Assembling your Kettler

[ethansmom]

Whoohoo! It came today! Hopefully someone can learn from my mistakes...

We have the Jumbo with pushbar, seatbelt, footrest, and bell.

If you have the seatbelt or pushbar, do not pound in those little black nubby things into the frame (under where the seat goes). I followed the instructions and then, after the bike was assembled, tried to install the accessories. Oops, the accessories use bolts that go through those holes, so we had to disassemble a bit. If you did install those hole fillers, and need to get them out, put the tip of one of the metal bolts against the black thingy and use a hammer against the bolt.

The seatbelt uses the hole in front, the pushbar uses the hole in back.

It took me a minute to see how to get the footrest on...put it under the frame, at an angle, and then it will go into place.

Jeez, I think the bell was the only easy thing to install! It's so worth it, though!!

Can't wait till DS wakes up from his nap!

Thanks, Neve!!!!!

[votre_ami03]

Thanks so much for posting this!

Hope Ethan loves his trike.

Christy, mommy to Nolan 7/22/03

[houseof3boys]

DH is putting it together now and I saw he had a stumped look on his face. I pulled up your thread that I had bookmarked since it seemed like such a common mistake and I just read it to him. He is saying "that's what I did" over and over now and fixing the error now.

Thanks for the help. :)

[tippy]

I am pulling my hair out right now! Our trike finally arrived today and of course I am the one putting it together :( I am having a couple of problems. First off the screw that is supposed to go through the seatbelt and the first set of holes where those black thingies you talked about went is not long enough. It doesn't make it through the other side. I also purchased a stroller bar and for the life of me can't figure out how that thing goes on either. The pics are terrible and it seems like they sent two different mounts neither of which fit. I wonder if the accessories work with the model I got. The regular Jumbo model. It has an s-frame and bucket on back..Anyone else having a problem???

Edited to say I figured out the stroller bar at 2am last night!

[helenyoo]

We got our air jumbo last night and assembled it fairly easily but I made the same mistake with the 4 black rubber pieces. And of course I bought the seatbelt and handle bar so I had to undo the seat. Not terrible...but I can't figure out the seat belt. Am i to attach the seat belt with the screw through the belt webbing anywhere? OR is there a hole for the screw to go in? Same with the crotch strap? It was about 10 when we got to the seatbelt part and I just couldn't figure out the tiny diagram at that point.

Also, is anyone familiar with the parental control? The wheels sometimes won't go backwards and I'm unsure whether the footrest is leaning on the pedal or I'm somehow activating the parental control without knowing it. What is the parental control??

Otherwise the trike is really well made and just beautiful. Our son Tyson looked so happy when he saw it and climbed on immediately!

[ethansmom]

"Am i to attach the seat belt with the screw through the belt webbing anywhere? OR is there a hole for the screw to go in?"

The yellow disk thingies that should have been in your package, have sort of a cut-out on one side, so you can use that to line the webbing up. The back of your seat should have two little indentations, not holes. You "just" line everything up over the indentation and screw in the screw.

"Also, is anyone familiar with the parental control? The wheels sometimes won't go backwards and I'm unsure whether the footrest is leaning on the pedal or I'm somehow activating the parental control without knowing it. What is the parental control??"

The parental control is a slide switch on the front of the trike located on the frame. You slide it up and down to turn it on and off.

HTH!

[tippy]

Also, is anyone familiar with the parental control? The wheels sometimes won't go backwards and I'm unsure whether the footrest is leaning on the pedal or I'm somehow activating the parental control without knowing it. What is the parental control??


As per Kettler, the parental control has nothing to do with the wheels. It only locks the stearing mechanism. I am having a problem with the foot rest but was told that they really work better on the straight frame jumbo. (wish I new that BEFORE I ordered it!) Every time I put DS on the trike the peddles get caught under the foot rest and I won't be able to move the trike until I bend down and straighten it out. MPITA! Oh, well. Other than that it is great and I am happy with my purchase.

[ethansmom]

Hmm...I have the curved frame and am not having this problem.

[Chelsey333]

I am having the same problem with the foot rest. I think sometimes the foot rest falls down when my ds's feet are on it and the pedals start to go and then the trike won't move. I also have the curved frame. I am hoping that I can somehow make the foot rest strap tighter and prevent it from sagging down onto the pedals, bec it is a pain to keep fixing. Last week we went for a walk and I had to lift the front wheel in the air for the rest of the walk home bec the trike would not move.

[stillplayswithbarbies]

If you have one of the "freewheeling" models, the parental controls stop the pedals from going around at all.

I don't think you can use the footrest if it is not a freewheeling model.

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel Feb 91
Logan Elizabeth Mar 03

[helenyoo]

Ethansmom,

Sorry to sound like an idiot but do I make a hole through the black material too? I guess I thought there would be a clear place where the screw goes through on the seat balt itself - I do see the tiny indentation on the seat in the back and I did get the yellow thingies...

I have to go locate the parental control now to see what it does.

Thanks!

Helen

[helenyoo]

Hi,

How do I know whether I have the straight frame? I bought the Air Jumbo. I keep lifting the footrest higher but I still hear a slight scraping sound. Is this normal and do you have this happening to you too?

Thanks!

[helenyoo]

uh oh...here's another dumb question - what is a freewheeling model? I am a trike novice!

Any answer would be helpful - thanks!

[tippy]

Kettler suggested that I tie the strap but I tried that and still had the same problem :( Let me know if you figure something out that works!

[tippy]

As per Kettler it has nothing to do with the wheels just locks the steering. I have a free wheeling model and it's still happening with the parental control on lock.

[Chelsey333]

That is the same problem I am having. I have the jumbo. The straight frame sits close to the seat. Check out the Kettler website and you can see the different frame styles.

[ethansmom]

Yep, you just screw right through the black material and it will make a hole by itself.

[ethansmom]

The air models have the straight frame; the jumbo and happy have the curved.

[stillplayswithbarbies]

I have the Happy model. When I engage the parental control, the handlebars are locked straight ahead and the pedals don't go around when the wheel turns.

If your pedals are still going around, either you don't have a freewheel model, or there is something wrong. (I think that is what "freewheel" means, that the wheel turns freely without being engaged to the pedals)

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel Feb 91
Logan Elizabeth Mar 03

[tippy]

Thanks Karen,

I'm going to call Kettler tomorrow and check with them again. I'll keep you posted.

[tippy]

Hi Karen,

I called Kettler again today and confirmed with them that the parental control on the freewheeling model only locks the steering and not the pedals. They also said the footrest works best with the freewheeling models with a straight frame (my jumbo is freewheeling but with an s frame). I told them I was in discussion on a chat room with other Kettler Trike owners and that this seems to be a problem happening a lot. I also told her that she should pass on the info and hopefully prompt the company to improve the design of this produce. She did say I should try "pinning the strap" to make it as tight as possible. HTH

[stillplayswithbarbies]

I'm really confused now LOL

Here is the bike I have, the regular Happy

http://www.kettlerusa.com/img105.jpg

And this is what you have, the regular Jumbo, right?

http://www.kettlerusa.com/img103.jpg

They have the same frame, so if the footrest works for me it should work for you too.

My pedals don't go around when I lock the steering so I can push the trike with the pushbar. That lets the footrest rest on the pedals to help hold it up. Are your pedals going around when you lock the steering and push the trike with the pushbar?

The Kettler website says this about the regular Jumbo:
"-Auto-Freewheel™ allows children to rest their feet on the pedals while parents guide them with the optional pushbar"

If your pedals are going around as the wheel turns, then it is not freewheeling, but it should be according to their website.

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel Feb 91
Logan Elizabeth Mar 03

[vpalmer]

We have had a similar problem with the Navigator which is alaso has the Auto-Freewheel feature. Most of the time the wheels do not go around. However, occasionally, the wheels do go around which cause the trike to stop becasue the motion of the pedals interferes with the footrest. We pushed the trike 1-2 miles on Sunday and it happened about 10 times.

Veronica
Mom to Eva
Born on 6-12-03

[lfp2n]

This has happened to us a few times and is usually if DD manages to 'stand' on the footrest, her whole weight makes it looser and I think allows the footrest to push the pedal a bit which engages the freewheel. Its kind of scary because the trike stops dead. DH is always playing silly games where he lets her roll down hills at him and he catches her-I'm banning them as they scare the life out of me and it would be bad if it stopped at that point.

lucy DD 3/03

[vpalmer]

I did notice that DD would occasionally put one foot on the footrest while dangling the other foot. From your story, it sounds like it is just the uneven weight distribution that is causing the pedals to engage. It's a little bit of a PITA, but definitely worth it. Eva loves her trike!!

Veronica
Mom to Eva
Born on 6-12-03

[tippy]

Hi Karen,

"My pedals don't go around when I lock the steering so I can push the trike with the pushbar. That lets the footrest rest on the pedals to help hold it up. Are your pedals going around when you lock the steering and push the trike with the pushbar?"

Did you actually try this WITHOUT the footrest??? I only tried using the trike WITH the footrest, so I can't really answer that question. I think from my conversation with K that the footrest is what keeps the freewheeling pedals from moving not the parental lock but now I AM CONFUSED! LOL

I think that the poster below is right. This only happens when my ds puts one foot on the FR and sets it off balance. When one side comes up a little becase of this that is when the pedals "turn" and the trike just stops dead. Does that make sense? Maybe you just did a better job of tightening the strap than I did. Or maybe you DC isn't as squigley (sp) as mine.