How to Store Your Bikes During The Winter Months? Get The Best Practice
Whether you own an electric or mechanical bike, a bicycle cant just be parked in the garage or indoors to be stored throughout the winter. You must follow certain instructions to preserve your bike&s condition while it is being stored for the winter. Otherwise, you would have to spend a lot of money replacing damaged components.
So, how to store your bikes during the winter? The procedure mainly includes washing thoroughly, degreasing your components, cleaning out gink, greasing them, and finally storing them.
In this article, we will discuss how you should go about storing your e-bikes or mechanical bikes during the winter seasons and the precautions you
should take.
Preparing Your Bike for Winter Storage
Before leaving your bike in storage for months to come, you have to prepare your bike first. Otherwise, a long time being unused can do damage to your components and cause rusting. These precautions mainly include cleaning and lubricating. We will also discuss things you should do if you own an electric bike, as those come with electrical components. Let’s start the main discussion on how to store your bikes based on the bike types.
Mechanical Bikes
For mechanical bikes, you should basically follow three steps thoroughly to prepare for winter. These are de-greasing, cleaning, and re-greasing.
For degreasing, cleaning, and greasing, you will need the following equipment in hand:
● Brushes and rags that are clean
● Soap or a multi-purpose cleaner
● Bike stand
● Degreaser Lubricant
● Water
● Chain cleaning device
● Grease
● Lube
De-grease The Drivetrain
The drivetrain is the most important component of your bike. These include Pedals, cranks, chainrings, chains, cogs or cassettes, and derailleurs. These all are prone to rusting when kept in highly humid areas, so you should thoroughly clean, de-grease, and re-grease your drivetrain when preparing to store your bike for a long time. Follow the steps below to properly degrease and clean your drivetrain.
● Step 1: Load the chain-cleaning device halfway with a degreaser. Link it to the bottom portion of the chain, about in the center of the bottom jockey wheel and chainrings.
● Step 2: Hold it in position and turn its cranks backward to get the chain moving. Count between 30 and 40 pedal rotations. Examine the link to determine how it looks. Continue pedaling rotations if the chain is filthy and requires extra cleaning. If the filth is really persistent, consider adding an additional degreaser to the chain cleaner.
● Step 3: Use a brush to thoroughly clean the cassettes and teeth. You should use a degreaser and soap when doing this.
● Step 4: Rinse and wash your drivetrain.
Give Your Bike a Good Wash
You should wash your bike with warm, soapy water to discard any dirt or corrosive materials from your bike. You can also use bike cleaner spray as a bonus security. To properly wash your bike, follow the steps below:
● Step 1: Thoroughly wash the bike frame. Use warm water and soap if necessary. Scrub the underside and all over the frame with a brush.
● Step 2: Remove your wheels. This makes it much easier to clean your wheels and handle your bike while cleaning. Scrub your wheels with a brush and soap.
● Step 3: Finally, rinse your bike with clean water so no remnants of soap remain.
Dry Your Bike
Drying your bike after washing may seem obvious, but this is a very important part of preparing your bike for winter. Many beginners and even experts don't pay much attention to thoroughly drying their bikes, only to find a rusted frame at the end of winter. Your bikes frame is hollow, and water usually accumulates inside. If not, the moisture can corrode your bike from the inside out. A good way to avoid this is to leave your saddle post off while cleaning and leave your bike upside down to remove all the water from your bike.
Clean, De-grease, and Re-Grease Your Bicycle’s Components
Now its time to prepare all your components and pay special attention to the smaller parts. You should degrease, clean, and regrease all your components so gunk doesnt build up or solidify in your bike.
● Saddle post
You can leave your saddle post attached or detached from your bike during storage. If you wish to leave your post attached, then pay special attention to greasing your saddle post, as leaving your post attached will damage it. For metal posts and frames, you can use grease, and for carbon fiber posts, we recommend using fiber grip.
● Headset Bearings
Your bike’s headset can get sticky or corroded during storage. So, to prevent that, you have to unscrew and take your headset apart, degrease, clean, and regrease. Make sure to pay special attention to cleaning your headset bearing during this procedure.
● Bottom Bracket
You should do the same with your bottom bracket next. Make sure to clean out any gunk stored in there, as it will decrease your bike’s performance.
● Pedals
You can leave your pedals on or off your bike during storing, like your seat post. But make sure to clean and grease them as they are prone to getting stuck when left alone for a long time.
● Barrel Adjusters
If you have barrel adjuster bolts externally fitted on your frame, you should give them a good greasing as well.
Lubricating Drivetrain
Finally, you should lubricate your drivetrain as a finishing touch. You can use your conventional oil for this or use an aerosol lube. To lubricate your drivetrain properly, follow the steps given below:
● Step 1:
When the chain is completely dry, apply the fresh lubricant. Backpedal slowly while distributing a steady, tiny trickle of lubricant evenly across the chain. Apply the lubricant to the highest point of the lower half of the chain for the greatest effects. remember to check every link.
● Step 2:
Allow some time for the lubricant to get settled in the chain. Then, using a clean towel, carefully wipe the chain to get off any extra lubricant. It may appear that the more chain lubrication you use, the more effective it is, but any excess lube will draw particles and dirt to the drivetrain.
Take Care of Tires
You should inflate your tires when storing your bike during the winter season. They will lose pressure over time, and you should check regularly and inflate them again when needed. A deflated tire will get damaged over time. You can also choose to store your tires separately if you have the space, which will remove this dilemma from your mind.
Tune Your Brakes and Gears
Lastly, tune your brakes and gears so that they’re ready to hit the roads as soon as winter ends.
For a better understanding, watch:
How To Store Your Road Bike Over Winter.
Electric Bikes
If you have an electric bike, then you should follow the steps above and also take some extra precautionary measures as your bike has electrical components.
Clean Your E-Bike
Just like a mechanical bike, you should also clean your e-bike before storing it for the winter. This includes the drivetrain and gears. Be sure to remove your battery and any electrical components that might be damaged when cleaning.
Remove Your Bike’s Battery
Keeping your battery attached to your e-bike will drain it over time and degrade your battery’s capacity. So, to avoid this, you should remove your battery from your e-bike and store it separately.
Storing Your E-Bike Battery
Batteries ought to be kept in a cold, dry area in which they will not freeze, such as the garage. However, if you live in an area where it gets severely cold, that is, below freezing, take the battery indoors and put it away somewhere secure.
Batteries are ideally maintained around 32°F – 104°F and can withstand severe temperatures in both directions for a limited period of duration until the ambient temperature begins to influence the chemical composition and harm the battery.
Where to Store Your Bike?
You can choose to store your bike inside your house, in your garage, in self- storage units, or even outside.
Keeping Your Bike Outside
While we do not suggest storing your bike outside, you can do so if you have no other options at hand. But you need to take extra measures to keep your bike safe from the weather. Here are some tips for keeping your bike safe in an outside setting.
● Use a bicycle protective cover made of plastic.
● Use waterproof wax to grease your bike.
● To avoid vandalism, lock the bicycle with chains.
● If feasible, keep your bike elevated by utilizing bike racks.
Keeping Your Bike Inside
Because you arent concerned about the weather hurting the bicycle in a closed indoor environment, it's a great spot to keep your bike secure over the cold winter seasons. This will also prevent your bike from getting stolen.
Yet, there are actually a few factors to bear in mind when storing your bicycle indoors:
● If you store the bicycle in the basement, ensure the space is completely shut.
● Steer out of water-dripping locations.
● Try to keep your bike lifted above the ground.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have read through the pieces of information discussed till now, you should have a pretty good idea of how to store your bike during the winter seasons. If you are still confused about any aspect of the process, try checking out some frequently asked questions given below to find your answer.
1. Is it safe to keep my bike outdoors in the winter?
Keeping your bike outdoors in wintertime ought to just be done as a last option. The chilly weather, along with the possibility of rain and snow, will undoubtedly cause your bicycle to break and begin to rust. You shouldnt leave your bike outdoors.
2. Is it necessary to preserve various types of bikes differently in the winter?
No, The tips discussed in this article are applicable to all types of bikes, including mountain bikes, road bikes, or even electric bikes.
3. How can I store my bike if I have no place inside my house or garage?
You can try to store your bike in self-storage units.
Self-storage units are storage units where you can store your items for a duration of time for a fee. These are great places to store your bike safely and cost-effectively.
Check if you have any self-storage units around the area you live in.
Conclusion
You should take precautionary measures before storing your bike throughout the winter season, as unplanned storage can potentially kill your bike. You can also get better recommendations and advice from the local community and how they store their bike during winter seasons.
We’ve seen many beginners struggle with their bikes during their first winter, and for most of them, a bad winter can end their cycling journey. Remember, maintenance is the key to owning and enjoying a good bike.