Recommend me a work stand

[Riley Casey]

I ASSumed that this topic would have been beat to death on the forum as a popular item with opinions and recommendations galore. A few searches later and it seems I was just plain WRONG. Google gives me a plethora of options of course from name brands close to $200 down to cheap chinese no name junk for $40. Whats a good middle ground stand for the occasional ‘fix your own stuff’ repair needs?

[APKhaos]

If you have a decent bench you can skip the free standing options and go with a bench mount stand. I have one from an Aussie vendor that is rock solid and very handy. I mount mine in a vice but it comes with a plate to be screwed down to the bench.

[creadinger]

@Riley Casey 82315 wrote:

I ASSumed that this topic would have been beat to death on the forum as a popular item with opinions and recommendations galore. A few searches later and it seems I was just plain WRONG. Google gives me a plethora of options of course from name brands close to $200 down to cheap chinese no name junk for $40. Whats a good middle ground stand for the occasional ‘fix your own stuff’ repair needs?

I’m curious to see what people say too. Once we put in a back patio, I’m getting a stand for simple maintenance as well.

[KLizotte]

I have the Park home mechanic repair stand. It gets the job done but I find the bike weight wants to make it tip over so I have to be rather careful when using it; that is my only real complaint about it. I imagine a super light carbon bike would be less problematic but you will have the tipping problem if you want to raise the bike high up. I’m sure the stand can be found for less elsewhere this was just the first site I found.

[dkel]

I got this Park stand, which can fold up somehow for storage, though I never fold it. I have taken it out on the deck when the sun’s out, and when the legs swing in (part of the folding process) it fits through the door easily. It seems sturdy, and holds the bike nicely at all kinds of angles. Park has a relatively inexpensive wheel truing attachment that works with some of their stands, but not the one I got (a little bummed about that, because truing rigs are frickin expensive). If you’re really into wrenching, a more substantial stand might be better: one with a tool rack, for example.

Edit: the height adjustment on mine requires an alan key, which isn’t very convenient, but I tend not to adjust the height.

[vvill]

I have the Park Tool PCS-10 (the same one as KLizotte I believe). It works fine, but it’s the only stand I’ve used so I don’t have a point of reference. Most of the time I use it for lazy bike storage – but I use it properly when I need to clean a chain (otherwise I’m lazy and turn my bike upside down or lean it against a wall for service).

[paulg]

I’ve used a Feedback Sports Classic Stand for around 10 years now and highly recommend it.

http://feedbacksports.com/shop/Classic-Work-Stand-P4C1.aspx

Pros:
1. Three legged stand is very stable.
2. Clamping mechanism is very robust and easy to use with one hand. It slides closed first then a quick turn of the screw applies whatever clamping force you want, which is useful if in a pinch you need to clamp the top tube rather than the seat post.
3. Very easy to pack up small, just two quick releases to collapse the legs and a screw of the head to bend it down to fit in the bag
4. Nice high wear anodized finish has kept mine looking as good as new after 10 years and I’ve dropped all kinds of stuff on it.
5. The bike can be swivelled around easily when clamped on the stand, up down, swivel left right and tip front wheel up or down. Very stable.
6. Nice red color…. it’s my favorite!

Cons:
1. Struggling here to think of any. I guess it’s expensive at around $200 but that’s the same price as the higher end Park stand. This was one purchase where the phrase ‘the quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten’ holds true for me.

Thanks for starting the thread, you’d have thought we would have discussed this before.

[hozn]

@paulg 82360 wrote:

I’ve used a Feedback Sports Classic Stand for around 10 years now and highly recommend it.

http://feedbacksports.com/shop/Classic-Work-Stand-P4C1.aspx

+1. This is the stand I use too. I love that it collapses in a couple seconds so I can store it in my shed (now that I do most of my bike repair work in the less-cramped outdoors).

The only con I can think of is the rubberized “shoes” can get lost if you pack it up frequently. I seem to have lost one of mine, though I suspect it’s floating somewhere around the shed.

I guess also worth mentioning is that while it is quite stable, with the bike in certain less-braced positions it /can/ be pushed/pulled over — worth bearing in mind if you do a lot of bike repair around toddlers

But this is a great stand.

[creadinger]

@KLizotte 82346 wrote:

I have the Park home mechanic repair stand. It gets the job done but I find the bike weight wants to make it tip over so I have to be rather careful when using it; that is my only real complaint about it. I imagine a super light carbon bike would be less problematic but you will have the tipping problem if you want to raise the bike high up. I’m sure the stand can be found for less elsewhere this was just the first site I found.

Thanks for the description and mentioning the stability issue. My bikes are large and heavy so tipping over might be even more of a problem for me. Not to mention, if I want to stand while I do some of this work, I’d have to mount the bike higher making it even less stable.

I have 2 indoor wall mounts from Feedback Sports that I really like, so I think I’ll look into the stand that PauG and Hozn recommended below .

[krazygl00]

I use the Park Tool PRS-20 Team Race Stand. For compactness while folded down it is pretty tough to beat. Looking at the Feedback Sports site this would be similar to their Sprint Work Stand.
Pros:

• Very compact. I used to keep mine in a pickup truck bed toolbox and it didn’t eat up too much space.
• Attaches to the front fork and bottom bracket, allowing full 360 degree access which is tough feature to find in any stand, even a shop stand. Move around the bike or spin the bike around. That part is pretty sweet
• Heavy, which minimizes the possibility of tipping.

Cons (both of which also happen to be Pros):

• The attachment to the front fork and bottom bracket presents a challenge in mounting the bike on the stand. While it is easy enough to hoist a bike into a shop stand with two hands, the race stand seems to require three hands as one hoists the bike, one positions the front mount and a third would presumably fiddle with the skewer. It is doable, but I’ve never found a simple and elegant way to do this. Also this adds a step and a little bit of time so if you’re “casually” throwing bikes in the stand repeatedly it might not be the best.
• Did I mention heavy? If you plan on lugging this thing any distance I would consider the PRS-21 Super Lite Team Race Stand. Of course then you lose some of the stability.

While checking out Feedback sports it looks like their Sprint stand may also be pretty lightweight, along the lines of the Park Super Lite. Also, another “outside the box” suggestion might be to just get a Kuat NV Bike Carrier which is a hitch-mounted rack that also has a pretty decent built-in work stand (if you don’t mind doing all repairs outdoors). Pricey, but kills two birds with one stone.

[Harry Meatmotor]

@krazygl00 82421 wrote:

I use the Park Tool PRS-20 Team Race Stand. For compactness while folded down it is pretty tough to beat. Looking at the Feedback Sports site this would be similar to their Sprint Work Stand.

I second the Park race stand – very Euro-PRO. Perhaps even ELITE. One trick with the QR fork mount is to close the QR handle and then use your right hip to keep the QR handle from spinning while tightening the skewer nut. Though, I agree, it is a bit fiddly. Another CON is that the stand is generally not front-fender-friendly. I also use a maganetic small parts tray and stick it to the QR “sled” and it works great for keeping things at hand while working.

[ChristoB50]

I decided to pick up a Park Tool PCS 10 after trying one with my bike in the local bike shop. My (ebike) is I think, 50 pounds without the battery attached; the bike stand is rated to 80 pounds (assuming the weight is centered over the splayed legs, per their website.) Primarily I wanted a rack to facilitate chain/cassette cleaning and lubing (instead of finding a park nearby and turning the bike upside down to work on that; which doesn’t make gear-shifiting very easy at all!
So far so good; assembly was easy, and it folds up nicely. Haven’t encountered an issue yet with any sense that it might tip over towards me, with the bike in place.

[secstate]

@Christob50 186520 wrote:

I decided to pick up a Park Tool PCS 10.

Thanks — this is now on my wish list. I especially like how neatly it folds up for storage.

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