TurbineBlade

Other than the obvious pitfall of actually putting a kickstand on my bike.

Honestly though I could get use out of one, and I like the one on my wife's bike (with the actual plate on there). My LBS has a lot of those green.....something or other brands that are cheap but functional.

On a surly LHT or other bike without a plate - do you guys just use gentle torque and wrap an old tube around the chainstays? Any great ideas for how to do this properly?

I know that I don't want to crush my stays --

kingsting

I put a rear mount stand on my Surly. It clamps around the seat and chain stays and has vinyl padding to protect the paint. They're a little more money but won't damage the finish and are easy enough to remove.

TurbineBlade

No issues with the extra spoke holder getting in the way?

mulveyr 

Have you read Surly's take on the idea? : https://surlybikes.com/blog/spew/kick...haul_truckers/

Grand Bois

Jam a couple of corks about 3" down your stays and pack the stays with JB weld or a similar product. It will make your stays uncrushable. I've done it and it works.

z90

Yes and I think it's bizarre. I'd understand it if the LHT was a light weight racing bike, but I don't get it for a bike that so many people use for a utility and commuting bike. I mean, they did name it "Trucker" after all, and then they get all sensitive about people putting kickstands on it. I don't get it.

z90

I just re-read their blog. Either they've toned it down about since I first read it, or my memory was faulty. I suspect the latter. Even so, I think they ought to build the frame to make it easier to put a kickstand on it. At least move or get rid of the spoke holder thing. That said, I love my LHT.

TurbineBlade

I love mine as well -- best bike I've ever owned by far. I rear the Surly website take on it and was kind of dumbfounded by the notion that the use of a kickstand in no way figured into their frame design.... stupid for a company that specializes in practical, reasonably-priced steel frames built for durable use.

That said, I may still try it and just attempt not to apply too much torque during installation.

Grand Bois

It is crazy, but it works. I needed to put a Pletscher 2 leg stand on my shopping bike, but I didn't want to squash the Reynolds 531 stays.

surreal

i've got a pletscher bipod with the "deluxe" topplate on my lht. No problems, thus far. I think that Surly was kind of foolish for not putting a kickstand plate on the lht and the big dummy (maybe they did, on the big dummy, neber saw one in-person), as these are bikes designed to carry a load. you don't want to lay your loaded touring rig downm on the ground, leastways not whilst loaded. Give us a plate, so you don't get so many emails, surly!

=rob

Comtour

Maybe you should consider a Clickstand https://www.click-stand.com/.

They even have a picture of the LHT. Of course, you will need to carry it with you.

sean000

The Click-stand does seem like a nice lightweight solution. You just have to hope that someone doesn't accidentally kick the click-stand (or decide to steal it) when they are locking their bike up next to yours!

sean000

I haven't used a kickstand since I was a kid, but my wife's bike has one. I stopped using them because of the usual reasons: weight and lack of stability. I wasn't as concerned about how they look. When I ride my wife's bike I'm actually surprised at how useful the kickstand is. It can add to the stability when you lock your bike to a rack or meter when you position it correctly.

I'm actually thinking about adding a Pletscher Twin-leg kickstand to my Rivendell Atlantis. I'm always careful about how much I tighten any clamp around a frame tube, but Rivendell does not post any warnings against using kickstands on their frames. They just suggest using some cloth tape around the chainstays if your frame doesn't have a kickstand plate.

This site has a deluxe top plate for bikes without plates, and it shows a Surly in the example:
https://www.thorusa.com/dahon/accessories/pletscher.htm

Comtour

I haven't found that to be a problem. When locking up the bike, I am locking it to something that can support the bike and the stand is not so important then anyway.

davidad

The disadvantaage of a kick-stand is if the bike falls over it falls on the der. side taking a chance of bending the hanger or worse.
I use a rubber band or a velcro strap to lock the brake on the front wheel and this keeps the bike from moving and falling over. You still need something to lean it on.