Bicycle Storage for Dummies, Revisited - The Freelance Files MMCCXXXVIII

Is that an "S"? [hint: no]

On a semi-regular basis we have one of our interns check the titles we've called out in the past, looking for dead links (they're identified by bold red print in our sorted lists, such as by site). When one shows up, the intern usually searches for the same article title to see if the text has mysteriously migrated to another location. Just a few days ago, the intern found that the title "Is It Bad to Hang a Bicycle by Its Wheel?" – one already so poorly addressed by "Elle di Jensen" that it has disappeared – was also addressed by Charles Webb (sometimes known as Erin Webb?) for Leaf Group's LiveStrong.com site. Whatever Webb's real name, their chops as "website/marketing guru" or perhaps "BA in journalism" clearly did not include cycling experience.

As had Jensen in her version of the "answer," Webb failed to address the problem of hanging bikes with hydraulic brakes; a brake type that has become increasingly common on both MTB and road bike designs, especially those with disc brakes. When hung upside-down, air can enter the hydraulic fluid reservoir resulting in "squishy" brakes. In some cases, your mechanic may need to bleed the brakes to remedy the situation. So the advisability of hanging bikes by the wheels is a function of the braking system on your machine. Webb never said word one about that potential problem...

Charles(?) first "informed" his readers that,

"A bicycle hook is shaped like an 'S' and coated with vinyl so it won't scratch the wheel when you hang the bike."

We've never seen an S-shaped hook for bikes, ourselves; most of them look like the ones pictured above. A few are beefier. Maybe Webb isn't all that clear on the shape of an S? Oh, well, the vinyl coating is correct, so he's batting .500...

Before padding his post out to the required 300-plus words with useless information about cleaning and maintenance, Charles opined that it's fine to hang a bike by its wheels except in one case:

"...bikes with specialty aero carbon rims that are so light the carbon will flex if you squeeze it by hand..."

...supposedly quoting his source, a website that actually says,

"One thing that won't harm carbon rims/wheels is hanging a bicycle from them on hooks for storage. They can easily support the weight of the bike."

Oops... we think maybe Charlie conflated advice about not hanging a carbon-frame bike by the top tube to transport it on a bike rack, but we'll never know. Even more interesting, one of his two "references" claims that you should "NEVER use bike hooks to hang your bike by the wheels!" Utter bullshit, by the way... Suffice it to say that all in all, our Dumbass of the Day lacked the necessary qualifications to answer this question. And it's probably not the only one...

DD - BICYCLES