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How bad is it for the bike/front wheel to vertically hang bike for storage?

177K views 84 replies 49 participants last post by  Lombard 
#1 ·
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#54 ·
Never hang your bike from the front wheel....anyone who's tried it soon realizes that it's much easier to lift and hang a bike from the rear wheel.

I've been hanging my bikes from hooks for longer than most of you are old. Calculate, vector diagram, analyze, and postulate all you want, but real world experience shows no harm done.
 
#55 ·
skyliner1004 said:
Think i'm going to get this instead:
Just to be devil's advocate (like this thread isn't full of them already) Aren't you worried that you will ding your carbon frame on the jaggety metal corners as you lift it up to the top brackets? :D
 
#57 ·
JCavilia said:
The hanging vs.standing vs. whatever from the spokes debate. On certain forums this is debated and argued loudly and at length, with much confusion and argument about terminology.

Google Jobst Brandt and the word "standing" and follow a few links. Your head will spin.

Here are some basic facts, without interpretation. In a properly built bicycle wheel, all the spokes are under tension at all times -- i.e, they're pulling on the rim. When you load the wheel by pushing down on the hub while the ground pushes up on the bottom of the rim, tension on the spokes at the bottom decreases substantially (but is still a positive number -- i.e., they don't go slack), while tension on all the other spokes stays about the same. Tension on the spokes at the top does not increase significantly.

Hanging? Standing? Something else? Discuss amongst yourselves.
I'm enjoying this thread, just like watching a train wreck. To add fuel to the fire, I hang my tandem by one hook in a joist and the rear tire touches the ground. What forces are acting on my bike in what direction and should I be worried it will asplode (it's steel)?
 
#58 ·
JCavilia said:
The hanging vs.standing vs. whatever from the spokes debate. On certain forums this is debated and argued loudly and at length, with much confusion and argument about terminology.

Google Jobst Brandt and the word "standing" and follow a few links. Your head will spin.............
Party pooper. That's one of my favorite "discussions". :D
 
#59 ·
Mel Erickson said:
I'm enjoying this thread, just like watching a train wreck. To add fuel to the fire, I hang my tandem by one hook in a joist and the rear tire touches the ground. What forces are acting on my bike in what direction and should I be worried it will asplode (it's steel)?
You've ruined it. It's not safe to ride anymore. You'd better send it to me and let me dispose of it in an environmentally responsible manner.
 
#61 ·
JCavilia said:
You've ruined it. It's not safe to ride anymore. You'd better send it to me and let me dispose of it in an environmentally responsible manner.
No way! I'm not sending it to you so you can let it rust away.
 
#62 ·
Skyliner, you're fine bro. Hang em up. If you ride enough then you true your wheels every season or so anyway. I have four bikes (hung from ceiling hooks) 29'er, Carbon tri bike, road bike, wifes bike, etc...and I have yet to find a wheel out of true. If you're worried about it get a top tube mount and go that route.

This thread got out of hand fast! Good grief! If anyone has an actual story of damage, do share, but I think he was looking for simple answers based on actual real world events, not theoretical physics.
 
#63 ·
God I love a good car crash almost as much as discussions like this. Maybe I can start someone convulsing by showing pictures! Been doing it like this for years.
J hooks from Ceiling

Hooks on Wall from rear wheel
 
#64 ·
rward325 said:
God I love a good car crash almost as much as discussions like this. Maybe I can start someone convulsing by showing pictures! Been doing it like this for years.
J hooks from Ceiling

Hooks on Wall from rear wheel
Doubt this would dent your rims but it might put a good dent in your noggin!
 
#65 ·
Brad the Bold said:
Just to be devil's advocate (like this thread isn't full of them already) Aren't you worried that you will ding your carbon frame on the jaggety metal corners as you lift it up to the top brackets? :D
All my frames are old steel, and I probably wouldn't notice another ding.

But anyway, that's what the felt padding is for.
 
#67 ·
Bad to the wheel or to the fork?

Hanging bikes from the front or rear wheels and how this affects bike´s components depends on weight, materials, components shapes, lengths and angles. Wheels are not really the problem but if you take a look to the force applied to the fork, you will have a different point of view. As you know there is a connection between the steering tube and the fork braces or blades ´per se´, I mean the crown. If you remember/know the lever law you can calculate the force applied to the crown point (hanging with front wheel) or if you are hanging it with rear wheel. the force applied to seat and chain stays. At a store you want to hang it by the front wheel to keep the bike straight avoiding front wheel-handlebar to move and have a nice bikes display. If your bike´s fork is a mix of aluminum (steering tube) and carbon (blades) think it twice before hanging it using the front wheel.
 
#68 ·
aiosue said:
Hanging bikes from the front or rear wheels and how this affects bike´s components depends on weight, materials, components shapes, lengths and angles. Wheels are not really the problem but if you take a look to the force applied to the fork, you will have a different point of view. As you know there is a connection between the steering tube and the fork braces or blades ´per se´, I mean the crown. If you remember/know the lever law you can calculate the force applied to the crown point (hanging with front wheel) or if you are hanging it with rear wheel. the force applied to seat and chain stays. At a store you want to hang it by the front wheel to keep the bike straight avoiding front wheel-handlebar to move and have a nice bikes display. If your bike´s fork is a mix of aluminum (steering tube) and carbon (blades) think it twice before hanging it using the front wheel.
You're kidding, right?
 
#69 ·
aiosue said:
Hanging bikes from the front or rear wheels and how this affects bike´s components depends on weight, materials, components shapes, lengths and angles. Wheels are not really the problem but if you take a look to the force applied to the fork, you will have a different point of view. As you know there is a connection between the steering tube and the fork braces or blades ´per se´, I mean the crown. If you remember/know the lever law you can calculate the force applied to the crown point (hanging with front wheel) or if you are hanging it with rear wheel. the force applied to seat and chain stays. At a store you want to hang it by the front wheel to keep the bike straight avoiding front wheel-handlebar to move and have a nice bikes display. If your bike´s fork is a mix of aluminum (steering tube) and carbon (blades) think it twice before hanging it using the front wheel.
 
#70 ·
skyliner1004 said:
Think i'm going to get this instead:

You're worried about damaging a rim by hanging your bike from it, but you aren't worried about damaging a, probably carbon fiber, road bike top tube that is almost certainly more fragile (in a relative sense anyway)?

Interesting, very interesting....


(for the record I use one of these, with a carbon road bike no less, though mine is floor to ceiling compression mounted so you don't have the annoying feet to deal with and it's less space hogging. Not worried about it. Wouldn't be worried about hooking a wheel and hanging it either.)
 
#71 ·
Kerry Irons said:
So what you're telling us is that you already know that this will damage a bike wheel? How do you know this, and why did you ask the question if you already knew it? And why does your knowldege totally contradict common sense, simple physics, and the experience of a huge number of people who hang their bikes this way and experience no damage whatsoever? Teach us!
Man, You are usually very helpful. This is a new guy asking a very legitimate question. The physics involved with the hook shown are a bit more complicated than you are letting on.

The answer is still likely "no" but it is not as simple as asking the question about a 200 lb rider.
 
#72 ·
What I'm more concerned over are the 6 hooks that have been drilled into the 6x12" wood beam. With three holding bikes weighing from 18-24#'s and another 3 holding pairs of wheelsets. I'm concerned this additional weight will cause stress to collapse the roof of the garage.

A partial view


Should I replace the wooden beam/s with these? :D
 
#73 ·
Angle of the dangle

I'm a sadist and like to torture and destroy my bikes by hanging them from the front wheel against a wall. When doing so, however, it helps to get the angle of the dangle right. I install the hooks angled downward at ~ 45 degrees so that they are in tension rather than being bent downward. I also use larger heavy duty hooks which are easier to get the wheel on and are plenty strong even for heavy mtn bikes. Oh yeah, drill a pilot hole before screwing these into the joists. It's a lot easier to screw them in and you won't split the joist.
 
#74 ·
aiosue said:
Hanging bikes from the front or rear wheels and how this affects bike´s components depends on weight, materials, components shapes, lengths and angles. Wheels are not really the problem but if you take a look to the force applied to the fork, you will have a different point of view. As you know there is a connection between the steering tube and the fork braces or blades ´per se´, I mean the crown. If you remember/know the lever law you can calculate the force applied to the crown point (hanging with front wheel) or if you are hanging it with rear wheel. the force applied to seat and chain stays. At a store you want to hang it by the front wheel to keep the bike straight avoiding front wheel-handlebar to move and have a nice bikes display. If your bike´s fork is a mix of aluminum (steering tube) and carbon (blades) think it twice before hanging it using the front wheel.
post #1...and you've sealed your fate forever. from this point on, no matter what you come up with, we will all (unfortunately) remember this. well done, sir. :thumbsup:
 
#75 ·
your wheels take infinitely more abuse on 1 average-length ride, than they will take from an entire season of storage in such a way.
i also once read in the almanac of something or other, that the standard bicycle wheel is the strongest structure ever created
these 2 bicycles have been hanging this way for a long, long time

 
#76 ·
No it does not cause damage to your rim.

I'd worry more about evading potholes, babyhead rocks, critters when it comes to extending the life of your rims and/or yourself.

Also, I find it funny the OP calling out people on post count when he/she has 1400 or so posts since just May of 2010.
 
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