Costco sells everything and while their offerings are very convenient to their members, other things leave much to desire. Such is the case with their bicycles, which they do not have preassembled prior to purchase.
So, does Costco assemble bikes? Yes, they do! But you may not want to attempt them setting it up for you. This is because they do not properly train their employees for bike assemblage. Here, we’ll tell you all you need to know about Costco’s bike assembly and what to do if you want to make a bike purchase from them.
About Getting a Bike Assembled at Costco
Each Costco location is individual and separate from one another. Even though every location will assemble a bike, not every employee tasked with assembly will do it correctly.
Costco does not provide proper or adequate training. So, you don’t know who’s putting your bike together and what that person’s experience level is with bike assemblage.
Therefore, if you want Costco to assemble a bike you bought from them, you are going to have to make some inquiries about the people putting it together.
While it may seem awkward or invasive, your purpose is to ensure the ultimate in safety. Be sure to ask things like:
- How many bikes have you put together? What is your experience with bike assembly? (Asking these questions will give you an idea of their experience. You can then gauge how comfortable you are leaving the task in their hands.)
- Do you have any official training with assembling bikes outside of Costco? From or with who did you receive this training? How long ago did you get this training? (These questions will further clarify their experience along with how much you can trust this person to assemble your bike.)
- How long will it take you to put the bike together? (If they have a backlog of bikes to assemble, it may take a week or longer. However, if they don’t have many to put together and tell you it will take a week, look elsewhere for assembly.)
- What recourse do I have if the bike’s assembly fails? (You may have to speak to a manager or other customer service agent for their returns/exchanges policies. They should allow you to bring the bike back in the event there are serious issues with its assembly.)
- Are there any other assurances you can give me before putting the bike together? (This will show you how honest and/or genuine the mechanic(s) is about their skills, training, and ability to assemble your bike.)
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Common Problems with Costco Bike Assembly
If you peruse online accounts of people’s experiences with a Costco assembled bike, there are horror stories across the board.
While the bike may look good upon first receiving it, it doesn’t take long to discover the vapid problems that abound with the bike.
Whoever puts them together often reverses the direction of bars, handles, and pedals along with spotty jobs in ensuring the security and stability of all nuts, bolts, and screws.
Parts are often upside down, thereby making the bike difficult, if not impossible, to operate.
Other problems include faulty brakes, wheel wells being too tight, and failure of certain aspects with electrical bike features, among many others.
All of these have resulted in severe injuries that didn’t have to happen.
Costco Doesn’t Ensure Quality
Basically, Costco does not ensure their assemblies are in good working order or condition before they leave their store.
It’s painfully obvious that they do not do a final check and tend to overlook the quality of their assembly.
So, if you choose to use Costco’s mechanics to assemble your bike, proceed with great caution.
Consider Someone Else to Assemble the Bike
When in doubt, you should have someone you trust to assemble the bike. It’s the best way to avoid problems that may or may not include serious injury while the bike is in operation.
If you can’t do it yourself, take the newly purchased bike to a professional. You will probably pay additional money for them to do it, but it will be worth it.
However, if you’re going to enlist the help of a professional bike store, you might be better off just buying a new bike from them. Oftentimes, they’ll include free assembly as part of your initial purchase.
So, when looking at bikes from Costco, consider your capabilities and resources in being able to put it together.
Assembling the Bike Yourself
The good news is you can opt for Costco not to assemble the bike and you can simply do it yourself. While they have assembly instructions for most bikes they sell, not all come with them.
Therefore, when shopping in-store or online, make sure the bike you’re looking at has such instructions.
Alternatively, you can look up the brand of the bike and go directly to the manufacturer’s website for assembly instructions.
If they don’t have them available online, you could call or email the company to see if they have some instructions, they can send to you.
You could also peruse the innumerable online videos through various social media sites showing you how to put your bike together.
You can watch and re-watch the videos to ensure sure you know what you’re doing. Even when you’re secure in the knowledge, it’s not a bad idea to allow the video to play during your assembly of the bike.
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Conclusion
While Costco does assemble bikes, it’s not advisable to have them do so. There are far too many problems, and the risk of injury is absurdly high.
So, you’re better off having someone else assemble it or simply doing it yourself.
If you aren’t confident in your own capacity to put it together, you can take the bike to a professional to do it.
However, you might be better off just purchasing the bike from a bona fide bike dealer to ensure the assembly is correct, solid, and safe.
