the headlight bracket for 4 screws so I moved the 2 screws to the center two holes and attached the headlight that way. There was much less tendency for the plastic threads to get stripped out so that's where they stayed and they seem pretty firm. I feel much more confident in this attachment than before.
My wife's bike arrived a week later and I attached her headlight in the same way. One day I might take a screw out and go to Lowes or similar to find some matching screws so they are held with 4 instead of two. Don't be tempted to use the bigger screws that come in the bag with reflectors as they are a bit bigger and longer and you "will" break the plastic sockets inside the headlamp mounting bracket. I don't think you need to ask me how I know that LOL.

Another point. When I attached the handlebar stem to the fork tube, I did it just as you wrote. However my engineering background reminded me that taper roller bearings, which I think these are, need a very, very small pre-load on them and no play. I think other people might tighten the top cap screw down too much.
I tightened the cap and screw down until it was just snug. Then I snugged up the two stem pinch screws up a tiny bit. Then after the bike was all together I bounced the front wheel on the ground to make sure that there was no play or rattle and then turned the bars each way to make sure there was no resistance. I then snugged up the top cap screw a minute amount more and tightened up the two pinch screws.
I think there should have been some clear instructions about this assembly as if the bearings are too tight, some brinelling of the bearing races could take place while riding.

My bike might have been a bit on the big side for me as I could not get the seat post down far enough because of the bend in the seat tube and as a result I had a tough time getting astride the saddle. A phone call with the shop later, I cut off a few inches of the seat tube and got the saddle down a bit and even my wife can get astride it now as it will go lower.

Enjoy your new bike ! I know you will

 

[Nick S]

Thanks for your replies Joe and Piper. Joe, I wish I had seen your note before I went on my first longer ride today (I had just taken a brief 3-5 mile shakeout ride on Saturday after assembling). Most of the way back on a 12 mile round-trip ride, I heard a clunk, glanced down, and saw the headlight dangling by the wire on the left side of the front wheel. I unfortunately had no way to fix it until I got home, so just crossed my fingers for the 2-3 miles I had left. I wasn't able to find screws that fit, so for now I ended up using a short velcro strap on either side of the headlight bracket. This seems reasonably secure, but like you I'd love to find a better solution both mechanically and visually! It's a little odd to have two velcro strips holding the light on, on a brand new $$ bike, but at least they're black and kinda blend in. Joe, if you place a rubber pad (like a small piece of inner tube) underneath the zip ties, you'll probably be able to get some compression that will take up the slack between the notches on the zip tie and have a much more secure fit.

I don't know if it was incorrect to re-use the screws from the Suntour plate with the headlight assembly (no others were included that looked appropriate), or if something like Loctite (they have one that's specifically for plastic to metal applications) is required on the screw threads to keep the screws from falling out? I did even tug gently on the headlight before starting out today to make sure it was on firmly, and it seemed to be. I guess vibration loosened the screws up and they fell right out. I checked it because when installing the screws, one of the sides didn't really seem to "bite" well, and seemed to just keep turning. Lesson learned, and not a big deal, though I'd probably be pretty upset if the headlight got mangled in the spokes and / or tore out the wires on my first ride.

Piper, thanks for the note on the torque on the top cap screw and stem pinch bolts. I tried to evenly tighten the stem bolts, and definitely did not apply a lot of force. I just snugged up the top cap bolt, with a minimal amount of torque. The handlebar seems to turn easily with no resistance. I'll do some research and see if I need to loosen up the bolts! Glad to hear you were able to get the seat tube cut down and the saddle at a good height for you! I went with a 56cm model, and probably could have gone down a size. I have the recommended clearance from the top bar when standing over it, but only barely in flatter shoes. Happily I think it will work, though. I'm 6'1" with a 32" inseam. I'm not using the included seatpost; I went with a BodyFloat suspension post after watching many of Court's videos, and have it raised maybe 1/2" to get the right distance to the cranks for my leg length.

I did hear a little rubbing at speed on my ride today which I'm 90% sure is from the front fender. I don't hear anything when spinning the front wheel at a stop, though the additional vibration going down the road is probably causing the plastic fender to flex a little and rub against the tire slightly. There also seems to be a bit of chain rub in the highest gear. The gear cable may need a little bit more tension, or I may need to adjust the derailleurs. I think I'll plan to take the bike in to a LBS for a tune-up and to get to know the shop before I need service.

I'm really happy with the bike so far! The Sduro Trekking RC rides really well, shifts smoothly, it's fairly comfortable even on the terrible roads around here, and the Yamaha drive system is really pretty awesome. I had done a test ride with the Bosch system on a Xduro Trekking S RX, and wondered if I was going to really regret going with the less expensive Sduro. No regrets so far. I did a fair amount of hill climbing today, and had no problem on steep grades as long as I was in an appropriate gear. I haven't had an issue with mashing the gears, since I tried to ease off completely while shifting. I rode mostly in High and maybe 1/3rd in STD. There was about 68% battery remaining from a full charge after the 12 mile ride, with the lights on.

Last comment; everything is quick-release on the bike, which is handy for adjustments and repair, but if you're planning to lock the bike to a bike rack, you're going to need to be careful to avoid coming back to a missing seatpost and wheels, even if you've locked the frame to the rack. Not something I really thought about until I locked the bike up at a coffee shop today. I think I might get a bolt on seatpost clamp at least, since the suspension seatpost might catch someone's eye and the quick release makes it so trivial to yank out in 1-2 seconds.

 

[piper109]

Sorry to hear about the headlight screw issue for you too. Frankly I think the Germans could have done a little better in that area and I guess buying the bike mail order might have precluded some instructions. I thought about using 2 black zip ties too but with the screws in the inner two holes the light seems pretty well held so I haven't done that.
The fender rubbing is really easy to fix.
The fender stays attach to the forks with plastic pieces with two screws. Set the screws in the back of the fork legs open just enough for the plastic pieces to snap over the revealed threaded section and snug up the screws in the plastic piece with the screw heads to the outside and roughly horizontal. The other screw snugs the plastic pieces on the metal stays that support the fender. If you have them set so the screw heads point to the outside and roughly horizontal, you can loosen them one at a time then simply slide the metal rod so that the fender is sort of centered up over the tire. Once in place you can snug the screws tight again and the rods will have more friction to stay in place and the rubbing should be prevented. That's what I had to do anyway. I thought the rod stays were threaded but mine are just friction. The plastic pieces can snap apart but I never needed to use that feature.

 

[piper109]

Looking at JayVee's 2017 Sduro trekking in another post, I see he has a quite different headlamp which attaches to the frame not the forks. I would guess that Haibike found it necessary to redesign their headlamp attachment as perhaps lots of folk had similar problems to you and Joe Remi. Down side is perhaps the light does not turn with the steering.
If I have more problems with that light, my plan is to glue it in place with a silicon shoe glue called "Goop". Zip ties can hold it in place while the silicon sets. Afterwards the zip ties can be removed and excess silicon can easily be removed too and everything would look neat and new. If the light needs to be removed later, a forceful pull would pop it off and the "goop" can be cleaned off.

 

[Joe Remi]

Hmm, I hadn't thought of using glue. I have some Gorilla Glue around here, I'll bet a couple drops would hold it. Thanks for the tip!

Speaking of Haibike lights, my rear one gave up after a couple rides, too. The two wires became disconnected and I know nothing about soldering wires. I taped them flat to the fender and replaced the taillight with a battery-operated TopLight I had in a drawer. I love the bike, but the lighting solution they put on it is pretty much worthless.

 

[piper109]

Joe, I took a look at my rear light as I think its probably the same as yours, made by Trelock. It came off by undoing 2x 8mm nuts. I found no way into the light but the two wires are held in by a push in plate. The wires are not soldered in place but held mechanically. Using a small screwdriver you can lever out carefully the push in plate. It comes out about 1/8" or about 3-4 mm. Dont try to get it out any further. With a flashlight you will see down the holes where the wires have to go.
The two wires are soldered at the end to stop them fraying. Its just a question of pushing them both into the holes while the plate is in its outer position and the pushing the plate in until it snaps in place. I think its best if the wires are straight.
The wires should then both be held in place and in contact with the electric board inside. They are polarized so make sure the plus wire goes in the + hole (it has a white stripe) and the ground goes in the other......pretty basic !

 

[Joe Remi]

Thanks, Piper, I tried it but it didn't work so I slapped the battery light back on. I love the rest of my Haibike, but the lighting situation is near useless. I'm over it!

 

[piper109]

I understand Joe. The first time I put the wires back in it didn't work for me either. I took the wires back out, turned the lights on and fiddled the wires in the holes till the light came on and then snapped the plate in. Been fine ever since.

 

[smithglobe]

I thought it was a nice coincidence that I am reading this post exactly three years after you all contributed here. My 2017 Sduro is still behaving extremely well. I did a 12-mile COVID ride today around Boston suburbs, very therapeutic. i have an odd assembly question. My bike was assembled by the shop where i bought it, and among the leftovers in the box was this bracket, with two bolts. Any suggestions what this is for? Image attached. thanks!

 

[byunbee]

I thought it was a nice coincidence that I am reading this post exactly three years after you all contributed here. My 2017 Sduro is still behaving extremely well. I did a 12-mile COVID ride today around Boston suburbs, very therapeutic. i have an odd assembly question. My bike was assembled by the shop where i bought it, and among the leftovers in the box was this bracket, with two bolts. Any suggestions what this is for? Image attached. thanks!

That's the plate that's usually attached to the bike to install the kickstand. if that's an extra part, I really need it for my Xduro Urban.....

 

[smithglobe]

That's the plate that's usually attached to the bike to install the kickstand. if that's an extra part, I really need it for my Xduro Urban.....

 

[byunbee]

I found where I can buy it. bikeinn.com