What's the best way to stow (winter storage) an all-carbon bike?

Question

As the number of bikes in the house grows, storage becomes more of a problem. I have some hooks that I hang my touring bike and the gravel bike on (hanging from the front rim), but they both have durable aluminum rims.

I now have to find a way to store a new all-carbon road bike, one that has aerodynamic carbon rims, a carbon seat-post, etc. I don't want to leave it sitting on the floor, lest I forget to keep the tyres pumped up. I don't want to hang it from a hook, since I'm sure that's not how the rims are expected to be loaded. I could use a clamp to hold it by the seatpost, but again since that would leave it under a certain amount of torque for months, I'm not comfortable with it.

A quick search didn't turn anything obviously better, and I thought it best to ask for suggestions before trying to bodge something together.

Answer 1

Vast majority iof carbon rims will be fine taking the weight of a bike. If yours have very fragile fairings and its not suitible, a couple of options that are common come to mind.

Hang from bars and seat

Hang from frame

Can't find an image - hang from handle bars with seat to the wall and wheels sticking out, can hang from just the seat. You can get any style of brackets from very cheap and agricultural to art pieces that match the most upmarket apartment to hold the most hipster single speed you can imagine in the style you would expect.

Answer 2

I don't see a problem hanging a bike from a carbon fiber composite rim. The amplitude of the load would be much, much lower than when riding over even moderate bumps. OK, the load is radially outward rather than radially inward but the wheel is not weak in that direction.

Maybe of the inside edge of the rim is particularly narrow in profile you could damage it, but suitable padding would prevent that.

Answer 3

Some carbon wheels, like the Hed Jet and the Bontrager Aeolus Comp, have an alloy rim, and a non-structural carbon aerodynamic fairing bonded to that rim. "Non-structural" means I can bend the fairing by pushing it lightly with my finger. I've tried this (very lightly) on my Hed Jets. These wheels certainly can not be hung by hooks. That fairing is designed to do nothing apart from modify the airflow. The spokes go through holes in the fairing.

In most carbon wheels, the carbon is structural, i.e. it's full carbon construction that has to resist the pull of the spokes. These should be more than able to withstand the weight of the (presumably light) bike. Pad the hooks if not already done so.

I don't see a real issue with storing the bike upright on the floor unless you have tubular wheels. With my cyclocross tubulars, the recommended best practice was to hang the wheels, lest side forces dislodge the tubular from the rim entirely or just force it off straight. With tubeless wheels, if you let the wheels lose air entirely, you might need to ensure the tire beads are seated properly in the center channel before reinflating. If the tires got dislodged, I suppose it's possible you could spill sealant.