Ok. So you just purchased a new bicycle. Now what?

Step 1

Put all your receipts in a safe place. These are your permanent records.
These include the reciept for your bicycle, lock registration and key numbers, your copy of your police registration form, the owners manual, etc.

Step 2

Register your bicycle.
(Chicago residents only). You can either stop by a police station and pick up a bicycle registration form - or -You can register your bicycle online.

The city has cancelled the old registration link, but you can still register your bike by going here. You will need to fill out a quick form to open a CLEARPath account, but it's worth the effort to have your bike registered. If you get a certificate error message, go ahead and continue to the site. We did it several times and lived to tell about it.

We will keep our eyes open in the hope that the city makes it easier to register in the future.

If you live outside Chicago, check with your local police dept. or check online with your local city government.

Step 3

Bicycle accessories. (listed in order of importance)

	We strongly recommend you purchase a bicycle helmet.
	We recommend one of the quality horseshoe shaped locks such as Kryptonite since they provide the best security. Make sure to get one with optional insurance so if your bike is stolen, you will be refunded the value of your bike.
	If you ride at night you are now, in the city of Chicago, required by law to have a headlight and a full set of reflectors which include front, rear and wheel reflectors. The reflectors come with all the bikes sold in our store. We also recommend a flashing rear taillight since they can be seen at a much greater distance than a reflector. The headlights and taillights use LEDs which provide a bright light with much less battery usage than the halogen or old style filament bulb types.
	When you ride in the summer, you lose a lot more fluids than you realize. You also lose them faster than you think. For your own health it's important to keep yourself hydrated. Wait. If you bought your bike at Roberts Cycle, you got a free water bottle. Nevermind. :-)
Flat Kit	If you ride more than a few miles from home, the last thing you want is to be stranded with a flat. See Fixing Flats in our Tech Center

Step 4

What's next. What to do right away and in the future.

1) Quick Release Wheels	It's very important that you practice using the quick release mechanisms on your bicycle as soon as possible. See Quick Release in our Tech Center
2) Accessories	If you have any questions about how to use or operate your accessories properly and/or safely, stop by the shop and we'll be glad to answer them. Or you can.
3) Short term adjustments	We want to see your bicycle at around 90 days from the date of purchase. Bicycles have a break-in period like any other mechanical device and there are some things we check to make sure your bike is in good operating condition and is properly adjusted after this break-in period. Some of the standard adjustments we perform are to your brakes and gears to compensate for normal cable stretch, crank arm tightening to make sure they settle in place properly, minor wheel truing to compensate for spoke stretch/tensioning and a basic checkover of the rest of the bicycle to make sure everything is tight. Make sure to get this 90 day checkover as it will increase the life of your bike and also to avoid the risk of voiding the guarantees listed below due to unnecessary wear and tear.
4) Long term adjustments	If you bought your bike at Roberts Cycle it came with one of the best maintenance packages around. Check it out. 120 day FREE Adjustment on complete bike Lifetime FREE adjustments of brakes and gears Guarantee on the frame and fork (handled by the manufacturer)

That's it. If you follow the steps above you'll enjoy your riding experience and your bicycle will provide you with years of pleasurable riding. Thank you for shopping at Roberts Cycle.

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