There is a right way to store a bike, and there are many wrong ways. If your goal is to shorten your bike’s lifespan, ensure expensive repairs, and generate the kind of noises that make mechanics shake their heads in quiet disapproval, these are the best ways to do it.
Just leave it in the backyard
Now, I’m sure you know better, but since we are talking about the worst places to store your bike, we should get this out of the way. You’re not 12. Your bike doesn’t cost as much as two ice creams and a chocolate. So, throwing it in the backyard without a care in the world won’t end well.
First and foremost, nature will eat your bike for breakfast. Rain, dust, snow, UV damage, ice, and a bunch of critters who will love to sharpen their teeth on your cables and tyres. Moreover, you can get five stars on Insect Advisor for the outstanding bug hotel you created by simply leaving your bike outside. There will be quite the demand for your frame, you know. Unfortunately, the most likely winner for this prime real estate will be wasps or hornets. Either way, it is not ideal if you want to ride your bike again… ever. Your bike deserves better, and you know it.
Store without cleaning
Everyone knows that cleaning your bike after a ride is an unnecessary extravagance. Why waste time scrubbing mud off the frame when you could just let it dry and flake off naturally? Why degrease the chain when you can just add more lube on top of the filth and call it a day?
Well, there are a few reasons, actually. For starters, dirt, dust, and grime are essentially tiny sandpaper particles, slowly working their way into your moving parts. Left unchecked, they’ll grind away at your drivetrain, wear down your chainrings, and eventually turn your shifting into an unpredictable, nightmarish rollercoaster.
You don’t go to bed with your muddy feet and dust all over your face, do you? So, why would you think leaving your bike like that is OK, even for a night? Take the additional half an hour to clean and lube your bike. It gave you a full day of fun and, surely, you can spare 30 minutes or so to give your bike a proper wash.
Keep it in the back of your car
At first, this seems like a brilliant idea. Why store your bike elsewhere when it can always be ready in the trunk? No need to waste precious time loading it before a ride—it’s already there! Except, keeping your bike in the back of your car is the fastest way to destroy both your bike and your vehicle.
Ever sat on a leather car seat that’s been baking in the sun for hours? Now, imagine what that kind of temperature does to your tyres, brake fluid, and rubber seals. Prolonged heat exposure will cook your tyres into something resembling overused chewing gum. The same goes for your saddle—if you enjoy third-degree burns on your backside, this is the method for you.
Cold temperatures are equally merciless. If you leave your bike in the car during winter, your suspension will stiffen up, your hydraulic brakes will go spongy, and your frame will be colder than your motivation to ride in sub-zero temperatures.
And then there’s the rattling. Your bike, no matter how well wedged, will shift every time you turn or brake, subtly damaging your drivetrain. That “mystery noise” you hear weeks later? That’s your derailleur’s formal complaint.
Making it part of the pile
Some people have garages that function like well-organised bike sanctuaries. Others have garages that look like an explosion at a thrift store. If your bike is somewhere in the latter, half-buried under Christmas decorations, old furniture, and a treadmill from 2007, congratulations—you are actively contributing to its slow demise. Bikes are not meant to be storage racks, yet they often end up supporting an impressive assortment of household junk. Keeping your bike like this will inevitably turn your wheels into an avant-garde Salvador Dali painting.
Furthermore, how are you supposed to get to your bike? Do you take everything out so you can put it back in after the bike is out? Or is the bike thrown at the top of the pile? At least the latter won’t damage your wheels. It will, however, damage your derailleur, and chances are your cables will try to take the whole pile with them. So, chances are you will have to buy a new set of cables before each ride. Delightful, isn’t it?
Just throwing it in the basement or garage
Now, there’s nothing wrong with storing your bike in a basement or a garage. However, just throwing it in, thinking it’s fine as long as it’s not outside, is simply ludicrous.
Humidity, of course, is your biggest enemy. But even if you manage to ensure your bike is in a dry spot without rapidly changing temperatures, well, you’re halfway there. Now, all you have to do is make sure spiders won’t make it their home, dust won’t try to bury it like a Roman villa, and it won’t just fall and break everything around, including some major parts.
In other words, make sure your bike has a dedicated place where it won’t suffer the elements and the various bugs. A simple cover, sprayed with spider repellent (which you should reapply every 3 months) and a wall hanger or a stand will do the job.
Ceiling hangers just anywhere
Hanging a bike from the ceiling sounds like an excellent space-saving hack. And it is. Actually, there are many places where hanging your bike from the ceiling is a top solution. On the other hand, there are just as many, if not even more, that can ruin your life.
For example, no matter how well you clean your bike after each ride, placing it above your dining table is a bit unappetising. Also, putting it above your bed is a bit sketchy. What will happen if you’re sleeping and the hangers just break or get loose? Yeah, that’s not an alarm anyone wishes to experience, mostly because you won’t be able to choose to snooze the agonising screams.
So, while a ceiling hanger is a good idea, you should consider where to put it. Anywhere where it can fall on you is a bad idea. Actually, anywhere where it can damage expensive household items is out of the question.
Hanging your bike by the front tyre
Finally, you have the perfect place to keep your bike. Now, all you have to do is not screw up by how you position the bike. Say, is your bike hanging by the front tyre? Somewhere, somehow, this became a common practice. This doesn’t make it less terrible. Hanging a bike by its front tyre seems like a space-efficient storage solution. The problem? Physics, gravity, and the way hydraulic brakes work.
If you have hydraulic disc brakes, storing your bike vertically can cause air bubbles to creep into the system, leading to spongy, unresponsive braking performance. If you’re lucky, you’ll notice it before your next ride. If you’re unlucky, you’ll realise it at high speed when your brakes decide to take a half-second vacation. There are better ways to store your bike—ones that don’t involve sabotaging your own braking system for the sake of saving floor space.
The right way to store a bike
Well, you know what not to do. Still, that leaves one big question: how are you supposed to store your bike? It’s simple, really. Make sure your bike is inside, in a dry place where temperatures don’t fluctuate too rapidly. Make sure to clean your bike every time before storing it. No exceptions. Try to keep it off the ground with a bike stand, a wall mount, or a rack. Finally, make sure you keep an eye on it. Your bike should never feel forgotten. Give it a touch of lube every now and then, and take it out for a spin, even during the winter months. Riding in the snow is fun, you know.
