This is a common concern for many bike owners with these types of brakes and suspension. When your bike is hung up vertically, the fluid in your forks will run towards the seals and keep them lubricated. This will prolong their use, so it's actually good for your bike and forks to hang it vertically on our bike racks.
If you have hydraulic brakes on your bike, the fluid will run down when the bike is hung, so we advise pumping the brakes a few times when you take the bike off the rack if it's been there for a while. The shocks shouldn't leak when the bike is hung up, however if they do it's a good indication that the seals may need replacing.
We have done the research and spoken to several of the major brake and fork component manufacturers about this issue and the universal response is that hanging bikes up vertically does not cause the brakes or suspension forks to develop leaks. In fact many of the major bike and component manufacturers use and recommend our racks for storing bikes or parking staff bikes in their headquarters or both. As long as proper maintenance is completed on the bike and there are no pre-existing issues, then you will experience no issues. You may need to pump the brakes a bit if the bike has been in the rack for awhile, however, it is perfectly safe.
Read our blog post for more information about storing bikes with hydraulic brakes in Steadyracks.
