pbass

I have some Jenson $$ to spend and was looking at this stand: https://www.jensonusa.com/Feedback-R...epair-Stand-20

My question is: this will be for my garage and learning to wrench on my bikes, not for travel as this thing is ideally intended for, so the portability factor isn't important to me. Is something like this gonna offer enough support for those times when you gotta muscle some component into submission? I'm used to watching the pros at my LBS work on their stands that are mounted to the floor!

Next level up would be this, which looks more stable, but still, not terribly much more: https://www.jensonusa.com/Feedback-S...nic-Work-Stand

Numerozero

Never owned the first one, but have owned the second. It's a great stand, I would get it. Very stable. Wirecutter rates it as a best buy.

pbass

Good to hear--thanks!

sdmc530

I got two.. i have a race type work stand I use 80% of the time and I have one like the second one you have listed. However I got it at an ALDI's grocery store a few years back for $19. Best $19 dollars I have spent on a bike tool in a long while.

My go to is this one:

Workstand Race FC: Maintenance - Elite (elite-it.com)
I have this in a previous design but same concept. Just awesome!

squirtdad

A good workstand is the best investment in bike tools i have ever made

I am partial to the park https://www.jensonusa.com/Park-Tool-...c-Repair-Stand

pbass

Yeah, I've been slowly acquiring tools but still wrestling with the bike with only one of those little stands that holds it up by the seat/chain stays on one side--far from ideal!

SoSmellyAir

Do get the second one. You are right; tripod base is much more stable than bipod base, especially if your bike is heavier or if you are going to "muscle some components into submission."

squirtdad

the park with tripod is totally stable (heavy as heck also) ......and works better if you have a not perfectly flat floor (I take to outside bike charity fix it events)

caloso

I have the second one. I use it all the time and it's excellent.

veganbikes

I like my Park PRS.25 but the PCS-10.3 or 4.2 would be great options, the clamp they use on those stands is really nice and easy to use. If I am going to have a stand and learn I might as well spend a tiny bit extra and get something really useful. Basic stands are OK and will function but if I know I want to learn and become better at wrenching having a good stand will help greatly and the long term cost of ownership is pretty low because unless you really do something to it, it will last forever. I have an old version of the PCS 4.1 like really old that is fine but not as adjustable or easy to use so probably at some point I might sell or donate it but it is probably at least from the 90s and still going (I am at least second owner and it was used)

I really want to try the new Topeak eUP stand but I just got the PRS.25 so I don't really want to replace it but making it easier to get heavier bikes up and down would be nice as my back sucks.

70sSanO

I have a Feedback Ultralight, which is a shorter version of the Elite.

I have used it for over 5 years. The only issue was the arm pin broke, but I replaced it with a bolt and didn’t miss a beat.

It is not so stable that I can break loose, or torque a bottom bracket, without a wheel on the ground to absorb the torque. But other than a few instances, I can do any maintenance.

I would probably opt for the $180 Feedback stand. The Park is more substantial, and $100 more, but a lightweight quick setup stand gets used a lot more than one that is heavy to move around and setup. At least in my experience.

John

jnbrown

I have a very old stand that I think I got from performance.
It works like the Park with a clamp.
However I find the clamp to be useless because I am not going to clamp my frame and my seatpost does not stick out far enough for the clamp to fit.
So I end up slinging the saddle on top of the arm which in not stable at all.
Really like the idea of the Race FC referenced above as it clamps the fork and has a support for the BB.
This style will be my next stand.
This looks like a lower cost option that might be good:

https://www.amazon.com/Bikehand-Bicy...a-877401468646

pbass

Interesting points. On both my bikes I have setback seatposts, and not much seatpost showing. The clamp would invariably be on the bend in the seatpost, unless I pull the seatpost out more. Or, I clamp to the frame. Both my bikes are steel, so probably not an issue.

SoSmellyAir

I have the same one and your observations are spot on.

SoSmellyAir

The folding mechanism of the Park stand you linked above is a bipod, i.e., only two, not three, folding legs; we have covered this before (Bike Forums - View Single Post - Bike Stand recommendation).

TiHabanero

In the past I had a side hustle of assembling bikes for Sam's Club. I processed hundreds of bikes for builds and warranty work all held by a Park stand. Zero complaints. The bipod design works very well and the weight of the bike helps keep things stable. The stand is not so heavy that you can't haul it around, it is portable!
I have used the Feedback Sport stand. It is lighter, but I found myself having to be conscience of the legs when working on a bike. I also preferred the Park jaws, but the Feedback jaws work just fine. I do believe the extra couple of pounds of the Park stand aid stability when working on a bike.
My perspective comes from owning and using a Park double workshop stand and working in bike shops for nearly 40 years. I am accustomed to the good stuff and find the Park stand a fair compromise to get portability.

JohnDThompson 

Get a cheap steel post in the proper diameter on which to clamp. Pull out the current saddle and post (mark insertion height first), inset cheap post, clamp on cheap post.

If you routinely work on a variety of bikes with different post diameters, consider the Park "internal seat clamp."

travbikeman

I have essentially the second one you listed or at least similar, but has the Performance Bikes name on it from when the original Performance Bikes was in business. This was several years ago and I did not pay as much as your Feedback. Believe that Feedback was whom made the stand, but am not positive on that.

Some observations on these: They are not as stable as the Park Tool stands, even though it is a tripod. Even though it is fairly stable, you still have to be careful with this stand since there are times you can tip this over depending how high up you put the bike. The lower the bike is the more stable it becomes.

There are times where if you don't have the bike completely straight or if it moves around in stand while working on, when turning the pedals to adjust derailleurs, there could be a pedal strike against the stand.

Where as the Park Tools has a slant to the stand, where it makes the stand more stable and you won't have pedal strikes.

I've also found that turning the knob to secure the bike, while holding a heavier mountain bike in stand gets old after a while. The quick release or clamp of the Park Tool stand is a lot easier to use when hooking up the bike to the stand.

I'm actually looking into buying one of the Park Tool stands myself and may sell my Performance Bikes stand this coming spring.

Good Comparison:

dsbrantjr

I have it also and it is my primary stand

blinky

Wall Mount - Park

Bench Mount - Park

I've had a few tripod fold up stands but I'm seriously thinking of getting a fixed for the garage , either post or bench mount using lag bolts - and the Race FC posted above looks like a good choice for something portable .

squirtdad

It is not the number of folding legs, it is the contact points. The park is a tripod, the 2 legs and the main tube are the contact points

It is super steady, and should not be not considered because of the the incorrect idea that 4 legs are inherently more stable. (especially if you every need to use on anything but a perfectly level floor)

not to say the other are not good stands, but this IMHO is not decision point. Cost and weight may be, but that is a different discussion

I certainly have done hugely heavy duty wrenching using the park, so has a bike charity I work with that sets up outside to help people with bikes.

time for ride (well after a couple hours of work)

SoSmellyAir

Both types of stands -- bipod folding and tripod folding mechanisms -- each has only 3 contact points. The former works as you said. The latter has only 3 legs, each of which contacts the ground. (4 contact points would be inherently unstable unless the ground is perfectly flat.)

To clarify, I have nothing against Park Tools (own several) or its stand (no experience). I was only pointing out the two different folding mechanisms and how the potential failure of the clamp which secures each in an unfolded configuration might lead to a collapse (i.e., folding) of the bipod but not the tripod, especially if a bike is already mounted off the ground. Of course this is only theoretical and may never happen in real life.

The QR seat post clamp of the Park Tool stands (only some have this?) and the different footprints imposed by the different folding mechanisms are of course also factors for consideration.

blacknbluebikes 

I also have this one. Highly recommend. Very stable. This model suits me well because I often take it outside, both for wrenching and washing.
https://www.jensonusa.com/Feedback-S...ght-Work-Stand

cyccommute 

While I agree that a good work stand is a great investment…got mine in the early 90s…I hate that head. The only work stand head worth having is the commercial grade Park version. I upgraded my stands (one at home and the other at my daughter’s house) from the spring version to the 100-9C for the first stand and the 100-3C for the second one.

cyccommute 

I’ve used the Feedback at outdoor events and I find the clamp mechanism to be fiddly. You have to get it wide enough to take whatever tube you are clamping to, then slide it down to actually clamp the tube, then screw the clamp down so that the bike doesn’t move. It’s difficult to do one handed. Jenson has Park Stands as well and I find them easier to use even with the cheaper clamp. The longer legs on the Park stand makes it more stable than the Feedback tripod as well. The tripod has a fairly small footprint even though it has 3 legs.

Pull the seatpost out more. I avoid clamping frames as much as possible. A trick I use at home and at my local co-op is to mark the post with a Sharpie before I put it in the stand. Pull the seatpost out enough to clamp, work on the bike, and then push the seatpost back in. A seat post is far cheaper than a frame if something goes wrong.