Recommend a bike repair stand

[Art Shirk]

My search didn't yield anything of substance. Apologizes if I missed it.

I need to buy a bike repair stand. New to building/fixing bikes so I am lost on what to look for. I am obviously looking for great stability and adequate clearance from the main mast to the clamp. Not sure what else to be concerned with. For now, I am wrenching on road bikes but plan on getting into larger mtn/dh bikes in the future.

I have a some dividend money I have to spend at REI very soon and was checking out their offerings. More than a few stands had great reviews but I can't parse the more nuances differences, if any. What do you folks suggest?

[zombinate]

Get the park PCS-10 and the tool tray. If this is for home mechanic use, it is all you really need. If you have a really stellar workbench, you could get the pcs-12 which is the same head, but without the legs, and bolts directly to the bench, but then it is only useful there. You could forgo the tool tray if you have said workbench, but even with a bench nearby, I find a tray useful.

Link to buy now status: http://www.rei.com/product/736990

[Art Shirk]

Get the park PCS-10 and the tool tray. If this is for home mechanic use, it is all you really need. If you have a really stellar workbench, you could get the pcs-12 which is the same head, but without the legs, and bolts directly to the bench, but then it is only useful there. You could forgo the tool tray if you have said workbench, but even with a bench nearby, I find a tray useful.

Link to buy now status: http://www.rei.com/product/736990

Thanks man. That is one of the ones that most piqued my interest and seemed to have some great review. May pull the trigger on this but still looking for any other recs from others.

[huckbucket]

I've been looking for one for a while too, but haven't pulled the trigger primarily because those park stands are just so f'n pricey for what you get. Am considering this if only because there's little risk if it turns out to suck.

ebay auction

[huckster989]

I second the park stand, I've used the PRS-25 quite a bit and really like it

http://www.parktool.com/product/team-issue-repair-stand

but if your willing to drop more coin check out the feedback pro elite mega awesome super stand or whatever they call it

http://www.rei.com/product/729321

the clamping system is real quick and easy making loading and unloading bikes nice and its super light so if you decide to toss it in the car / truck for trips its no problem

[huckster989]

I've been looking for one for a while too, but haven't pulled the trigger primarily because those park stands are just so f'n pricey for what you get. Am considering this if only because there's little risk if it turns out to suck.

ebay auction

"Work on your bike like the pros do" haha I don't know I've never seen a bike shop that didn't have one of these in it:

[huckbucket]

Actually, the kind of stands that mount on the bottom bracket seem to be favored by those that wrench professionally.

[Arty50]

Those ^ are probably nice if you only wrench on road bikes, but good luck with mountain bikes. Most every shop I've ever been in has the clamp style stands.

but if your willing to drop more coin check out the feedback pro elite mega awesome super stand or whatever they call it

http://www.rei.com/product/729321

the clamping system is real quick and easy making loading and unloading bikes nice and its super light so if you decide to toss it in the car / truck for trips its no problem

Get this ^. Feedback Sports bought Ultimate Bike Stands. I have this same stand, but with the Ultimate logo on it. It's friggen' awesome. Super stable, the clamping mechanism is the radness, holds 40+ lb bikes with ease, etc. It travels really well too.

The travel bag is a nice accessory if you plan on taking it on the road. You don't need it, but it's nice when you're constantly tossing a bunch of crap on top of it in the back of a pickup on a weeklong road trip.

[Crampedon]

Actually, the kind of stands that mount on the bottom bracket seem to be favored by those that wrench professionally.

No, 25 years in a shop building and servicing everything from pro bikes to tandems and full suspension, use a post gabber!

Maybe the guys who wash the bikes, but not the techs that adjust shifting, brakes ect.

[AKPogue]

I have this one. Went to the performance shop and the mechanics there recommended this one over the park stands. Have used it a little bit and like it.

http://www.performancebike.com/bikes...0_20000_400152

[El Chupacabra]

I have an old Park PCS-1, which they don't seem to make any more. Out of the current options, I'd pick something with a shop-type spring-loaded clamp, like this:
http://www.parktool.com/product/delu...c-repair-stand

I've used the ones that clamp by spinning a little lever/knob, and don't like them much.

Or, if you happen to need a hitch-mount bike rack too, look at the Kuat racks -- they have an integrated bike repair stand.
http://www.kuatinnovations.com/index...ildoc_overview

[Kim Jong-un]

Yeah, and who the hell washes a bike on a stand...besides the French?

Hey if you're a DIY cheapo, one idea is to build your own from 1.5-2" Schedule 80 PVC--you'll have to go a plumbing supply house for Sch 80 as HD and those guys usually don't have it. It's real stiff and uses standard PVC fittings. I ran into a guy once who did that--it looked nice and it worked well--I'm just not sure where he got the metal clamp for the seatpost.

[XXX-er]

Yeah, and who the hell washes a bike on a stand...besides the French?

.

for a whole team buddy would be washing 10+ bikes everyday for a month

I got a park bench mount that I picked up from a shop that went under ,I used to have it bolted to a wall under a stairway and it worked fine,I could see bolting it to the rafters in a basement the bench mount can work pretty good in a lot of spaces

now I rent & don't have a work bench but lots of basement space so I mount it to a black & decker workmate and its stable enough to hold DH bikes ,in the winter the workmate becomes a ski tuning/waxing bench

IMO get the real thing get park and buy it once

[Art Shirk]

Yeah, I was considering building one but my task list is just a bit too long as of recently and didn't want to undertake it.

I ended up getting a feedback and was able to tinker with the floor model. Super stable, tripod base. Easy, solid brackets and what appears to be high end components. Swivels in any direction imaginable. Think I am going to really happy with it.

Thanks for all the recos.

[::: :::]

I have an older version of this one. I got it at REI and it has lasted quite well for three years now.


it has been very flexible for a number of road and mountain bikes and, while not light, is reasonable to pack in the car. the weight is actually pretty good for stability.

the clamp is worthless for shaped carbon tubing (like tri bikes). if you have something like that, the fork/bot. bracket style might be best

[erlau]

Another vote for the Feedback Ultimate stands.

[Bosco]

Another vote for the Feedback Sports. It's currently holding up the Rip9 I'm building up for next spring.

[iscariot]

I have an older version of this one. I got it at REI and it has lasted quite well for three years now.


it has been very flexible for a number of road and mountain bikes and, while not light, is reasonable to pack in the car. the weight is actually pretty good for stability.

the clamp is worthless for shaped carbon tubing (like tri bikes). if you have something like that, the fork/bot. bracket style might be best

This....

[Mr. Toad]

PRS-2 all the way.

Attachment 87858

Attachment 87859

[flipsRscary]

If you're dealing with modern road bikes, you'll run into integrated seat masts or caps; CF that you don't really want to clamp with no way to swap in a random AL seatpost. If so, seriously consider a fork mount stand.

In a pinch a fork mount stand can be rigged on a workbench with a couple blocks of wood and a quick release. I used such a rigged setup for a frame swap and re-cable this fall and found it a bit fiddly to set up so I could run the drive-train.

There are downsides to the fork mount stand as well, but most of them can be worked around by hanging the bike by the saddle over a hook or bar.

[Art Shirk]

I have an older version of this one. I got it at REI and it has lasted quite well for three years now.


it has been very flexible for a number of road and mountain bikes and, while not light, is reasonable to pack in the car. the weight is actually pretty good for stability.

the clamp is worthless for shaped carbon tubing (like tri bikes). if you have something like that, the fork/bot. bracket style might be best

That's the exact one I bought. Not their total top of the line, but great for my purposes. They had the top of the line stand out on the floor as well and after fondling it, and the one I eventually bought, I really saw no need to drop the extra coin if I was just going to be wrenching on old roadies.

[::: :::]

PRS-2 all the way.

that truck mount is pretty sweet!

[nickel]

The truck mount is definitely dope, but I've gotta throw my vote to feedback sports. Awesome stand, stable, easy to use, quick clamp action, folds away well enough, and good price point.

[toast2266]

I've got a pretty old version of the feedback stands referenced above. Mines a "wrench force" which was a trek house brand that was a re-branded ultimate, and is ~10 yrs old. I generally like it, but the clamping mechanism has sort of stopped working. Without getting into a long winded explanation of what's going on, the clamping mechanism will sometimes let go of whatever's clamped in it, which sucks when the chainring attached to a 45lb DH bike unexpectedly drops on your shin. There's not really any rhyme or reason to when it will let go; sometimes it holds fine, sometimes it won't clamp at all.

I've also used the parks a lot. Clamp issues aside (which may not be a problem on the newer models) the ultimate / feedback stand is better in most respects than the park consumer stands; more stable, more adjustable, more portable, easier to fit on large / funky tubes.

[Sam Walker]

I''m sure Ultima's great, but I've been a big fan of Park Tool's PCS-10 and would be surprised if Ultima beat it in quality. The clamp is also easy to use.