Bicycle Repair Stands: What do I need to know?

I'm spending enough time fooling around with old bicycles that I have decided that I need a work stand. I have never used one before and don't know what to look for. Enlighten me please.

get something with some mass and a decent seat tube/post clamp.

My first stand was a bottom bracket/seat tube/down tube style Minoura stand. Fussy and wobbly and it didn't fit my Big Hit at all.

I have a Blackburn folding stand that is a BB/downtube mount. It's OK for most stuff I work on, save for the odd-shaped MTB frame and certainly not good for carbon frames.

A Park stand with a seatpost clamp would be easy and ideal.

i always thought that the handlebars and seat were the only "stand" that you needed to work on a bike?

I'm toying with the idea of something like this. I have a lolly column in my basement that I could fasten it to.

novaderrik wrote: i always thought that the handlebars and seat were the only "stand" that you needed to work on a bike?

That doesn't work when you're starting with bare frames.

I've got one of these (the Classic, although mine is from before they were Feedback Sports): http://feedbacksports.com/shop/Bike-Repair-Stand.aspx

I replaced a cheaper one, the advantages are more adjustability, more stability (the old one was sort of tippy), and the quick clamp which is a godsend when putting a whole bike in the stand. Also the clamp on the new one holds strong enough to tighten or loosen bottom bracket cups without loosening, which is a major plus for me. I have the wheel truing stand from them also; apparently it can attach to the stand somehow, but I've never done that.

Park toooooooooooool

I would have liked a Park but couldn't justify the cost for it's occasional use. I got a mid-level Nashbar during one of the Harbor Freight like 20% off sales and it works very well.

I bought a cheap bench top stand from Price Point - the pedals hit the bench and/or base of the stand when you rotate the cranks.

At least it was cheap.

you can get a bench mount clamp type stand for a reasonable price on ebay...

another option is look over at instructables... some nice inexpensive DIY options...

but def a clamp type is the way to go.

When I worked in the bike shop, we had these old-school metal stands. I swear they were cast iron or something. Either way, they took like two of us to move them.

Like this? http://www.cheapbikeparts360.com/products/park-tool-deluxe-2-arm-repair-stand/

slowride wrote: Like this? http://www.cheapbikeparts360.com/products/park-tool-deluxe-2-arm-repair-stand/

^Yikes!

slowride wrote: Like this? http://www.cheapbikeparts360.com/products/park-tool-deluxe-2-arm-repair-stand/

sigh might be one of the things I miss most about working at a shop..

donalson wrote: you can get a bench mount clamp type stand for a reasonable price on ebay... another option is look over at instructables... some nice inexpensive DIY options... but def a clamp type is the way to go.

Thanks! I was hoping that you might have a suggestion.

This is not a bad idea:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Bicycle-Work-Stand-for-10-in-5-Minutes-attaches/

My vice even has a pipe clamp.

This photo from Instructables gave me an idea.

I've had a new, unused folding wall mount bike storage hook under one of my benches for about two years. I think I picked it up at Lowes Depot for about ten bucks. I grabbed a scrap of 4x4 and mounted it to that. The block even had some holes drilled in it already and I was able to recycle one of them. How's that for efficient? I clamped the block into my bench vice and I have a good, cheap temporary solution.

I got my park stand from a shop that went out of business; it was still pricey but not anything like new and I had done most of the work with this stand anyway lol.

Woody wrote: I'm toying with the idea of something like this. I have a lolly column in my basement that I could fasten it to.

This is probably what I'll get if I can ever have a dedicated bike-wrenching area. I have this day-dream of hanging it from the ceiling rather than being floor mounted... Even more silly: having the mount on a motorized rack & pinion so it can be height adjustable and retract up to the ceiling when not in use.

For the last 15+ years I've used a Park PRS-5 pro-race stand. It uses the same clamp as the cast iron base shop stand posted above, but is mounted on a folding aluminum base. I like it because I would take it with me when I was racing and it stores in a bag when I'm not using it. I've built a lot of bikes using that stand... It's currently sitting in my living room with my Jet 9 on it.

slowride wrote: Like this? http://www.cheapbikeparts360.com/products/park-tool-deluxe-2-arm-repair-stand/

i loved going to my LBS to work on my bike because I got to use that stand... it was awesome

been using this stand for the past 6 months now -- so far it is working out very well. Can clamp to the seatpost and can raise/lower/spin the bike to practically any position I need.

PBS Spin Doctor Pro G3

Woody wrote: This photo from Instructables gave me an idea. I've had a new, unused folding wall mount bike storage hook under one of my benches for about two years. I think I picked it up at Lowes Depot for about ten bucks. I grabbed a scrap of 4x4 and mounted it to that. The block even had some holes drilled in it already and I was able to recycle one of them. How's that for efficient? I clamped the block into my bench vice and I have a good, cheap temporary solution.

I'd seen this and it's a good simple idea for bassic assembly... it obviously wont work for pounding out a headset and tourqing down a BB install... but its got to be better than my "flip it upside down" or hold it between my legs and the wall stand method.

the pipe one looks like a clever idea... but if you move to another frame with larger seat tubes it's not going to work without another run to the store.

the park wall mount is going to be the best way if you've got a space for it... but I'm sure it's not cheap... cheaper then the pro floor stand yes but cheap, I doubt it...

orpahn cars thats a pretty decent looking home/portible stand

here was my stand when I worked I built up my disc trucker on Wed... required me using the crap saddle and flat bars for stability lol

I've had this guy for a couple years now and it's a great balance between price and quality/sturdiness. It's super handy that it collapses down so easily and can be stuck in a corner/closet if you don't have much space (I don't). http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1132418_-1_400152__400152

So...in practice, it works but, surprise, it's not perfect. The bike bounces around and moves side to side, much as I expected. It certainly made it easier to assemble this particular bike today, but I still think that I'm going to get the Park wall mount. Just the option of rotating the bike 360 degrees will make it worth it.