...and for choosing Rocker BMX, you have chosen wisely. We appreciate the market is slightly clouded with various brands of so called mini bmx. However, Rocker is very different from other brands; it was designed by riders and will always be for riders. Rocker is designed based on many years experience in the BMX industry. It s tough, VERY tough. The colourways have all been created by fans of Rocker BMX, making Rocker truly owned by the people who ride it. Everyone has the opportunity to be involved with Rocker BMX, so please go to www.facebook.com/rockerbmx for more information on how to get involved. Before you start to get to grips with assembling your new Rocker BMX, please take the time to read this instruction manual carefully. If you are not proficient with tools and assembling bikes, we suggest you ask someone who is proficient to give you a hand. Hopefully this is what you are looking at right now (assuming you downloaded these instructions). Carefully cut any straps, pop open the staples (warning these can be very sharp, take great care), open the box and lay out the contents, it should look something like the picture below. Now carefully remove all of the foam, card and plastic protective packaging using knife/scissors. Please be extremely careful not to damage your shiny new paintwork. Once all packaging has been removed lay out the main Rocker assembly and loose components (as below) and have a visual check for any significant shipping damage. First up: the tools you need to assemble your Rocker BMX. Tools required for basic assembly/checking Knife / scissors 5mm + 6mm allen keys 15mm + 17mm + 19mm ring/open spanners Pump with Schrader attachment (normal BMX / car valve) Please note: there maybe minor scratches as a result of the courier s heavy handedness, this is a fact of mail order that sadly cannot be avoided. Therefore please note we cannot replace bikes/parts as a result of minor scratches.
You should have the main Rocker BMX assembly, some bars with pre installed grips, a pair of pedals (one stamped L the other stamped R) and a seat post unit. If anything is missing, now is the time to let us know. To make life easier, we are going to first install the pedals. First off the left hand pedal stamped L using the 15mm spanner. Please note, to tighten a left pedal you turn anti clockwise NOT clockwise. Be careful not to cross thread and make sure the pedal is done up nice and tight. Running loose pedals destroys the threads very quickly. With the left pedal installed you can now stand the bike up using the left pedal as a bike stand. This makes the job a lot easier. Now install the right hand pedals, this time the pedal is turned clockwise to tighten. Again be careful not to cross thread the pedal and make sure the pedal is done up nice and tight. You can now easily pop the seat in, set the desired height & tighten with a 5 mm allen key. You will need to turn the bolt a good 5 + rotations before it will start to go tight for the first time. Now, carefully remove the stem faceplate bolts x 4 with a 6 mm allen key. Ensuring the correct orientation, hang the handlebars in the stem bar recess and carefully replace the stem faceplate. Be very careful to ensure the faceplate is tightened evenly.
Once the faceplate starts to bite the bars, spin the bars up into the correct position and finally clamp down the faceplate nice and tight. If you find your bars move (later when riding) you can try applying a little grease to your faceplate bolts (threads) which will allow your to tighten them further still. Check the front wheel alignment and adjust as necessary (your stem rear pinch bolts should still be loose at this stage). Nip up the rear bolts then grab your bars and check for excessive free play in the headset bearings. If there is excessive play, remove it by carefully tightening your headset pre load bolt (stem pinch bolts MUST be loose during this operation then re-tightened to check free play). If there is excessive play, remove it by carefully tightening your headset pre load bolt (stem pinch bolts MUST be loose during this operation then re-tightened to check free play). Once any rock has been dialled out, check your bars turn freely left and right. On the first delivery of Rockers, the front wheel safety tabs are not installed, so at this stage please check your bike to make sure they are in place, they should look like the picture above. If the locking washer is not already in place please loosen the wheel nuts with a 19mm spanner, fully remove the wheel nuts and install the locking tab safety washers. Once you are happy the front wheel is installed correctly make sure in spins freely. Once you are happy with the set up, tighten up your stem pinch bolts nice and tight.
At this stage you may notice some wheel wobble or tyre wobble. This is perfectly normal and to be expected. The wheels for Rocker BMX are adapted from hand trucks (wheel barrow) applications and are thus designed to be very strong at a very low price. If you are concerned about excessive tyre or wheel wobble, please look carefully at your rim/hub assembly as often it can be dialled out by loosening the main four hub/rim bolts and re-aligning the split rims. This can however be fiddly and is only advised if your rims are looking wildly out of true. Minor wobble or tyre bulge should simply be accepted as part of the character of your new Rocker BMX. We will be bringing out our own aftermarket wheels and tyres in the future that will rectify wheel wobble for high speed ramp applications where wheel wobble can sometimes be detected by the rider. After a few hours riding we suggest you re-check your cone nuts & bearing free play. Dial out as necessary (will become loose as bearings bed in) If your wheel is too loose (rattling loose bearings) tighten the cone nuts. If it does not spin freely and comes to a halt too quickly, carefully loosen the cones nuts. For this you will require a 17mm and a 19mm spanner Now check your bottom bracket/crank assembly. Turn the cranks & look at the locking nut and cone to make sure they have been installed correctly and are not cross threaded. If you find that they are please use suitable tools to loosen, re-align and then pre-load your crank bearings (this is very rare please call us if you require professional assistance in such a case). Rocker BMX uses a USA BB as standard, we also manufacture aftermarket 3 piece cranks and conversion BB s with fully sealed cartridge bearings (USA to 19mm), please see our website for details www.rockerbmx.com should you wish to upgrade your cranks Whilst turning your cranks make sure that the sprocket had been installed correctly and runs straight and true.
Check rear wheel alignment and correct as necessary using a 19mm spanner to loosen the rear wheel nuts (make sure your rear wheel nuts are tight prior to riding your Rocker BMX). At the same time ensure you have the correct chain tension. The rocker uses a free wheel and thus the chain should NOT be as tight as it would be on a normal BMX with a driver as this will significantly slow down your rear wheels free spin. Please see following photo, chain should be slightly loose but not flapping. Once you are happy that everything is aligned correctly and the chain tension is correct, check that the back wheel spins freely and adjust the cone nuts as necessary. Again remember to check these periodically, especially after the first few hours riding. Dial out any loose play, or over tightness and allow the wheels to spin freely. Finally you are ready to test ride your Rocker BMX, before you do so, make sure your tyres are pumped up nice and hard. Max tyre pressure is 45 PSI. It is VERY important you DO NOT exceed this pressure. If you need to repair a puncture at any stage, please note that you will need to split the rims to get the tyre off. You cannot use tyre levers to get the tyre off and if you do try to do so you will bend the steel rims. Undo the 4 rim/hub bolts and your will see that the rim comes into two pieces away from the separate hub. You can now replace/repair the inner tube (available from www.rockerbmx.com).