What is a Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI)?

A Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI) is the final quality control process that ensures your mountain bike is assembled correctly, tuned to perfection, and ready to ride straight out of the box. This detailed checklist covers everything from frame integrity and component alignment to drivetrain adjustments, brake setup, and suspension tuning. Every bolt is torqued to the correct specification, and every system is tested to make sure your bike is ready to go.

What do we do?

Every bike comes to us in a box, some are built and others are in little pieces! The first part of any new bike journey is going through our workshop.

Here’s what we do with your bike before shipping:

Frame

• Check for damage, scratches, paint chips, bent or misaligned components.

Seatpost and Saddle

• Grease the seat tube or use carbon assembly paste on carbon posts
• Insert the post and check the saddle is level, torque the bolts to the manufacturer's specifications.
• For shipping, we may remove the post leaving the saddle attached or remove the saddle to stop the saddle from sticking up the box and getting damaged in transit.
• For dropper posts, pre-tension cable if the seat post needs to be removed.
• For Rockshox Reverbs: Check the actuation and bleed the hose if necessary. Some frames with tight hose routing can crush the hose affecting actuation, and apply a piece of masking tape to show the maximum safe post insertion.

Wheels and Tyres

• Check rotor bolts and cassette are torqued up to manufacturer specifications.
• Check the tyres are properly seated on the rims and stay inflated.
• Check the direction of the tread pattern is round the right way.
• Inflate the tyres to the maximum recommended PSI for shipping to prevent leakage and damage in transit.
• If the wheels are set up tubeless, check the tape and put sealant in the tyres, inflate and check for leaks.
• Spin the wheels to make sure they run true with no excessive lateral or vertical movement.
• Check for smooth hub rotation and no free play in the bearings.
• Check the axles and quick releases are present and if fitted, tight and secure.
• Check end caps are present on the wheels, if they have loose fittings: fit masking tape over the hubs so they stay in place.

Cockpit

• Fit the stem, top cap and handlebars, making sure the headset is assembled correctly, tightly and free of play.
• Check the brake levers, shifters and grips are positioned correctly and torqued to the manufacturer's specifications.
• If they are non-UK spec: change the brake levers to right-front left-rear.
• Cable and Hose Routing
• Make sure all cables and hydraulic hoses are routed smoothly with no excessive bends or rubbing.
• Fit cable ends to prevent fraying.
• Check there is no cable interference with suspension movement.
• Check that the cable lengths are appropriate for the bike and cut if necessary.

Brakes

• Verify that callipers are aligned correctly to rotors and that brake pads are centred.
• Make sure there is equal tension in both callipers for balanced braking.
• Check that the lever feel is consistent and firm, without excess travel.
• If the bike uses hydraulic brakes, check for leaks and top up fluid if necessary.

Drivetrain & Bottom Bracket

• Inspect the bottom bracket for any side-to-side movement.
• Tighten crank bolts to the manufacturer's torque specification and check for smooth rotation.
• Set chain tension correctly (for single-speed or internally geared bikes).
• Gear Indexing & Rear Mech Setup
• Install and check the derailleur hanger
• Set the B tension bolt, the high/low limit screws and adjust the cable tension.
• Check the chain orientation is correct.
• If the bike has a front derailleur, set the height and check alignment with the chainrings.
• Stretch the cables and recheck the shifting, adjust as needed.
• Run through the full range of gears, making sure the bike shifts smoothly with no chain skipping.
• If the bike uses Sram AXS or Shimano Di2: Check the batteries are charged and the components are paired.

Suspension Setup

• Inflate the fork and shock to the manufacturer's recommended PSI from the customer's rider weight if supplied and set the rebound.
• Set the compression to the manufacturer's specifications or to the customer's ride style and terrain.
• Cycle the suspension to function and test its operation keeping a look out for excess oil on the seals or stanchions.
• Torque any hardware to the manufacturer's specifications.

Ebike Components

• Check the charge status of the main battery and charge if necessary.
• Run any firmware updates and make sure all components are paired.
• Run a diagnostic and record the report

Bolt check

• Before boxing, carry out a full bolt check of the bike, making sure to torque everything down to manufacturer specifications.

Box and package the bike and send it to you!