Storing bikes?

Is it OK to hang your bike from the ceiling via the wheel and a hook? If so, is it better to hang it
from the front wheel or back? Thanks.

 

Northern hemisphere: Hang from front wheel.

Southern hemisphere: Hang from rear wheel.

Otherwise the Coriolis force will loosen all your spokes.

Mike Yankee

(Address is munged to thwart spammers. To reply, delete everything after "com".)

 

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Is it OK to hang your bike from the ceiling via the wheel and a hook? If so, is it better to hang
> it from the front wheel or back? Thanks.

Ignore the riff-raff around here. This is a common question. Hanging your bike from a wheel is not a
problem. If you have front suspension, you might want to hang the bike from the back wheel. Having
the fork upside down with the oil at the seal can lead to leaks. You can guess how I know.

-Buck

 

Hang it from both.

hth

<[email protected]>
> Is it OK to hang your bike from the ceiling via the wheel and a hook? If so, is it better to hang
> it from the front wheel or back? Thanks.

 

In article <[email protected]>, "Buck" <j u n k m a i l @ g a l a x y c o
r p . c o m> wrote:

> <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]rr.com...
> > Is it OK to hang your bike from the ceiling via the wheel and a hook? If so, is it better to
> > hang it from the front wheel or back? Thanks.
>
> Ignore the riff-raff around here. This is a common question. Hanging your bike from a wheel is not
> a problem. If you have front suspension, you might want to hang the bike from the back wheel.
> Having the fork upside down with the oil at the seal can lead to leaks. You can guess how I know.
>
> -Buck
>
>
>

Thanks Buck,

I was worried that maybe it would damage a rim or strain the the forks/headset some(I have
rigid forks).

Scott

 

MikeYankee wrote:

> Northern hemisphere: Hang from front wheel.
>
> Southern hemisphere: Hang from rear wheel.
>
> Otherwise the Coriolis force will loosen all your spokes.
>
> Mike Yankee
>
> (Address is munged to thwart spammers. To reply, delete everything after "com".)

You counteract that by aligning the hub with the North Star. Everyone knows that.

 

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Is it OK to hang your bike from the ceiling via the wheel and a hook? If so, is it better to hang
> it from the front wheel or back? Thanks.

No, when you come back to it, it'll be a long wheelbase beach cruiser. Mark Lee

 

In article <[email protected]>, Bernie <[email protected]> wrote:

> MikeYankee wrote:
>
> > Northern hemisphere: Hang from front wheel.
> >
> > Southern hemisphere: Hang from rear wheel.
> >
> > Otherwise the Coriolis force will loosen all your spokes.
> >
> > Mike Yankee
> >
> > (Address is munged to thwart spammers. To reply, delete everything after "com".)
>
> You counteract that by aligning the hub with the North Star. Everyone knows that.
>
>

Does it matter if it's leap year?

 

"Bernie" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> MikeYankee wrote:
>
> > Northern hemisphere: Hang from front wheel.
> >
> > Southern hemisphere: Hang from rear wheel.
> >
> > Otherwise the Coriolis force will loosen all your spokes.
>
> You counteract that by aligning the hub with the North Star. Everyone knows that.
>
If it is a steel frame, you will find that the bike wants to align itself on a north-south axis. If
you hang it so it aligns this way, you will have no problems. If it is prevented from aligning this
way, the slight pressure it exerts trying to follow the lines of magnetic force will tend to warp
the rims. The effect is pretty slight, though, at all time scales less than 1 million years.

 

Buck wrote:
> Having the fork upside down with the oil at the seal can lead to leaks. You can guess how I know.
>
> -Buck

Sometimes it's good for a suspension for to be hung upside down. Marzocchi's instruction manual
suggests turning the bike upside down ocassionally to allow the oil to reach the upper seals. I
store my all three of my Bombers upside down with no problems at all.

How old was the fork that leaked?

Barry

 

[email protected] wrote:
> Is it OK to hang your bike from the ceiling via the wheel and a hook? If so, is it better to hang
> it from the front wheel or back? Thanks.

Hey, you're supposed to ask this question in November, not March! ;->

Art Harris

 

In article <[email protected]>, Harris
<[email protected]> wrote:

> [email protected] wrote:
> > Is it OK to hang your bike from the ceiling via the wheel and a hook? If so, is it better to
> > hang it from the front wheel or back? Thanks.
>
> Hey, you're supposed to ask this question in November, not March! ;->
>
> Art Harris

Art,

I'm from Florida, we bike year round here.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I got some good info and a few laughs at the same time. You know
what the say, "Ask a stupid question..."

Scott

 

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] (Jon Isaacs) wrote:

> >Thanks Buck,
> >
> >I was worried that maybe it would damage a rim or strain the the forks/headset some(I have rigid
> >forks).
> >
> >Scott
>
> Generally the idea is that if hanging a bike would damage the wheel or frame/fork/headset, that
> would be a bike you would not want to ride.
>
> This is why your post elicited several snide remarks. I would have added mine but over the years I
> have used them all up and so I am stuck without a clever reply.
>
> jon isaacs

Thanks Jon,

Yeah, I guess it was a stupid question. I was more concerned with the bike being strained in certain
areas of the frame/wheels for an extended period of time(2-3+ years) and that having an effect on
the trueness of the rims and frame. I realize it won't cause a total failure on a normal bike but
was curious if it would have an effect(even if suttle) on the bikes performance/ride.

As for the comments, I've been posting on usenet for a long time and have some thick skin. If you
can dish it out, you better be able to take it and I know I've dished out my share. I actually got a
good chuckle from some of the replies. Thanks again for the advice,

Scott

 

"B a r r y B u r k e J r ." <"keep it in the newsgroup "@thankyou.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Buck wrote:
> > Having the fork upside down with the oil at the seal can lead to leaks. You can guess how I
> > know.
> >
> > -Buck
>
>
> Sometimes it's good for a suspension for to be hung upside down. Marzocchi's instruction manual
> suggests turning the bike upside down ocassionally to allow the oil to reach the upper seals. I
> store my all three of my Bombers upside down with no problems at all.
>
> How old was the fork that leaked?
>
> Barry

The leaking fork was a '97 Manitou. But the seals were less than a year old at the time I discovered
this little quirk. I wasn't able to hit the trail for a few weeks and left the bike hanging in the
garage by the front wheel. When I pulled it down, I discovered fork oil had leaked out, dribbled its
way along the fork, and was working its way down the frame. It wasn't much oil, but enough to make a
small mess.

I can see the wisdom in inverting the fork to soak the seals on occasion. However, if you regularly
lube the sliders with Judy-butter or something similar, hanging upside-down shouldn't be necessary.

-Buck

 

Buck wrote:
>
> I can see the wisdom in inverting the fork to soak the seals on occasion. However, if you
> regularly lube the sliders with Judy-butter or something similar, hanging upside-down shouldn't be
> necessary.
>
> -Buck

The Judy Butter dosen't get to much of the inside of the seal, or to the o-rings that seal the top
to the tube. Lubing the top side of mods fork sliders also attracts a lot of grit.

Barry

 

"B a r r y B u r k e J r ." <"keep it in the newsgroup "@thankyou.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Buck wrote:
> >
> > I can see the wisdom in inverting the fork to soak the seals on
occasion.
> > However, if you regularly lube the sliders with Judy-butter or something similar, hanging
> > upside-down shouldn't be necessary.
> >
> > -Buck
>
> The Judy Butter dosen't get to much of the inside of the seal, or to the o-rings that seal the top
> to the tube. Lubing the top side of mods fork sliders also attracts a lot of grit.
>
> Barry

It all depends how it is lubed. If you remove the seal and place a bit in there as well as adding
some along the sliders, it works fine. If you use a set of fork boots as I do, then grit on the
sliders is less of a concern. There may be some debate about trapping water in there, but I have
found that it isn't a problem if you avoid submerging the fork. Some folks prefer to use wipers
instead of boots. In that case, I wouldn't lube the sliders.

-Buck

 

Buck wrote:
>
>
> It all depends how it is lubed. If you remove the seal and place a bit in there as well as adding
> some along the sliders, it works fine. If you use a set of fork boots as I do, then grit on the
> sliders is less of a concern.

Very true. Most people that come into the shop I work at don't do it right. <G>

Barry