- Store the pack at roughly half charge, indoors, and check it monthly.
- Clean and lube the chain before it sits. Rust forms on a dirty wet chain in weeks.
- Inflate the tires and get weight off them if you can.
- Never store a pack in an unheated shed, a car, or on a charger all winter.
- Set a monthly reminder now. Packs that die in storage die quietly.
A bike that sat all winter and will not turn on in April is almost always a battery story, and almost always avoidable. The rest of the bike is patient. Rubber, cables, and bearings do not care much about four cold months. Lithium cells do.
What actually goes wrong
| Over winter | What happens | Prevented by |
|---|---|---|
| Pack left near empty | Self-discharge drifts it below safe restart voltage | Store at about half charge, check monthly |
| Pack left full | Sitting at high voltage ages cells faster while parked | Same. Half, not full |
| Dirty chain | Trapped moisture and grit turn into rust and stiff links | Clean and lube before storage |
| Flat tires | Casing sits deformed, sidewalls crack | Inflate, and get weight off if possible |
| Wet brakes stored dirty | Rotors surface rust, pads bond in damp air | Clean and dry, do not park with the brake held |
| Unheated shed | Condensation cycles every day, cold soaks the pack | Bring the pack indoors, minimum |
The 40 minute checklist
The battery, specifically
Store at roughly half charge. Not full, because sitting at high voltage ages cells faster. Not empty, because self-discharge over months can take a low pack below the voltage where a charger will safely restart it, and that is a pack you may not get back.
If the voltage drifts down over the winter, put a little charge back in and return it to about half. Do not leave a pack on a charger for months as a way of avoiding this. The battery care guide has the voltage calculator for working out what half charge looks like on your specific pack.
- Never charge a pack that is below freezing. Bring it inside and let it reach room temperature first.
- Charge on a hard non-flammable surface, attended, not overnight, not in a doorway you would escape through.
- A swollen, hissing, or sweet-smelling pack goes outside away from anything that burns. Do not charge it to see what happens.
Where to put it
| Location | Bike | Pack |
|---|---|---|
| Heated garage or basement | Ideal | Ideal |
| Attached unheated garage | Fine | Bring the pack inside |
| Detached shed | Acceptable, cover it | No. Inside, always |
| Outdoors under a tarp | Last resort | Absolutely not |
| A car or truck bed | No | No. Worst case both ways |
Off the ground if you can manage it. A stand that takes weight off both tires costs little and removes the flat-spot problem entirely.
Waking it up
Bring the pack to room temperature, then charge. Do not charge a cold pack, and do not ride straight off a winter's storage charge.
Inflate to riding pressure and look for sidewall cracking. Cold months are hard on old rubber.
Check for surface rust on the rotors. Light rust cleans off in a few gentle stops. Check the lever feel before you need it.
Re-lube, check slack, and walk the bike checking every fastener you can reach. Things loosen while sitting more than people expect.
Close to home, easy pace, testing brakes and throttle response before the first real ride.
Gear in this guide
