How to Unbox Your New Trike: Setting Up Your Trike for Your First Ride

In today's article we’re going to dive right into the topic of today’s video which is: the great unboxing. We’re going to walk you through the shipping process and what to expect when your trike finally arrives at your door in a giant box.

Once your trike is built and has gone through all of the quality assurance checks it’s time to get it in a box and send it on its way. Every trike is different so our shipping crew has to build a custom box for each trike. This process is a bit tedious, but we take a lot of precautions so as to minimize any potential damage while your trike is in transit.

A couple of things to note: smaller accessory items like spare tubes or tires, flags, tools, pumps, etc are all things that will be placed into a cardboard insert. If you have an e-assist trike, the batteries will NOT be installed on your trike. They’ll be boxed up and also placed in an insert as well.

There will be a small bag taped to the inside of the box that contains paperwork, reflectors for your trike, owner manuals and a sheet with boom adjustment instructions.

While we’re on the subject of boom adjustment, let’s dive into how that works. We try to set the pedal length as close as we can to fit you using your x seam measurement. If you’re not sure how to measure your x seam, you can find a video on how to do that here. Occasionally we will have to push the boom on the trike in a few inches in order to fit it into a box.

If this is the case, we’ll write on the boom adjustment instructions which mark you need to set the boom to. There will also be a paper notice taped to the boom of your trike, letting you know that you’ll need to adjust it to the mark specified on that same paper. If your trike model doesn’t have an indexed boom (Azub, ICE and Sunseeker models) we won’t push the boom in. Instead we’ll use a longer pallet and build a box around your trike.

Once your trike is ready to go, we’ll schedule it for pick up with a freight carrier. When it is picked up we’ll receive tracking information which we will then forward on to you. If you use the tracking number to try and track your shipment, it is going to give you an ETA. This is NOT the ETA for the trike arriving at your house. This is the ETA for your trike arriving at a shipping hub that is closest to you to arrange for final delivery.

Freight shipping is not the same as parcel shipping. Delivery can take anywhere from 6-10 business, sometimes upwards of 2-3 weeks during busy seasons. Please allow time for the local hub to process your trike. When they are ready to deliver they will call you to arrange a day and a time for delivery.

When the day finally arrives and a large truck shows up with a very large box, there are a few things that we’d like for you to do. You’re going to want to have a knife, scissors and a multi tool on hand. Once the trike is unloaded (BEFORE you sign for it) walk around the box and inspect for damages. If the box looks pristine, you’re safe to sign. If you see any tears or dents in the box, please take a few pictures to document those. Remember, you still have NOT signed for the package. Go ahead and start slicing through all that tape. Open the box up and take your trike out to inspect it.

If everything looks like it’s in good shape, go ahead and sign the BOL. If you notice any damage to the trike, you need to note on the BOL that the trike is damaged before you sign for it. Please let us know of the damages and send us pictures as soon as you can.

Before you get rid of any packaging, please make sure you retrieve the paperwork I mentioned earlier as well as any extra accessories.

Now that you have your trike, it’s time to take it for a spin. Remember that you may need to adjust your boom a little bit. If you measured your x seam correctly, the pedals should be nearly the perfect length. If you have an electric motor installed on your trike, you’ll want to make sure you get your battery charging. You can still take your trike for a test ride, you just won’t have the e-assist.

With most of our trike models there are small adjustments you can make the more you ride to really tailor the trike to you, like the seat angle or the position of the handlebars.

If you’re waiting to receive your trike, we hope you feel a little more prepared. If you’re thinking of ordering a trike from us but have been concerned about the shipping process, we hope this article helped inspire some confidence in our team. If you have any additional questions don't hesitate to reach out to us and we'll do our best to help.