I'll be storing my Raleigh Tourist DL-1 in my heated family room this winter. Is it necessary to keep the wheels raised off the ground or will periodically rolling the bike around the room be okay? My concern is letting the tires sit winter long with the weight of the bike on them. Thanks

Just keep the tires reasonably inflated - they only have to hold up the weight of the bike without distorting - that takes very little pressure. Not you don't have to walk the bike around the room.

also keep the bike and tires out of the sun, UV will accelerate dry rot

Also keep tires away from electric motors, such as used in furnaces, which can generate ozone which is harmful to rubber and plastics.

Keep the pressure up. Just rotate the wheels to a new position once in a while.

I hang bikes from the overhead, upside down .. the screw in hooks are cheap.

The main concern we might have about Winter storage of our bikes if left on the floor would be the cat hair getting on the chain Andy.

I expect the OP's spouse might object to screwing hooks into their family room ceiling.

Note to the OP: The bike I use on my indoor trainer spends about 4 months every year mounted on the trainer in our family room so it's tires are on the "ground" that entire time. Never causes a problem.

There are available bike racks which will lean against the wall (no holes) and can be used to store bikes off of the floor.

And some use Furniture Grade wooden construction, for spousal aesthetics.

You'll want to do a weekly rotation. Start with the valves stems in the 12:00 position and then move them clockwise 1/8 of a turn each week for the entire winter. When you put the bike away, set the tires to storage pressure as detailed below.

Try to rotate them on the same day every week for best results.

Every 8 weeks, (one full rotation) you will want to refresh the air. Let all the air out of the tire and then squeeze the tire against the rim to expel as much of the remaining air as possible. It is OK if a little bit is left in.

Then inflate to storage pressure. This will be the rated pressure from the side of the tire less 20%. So a tire that has a max pressure of 100psi should be stored at 80psi.

When it's time to ride again, remove the storage air and inflate to full pressure for the riding season.

If it's a C&V bike use only Period Correct Air for the riding season.
I harvest mine from automobile tires of the correct nationality and era from the auto rec-cycling yard.
My Vitus only rides on Period Correct Air collected from the Michelin tires of a wrecked 1992 Renault.

-Bandera

Ridiculous - the valve should never be at 12:00 - too much pressure directly down on the rim due to extra weight. Also you need to adjust the inflation at night due to lower temp (unless you are in the anti-warming crowd and don't set back your thermostat. F

...or chain grime getting on the cat - a bit of a pain to remove (the claws from my skin as well as the grease from the cat).

See there folks, even on a subject as simple as off season storage, there are people on BF that will insist on giving you bad advice.

Bikeman, it is a well know fact that the sleeve where the rim is joined mitigates any pressure exerted by the valve stem.

You do make a good point about NTV (Nocturnal Temperature Variation).


As often as this question gets asked, shouldn't we just sticky this thread?

Don't forget to check the barometric pressure before inflating the tires. You should always inflate at the same barometric pressure...

I've had to clean cat hair from a bike, not fun. Specially the drive train. Keep cats away from the bike.

BTW the best thing to do would be to get out and ride on it.

Don't forget to rotate the tubes from front to back and back to front, when the moon is aligned with Jupiter.