The pre-delivery inspection (PDI) checklist

The bike is ready, the customer is due in twenty minutes, and there's always someone on the floor who says "I already checked it." That's exactly the moment a proper pre-delivery inspection gets skipped — and with it, the check on an assembly job that, if it comes back with a problem, turns into a return, a bad review, or in the worst case a safety issue. A pre-delivery inspection (PDI) checklist isn't paperwork for its own sake: it's the difference between "we checked it" said out loud and a documented, repeatable test that protects both the customer and whoever was at the bench.

Why the PDI isn't optional

With service now accounting for up to 60-90% of a shop's revenue and roughly 70% of its profit, every bike that leaves poorly assembled is a double cost: the time to redo the job, and the dent in trust that sends that customer to a competitor next time. EBikes, now around a quarter of Italian sales and three quarters of the bikes coming back for repair, raise the stakes further: a loose motor connection or outdated firmware isn't a cosmetic flaw, it's a warranty callback — and eBike warranties are already the top operational headache going into 2026. A structured PDI is the cheapest way to stop every delivery from being a gamble.

What the checklist should actually cover

A serious pre-delivery checklist covers four areas, always run in the same order regardless of who's signing off. First, the structural side: torque on fork, stem, seatpost and cranks, checked with a torque wrench rather than "by feel" — this is where a shop's liability is most exposed, because a component that works loose on the road is almost always an assembly issue, not a product defect. Second, rolling gear: tire pressure at the correct value, wheel trueness, hub play, brakes tested under real braking rather than just spun by hand on a stand. Third, drivetrain: gears indexed across the full range, chain tensioned and lubed, chainrings and cassette checked for visible wear — worth logging carefully, since it's the area most post-delivery service requests come back to. Fourth, electrical for eBikes: battery charge state, firmware up to date, correct motor-display pairing, cables routed clear of chafing points.

The customer's setup is part of the test

A well-run PDI doesn't stop at mechanics — it also logs the setup handed back to the customer: saddle height, brake lever angle, agreed tire pressure, helmet size if one was sold alongside. That's the detail that matters when the customer comes back three weeks later with sore knees or an uncomfortable riding position: if the delivery setup is written down somewhere, the conversation starts from a fact instead of "I don't remember what we set." The same goes for installed accessories and serial numbers on major components, which matter the day a manufacturer recall lands.

Log it, don't just check it

The real upgrade isn't the checklist itself — good mechanics already run through one in their heads — it's making sure it gets logged bike by bike, with the inspector's name and date, tied to the work order. On paper or in a scattered file, a PDI record decays within a few weeks and becomes impossible to reconstruct exactly when you need it most: when a customer disputes a job. Inside a CRM that ties the checklist to the work order and the bike's service history, every inspection stays retrievable, can attach to the bike's passport, and becomes real evidence of professional diligence — while also giving you a solid base for cutting returns and warranty comebacks.

If you want to bring the pre-delivery checklist into your everyday shop workflow, with no scattered sheets and history tied to every bike, take a look at CrankPal for bike shops.