First, the honest part: you are not obliged to put the bike away at all. The lower Valais stays dry and rideable through the winter, which is the whole point of the Solstice days at the end of December.
But if your season really is over, half an hour now decides what you find in March. Here is what actually matters, and what does not.
Washing, and the pressure washer you should leave alone
A pressure washer is fast and it is also how water gets past bearing seals. Aimed at a hub, a bottom bracket or a shock, it pushes grit through the seal and washes the grease out behind it. The damage does not show up that evening, it shows up as play in April.
A bucket, a soft brush, a bike-specific degreaser on the drivetrain only, and a rinse with a normal hose is enough. Dry it before you put it away, especially anything steel.
The drivetrain
A chain left dirty over winter will not come back. Degrease it, dry it, and put a light coat of lube on: not because it is going to be ridden, but because a dry chain in a damp garage rusts in a fortnight.
This is also the moment to check chain wear with a gauge. A worn chain replaced now is cheap, and the same chain left in place until spring takes the cassette with it.
Suspension and the dropper post
Wipe the fork stanchions and the shock shaft clean, then cycle the suspension a few times so the seals are sitting on oil rather than on dry dust. Same for the dropper: drop it, clean the shaft, run it up and down.
If a fork has been weeping oil or the dropper has gone slow, winter is exactly when to have a service done, because in April every workshop in the canton has a three week queue.
The battery, where a mistake is expensive
This is the part of an e-bike that genuinely does not forgive neglect, and the manufacturers all say roughly the same thing:
- Store it part charged, not full and not empty. Somewhere around half is the usual recommendation.
- Keep it indoors. Cool is fine, frost is not. An unheated garage at minus ten degrees for three months is the classic way to lose capacity.
- Check it every couple of months and top it back up if it has drifted down. A battery left flat for a whole winter may not come back at all.
- Never charge a cold battery. If it has been outside, let it come back to room temperature first.
Check your own manufacturer's figures, because they vary, but the direction is always the same.
Tyres and sealant
Sealant dries out, and a tubeless tyre left standing all winter often comes back as a solid lump inside the carcass. Either top it up now, or accept that you will be stripping and cleaning the tyre in spring. Drop the pressure a little so the casing is not stretched for four months, and store the bike off the ground if you can.
Where to put it
Indoors, dry, out of direct sun, ideally hanging or on a stand rather than leaning on a wall by the rear derailleur. A cover in a damp cellar traps moisture against the frame, which is worse than no cover at all.
If you would rather know how to do all this properly
Most of the above is fifteen minutes once you have been shown, and guesswork until then. We run mechanics courses at beginner and intermediate level for exactly that, and winter is the sensible time to take one.
And when you are ready to ride again, the season starts in March, or earlier if you fancy the winter dates.
Chris
