Workstands

Nuggs
Nuggs Posts: 1,804
edited July 2008 in Workshop
It's that time of year when a young chap's mind turns to thoughts of spanner work and oil...

And it's high time I got a proper workstand, rather than the crappy Toppeak Flashstand thingy (great for quick repairs, but not stable or comfy enough for more serious enterprise).

Anyway, I really like the look of the Tacx Cyclespider Team:

tacx%20cyclespider%20team%20stand.jpg
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/Tacx_ ... 360016511/

What I particularly like is the fact that it clamps at the forks rather than the frame and so eliminates the concerns about clamping CF tubes (I presume carbon forks will be okay though?)...

Grateful for any thoughts or alternative suggestions. I reckon I could go to about £100, maybe more but that will neccessitate the purchasing of flowers and similar bribes for SWMBO...

Comments

  • nicklouse
    nicklouse Posts: 50,675
    just a comment on clamping. you should be clamping the seatpost and not any frame tubes.

    the "stand" you show is fine as long as you do not want to do any work on the headset etc

    if you main work is setting up gears then it is fine, but if you build bikes not really.
    "Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
    Parktools :?:SheldonBrown
  • giant_man
    giant_man Posts: 6,878
    Yes that's all fine and dandy nicklouse but what about carbon seatposts? Is it still OK to clamp by those? This is what's holding me back buying one you see.
  • carlstone
    carlstone Posts: 602
    Giant mancp

    I think a lot of people with carbon posts keep a cheap alloy one for using when they put their bike on a workstand. Ifyou are going to spend £80 plus on a workstand another £5-£10 for a cheap (second hand) seat post isn't too much extra, plus a couple of minutes extra faff.

    Carl.
  • alfablue
    alfablue Posts: 8,497
    Some people keep an alu seatpost for maintenance purposes.

    Personally I wouldn't be pleased with the restriction that stand offers.
  • Nuggs
    Nuggs Posts: 1,804
    nicklouse wrote:
    if you main work is setting up gears then it is fine, but if you build bikes not really.
    I intend to build my own winter bike, but will get the shop to sort the headset out for me. Would that stand still be restrictive?
  • alfablue
    alfablue Posts: 8,497
    It is only really going to prevent headset service, brake fettling and perhaps minor wheel truing, personally I would still like to do these things. Think of the future when you have several bikes and want to do everything yourself.
  • nicklouse
    nicklouse Posts: 50,675
    giant mancp wrote:
    Yes that's all fine and dandy nicklouse but what about carbon seatposts? Is it still OK to clamp by those? This is what's holding me back buying one you see.
    nothing wrong with clamping on something designed to be clamped. the force needed to hold a seat post in place for a rider to sit on it exceeds the force needed to support a bike to work on it.

    if you are worried about clamping a seat post i would be worried about using the seat post.

    Now if you had a bike where the seat post is actually part of the frame that is a different kettle of fish.
    "Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
    Parktools :?:SheldonBrown
  • giant_man
    giant_man Posts: 6,878
    Well shouldn't that be as bad surely? An ISP is only strenghened carbon anyway, isn't it?
  • Nuggs
    Nuggs Posts: 1,804
    alfablue wrote:
    It is only really going to prevent headset service, brake fettling and perhaps minor wheel truing, personally I would still like to do these things. Think of the future when you have several bikes and want to do everything yourself.
    It won't affect brake fettling as you can clamp either the front or rear forks...
  • robbarker
    robbarker Posts: 1,367
    Those race style stands are great for all-carbon bikes and you can work on the headset on the Park version, and possibly others, by clamping the rear dropout instead of the front. Do get a Park PRS 20 instead of that wobbly thing though.

    They are nowhere near as nice to weork with as a conventional stand though, and are no good for bikes with mudguards. They do fold up nice and small for taking to races, or the car park at Afan Argoed!

    If you only have a carbon frame with a carbon seatpost they are probably the best idea, if not get a proper workstand like aPark PRS-4. You can use an old ally seatpost for working on carbon-seatpost bikes.

    The real answer, of course, is to get both.
  • fatbee
    fatbee Posts: 581
    Somebody used to manufacture a one-size-fits-all seatpost thingy precisely for clamping in your workstand. Based on that design, I built my own : 25mm plain (i.e. not micro-adjust) steel seatpin. Sawn into two, differing sized lengths, cut at about the same angle as the unseen end of a quill stem. Nut and washer at the top (but now bottom) end of the pin which you insert into the bike frame. Threaded rod up the middle, 'nother nut and washer at the top. Once in the frame you tighten the top nut, the two cut faces of the pin slide across one another slightly so that the pin "expands" to fill the frame's seat-tube internal diameter. And thereforely, B's your U.
  • robbarker
    robbarker Posts: 1,367
    Park make one and I have it. IMO you're better off with an old ally seatpost in the correct size from flebay. Like the idea though Fatbee.
  • aarw
    aarw Posts: 448
    I have that exact Tacx workstand. I love it. I also looked at the Elite Spindoctor and the park tools version. I seen the park tools one in the flesh and liked it, nice and sturdy, but no more than the tacx and certainly not worth twice the price.

    You can use the stand to clamp the bike by the rear forks also (it comes with 2 clamps), so work on the headset isn't an issue. I used this stand when fitting my mudguards on the winter hack. the only downside to this stand is that it does not hold the bike level - so you have to have the bike on the ground to set the h/bar rotation, but that's it and it's hardly normal maintenance.

    I preferred this type of stand to the standard clamping type as i own a kuota kebel frame which has pretty thin carbon on the main triangle and an aero seatpost. most seatposts should be fine for clamping - they're designed to be clamped.

    Probikekit are currently the cheapest for the tacx stand
  • fatbee
    fatbee Posts: 581
    "IMO you're better off with an old ally seatpost in the correct size from flebay"

    Entirely agree Robb, and I've got one of each in most of the common sizes. But I do sometimes get asked to work on frames with unusual (to me anyway) dia. seat tubes and my doobrie does come in handy then.

    Quite fancy the real thing from Park though. How much was it, if you don't mind me asking?
  • robbarker
    robbarker Posts: 1,367
    I got mine new and payed £140 IIRC. If you're patient they come up on ebay every so often - I picked up a mint PCS-4 for £75 for example.
  • giant_man
    giant_man Posts: 6,878
    the Park PCS-4 doesn't look sturdy at all actually, with only two legs and one big clamp, how can that be better than some others on the market. Park imo are overpriced and you're paying for the name most of the time.
  • robbarker
    robbarker Posts: 1,367
    Have you used one? They're the sturdiest thing this side of a Kestrel or Park heavy duty shop stand. Lovely things to work with.
  • fatbee
    fatbee Posts: 581
    Robb, have you got this one :

    http://sports.ciao.co.uk/Park_Tools_Int ... p__6838171

    or this one :

    http://www.parktool.com/products/detail ... em=ISC%2D4

    ?

    fb
  • robbarker
    robbarker Posts: 1,367
    The second one
  • giant_man
    giant_man Posts: 6,878
    No it's not all that. Something from Ultimate is probably much better imo. The ISC-4 internal seat clamp from Park is a good idea though. 40 quid from Parkers.
  • fatbee
    fatbee Posts: 581
    robbarker wrote:
    The second one

    Ta!

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