Well we hope you have had a great festive break and we wish our customers all the best for 2015. We hope you enjoyed our blogs from last year and we aim to continue giving you some clever and convenient storage tips for 2015. We will kick off the year with some tips for storing your bike. Ireland has become a hotbed for cycling and the recent visit of the Giro has really given a strong impetus to people taking to pedal power and they are purchasing some really high end bikes. We see some of these bikes put into our storage facility so whether you go with us or want to store their bikes at home for the Winter period we thought we would give you some helpful advice so that you get the best from your bicycle.
Preparation
- Remove your cyclo-computer, lights or any other electronic devices from your bike before storing for the winter. Electronic devices and devices with batteries in particular are susceptible to moisture damage and should not be stored with your bike where possible.
- Give your bike a good wash. We regularly see bikes coming into our storage facility which have not been thoroughly washed down and cleaned. Grime, dirt and particularly road salt causes decay and your bike will deteriorate over the winter months if not cleaned correctly before storing.
- Lubricate all the moving parts on your bike including chains, gears and cables before putting into storage to avoid corrosion. These are the areas that are attacked first when a bike is lying up for a while.
- Although it might seem odd, pump your tyres to road pressure levels before putting away for storage, It will help to keep your tyres free from decay and developing bulges and/or flat spots and will leave you ready to unleash your prize asset in early spring and you are straight onto the road.
Storing your bike
- As far as possible try to store your bike indoors. If you do need to store outside make sure that you cover your bike very well with appropriate rainproof covers. Plastic is not a good idea as it sweats so make sure you cover with correct covers and if at all possible try to store indoors. If you are badly caught for space take the two wheels off and it will take up less space indoors.
- Lock your bike even if you are storing at a self storage facility or at home. It is a good habit to get into and remember to purchase a quality lock. The amount of times I notice bikes coming into our storage facility worth thousands with a cheap and cheerful lock on it. You wouldn’t expect a cheap €5 sensor to protect your home from theft so why do people do it on bikes?
- There are many devices now available to allow you to hang your bike when storing and our experience is that they are an inexpensive but worthwhile investment. As far as possible avoid leaving your bike on a concrete floor. The cement floor will draw moisture from the tyres and lead to decay. The dangerous thing is that this decay may not be apparent with a visual check when bringing your bike back out of storage. If you must store your bike at ground level place the wheels on a wooden surface or carpet which is raised from the concrete floor.
When bringing your bike back out of storage
- Carry out a 60 second visual check on your bike when you bring it back out of storage. If you have followed the tips above you should have no problems but check everything over for safety purposes.
- Clean off any protective grease which you may have applied when storing. This can be done with an oil based solvent and a clean cloth.
- Try where possible to make your first trip back on the road a short one. There is nothing worse than finding yourself a long way from home before realising you have a problem.
- Most important bike storage tip of all – “HAVE FUN”
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