Hanging Bikes upside down
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Hanging Bikes upside down
I want to put my road bike into storage for the winter months. I'm thinking about hanging it on hooks by the wheels upside down. A buddy of mine back in college use to do this. Is it ok to do this or will it damage the wheels/rims?
I don't want to store it away for the next 8 months or so and then have to buy new rims because they were damaged.
Thanks,
Jerold
I don't want to store it away for the next 8 months or so and then have to buy new rims because they were damaged.
Thanks,
Jerold
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Well your spokes are designed to only really handle downward force so there is a chance of doing some damage to your wheels over time.
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Go ahead, hang your bikes. It was a reccommended practice by Schwinn in the 70's. Just make sure you have rubberized hooks as not to scratch your rims.
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I hung my old Miyata 710 on a hook by the front wheel only for 20 years. No problem, wheel still true!
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Some mountain bikes might leak oil out of the suspension forks when hanging upside down or even vertically, but your road bike will be just fine Jerold.
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Yeah, the chance of damage is bullpucky! I've been hanging bikes for years, even by just one wheel, and never had any damage. And my commuting bike is near 40lbs with all the junk on it.
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The bike weighs less than you, right? If the wheels can handle your weight - going over bumps, the stress of pedaling, climbing, etc...then the wheels should be okay supporting the weight of the bike alone. Like Stacey said, make sure the hooks have a rubber coating so they don't get scratched. 
Dang. They made them little Mazda sports cars waaaaaaaaaay back then?


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I would advise caution hanging a bike upside down. This is how bicycle vampires are created. As long as it gets some unfiltered daylight, you should be okay.
That's why I hang mine by the front wheel only. Besides it looks cool, like it's racing up the wall or something.
That's why I hang mine by the front wheel only. Besides it looks cool, like it's racing up the wall or something.
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Good idea. By hanging it upside down, if the hooks pull out the wheels/rims should be OK after it hits the floor.
Last edited by Giro; 09-13-07 at 08:53 AM.
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I really have no idea if it'll harm the wheels, but you should be aware of the fact that hanging a bike by single points on the rims applies the forces in a considerably different way than a bike standing on inflated tires, which distributes the forces over large areas of the wheels.
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Well...lets see...my LBS hangs the new bikes by their saddle noses from the bar joists in the front show room. The shop I worked at we hung them from the rafters by the back wheels, I hang mine in my storage building by the frames (the ceiling is too low to hang them by the wheels). I also would make sure if you have one with a Sturmey Archer hub that you make sure the oil cap is up when hanging it to avoid an oil slick on the floor
Aaron

Aaron

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Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
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I have a feeling that if a set of wheels can handle 200+ pounds from the center, they can handle 20 pounds from the rim.
I don't really think rims are as fragile as many people think they are.
I don't really think rims are as fragile as many people think they are.
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Just make sure to give the wheels a spin every so often. The air tends to separate and the pure oxygen can become an explosive hazard.
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This is Africa, 1943. War spits out its violence overhead and the sandy graveyard swallows it up. Her name is King Nine, B-25, medium bomber, Twelfth Air Force. On a hot, still morning she took off from Tunisia to bomb the southern tip of Italy. An errant piece of flak tore a hole in a wing tank and, like a wounded bird, this is where she landed, not to return on this day, or any other day.
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https://www.thefreedictionary.com/backpedal
Some mountain bikes might leak oil out of the suspension forks when hanging upside down or even vertically, but your road bike will be just fine Jerold.
Some mountain bikes might leak oil out of the suspension forks when hanging upside down or even vertically, but your road bike will be just fine Jerold.
That image looks more like the bike is damaging the pipe it's hanging from.. look at it, all bent up like that!
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If you're concerned about the wheels, why not take them off? Heck, if you have a wheelset that costs close to a grand, I would be a little concerned too. Taking the wheels off is really no big deal. Then you can hang the bike by its frame. It will be lighter anyways without the wheels and tires.
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Just make sure the skewers are tight.

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There is nothing wrong with hanging a bike up. But, both you and your bike would be better off if you don't. Instead, keep riding.
When I lived in the "Great White North", I'd ride my bike in the morning when the windchill was ten below zero. Not fun, but doable. And, on sunny days when the temperature was a balmy twenty degrees, riding was very enjoyable.
Here in Texas, I have a friend who only misses his daily ride two or three days a year. Obviously, in North Dakota or New Hampshire, riding 350 days a year is not likely to happen. But, even in those states, there will be sunny, dry afternoons in January and February when a ride would do both you and your bike a world of good.
When I lived in the "Great White North", I'd ride my bike in the morning when the windchill was ten below zero. Not fun, but doable. And, on sunny days when the temperature was a balmy twenty degrees, riding was very enjoyable.
Here in Texas, I have a friend who only misses his daily ride two or three days a year. Obviously, in North Dakota or New Hampshire, riding 350 days a year is not likely to happen. But, even in those states, there will be sunny, dry afternoons in January and February when a ride would do both you and your bike a world of good.
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Maybe aereo carbon rims hung on bare metal hook = bad
Thinking about it, the only problem (other than fluid leakage from hydraulic shocks, Sturmy-Archer transmission, or maybe hydraulic brakes; good point, I did not think of this issue) might be a carbon aero rim on an unpadded, small diameter metal hook. Carbon can crack on impact point loads. This might be a problem, particularly if you did not gently lower an areo rim carbon wheel on to an unpadded, small diameter, metal hook.
I've stored bikes for years hung by only the metal rimmed rear wheels on plastic coated hooks.
I've stored bikes for years hung by only the metal rimmed rear wheels on plastic coated hooks.