The summer is over, and with the advent of rainy weather and cold weather, it's time to reel off the fishing rods, or rather, to clean up your bike. Hardly over the summer, he bored you so that you, even without thinking about how to store the bike, leave him to spend the winter on the street. But, you know, usually keeping a bicycle is reduced to pushing it into the garage, shed, balcony or porch, if you trust the neighbors, until the next season. And very few people know that with only a few simple steps before sending your bicycle for storage in the winter, you can significantly extend the period of its operation.
Preparatory stage
On how you prepare the bike before storage, what you will see with the coming of the new season depends: a fully ready-to-use bike or a wheel that requires a pile of minor repairs. Do not take your time off in the summer and get the bike put in order right now.
- Without cleaning anywhere.
Dirt, of course, can not seriously damage the bicycle, unless it is a liquid that has got on the chain, but it's not very pleasant, especially if you are going to store a bicycle in the apartment. So do not be lazy and brush the bike off all the dirt before you put it on the balcony. Wash the bike and completely dry it before proceeding to the next step.
Council
In general, to clean the bike from dirt is necessary and throughout the season, because, hitting the chain, it can bring you big problems, and sometimes even lead to a replacement mechanism.
- Take care of the gears.
Let the bike and not the clock, but if the mechanism stops working smoothly and smoothly due to improper storage in winter, you will instantly experience it during your first trip in the summer. Lubricate the chain, ropes, hinges, bushings and bearings and wipe with a rag with grease all metal parts to prevent corrosion. The chain can be removed and removed in a separate package.
Tip
Experienced bicyclists exhibit minimum speeds before storage so as not to hold the transmission cables in the long strong tension, and also weaken the brake cables and the pressure in the shock absorbers and fork.
- Pay attention to tires.
If you are going to store a bicycle in the winter in the apartment, on the balcony in the standing position, it will be superfluous to pump the tires up to the working pressure to avoid their deformation during long storage in a slightly deflated form. If the bike is lying on its side in half-cut form or you are going to hang it on the hook, then this procedure can be carried out immediately before the start of the season.
Ideal storage for
Although the preparatory stage in our business is the most important, the question of finding a room arises in the head in the first place, especially if you live in an apartment and there is not much room in it. The problem of where to put a bicycle in a city or in a village is solved by observing a few simple rules.
- The room should be either heated or stably cool.
No tires or metal parts of the bike are not afraid of average temperatures, but they do not favor sudden changes. That is why it is so important to find a room in which let the temperature and be below room temperature, but it will be maintained at this level on an ongoing basis. Best for this, either living quarters or balconies and unheated extensions are suitable. At the same time, too warm storage close to a bicycle battery is contraindicated, as well as too cold street storage in winter. In a country house you can put a bicycle in the waiting room, utility rooms or in the attic, but in a small city apartment, the only way out is often a balcony.
If the balcony is not in the apartment, then you can resort to a little trick: a bit to disassemble the bike, taking off the front wheel, twisting the pedal "face" inward and unfolding the steering wheel so that the bike will become almost flat. In this form, it can easily fit in a closet, a closet or at least under the bed!
advice Speaking about stable temperature, we mean also a stable cold room, but if you want the bicycle to last a really long time, you will not be able to find a dry and warm room. Even if you store in the garage at -30˚, you will not notice any strong defects in the next season, but permanent cold storage will certainly make itself felt over time.
- It is undesirable to get a lot of sunlight on the bike.
Of course, being in use all summer, your bike gets quite a lot of sun rays and it seems like you never complained about it. But when stored in winter, a length of 6 or even 9 months, the daily exposure to the sun can affect the state of rubber and plastic elements. Therefore, although you can store a bicycle on the balcony and you can, it is advisable to cover it with a cloth or pack it in a cover, which, incidentally, is easy to sew yourself out of the canvas.
- And no precipitation!
If your balcony is not glazed, then wintering a bike on it will be akin to wintering on the street. If you do not want to see a rusty frame and chain with the coming of summer, it is better to abandon this idea and try to place a bike in the apartment. The same goes for the flowing wooden sheds.
Board
Premises with high humidity can also provoke rust formation, so keeping a bicycle there is also not recommended.
Remember how nice it was to find candy or trifle in a winter jacket after summer? So, if you want to experience this feeling again, just prepare the bike for wintering so that in the spring you do not suffer, washing it and changing details, but just get it and go!