Store bike in lowest gear?

sonandheir

Was just wondering when storing my bike is it best to leave in the lowest gear? This way there is no tension on the springs in the front / rear derailluer thus extending their lifetime?

Seweryn

sonandheir wrote: »

Was just wondering when storing my bike is it best to leave in the lowest gear? This way there is no tension on the springs in the front / rear derailluer thus extending their lifetime?

Better to remove the chain, clean, lubricate and put in a sealed bag.

Lusk_Doyle

Seweryn wrote: »

Better to remove the chain, clean, lubricate and put in a sealed bag.

That's a tad harsh. I don't think you need to worry about it OP.

Seweryn

Lusk_Doyle wrote: »

That's a tad harsh. I don't think you need to worry about it OP.

I don't think it is harsh. It is what I would do if I was to store a bike in a garage for a longer period of time. Otherwise the chain will rust and seize.

If you keep your bike at home (same as me), do not worry too much .

smacl

sonandheir wrote: »

Was just wondering when storing my bike is it best to leave in the lowest gear? This way there is no tension on the springs in the front / rear derailluer thus extending their lifetime?

Smallest ring and smallest cog rather than lowest gear, but yes.

smacl

Seweryn wrote: »

Better to remove the chain, clean, lubricate and put in a sealed bag.

You still need to drop to the smallest ring and cog to minimise spring and cable tension.

spyderski

Small ring, small cog - that's what underage riders are taught (or I was anyway). Prevents cable stretch, and reduces tension on springs.

at1withmyself

sonandheir wrote: »

Was just wondering when storing my bike is it best to leave in the lowest gear? This way there is no tension on the springs in the front / rear derailluer thus extending their lifetime?

No because even in the smallest cog the derailleur has tension on the springs and cable stretch only happens when pressure is applied while changing gears.

Morgan

Are people suffering from overly stretched derailleur springs now?

Roadtoad

It's a rather poorly designed spring that's working in its plastic region.

smacl

Morgan wrote: »

Are people suffering from overly stretched derailleur springs now?

I had to replace a front derailleur due to a weak spring making down shifting awkward, so yes. Mind you, it was on a second hand bike so God knows how old it was.

07Lapierre

If your storing your bike in a location where it will be seen, then it should be stored with the drive side out and the chain should be on the smallest sprocket and largest chainring...always.

jimgoose

Good idea. We do similar with torque-wrenches - always set and lock at the zero setting before putting away. And as pointed out, the lowest gear corresponds to the smallest sprocket, and that's the one you want.

sonandheir

Thanks for all the responses. If I was to store bike away I think I'd do as mentioned and remove chain and store with gears on smallest cog\chainring.
Beside storing the bike away for months,would the above advice apply to day to day storage (gears on smallest cog\chainring). My commuter bike gets max use of 4 or 5 hours a week, the rest of time the bike is idle.

07Lapierre wrote: »

If your storing your bike in a location where it will be seen, then it should be stored with the drive side out and the chain should be on the smallest sprocket and largest chainring...always.

hi 07lapierre, why do say store on largest chainring this is different from the consensus in the thread. Also why would.the drivetrain side need to face out? I always face it in to the wall to protect it from damage i.e. Bike mainly is inside my front door so there's a lot potential for door to hit children to fall or crash into so I face it in to protect the drivetrain (and inadvertently protect the children too of course)

dave_o_brien

Roadtoad wrote: »

It's a rather poorly designed spring that's working in its plastic region.

This.

dermur

sonandheir wrote: »

Thanks for all the responses. If I was to store bike away I think I'd do as mentioned and remove chain and store with gears on smallest cog\chainring.
Beside storing the bike away for months,would the above advice apply to day to day storage (gears on smallest cog\chainring). My commuter bike gets max use of 4 or 5 hours a week, the rest of time the bike is idle.

hi 07lapierre, why do say store on largest chainring this is different from the consensus in the thread. Also why would.the drivetrain side need to face out? I always face it in to the wall to protect it from damage i.e. Bike mainly is inside my front door so there's a lot potential for door to hit children to fall or crash into so I face it in to protect the drivetrain (and inadvertently protect the children too of course)

I think 07lapierre is just injecting some humour into the thread, applying bike photo rules...as long as that's all he's injecting...

Mycroft H

jimgoose wrote: »

Good idea. We do similar with torque-wrenches - always set and lock at the zero setting before putting away. And as pointed out, the lowest gear corresponds to the smallest sprocket, and that's the one you want.

Same. Though no one ever told me to store them like that, just seemed like the mechanical sympathetic way of storing them.

If I were putting the bike in long term storage, I'd either remove the chain or take it off the chainwheel and let it sit on the bb.

07Lapierre

sonandheir wrote: »

Thanks for all the responses. If I was to store bike away I think I'd do as mentioned and remove chain and store with gears on smallest cog\chainring.
Beside storing the bike away for months,would the above advice apply to day to day storage (gears on smallest cog\chainring). My commuter bike gets max use of 4 or 5 hours a week, the rest of time the bike is idle.


hi 07lapierre, why do say store on largest chainring this is different from the consensus in the thread. Also why would.the drivetrain side need to face out? I always face it in to the wall to protect it from damage i.e. Bike mainly is inside my front door so there's a lot potential for door to hit children to fall or crash into so I face it in to protect the drivetrain (and inadvertently protect the children too of course)

I was only joking..personally I think your "over analysing" the whole thing. I store my bikes in the garage. I hang them up on hooks on the wall. one bike in particular could be hanging up for 6 months at a time and the chain is on the large chainring and small sprocket. never any problems.

sonandheir

07Lapierre wrote: »

I was only joking..personally I think your "over analysing" the whole thing. I store my bikes in the garage. I hang them up on hooks on the wall. one bike in particular could be hanging up for 6 months at a time and the chain is on the large chainring and small sprocket. never any problems.

Sound. Didn't pick up on the joke. I was only fixing up the bike the other day after winter and got to thinking about prolonging the components. I will try to keep the bike drivetrain @ a 45 degree angle against an internal drywall .