Don’t beat yourself up—there are plenty of reasons you might end up store a bike outside, even if you have to contend with the winter elements. Ideally, we would all have indoor space to shelter our bikes under climate-controlled conditions. But as the owner of a tandem that refused to play friendly with my apartment stairs, I can attest that even beloved two-wheeled machines are sometimes too beastly and inconvenient to invite inside.
So how long can you leave a bike out before your components start to degrade? That depends on a several conditions, says Daniel Slusser at SRAM.
The Drawback of Storing Your Bike Outdoors
First off, how old is your bike? A newer bike—say, something from the past decade—is more likely to have better seals on hubs, headsets, and other parts that block out corrosion from moisture, particularly if the bike is higher-end. It also depends on where you live. Bikes parked in places with a lot of rain or humidity are more likely to corrode more quickly.
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Slusser says just leaving your bike out for a couple days isn’t a big deal—even if it’s left in the rain. But after a week, you’ll start to see visible damage.
“The chain will start to rust—especially if you live in a wet area,” Slusser says. “It’s a slow process and will vary a little bit based on what level of chain you have on your bike. Higher-end chains have more stainless steel parts so they don’t rust as quickly as lower-end chains.”
From there, all your parts will degrade. With heat, your plastic and rubber parts will start to break down. The colors will fade and the plastic will become brittle. That’s less of a concern in cold weather, but when temperatures drop, you’ll have more issues with rust and seized parts if you’re storing your bike outside.
“Bolts can seize up because you have dissimilar metals together and eventually they just corrode and get stuck,” Slusser says. “Your bearings will also start to seize and congeal or break down. Then your cables will corrode—the steel cable inside will get oxide on it, and you’ll have lots of drag to degrade your shifting and braking. The sun will also degrade the plastic parts on your bike. One in particular is the sheath on outer ends of cable housing—that will break down and crack, and you’ll see all the wires from the housing come out.”
Easy Ways to Store Your Bike Inside
Designed for a variety of different bikes, this system uses minimal tools and requires little set up to get your bikes organized.
Pole Rack
Two rubber ends anchor the pole to the floor and ceiling, with no wall-drilling necessary—just make sure you have the pole snug and stable before mounting your bikes on the hooks.
For the ultimate floor—and wall—space saver, hang your bike up. Two plates are mounted to the ceiling, each with drop-down hooks that attach to the saddle and handlebars; then the bike is hoisted up with thick ropes.
Saris Ceiling-Mounted Bike Rack
The four separate racks can glide along the mount, giving you the option to tuck your bikes against the wall or space them out for easy access.
The timeline of damage depends on whether your bike is in direct sunlight or humidity. In the worst-case scenario, it might take about a month for all that corrosion to go down. In a place like southern California, where the weather is damn near perfect, and if you have midrange components on your bike, it could take three to four months before you start seeing anything like that on a bike protected from sun and rain.
That said, you can do something about it... to some extent. Having a tarp over your bike when it’s outside can at least shield it from the rain and sun.
“If I was going to do a tarp, I wouldn’t lay it directly on the bike; that can act like a tent that traps moisture in there,” Slusser says. “If the tarp was suspended above it, like an awning situation, that would be better.”
You can also delay corrosion with a little extra layer of grease along the seals that can act as a second barrier to prevent water from getting in.
“Try preventatively lubing your cables and bolt heads—even the threads of the bolts where they interface with other parts,” Slusser says. “You can put grease on those and that will prevent them from seizing up.”
4 Great Bike Lube Options We Love
A light, waterproof combo of solvents, lubricants, and waxes
The gooey, green standard for non-chain bike lube
Pedro's Chainj Chain Lube
An environmentally-friendly pick for moderate to wet conditions
A multi-purpose lube for forks, suspension pivots, and bearings
Once rust sets in, there’s still time to resurrect your parts if you act fast.
“Most of the time, the rust isn’t going to be too bad, and you can usually take care of it with putting some oil on it,” Slusser says. “I don’t bother to scrape it off. If you have a beach cruiser with rusted chrome fenders, one trick you can do is take balled-up aluminum foil and rub that on there, and it will help remove the rust. It works like a wire brush, but it doesn’t leave a bunch of gouges. But use thin aluminum foil, not the super-heavy duty stuff.”
The bottom line: Leaving your bike outside for a day or two won’t do major damage. You may see signs of rust after a week of neglect. After one month in bad conditions, your beloved bike parts will start to degrade. The money you’ll spend having to replace corroded parts could have been spent on an easy outside bike storage solution such as a small-space gravity rack or a vertical hanging system.
If all else fails, provide your bike with some shelter in the form of a tarp awning to prevent deterioration.
