Make sure that the brake cables are properly mounted.
Once the rear wheel is in the frame, set the bike on the floor standing on its wheels and roll the Snek
backwards (by freewheeling) with your left hand while you are keeping tension on the cable using your
right hand. Roll the cable onto the Snek until there is tension on the propulsion cable; now the
footslider will be in the most backward position in the lowest gear (i.e. the propulsion cable is
completely unrolled from the footsliderring and wound all the way onto the Snek). Now you can mount
the return cable; this is the 5 mm thick shock cord. Its function is to roll the Snek back into beginning
position and to maintain tension on the propulsion cable. Roll the shock cord off the footsliderring and
leave the attachment of one end of the cord to the ring as it is.
Hook the small hook on the other end of the shock cord into the Snek into the marked hole at the
largest diameter of the Snek. If no hole is marked just try a hole on the lowest (most downward) part of
the Snek. The shock cord will leave the Snek in a counterclockwise direction. Take care that the knot
in the shock cord is pointing upwards so that it does not disturb the next winding on the Snek. Now
you will have to wind the shock cord counter clockwise onto the footsliderring under full tension. This
will take some effort – the shockcord needs to be wound onto the footsliderring as tightly as you can
possibly wind it. Winding the shock cord and propulsion cord is made much easier if you watch the
instructional videos.
With the 178 mm Snek you need to wind it just ~~3,5 circumferences over the ring and then you lay it
over the downward bow pulley on the front tip of the bow sprit.
When you have a 220 mm Snek you need to wind it ~~5 circumferences.
The footsliderring has 6 different holes for the Shock Cord. In this way you can find an ideal position
that prevents you from shifting to a too heavy gear.
You can also very easily adjust tension by choosing another hole for the hook on the return shock cord
in the Snek; there are several holes you can choose.
When there is tension on the system make a few strokes with the rowingbike and check out if you can
shift it to the highest gear. If you have around 5 windings of propulsion cable (Dyneema) left on the
Snek in the highest gear (when the footslider is in the forward-most position), this indicates that you
have wound the shockcord one circumference too little on the ring. Return to lowest gear position and
correct it.
Put the bike into its highest gear and check if the tension on the shock cord is OK. In the highest gear,
with the footslider in the forward-most position, the tension on the system is at its greatest. . Practically
all the elasticity should be pulled out of the shock cord in this position and you should not be able to
flex it by hand (check instructional videos if you are unsure).
If necessary go back to the lightest gear to adjust the tension by choosing another hole (on the Snek)
for the hook of the shock cord to increase or decrease the tension (or shorten the shock cord if
necessary).
Have a good look at the Snek system and check how changing gears works before riding.
When shifting, the right thumb button needs to be pushed all the way in (like the clutch of your car or
motorbike). You need to time it such that you push the lever at the moment of the stroke when the
footslider is practically not moving over the bow sprit. You should aim for a clean shift without making
a crunching sound.
During shifting two things happen: the Snek is locked: it can no longer turn around its axis and the
footsliderring is unlocked from the foot slider.
So when this shifting button is pushed, if you make (a small part of) a propulsion stroke you will be
shifting down (i.e. propulsion cable is unwound from the footsliderring and wound further onto the
Snek). If you make a (part of) a recovery stroke, you will be shifting up (propulsion cable is rolled onto
the ring and unrolled from the Snek). You should only push the shifting button all the way in or not at
all. You should never push the button part of the way, or this will cause wear on the Snek toothed
wheel.
Note that when you are in a low gear you will have to shift almost a full stroke before you notice a
difference in gearing. This is because one circumference of the Snek at large diameter is perhaps 45
cm whereas the diameter at its smallest part is only 13 cm.
When you are already in a heavy gear you perhaps only have to shift a few cm to feel a difference.
djust the rowing bike to your body length. You can adjust the height of the steering bar: it should be
as low as possible so that you leave approximately 20 mm between you knees and the steering bar.
