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Switched over to my winter bike to keep my favorite away from the salt.

Can I hang my bike by the front wheel for the winter? Will be in my unheated storage-room/garage/shed. My ownly real concern is the suspension. I have a Rockshox XC 32 shock.

Edit: The average daily low in January should be about -15 C (5 F) the record low was -40 C (-40 F).

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1  
Good question. I've stored all sorts of bikes by the front wheel, but never one with suspension. – WTHarper Nov 28 '12 at 3:52
Yeah, and unheated is not a problem. The question is whether hanging such that the shocks are in stress like that for months would cause trouble -- damage the seals or some such. – Daniel R Hicks Nov 28 '12 at 3:55
I don't know the answer to your question but if clearance is an issue, you can likely take your wheel and/or fork off and hang by handle bars if you find pulling on the shock could cause damage. – Glenn Nov 28 '12 at 5:05
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What temperature will the garage go down to? – cmannett85 Nov 28 '12 at 8:07
@cmannett85 -- The temperature doesn't matter. A bicycle can handle any temperature an automobile can, and lower. – Daniel R Hicks Nov 28 '12 at 13:14
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3 Answers

up vote 5 down vote

Apart from the suspension: do you have hydraulic disc brakes? Some of them have an open design that is prone to let air in the system if the bike isn't stored upright.

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Negative, mechanical disks. – sixtyfootersdude Dec 9 '12 at 4:52
up vote 4 down vote

The product page, manual and warranty do not mention anything about this. I think there should be no problem with storing the bike vertically or upside down. The oil will definitely stagnate at the top of the fork, on the seals. When you bring your bike to the ground you'll probably need to cycle the suspension 10 to 20 times in order to make the oil go down and re-lubricate everything.

Regarding the possibility of stress on the suspension, there will not be any problem, unless of course you hang yourself from the bike being upside down :)

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up vote 0 down vote

My main concern in hanging by the front wheel is the rim. Rims / spokes are not made for

  1. a permanent force
  2. in this direction.

Depending on other parameters like the weight of the bike and the rim / spoke type, I would consider hanging the bike by the frame instead of the front wheel.

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If you're worried about the effects on the wheel the you could periodically rehang it, partially rotating the wheel, to even out the stresses. – Unsliced Dec 4 '12 at 10:26
That is true. However, I do not want to worry about rehanging, which is the reason I use the frame. – StefG Dec 5 '12 at 17:09

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