ill.clyde

So, I know many of you wrench on your bikes, and I'm thinking I'd like to start that myself as well.

Talk to me about bike maintenance stands.

Are any of the cheaper ones worth it, or do you shell out for the Park stand and "buy once/cry once"?

Go with the standard clamp stand or pony up a little more for the ones where the bike basically sits on a tray?

MRT2

I have a Park Tool stand. It was a Father's Day gift from my wife. I works well. I can't imagine ever needing to replace it. That said, while I would never tell my wife, the base takes up a lot of room so I need to keep it folded up while not in use. And, it takes a few minutes to get it set up, which if I am just quick cleaning and lubing a chain, or dropping the wheel out to change out a tire is often more trouble than its worth. This spring, I might clean out a corner of the garage so I can have room to just keep the repair stand set up and ready to go.

rumrunn6

I went w cheaper & it works just fine
standard clamp w wheels free to spin, that's kinda the point, isn't it?

fyi when I mount the wheels I snug them up tweaking the quick release levers. but then put the bike on the ground to make sure they are in the dropouts fully. then back up on the stand to double check braking & gear shifting

any reasonable stand is better than no stand. sure beats the old broom handle balanced on the two patio railing posts!

jsigone

I picked up on of these a while ago and its nice and not bulky or as permanent as the Park stands. I can throw it in the car for bike races or stash it away until I need it at home. Yes they are buy once cry once but my back thanks me and I don't have to sit on the garage floor in the winters working on the bikes.

Feedback Sports Pro Ultralight Repair Stand Stand from Bike Bling

IBOHUNT

+1 on the @jsigone one. I picked up a similar for $99 about 4 years ago.

mwalsh5757

I went with this type from an eBay seller (slightly cheaper than Amazon):

https://www.amazon.com/Aosom-Portabl...e+Repair+Stand

I especially like the way it folds up for storage

squirtdad

buy a decent stand, best tool investment you will make..... I am partial to the Park tcs-10

Podagrower

Going against the grain. If you can find one, the $29.95 stand from Aldi is the shiznit. It isn't something they carry all the time, just something that pops up and you have to catch it. The group I ride with probably bought 20 of them this last year and I haven't heard anybody complain about it or say they broke it. I don't have a Park to compare it to, but I can guarantee that no Park stand is 5 times as good.

sdmc530

I have heard that from numerous people on the Aldi's version myself.


I have this:

https://www.amazon.com/Elite-Race-Wo...68NS1S3P2NEADF

LOVE it, paid 1/2 that price though about 5 years ago. Not great for travel or anything but is a great home stand.

RayLee

I started with a low cost ($75 REI) stand that was ok for the lighter bikes but with my 30lbs XL mountain bike it was complete noodle. I now have the Park PCS-10 and it works well and folds away easy.... if I had a spot for it I would much rather have the wall mounted PARK TOOL PRS-4W-2

Park Tool PRS-4W-2 Wall Mount Stand | Jenson USA

ill.clyde

I have it sort of narrowed down at this point to a Feedback one (on Amazon) and the Park PCS-10 ... was thinking I'd go with the 9, but for a few dollars more ... LOL

ill.clyde

Wish I could get that for half price

TrojanHorse

I have a cheap stand and I hate it. It wasn't inexpensive but the clamp doesn't stay put - it basically holds the bike upright for me while I do stuff. I think I got it at performance 20 years ago (so it's still going, I guess that's a plus)

Aaaaand my new bike has nowhere to clamp, so i really need one of those stands that holds the front fork at the axle and just holds the rest of the bike by the bottom bracket.

The nice thing about Park stands is they jsut work the way you expect them to work. Clamp the bike, set the angle where you want it and it stays put. I'm sure they're not the only ones who have figured out how that works.

ericy

I don't have space for a stand, so I don't have one. But normally the bikes are stored in the garage hanging from the ceiling, and I just unhook the rear tire which lets me handle some of the simpler maintenance tasks, and the spot where they are hanging is right next to my tool chest.

brawlo

YMMV but go straight for a stand that holds the front fork and cradles the BB. I started out with the Aldi stand, moved onto a Tacx Cyclemotion stand, then onto a Park PRS22. The Tacx was a great stand and the only reason for moving on was I purchased a MTB and the stand wasn't long enough to accommodate the XXL size bike. If you have the room for it, the rotating element of the Park stand is excellent.

ColonelSanders

I'm not commenting about whether the Feedback or Park is the better one, but out of the Park PCS-9 and PCS-10, I have seen it written on these forums many times, that the PCS-10 is a substantial upgrade to the PCS-9.

cyccommute 

Buy once because nothing is as expensive as a tool that you have to buy twice.

As to the stands, I would suggest that you broaden your search out just a little. Look at the PCS-4-1 instead. It's a little more expensive but it has a better base and much better clamp. The PCS-10 clamp works but the PCS-4-1's clamp is the same clamp you find on shop stands. It's easier to use and can adjust to a wide variety of tube diameters (always clamp the seat post!).

I bought a similar stand 25 years ago and have never regretted having it. I completely regretted the one it replaced which was similar to mwalsh5757's. I hated that thing.

rumrunn6

why is this please?

squirtdad

avoiding damage to top tube, especially on carbon bikes.

seat post is stronger than top tube.....even in steel bikes, where most people don't understand how thin the tubing is with high quality double butted tubing.

also if you go to your LBS you will see that they often have a padded are on top of their stand.....for simple things they just hang the bike from the seat.

sdmc530

this is correct. Also if the LBS would damage a seat post in the clamp its pretty cheap compared to a bike to replace.
This is why I went with a race type stand, so if I ever pony up for a carbon bike, I don't have to mess with this potential issue. (because I am paranoid already)

brawlo

I'll add, once you start to do anything requiring a bit of muscle, eg working on a BB, those BB supporting stands are worth their weight in gold. As soon as I had to do something like that, I got rid of my clamping Aldi stand straight away.

cyccommute 

The other reason is that a seatpost...even a very expensive carbon one...costs less than a frame to replace. I seen some sad bikes that have had the seat tube or top tube crushed by a stand clamp.

cyclist2000

I have a PRS-25, nice stand. I would also like a PRS-22.2. I think that the stands that hold the bike at the bottom bracket are more stable for working on the cranks and bottom brackets.

aplcr0331

I like this one. I bought it when it was on sale last year. Very durable and easy to use.


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

RubeRad

+1 I was close to pulling the trigger on the Bikehand stand, when the Aldi deal came up. It's a fantastic value, if you can find it.

That said, on the other end of the spectrum, if you do spend the coin on Park, you probably won't regret it.

The way human psychology works, you feel the pain up front when you're agonizing about spending all the money. After the money is spent, you don't care so much.

Whatever you do, I recommend a tube-clamping stand, not a bottom-bracket-cradle stand. The one mwalsh pictured is different than the one I had, maybe it's better, but the one I had I hated with the heat of 1000 burning suns. It was a huge hassle to get the bike onto the stand, and bolt the bottom bracket securely into the cradle, and the downtube clamp wasn't big enough for all my bikes, and when the bike is mounted you have to take it back off to thread cables under the bb. I am SO much happier with the Aldi stand.