Bike Workstands that arent Bike Workstands ?

JimmyK
JimmyK Posts: 712
edited December 2009 in Workshop
I took a look at some of the online retailers selling bike workstands and I was shocked at what they were charging for bike workstands :shock:

Im sure some of you have your own makeshift bike workstands that do very nicely. Perhaps you can tell me what you use to do your surgery on your bike ? I was looking at a frame in my my back garden that holds my 2 kids swings and i was thinking if I took 2 equal short lengths of rope and put a plastic hook on each end , then would it support the weight of my bike and give me all the room I need to work around it , what do you think of this idea ?

The online stuff just looked like bigger guitar stands to me and £149.99 +...........not on your nelly !!

Jimmy
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Comments

  • giant_man
    giant_man Posts: 6,878
    You're absolutely right about the prices.

    All the 'three tier ones' are really the same kind of structure; the difference in them comes with the clamp. These do differ from brand to brand, but you have to pay out a lot of money to get one with a decent clamp which isn't going to break within the first year.

    And really let's face it, what they're doing is giving you that 3rd hand you haven't got.

    With your diy garden jobby, go for it!
  • Wappygixer
    Wappygixer Posts: 1,396
    If you need to put any pressure on your bike to do anything it will just swing on the ropes.
    Its not going to hold your bike securely.
    Stands can be expensive but If you've only seen them at £150+ then you've been looking in the wrong place.
    Wiggle do a nice stand for £60 http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/LifeLine_Spindoctor_Deluxe_Workstand/5360009217/
    Its the old story though that you get what you pay for.
    I suppose you have to judge your budget on your mechanical skill and how much work you do yourself.
  • El Gordo
    El Gordo Posts: 394
    I diy'd my own with a bit of timber attached to my shed wall with a hinge. You fold it out and prop it using a bit of threaded rod. The crossbar hooks over the end of the timber (which has a bit of carpet nailed to it for protection) to lift the rear wheel off the floor.

    Most jobs can be done with the bike on its wheels or stood upside down. It's only really tuning the gears that a stand is useful for (as far as I'm concerned anyway). Admittedly the bike does swing around a bit but it does the job and cost me precisely nothing.
  • ynyswen24
    ynyswen24 Posts: 703
    have a look at Mike Dyason

    www.InMotion Products.com

    they have some workstand head units to bolt to a wall or workbench for about £30. Their kit is good value , pretty good quality. Worth a look. Hanging a bike from ropes won't work if you've got to do anything with any kind of force (removing pedals, bb's etc). But better than turning a bike on its head and expecting the gears to work when it's turned the right way up again.
  • beancounter
    beancounter Posts: 369
    I use an old turbo trainer, the kind that clamps to the front forks and through the chain stays.

    bc
    2013 Colnago Master 30th Anniversary
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  • antfly
    antfly Posts: 3,276
    I use a turbo trainer too, with the turbo bit taken off, in fact you can buy something similar quite cheap.
    Smarter than the average bear.
  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    A turbo is quite good for some stubborn stuff like BBs.

    I've also got a crappy Decathlon stand and a Lifeline stand that's nearly met the end of it's life.

    I shall soon be getting a Tacx Spider stand.
    I like bikes...

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  • paul64
    paul64 Posts: 278
    I was going to get something in the £75 range as good enough for my steel bike but stopped in my tracks at the unsuitability for my carbon bike. I don't want to clamp the seat post nor the top tube so am curently thinking about a Park PRS-20 but at £160 or more it's not the sort of mugging you rush into!
  • sicknote
    sicknote Posts: 901
    I have also being thinking of making my own too as I should have most of what I need in my workshop or can make it.
    Plus I should be able to make a folding one.
  • Ollieda
    Ollieda Posts: 1,010
    Go ahead with the rope and swings idea. It will be ok for most things, as for what people say about it not being good enough when you need to apply pressure just try it anyway, you can use your body to apply opposing force. I built up a complete bike using basically the same idea with ropes around a branch on a tree. Worked fine
  • ride_whenever
    ride_whenever Posts: 13,279
    get very friendly with your lbs and use theirs. hmmm professional grade workstands...
    Neeermad
    Carbon 456
    456 lefty
    Pompino
    White Inbred
  • iain_j
    iain_j Posts: 1,941
    Anyone used one of these? Doesn't look wonderfully stable but looks OK for, say, cleaning and working on the drivetrain.
  • Scrumple
    Scrumple Posts: 2,665
    I just bought a Feedback Sports Pro Elite for my neice to swing on. I'm having her swing for my bike stand.

    £189
  • ravey1981
    ravey1981 Posts: 1,111
    I have one of these...

    park PCS9

    Not mega expensive and does a good job, clamp is nice and solid and holds the bike firm

    .
  • hopper1
    hopper1 Posts: 4,389
    I have one of these
    I use it for everything, including washing the bikes...
    Start with a budget, finish with a mortgage!
  • antfly
    antfly Posts: 3,276
    One of what ?
    Smarter than the average bear.
  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    antfly wrote:
    One of what ?

    The new Ribble site is slooooooooow, you'll have to wait for it to load.
    I like bikes...

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  • antfly
    antfly Posts: 3,276
    All I get is this page cannot be found.
    If it`s cheap anyone`s after you could always get one of these.
    http://www.powertoolworld.co.uk/bicycle ... 59304.html
    Smarter than the average bear.
  • Garz
    Garz Posts: 1,155
    Holy sheet thats cheap ant!
  • antfly
    antfly Posts: 3,276
    It certainly is, does anyone dare buy it ?
    Smarter than the average bear.
  • sicknote
    sicknote Posts: 901
    antfly wrote:
    It certainly is, does anyone dare buy it ?

    There is also one on Ebay for £60 :shock: :D
  • antfly
    antfly Posts: 3,276
    Don`t pay that.
    It looks like it`s not as tall as it looks and it just holds the back wheel off the ground. There are pics on Draper`s website.
    Smarter than the average bear.
  • mmacavity
    mmacavity Posts: 781
    http://www.kestrelengineering.co.uk/repair_stands.html
  • sicknote
    sicknote Posts: 901
    antfly

    I would not pay that, I use google :wink:
    Plus there are better ones on Ebay by far.

    Think I will have a go at making one over xmas at some time ( lucky my workshop is at the end of the garden. :D
  • gundersen
    gundersen Posts: 586
    It looks like it`s not as tall as it looks

    ???
  • antfly
    antfly Posts: 3,276
    What?
    With the extra evidence of the photo of a man using it, I mean.
    Smarter than the average bear.
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    have a look on instructables.com. Several enterprising individuals have made them out of steel or plastic piping, wood etc. the simplest is a clamp on the end of a steel pipe bolted to a wall. Looks bombproof.
  • lochindaal
    lochindaal Posts: 475
    Decathlon have one for £49. I took the gamble and put it on the XMAS list so I'll find out shortly if it is any good for the money
    Tri Coaching
    https://www.h3otriathlon.com
  • bice
    bice Posts: 772
    I paid around £30 for one of these ironing board types. I thought there would be less pressure on the tubes and more stable than cheaper vertical clamps

    http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RIVA-SPORT-BICYCL ... 439c1b2ded
  • dennisn
    dennisn Posts: 10,601
    bice wrote:
    I paid around £30 for one of these ironing board types. I thought there would be less pressure on the tubes and more stable than cheaper vertical clamps

    http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RIVA-SPORT-BICYCL ... 439c1b2ded

    I had one like that many years ago. Flimsy, cheap, unstable, hard to secure the bike in place,worse when you tried to put pressure on a wrench anywhere on the bike.
    Back THEN, that was a real piece of sh*t. Maybe they are better now.

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