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Hello,
One of my bikes has been in storage unfortunately for about 3 years now, only being ridden maybe twice in the first of those 3 years. For the other 2 years it's not even been sat on (sorry state of affairs I know).
It's a carbon hardtail, so not worried about the frame and no rear shock to worry about.
Is there anything in particular I should worry about before I set off on it? Should I get the forks serviced? (They're 140mm RS Revs). Anything else I should look for?
The brakes should be all good right, closed system and all...?
Cheers
I would.....
Turn it upside down for 30 mins to let the fork oil wet the 'dry' bits of the fork - you could always do a lower leg service if you really want to be sure.
Check air pressure in forks, although can you remember what it should be?
Press both tyres with thumb to assess tyre pressure & pump up if required.
Squeeze brakes a few times. Does the bike move?
Check wheels are fastened securely & perhaps check stem & steerer bolts are tight.
RIDE......
Piston seals in brakes could be dried up and faulty, letting fluid past and on to the rotors. Don't immediately do any panic braking until you've sussed this out.
My carbon roadies been hanging for 3 years, got it out the other day and did a cursory once over, checks tyres and ran some lube over the chain and checked pads.. then went for a spin.
Thing is, I knew I wasn’t going to use it so over lubed everything before hanging it up.
One thing I did do, don’t know if it made any difference is to drop it in the lowest gear on the rear mech and front mech to take the tension out of the cables and springs..
HTHs
Check they tyres aren't perished. Go easy on them for the first few miles as they might have a bit of a hard coating after not being used for so long.
Give the forks a bounce and service them if they're sticky.
Brakes will probably need bedding in as things will have got slightly corroded unless it's a humidity controlled cellar.
But really, it's a bike, not that much can go wrong, just keep an eye on things and get anything that has gone off replaced once it becomes apparent when riding.
Depends on the conditions in storage I reckon.
Thanks guys. Good idea re: sitting the bike upside down for half an hour. I'll be careful with the brakes also, and put my eyes round the rubber.
The storage was essentially a garage - dry and out of sunlight etc etc.