How to Assemble the EVRYjourney Tandem Electric Trike: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide

What Arrives at Your Door and What's Already Built

Hey everyone, I'm Dustin Gyger, CEO of sixthreezero. In this guide I'm going to walk you through assembling the EVRYjourney tandem electric trike from start to finish, the same way I built one on camera in our shop. If you're still shopping, you can see where this trike sits in our lineup on our tandem electric trikes page. If yours is already sitting in your driveway, let's get you up and riding.

I want to set expectations honestly before we start. This is not a difficult build, but it is a big one. The box is huge, a couple of steps go faster with a second pair of hands, and there are a few small parts that look like packaging but absolutely are not. I'll point out every one of those as we go. I'll also tell you where I slipped up during my own build, because those are exactly the places you're most likely to slip up too.

The box: size and weight

You can tell just by looking at it that this is a massive box. Here are the measurements so you can plan where it's going to land: it's 92 inches long, 34 inches wide, and about 31 and a half inches tall. It sits on pallet feet, which lift it a little higher off the ground, and that's exactly how it will be delivered to you. All in, the box weighs approximately 160 pounds.

That weight matters for one very practical reason. When the delivery shows up, if you're home, tell the driver where you want the box placed. You don't want 160 pounds of trike sitting at the bottom of the driveway when your garage is fifty feet away and up a slope. Moving it yourself is possible, but it's a lot easier to have it set down in the right spot the first time.

Think ahead about where you'll actually do the build. A garage floor or a flat patio works well, as long as you have open space at the front of the box. At one point you'll be rolling a full-size trike straight out of the end of that carton, so give yourself some room. I also had a mat laid out behind me, and I used it as a landing zone for parts as they came loose. It's a small thing, but it keeps fenders and baskets from getting scuffed on concrete and keeps small hardware from rolling under a workbench.

About 95% assembled out of the box

Here's the good part: this trike arrives basically 95% assembled. When you flip open the top of the box and look down inside, you'll see the rear basket already installed. The rear wheels are on. The chain and the crank are on. The whole nine yards.

On camera, I said you'd need to install the pedals, and then I caught myself a minute later. The pedals are already on there too. So what's actually left? The front wheel, which comes paired with the front fender. The headlight. The front basket. And then the adjustments that turn a trike in a box into a trike that fits the two people riding it: seat tilt and height, handlebar height and tilt for both riders, and tire pressure.

That's the whole job. If you've ever put together a piece of furniture with an Allen key, you have the skills for this. It's mostly about taking your time and checking that every bolt you touch ends up properly tight.

The electrical system comes pre-wired

Everything on the electrical side is pre-wired at the factory. That said, this trike has traveled a long way in a box, and it's possible a connection or two came loose during transit. Before you power anything up, take a quick look along the wiring for anything that's come unplugged. If you find one, it's an easy fix. The connectors are color-coded, so you just match the colors to each other and plug them back together.

Gears and hydraulic disc brakes come pre-tuned

The gear system and the brakes are pre-tuned as well. The brakes on this trike are hydraulic disc brakes, which is worth a moment of explanation because it changes how you think about brake care. With a hydraulic system, fluid pushing through the line is what drives the pads against the rotor, and the brakes are self-adjusting for the most part. As the pads wear, the system takes up the slack on its own, and that fluid pressure is what gives you a nice, controlled stop.

If at any point while you're riding you feel the brakes aren't working to the extent you want them to, my suggestion is to take the trike to a professional or have a professional come out to you. There are a lot of mobile mechanics now, and they can adjust the brakes properly. I'd rather you hand that job off than experiment, especially on a trike that's carrying two people. You can browse our other electric trikes with disc brakes if stopping power is high on your list when comparing models.

Tools to have on hand

Here's what I reached for during the build: a pair of snips (or a sharp scissor or box cutter), a 4 mm Allen key, a 5 mm Allen key, a 6 mm Allen key, a 15 mm wrench for the front axle, a wrench for the packaging axle and the headlight nut, a pump that lets you set PSI, and a few zip ties. The front basket box includes a set of tools and zip ties, so if you don't own your own, you're covered.

The included tools aren't anything specialized, though. If you have your own, especially a good assortment, I recommend using them. Longer Allen keys and a proper wrench give you more leverage, and you'll appreciate that on the bolts that come factory-tight.

Step one: cut every zip tie

Step one is getting yourself something to cut with: a really sharp scissor, a box cutter, or my personal favorite, a pair of snips. Every loose part on this trike is held in place with zip ties, and you'll need to cut off every one of them to free the parts you need.

I've built a lot of bikes, and hands down, snips are the best tool for this. Except for one or two, the zip ties on this trike are pretty thick. Scissors tend to chew on thick plastic instead of cutting it cleanly, and a box cutter means pulling a blade toward a painted frame. Snips go through in one squeeze, with almost no chance of slipping and leaving a mark.

As parts come free, move them out of your way. The front tire with its front fender is one of the first big pieces you'll pull out. I set it on the mat behind me so it was out of the way but close by for later.

The front basket box holds more than a basket

There's a box inside the main carton that holds your front basket. Treat that box as important, because there's a lot more in it than the basket. Inside, you'll find instructions for your display, the basket mounting hardware, a set of tools, your charger, and some zip ties.

You'll also find a little cap that goes on top of the headset, the bearing assembly at the top of the fork where the handlebars turn. I mentioned that cap early in my build and then had to go looking for it, which is exactly why I'm calling it out here. Do not throw it away with the packaging. Honestly, it's a decorative piece, and the trike will ride without it, but it makes the front end look a lot nicer and more finished. I'd put it on as soon as you find it so it doesn't wander off. It simply sits right on top of the headset.

The rear rider's seat and the quick release

Next out of the box is the seat for the back rider. Once you've snipped it free and taken off the wrapping, slide it into place. You'll come back and adjust it properly later, so for now you just want it in the frame and secure.

If you've never worked a quick release before, here's how it works. You open the lever to loosen it and close it to clamp it. Tension is set by the knob on the opposite side of the lever. Turn that knob tighter, and the lever gets more difficult to close, which means the clamp holds tighter once it's shut. There's also a spot for an Allen key in there, so you can really snug it down.

When I first clamped the rear seat on camera, it wasn't even tight enough. I could feel it. So I turned that knob a little, the lever got noticeably harder to close, and the clamp held. That's the feel you're after. For unpacking purposes, though, good enough is fine. We'll dial in both seats properly once the trike is out of the box and on the ground.

The battery is already installed

As you cut more ties, you'll notice the battery is pre-installed. There's nothing to mount or connect there. We'll come back to powering it on and charging it at the end of this guide.

The rear handlebars and the piece that looks like packaging

The handlebars for the rear rider come zip-tied in place as well. Snip those off and set the handlebars back into position. Same as the seat, we'll adjust them later.

Here's where you need to pay attention. When you pull the rear handlebar assembly apart from its packaging, there's a clear plastic piece that is packaging, and you can throw it away. But there's another small piece right next to it that is not packaging at all. That piece is what allows the handlebars to tighten. I almost tossed it on camera myself before catching it. If that piece comes out with the top section of the handlebar assembly, keep it and put it back in. Without it, the rear bars won't lock down, and your back rider ends up holding onto handlebars that move. Before anything goes into the trash, take a second look.

At this stage, you can step back and see how far along this trike already is. Other than the front basket and the front wheel, it's basically assembled.

Strip the packaging while it's still in the box

Before I pulled the trike out, I took all the packaging off while it was still sitting in the carton. The box holds the trike steady, and the foam and wrap come off a lot more easily when the trike isn't rolling around on you.

I mostly ripped the packaging off with my hands. You can use the box cutter to get under tape and tough spots, but be very careful you don't scratch the frame. Point the blade away from the paint and cut into the packaging, not along the tube.

Open the front of the box like a garage door

Once the packaging is off, come around to the front of the box, the end where the front wheel goes. Instead of trying to lift a heavy trike up and over the side walls, I slit the box down the corners and made what I call a little garage door. Then I folded that flap down to the floor. That gives you a clean, open front to work through, and later you can roll the trike straight out.

There's a nice bonus here, too. Because you only cut down the corners, the rest of the box keeps its structure. If you ever need to reuse the box, whether for a move, storage, or shipping, you can tape that corner back up without really affecting the box's overall integrity. I'd recommend hanging onto it for the length of your test ride period, which I'll explain near the end of this guide.

With that flap down, you're set up for the most important part of the build: the front wheel.

Remove the brake spacer

Before the wheel goes anywhere near the fork, look inside your front disc brake caliper. You'll find a little piece of packaging tucked between the brake pads. It might be yellow, or it might be black. It's a spacer that keeps the pads separated during shipping.

It matters because with hydraulic brakes, if someone squeezes the lever while there's no rotor between the pads, the pads can push together and close the gap. The spacer prevents that in transit. Pull it out and throw it away, and from this point on, try not to squeeze the front brake lever until the wheel is installed and the rotor is sitting between those pads.

Remove the packaging axle from the fork

On the fork, you'll see what looks like a makeshift axle. This is also packaging. It's there to make sure the fork doesn't get bent in transit, since a fork without a wheel in it is vulnerable to getting squeezed or knocked out of shape in a box.

To remove it, you'll most likely need a wrench. Loosen each side, and once the nuts are off, it slides right out. That piece is garbage, so it can go straight in the trash.

Get the axle nuts ready

Now bring in your front wheel. Look down at the axle, where you'll find the axle nuts. I hand-loosened them but left them threaded on. You don't need to take them all the way off, which is great, because it means you're not hunting for a dropped nut and washer on the garage floor. Just loosen them enough that there's space for the axle to slide into the fork dropouts.

Line up the rotor with the caliper

The front wheel has a disc on one side called the rotor. That's the part that goes between the brake pads. So when you orient the wheel, the rotor needs to go on the same side as the brake caliper. If you put the wheel in backwards, the rotor will be on the wrong side, and the wheel simply won't go in correctly.

As you lower the fork onto the wheel, guide the rotor so it slips in between the pads. Get it straight, keeping the rotor centered in the slot as you go, and it just slides right on. Don't force it. If it catches, back up and line it up again.

Then check your washers. They need to sit on the outside of the fork, between the fork and the nut. Once the axle is seated and the washers are in the right place, hand-tighten the nuts on both sides. At this stage, snug is fine. You'll do the final tightening with a 15 mm wrench, and I'll come back to that, because I actually forgot to do it on camera.

Don't miss the headlight zip tie

While I was working on the front end, I spotted one more zip tie I had missed. It was holding the headlight. Snip it off. The light mounts at the front of the fork, and you'll install it together with the fender in the next step.

Fit the front fender

Next, slide the fender up through the back of the fork so its mounting tab sits in the front, where it will meet the light. You can put the fender on before the wheel if you prefer, or slide it under afterward, the way I did. Either approach works.

Down by the axle, there are attachment points for the fender struts on each side. I loosely put those bolts in first with a 4 mm Allen key, just enough that the fender doesn't slide around while I worked on the top mount. Don't tighten them all the way yet. Repeat on the other side.

Mount the fender tab and headlight

At the front of the fork, there's a bolt you'll need to remove. You should be able to loosen it by hand. That gives you a bolt and a nut. I put the fender tab on first, then the light, and then threaded the nut on loosely from behind.

Here's a little technique for this step: you want to be pulling up on the light while you're tightening. The weight of the light and the fender tab wants to slide down, and if you let it, you'll lose clearance. With the 4 mm Allen key in the bolt, I pushed upward on the key to keep the bolt high in its slot while I held everything in place.

You also want to lift that fender tab up as high as it will go before tightening. That creates as much clearance as possible between the fender and the tire. Then tighten the nut from the back with a wrench.

When the fender ends up too close

On my first attempt, the fender ended up sitting really close to the front tire. That happened because I didn't get the tab as tight as I should have, and it slipped down. So I loosened it, lifted the tab back up, and tightened it again.

To be honest, this is where an extra helping hand is useful. If someone can hold the fender up while you tighten, the tab won't slip. I was by my lonesome on this build and still managed it, so it's doable solo. It just takes a little patience. Once the tab was fixed, I went back to the light with the 4 mm Allen key and tightened that too, so it won't move anywhere.

Fender clearance and noise

Once everything is tightened, look at the gap between the fender and the tire, and check that the fender struts aren't rubbing anywhere. A common source of noise on bikes and trikes with fenders is the fenders themselves. A strut rubbing against something or a fender sitting too close to the tread can make it sound like something horrendous is going on, when it's really just a simple noise with a simple fix. If you ever hear a rattle or a rub on a ride, check the fenders first before you assume anything is wrong with the drivetrain or motor.

With the front fender and light in place, it's time for the front basket. This is one of the features that makes this trike so practical for running errands. Between the front basket and the rear basket, there's plenty of room for groceries, a picnic, or whatever you bring along for the ride. If carrying capacity is high on your list, our electric tricycles with a large basket collection is worth a look, and we also carry a range of sixthreezero baskets if you ever want to swap or add one.

The brackets and hardware

All in all, the basket is pretty easy. It comes with two silver brackets that install up top, and the basket mounts using the hardware from the basket box. First, loosen the bolts at the mounting point with a 4 mm Allen key and remove them all.

Next, take a silver bracket and feed the screws through it. This can be a bit of a tight fit. You'll probably have to thread the screw through the bracket like you would thread a screw into wood, turning it rather than just pushing it. Keep an eye on your washers here. I nearly lost one in the process, and a dropped washer under a trike is a frustrating hunt.

Find your position before tightening anything

Before you bolt anything down, find the basket position you like. A good starting point is to set the little wire bar of the basket on top of the weld. From there you can fine-tune up or down.

When it came time to get the Allen key in, I found it easier to stand up and come at the bolt from above, putting the key straight in instead of working at an awkward angle while crouched. Small thing, but it makes a difference with your leverage and how well you can see what you're doing.

Here's another honest moment from my build: I tightened one bolt down too tight before the other side was lined up. You need to line up both before you tighten either one. Otherwise the second side won't meet its hole properly, and you'll end up loosening the first side all over again. Line up both, start them both by hand, and then come back and tighten.

Clearance for the headlight

The number one rule with the front basket is that it has to sit high enough to clear the headlight. The light mounts below and in front, and if the basket sits too low, it'll block the light or press against it. Before you tighten everything, look down the front of the trike and make sure there's space.

Once your top bracket is set, do the same with the second bracket lower down: position it and clamp it down. Make sure the basket is centered where you want it before you tighten that bottom bracket. It's much easier to center it while everything is still a little loose than to correct a crooked basket after the fact.

A quick fender strut adjustment

With the basket on, take one more look at the front fender struts. On my trike, when I looked down from above, one strut sat noticeably closer to the tire than the strut on the other side. This is exactly what I was talking about earlier with fender noise.

The fix is simple. It's just a hand adjustment. Give the strut a little bit of tweaking pressure with your hands, and you can get it into the right spot. No tools needed. You're aiming for even spacing on both sides so nothing rubs as the wheel turns.

Roll it out and remove the rear axle packaging

Now you can wheel the trike out of the box through that garage door flap you made earlier. Once it's out and on flat ground, look at the two rear axles. There's a plastic piece on each of them, and both are packaging. Take them off.

The bolt I forgot: tighten the front axle

This is the most important thing I'm going to tell you in this whole guide, and I'm telling you because I almost missed it myself. Partway into finishing up, I realized I had never tightened the front wheel. I had hand-tightened the axle nuts when I put the wheel in and then moved right on to the fender, the light, and the basket.

So go back to those front axle nuts with a 15 mm wrench and tighten them down on both sides. This is a very important bolt in the assembly of your trike. Under no circumstances do you want that front wheel coming loose while you're riding. Hand-tight is not tight. If you take one thing away from this guide, make it this: before your first ride, put a wrench on the front axle and confirm it's properly secured.

With the front axle tightened, the build itself is done. What's left is setup: making the trike fit both riders and getting it ready to ride.

A tandem trike has two cockpits, and both riders deserve one that fits. Take your time with this section. A seat that's tilted wrong or handlebars that are too low can turn a fun ride into a sore one, and these adjustments take only a few minutes once you know where the bolts are.

Rear rider handlebars: height

Let's start at the back. The rear handlebars adjust with a 6 mm Allen key, and the rider in the rear can decide the height that's right for them. There's a line on the stem marking the maximum height. Don't raise the handlebars past that line. The line is there because if you go beyond it, there isn't enough of the stem left inside the frame to hold it securely.

Rear rider handlebars: tilt

Underneath the rear handlebars there's also a bolt for tilt. To reach it more easily, I took the rear seat out of the way first. Loosen that bolt, and the handlebars will move. From there, you can find the angle that's comfortable and tighten it back down. There's an Allen key in the included tools for this, so you can experiment until the rear rider is happy with both the reach and the height.

Seat tilt: the most underrated comfort adjustment

Under each seat there's a bolt that controls the seat's angle. The seats come pre-installed and factory-tightened, so you may have to give that bolt a little elbow grease the first time you loosen it.

Once it's loose, the seat can rotate on the ridged part of the clamp, which lets you set the tilt. Don't loosen it too much, just enough to move it. Seat tilt is a very important piece of your overall comfort, honestly more than most people expect. Straight out of the box, it may not be exactly where you want it, and that's fine. There's a fair amount of play in the adjustment, so you can find the tilt that works for you. I like mine tilted back just a touch.

When you've found your angle, tighten that bolt firmly. This is one of those bolts where you want to make sure it's sitting pretty tight. If you don't, the seat will tilt back while you're on it, which is uncomfortable and annoying. Get it snug, sit on it, and check that it holds.

Seat post quick release: setting the tension

Next is the seat post clamp. If you look at the side of the quick release, there's a little hole for an Allen key. That's the tension adjuster.

If your seat is slipping or moving when it's clamped, the first thing to do is open the quick release lever, hold the opposite side, and tighten that bolt a little with the Allen key. Then close the lever again.

There's a sweet spot. When I first adjusted mine, I went too far. It was so tight I could barely move the seat at all, even with the lever open. So I backed it out a little. What you're aiming for is a seat that, with the lever open, still slides up and down but with some resistance. Once you have that, closing the lever locks it down nice and tight. And if it still moves a little after you clamp it, open it up and give the bolt another small turn. You want the seat to barely move when the lever is open.

Find the straight position, with the seat pointing straight ahead and in line with the frame, then clamp it down. Now your seat isn't going anywhere. Repeat the same process on the back seat.

And one more honest moment: when I went to clamp mine, I flipped the lever the wrong way at first. If the lever won't close, check which way it's meant to fold before you force it.

Front handlebars: tightening the stem

The front handlebar stem isn't tricky, but you do have to know how to do it. On the side, there's a lever. That lever is how you adjust the tilt of your handlebars. But to tighten the stem itself into the frame, you first need to open that lever.

With the lever open, look straight down at the stem from above. Inside, there's a bolt, and you need to line up the opening with the bolt inside so you can get your Allen key down onto it. Once they're aligned, the key drops in and you can start tightening.

In my build, I grabbed the wrong Allen key first. The one you need here is 6 mm. Before you tighten fully, step around to the front and make sure the stem lines up with the frame and the front wheel. If it's turned even slightly, you'll be riding with the handlebars a little crooked to go straight, which you'll notice right away. Once it's straight, tighten it down.

The front stem can be raised or lowered too. I didn't have mine all the way up, so if you want the bars higher, you can loosen it, raise it, and retighten using the same method.

Front handlebars: two tilt points

Up front, you have two tilt points: the stem tilt, controlled by that lever, and the tilt of the handlebars themselves in their clamp. Between them, you can fine-tune both reach and wrist angle. Once you've found a position you like, close the lever and it locks tight.

If the lever doesn't seem to be clamping tightly enough, look underneath. There's an adjustment bolt that takes a 5 mm Allen key. Give it just a little turn, which makes the lever a bit harder to push down and the clamp tighter once it's closed. Find your position, close the lever, and your bars will be locked for the ride. If you want help working out a comfortable setup for your body type, our Get Fitted page is a good place to start.

Inflate all three tires

The trike is assembled and fitted. Now let's get it ready to roll. Start with the tires. You don't need to guess the pressure, because it's printed right on the side of the tire. On this trike, it's 40 PSI.

Get yourself a pump, or anything that lets you set the PSI, and fill each tire. You're welcome to run less than 40 PSI, but don't go over it. Lower pressure gives you a softer ride, so find what feels right for you and your passenger. Repeat on all three tires. It's easy to remember the two rear tires and forget the front, or the other way around.

Tuck the cables behind the basket

This next detail is small but really important. Look at the wires coming from the handlebars at the front. They need to be tucked behind the front basket. If a cable works its way around the outside of the basket, it can catch when you turn the handlebars, and you won't be able to turn the trike properly.

First, set the parking brake so the trike doesn't roll while you work. Then grab a zip tie from the tool kit and zip-tie that cable to the basket. It doesn't need to be cinched down tight. Just snug enough to keep the cable in place, so that when you turn, the cable doesn't slide around to the outside of the basket.

Keys, battery, and charging

Your keys come up front with the handlebars. The battery has its own power button. Press and hold it, and you'll see it light up either blue or green, which means it's on.

On the battery, you'll also find the charging port. You can charge the battery while it's on the trike, or take it off and charge it indoors. Either way, the charger plugs into a normal household outlet. From empty to full, charging takes about six to eight hours, so an overnight charge before your first ride is a good habit.

Powering on the display

With the battery on, come up to the display. The power button is right there. Press and hold it, and the screen comes on. Peel off the screen protector while you're at it.

When the screen first comes on, don't be alarmed if you see an error message. That message appears when the brakes are engaged, and since you set the parking brake a minute ago, that's exactly what it's telling you. Release the parking brake, and the error disappears.

How the parking brake works

The parking brakes are up on the handlebars. To set one, pull the brake lever and push the little button down to hold it. I like to do it with two hands, one pulling the lever and one pressing the button. A lot of people try to pull and push with one hand at the same time. That's totally up to you. Use whichever way feels more natural.

Reading the display

There's a manual in the box that walks through every element of the display, and it's worth reading. At a glance, you'll see your pedal assist level, your speed in miles per hour, your total miles, and your battery life.

Throttle, pedal assist, and gears

On one side of the handlebars is the throttle. You twist it to go. Keep this in mind: if the brake is engaged, the throttle won't work. That's a safety feature, and it's also the most common reason someone thinks their throttle isn't working when they first set up a trike. Check the parking brake first. If you're comparing models and a throttle is a must-have for you, take a look at our electric tricycles with throttle control.

On the other side are the buttons to raise or lower your assistance level. You can go from level one all the way up to level five. Lower levels give a gentler boost and help stretch your range. Higher levels do more of the work for you.

Next to that is your gear shifter. Press one button to shift up and the other to shift down. It's important to understand that the gears are not part of the electrical system. You have two separate things working together: the pedal assist level controls the electric motor, and the gears work just like gears on a regular bike, linked to the derailleur at the back. When you shift, the derailleur moves the chain.

For climbing hills, you'll want to be in the low gears, one, two, or three. As you build speed and momentum, shift up into the higher gears. Combine that with the right assist level, and you and your passenger will roll up hills and along flats comfortably.

Questions, support, and coming to see us

That's how to fully assemble the EVRYjourney electric tandem trike. If you have any other questions at all, please reach out to the team at theteam@sixthreezero.mom, call us at 310-982-2877, or use our contact page. We also have lots of videos on our YouTube channel of us riding the tandem, where I demonstrate how to use it properly across all sorts of different terrain.

If you don't have your trike yet, we offer a 30-day test ride. If you don't love it in the first 30 days, you can send it back, no questions asked and no money out of your pocket. That's why I suggested hanging onto the box. We also warranty everything for one year. If anything goes wrong in the first year, we'll take care of it, parts and labor.

If you'd like to try one in person first, come visit us in San Clemente, California and test ride any of our e-trikes before you buy, so you're confident you're making the right choice. You can also browse our full range of electric tricycles, including models built for carrying passengers.

And join our community. We have a Facebook group called sixthreezero Pedalers with thousands of members. Join before you buy to hear from real owners, then post once yours arrives and make some friends. Finally, download the sixthreezero pedaling app to track your rides and compete on the leaderboard.

Thanks for sticking with me through the whole build. It's your journey. Enjoy the ride.