Do I need to winterize my bike?

Hey everybody. This will be the first time I’m had a dedicated trainer bike for the winter, so my main whip is getting cleaned, lubed, and mounted on the wall to look pretty. It will likely sit up on the wall for five months without being touched, do I need to take any additional steps to keep it in top form? Extra lube? Anything outside of my normal maintenance?

Thanks in advance!

Is it just going to be indoors in the house or in a garage/closet?

Indoor, climate controlled environment.

Then probably not, especially since it won’t be ridden.

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There might be some extra periodic steps you want to take if your rig is tubeless.

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Clinchers for now, so don’t have to worry about sealant.

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If your bike has suspension or hydraulic brakes, mounting it on the wall if not in the normal orientation can cause issues with air in the lines or deteriorating seals to present themselves. Nothing worse than hanging your bike by the front wheel all winter to find out you need to bleed the brakes and replace all of the suspension seals and clean up suspension oil in the spring.

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https://rockshox.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/206371177-Can-I-hang-my-bicycle-for-storage-will-this-affect-my-RockShox-fork-or-rear-shock-

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Do you know of anyone this has happened to? I’ve been storing my bikes on end for years and have never once had a problem.

I’m going to stick my neck out and call this a myth.

Mike

That’s only true if you’re equipment is properly serviced. Like I said, if you already have a problem with the seals it’ll present itself while the bike is hung upside down. Rockshox recommends replacing your seals annually, so if you do the maintenance just before you put the bike up for the season you’ll be fine. However, I’m not sure everyone does the lower service annually as recommended.

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I’ve personally had seals leak yes and I’ve also personally had air work it’s way into my brakes while upside down. That being said, if I kept up with the service intervals I likely wouldn’t have had an issue.

You should look after your bike.

I suppose, but idk man I’m not trying to send suspension in for service annually. I’d rather just keep my bike right side up. If you want to donate to my suspension rebuild fund I’ll gladly send you my paypal. :joy::joy::joy:

You can have a couple of quid…

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Believed air presenting itself in the brake system will have already have occurred, just that hanging it upside down let’s that air move from the reservoir to calipers…air likes to rise :slight_smile:

To me it looks like hanging a bike upside down doesn’t affect the systems, suspension and brakes… damage must already be there, hanging it upside will just confirm damage/degradation?

I’d agree with that. If the bike is perfect it should be fine to hang upside down.

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