FAQ's

It’s a popular myth that bikes arrive pre-built. While we’d love for that to be the case, the truth is that bikes arrive in parts that need to be carefully assembled. And that’s where the Halfords bike building service comes in.

So, why should you take advantage of our bike building service?

Built by experts

Here at Halfords, we’ve been supplying and building bikes for over 125 years. Our 3000+ trained technicians build millions of bikes each year, ranging from the smallest kids’ bike to the largest adult bikes and including both electric and mechanic types.

These technicians attend a training course and assessment that covers every element of the bike building process, and also undertake training on how to construct specific bike brands. All of which means that by using the Halfords bike building service, you’ll be putting your bike into the best possible hands.

Convenient and hassle-free

When you’ve bought a new bike, either for yourself or as a present for a loved one, you want to get it out on the road as soon as possible. What you don’t want is to spend several frustrating and stressed-filled hours trying to piece it together yourself. The Halfords bike building service takes the hassle out of building a bike by doing it for you, on a day that you choose and at a time that suits you.

Safe and secure

Not only will our technicians build your bike, but they’ll also safety-check it for you to make sure that it’s ready to ride. We offer a 30-minute handover process too, giving you dedicated time with a colleague to check that everything’s set up to your satisfaction before you take your bike off on its maiden journey.

We’d always recommend getting your bike built by an expert and can offer this service for just £/€10 (or for free if your bike is £/€350 or more). However, if you’d prefer to have a go at building it yourself then you can take your bike away boxed from one of our stores for free. We also have some handy video guides on how to build an adult bike and how to build a child’s bike that you can follow to make the process easier.

If you have any further questions about our bike building service, check out our FAQs.

Shop All Bikes

Investing in an electric bike isn't a decision that is taken lightly, but Halfords are here to help! With our free electric bike trial, you can test out an electric bike for up to 6 hours so that you can see if electric is the way forward for you. We offer nationwide store coverage for our Electric Bike Trials, test rides can be arranged by using our eBike Trial Finder to find your nearest trial store.

Please note that our colleagues in store will require a fully refundable security deposit of £/€101 and 2 forms of ID, including one photo ID to allow you to test the bike. 

Sadly, we can't let non Electric Bikes out for a ride, but the majority of our stores now have static cycle trainers set up which will allow you to sit on the bike they are looking at and get a good feel for it.       

                 

E-Bike batteries are normally made of lithium compounds to make a Li-Ion battery, usually made up of lots of smaller 18650 size cells within a casing. The batteries should be cared for in the same way as mobile phone batteries, avoid heavy knocks or piercing the battery pack, and must not be left completely uncharged for long periods of time or they may eventually become incapable of holding a charge at all.

From flat, it would take around 3.5-4 hours to charge a battery to 100% full, but will be around 80% full after 1.5 hours  the battery automatically slows down its charging rate in the last 15-20%.  Try to let the battery get to around a 30-40% charge before recharging. Most batteries are good for around 1000 recharges, so an E-bike being used for commuting so a bike used for commuting 20 miles a day should last for around 7 years.

An electric bike, or E-bike, is one which has an electric powered hub which is designed to assist with pedalling rather than powering the bike without input from the rider. When riding up a hill, the motor will activate to help you reach a better cruising speed on an incline to make it easier to ride. The hub can be located in either the front or rear wheel, or in the central hub with the pedals.

The legal definition of an Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle (EAPC) or E-Bike is an electrically assisted bike where an additional motor is fitted to supplement the cyclist. Fitting a bike with a full electric mode or a throttle changes the definition of the bike to one of an electrically-powered motorbike, where a license, insurance, road duty and MOTs would be required.

To define the difference between an electrically assisted pedal cycle (EAPC) and an electrically powered motorbike  that is a bike which can be powered solely be an electric motor  the EU specified a speed limit of 15.5mph (25kph) before the motor cuts out and no assistance is given. If you exceed this speed when cycling, the motor will cut out.Most riders will normally cycle at around this speed, and as the sensors are sensitive to speed changes, it may give the impression of an intermittent fault with the motor as you go above and below this speed.

In England, Scotland and Wales, no license, insurance, road tax or MOT would be required for an e-bike. However all of these things are required for riding an E-bike in Northern Ireland with the battery fitted, as well as a motorbike helmet.

E-bikes tend to be heavier than mechanical bikes (around 20kg) and only certain cycle carriers can support them. These are typically tow bar-mounted ones and you can find a full list of e-bike compatible bike racks here.

We're able to get spares for the mechanical parts of the bike, such as the drivetrain  chains, chainwheel, derailleurs and for the consumable parts of the bikes such as tyres, tubes and so on. Depending on the electrical part which may need replacing, our colleagues may be able to fit these in-store. If there is a fault on the bike which can't be repaired in store, the bike would be sent back to the manufacturer for repair.

All bikes will come boxed unless specified that you would like the bike built when you order or reserve it. You may be able to pick up your bike in as little as an hour if you collect it boxed. Building adds ½ day to the collection date. All Halfords stocked bikes which can be collected in store, and premium bikes ordered online for home delivery, such as Boardman and VooDoo, have the option of being built free of charge; sadly this option is not available for Apollo and Carrera bikes. Adding delivery to a built bike will normally make the delivery time around 7 days.

Yes, its perfectly fine to fit an E-bike to a rear mounted cycle carrier, provided it has the crossbar to fit it on. In this case, the bikes weight around 20Kg, so you would only be able to carry two at a time.If your bike has a step-through crossbar, you would normallyuse a false crossbar to mount the bike onto a carrier. Most false crossbars will only take a maximum of 15Kg, so would be unable to support the weight of an E-bike with a step-through crossbar. In this instance, we would recommend a tow bar mounted carrier.  

                 

To change the the rim size on a bike you should consider a 1.5"" drop in tyre width for every inch bigger you're making the tyre. As you increase the size of the tyre, the width of the tyre will increase too, so by reducing this it will make the tyre fit within the frame. Moving down in size is much easier and will allow you to fit wider tyres on the rims, increasing comfort and ridability. However, it's always worth checking out the clearance of the frame, and whether there is any adjustment needed in the brakes.

Unless otherwise stated, adult bicycles are designed to carry a rider of up to 120 Kg (18st 12lbs) and up to 20 Kg of luggage. All luggage carried must be securely mounted on the frame, uniformly distributed and fitted as low as possible, to minimize any adverse effect upon stability. The maximum total weight of the cycle, rider and luggage should never exceed 160 Kg. Unless otherwise stated, folding bikes are designed to carry a rider of up to 85kg (13st 5lbs) and up to 15Kg of luggage.