How To Store Bicycle Wheels

By Rachel Lee
Published on
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While bike wheels can be quite tough, they are still expensive. This means that you will want to be doing your best to keep them out of harm’s way. This means that you may need to store the bike wheels somewhere. Let our experts walk you through how to store bicycle wheels correctly.

So, how do you store bike wheels? Ideally, you would want to store them on the bike. However, if you have ‘spare wheels’, then you will want to store them as high up as possible. This will ensure that they have the smallest possible chance of becoming damaged. There are special bike wheel hooks that can purchase for this purpose, but you could also make your own.

It is important that you choose the bike wheel storage solution that is right for your needs. Let our experts tell you everything that you need to know.

How Do You Store Bicycle Wheels?

There are a couple of ways that you can store your bicycle wheels. Let us run you through some of the options you have available to you.

Storing the wheels on the bike

This is always the most preferable option. There are very, very few cases where it makes sense to be constantly removing the wheels from your bike. Even if there is some quick-release system in place, each time you remove the wheels from the bicycle, you will be shortening the mechanism’s lifespan. Leave them in place. This is always going to provide the best protection.

If you still want to keep them from being damaged too much while in storage, you can always purchase hooks that will allow you to store your bicycle ‘off the ground’. This will provide protection for both the wheels and the frame.

Storing spare bicycle wheels

If you regularly cycle, then there is a chance that you will have a collection of bicycle wheels at your disposal. Perhaps the best way to store these wheels will be to have some sort of hook system attached to the wall.

While there are specialist wheel hooks, you do not necessarily need to use them. Just about any hook will do. Ideally, you would purchase some sort of double hook so that the wheels can be stored in pairs.

If you can, you should try to purchase padded hooks. This will provide a bit more protection for the wheels. You can also add a small amount of foam to the hook to cushion them a little bit better.

Try to ensure that the bike wheel is not touching the wall. This will cause small scratches when you remove the wheel from the hook. Some people may add a little bit of foam to the wall to help prevent this. However, this isn’t really aesthetically pleasing, and it doesn’t have that much benefit.

What Happens if Bicycle Wheels Are Not Stored Correctly?

To be honest, not a whole lot.

Bike wheels are designed to really be put through their paces. They can put with quite a battering without there being an impact on their performance. That being said, there will still be a few benefits to storing your bicycle wheels correctly.

Firstly; a lot of top cyclists will have a collection of wheels. Each of them may be designed for slightly different purposes. Storing your wheels correctly will make the organization a little easier.

Storing the bike wheels correctly will help to prevent damage to them. Yes. Most of this damage will be aesthetic, but we are positive that you will still want your bike wheels to look as brilliant as possible, right? If you store them out of harm’s way, then the risk of you scratching the bike wheels will go down.

There will be some type of damage that will permanently damage the wheels. We have seen some people that have stored their loose bike wheels on the ground. They end up standing on them, or accidentally storing heavy items on them. If you do this, then you will probably need to be replacing the broken bike wheels rather soon!

Related Questions

Can you hang a bicycle by the wheel rims?

Yes. You can. When wheels are attached to a bike, they will be very resilient. While it is not the preferred method for hanging a bicycle, there should be no lasting damage to either the bike or the wheels.

Is having a scratch on bicycle wheel rims a bad thing?

No. It is more of an aesthetic thing. You can’t really prevent scratches if you plan on actually riding the bike. The only time you will really notice the scratches if they are close to where the brake pad meets the wheels. There may be a small ‘bump’ when you brake, but it will barely be noticeable. It certainly wouldn’t impact the ability to brake.

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