General Cycling Discussion - Why Knock Kickstands?

I've read some posts around here that knock Kickstands? Just curious why this is? Are they for kids bikes only?

They have their place in recreational, touring, commuting and utility cycling, but are a no-no for competitive cycling.

Kickstands are illegal in 17 states. They are legal in Indiana, but I have found that they are not necessary.

Traditional accessory kickstands damage steel frames very easily. I have/had several frames with damaged chainstays.

Knock 'em?

As a utility/commuter/tourer, I only kick 'em.

I always found they didn't work that well (compared to a tree, wall or lamp post), were heavy, tend to rattle, get in the way etc. The one type I like is where the rear wheel ends up suspended off the ground, either on a big W shape, or on two separate feet, like on motorscooters.

Steve

Kickstands are illegal in 17 states.
Baloney!

Baloney!

I might have made that up.

Dangerous on mountain bike or any bicycle that flies. If you land on the kickstand or the
bike lands on you kickstand first, you are in a world of hurt.

Weight weenies also fear kickstands.

Look at the touring guys, they love them so much, they have double kickstands.

CE

Not all. Nor that many. Using a kickstand on a heavily loaded bike will result in a loud crashing sound at some point .

Usually I just lean my bike against something. If it is heavily loaded, I actually prefer to lay it down (cyccommute eludes to why above). Either way, I have never found much use for them. Use them if you like them, though.

IMO, kickstands are useless, because the bike always has to be locked to something anyhow.

I don't care if anyone else uses them. I have no use for a kickstand.

Not all. Nor that many. Using a kickstand on a heavily loaded bike will result in a loud crashing sound at some point .

+1 - Usually they just lay them on the ground or really secure them to something.

It wouldn't be a Raleigh 3 speed without a kickstand.

Kickstands are illegal in 17 states. They are legal in Indiana, but I have found that they are not necessary.

In California it's a mandatory minimum of two years in the State prison.

It wouldn't be a Raleigh 3 speed without a kickstand.

No doubt! I have one on my Denault.

I've seen kickstanded bikes blow over in the wind too.

I'm still searching for the TI kickstand.
I'll consider CF... if I have to!

I don't knock kickstands. If you want one, you should have one.

What bugs me are kickstand fanbois who think I should have one just because they like them.

Kickstands are illegal in 17 states. They are legal in Indiana, but I have found that they are not necessary.

Is this for real?

I'm sorry, but they are just not cool.

Is this for real?

Hard to tell. 83% of statistics are made up on the spot.

Hard to tell. 83% of statistics are made up on the spot.

Wrong!! 83.02%

83% sure I might have made that up.

I'm sorry, but they are just not cool.
Maybe not. Two of my bikes have kickstands. The one comes in very handy. I use this bike as my walking the dog bike. When she needs to stop to do her business, I just hop off, put down the kickstand and wait until she is done. No need to find a tree or anything.

On my other bikes, I see no need for a kickstand. So I don't have them. I usually just find a tree, pole or something and use the pedal/sadddle trick to keep the bike up and in place.

I can still pose effectively, kickstand or no kickstand.

I put one on my Fuel EX because I got tired of leaning it on things in the house when I'm not riding it, and at present I have no place to put up my bike rack/pole to hold the bikes. I also think you do just as much damage to teh bike leaning it on a tree as you may do with a kick stand. either one scratches up the finish. *shrug*

http://www.glasswolf.net/misc/trekstand2.jpg

yes, completely Fred.. stem covers, SPD platforms with reflectors, fenders, kickstand, blah blah.
It does what I want, the way I want, and weighs about 24lbs. I'm happy.

Seen this?

Click-Stand (http://www.click-stand.com/)

Hard to tell. 83% of statistics are made up on the spot.

Yeah, but thats only 50% of the time. :)

They rattle, they dig into the chainstays, they still leave the bike vulnerable to being blown over, they don't contribute to being locked up to anything, etc.

I don't feel like I need them anymore. If I'm going to leave the bike alone, I'll lock it, so that means it'll be leaning on something. If I don't need to lock it, I lay it down, and it can't fall any further than that.* When it's either at work or at home, I just lean it against the wall anyway.

* Which reminds me of a saying: You're not truly drunk until you find yourself falling off of the floor. Which a roommate of mine once did. :D

The real reason kickstands are a no-no is: all that extra weight on one side make you go around in circles! :)

Also, 6/5ths of all people don't understand fractions!


Yeah, but thats only 50% of the time. :)

I don't see a need for a kickstand on my bikes. The reasons have already been covered above. But the bottom line for me is: Why would I carry something on my bike that doesn't improve its utility?

Not all. Nor that many. Using a kickstand on a heavily loaded bike will result in a loud crashing sound at some point .

I have used a kickstand on a heavily loaded bike for several thousand miles, and I have no idea what you're talking about. I like my kickstand.

Kick stands are dangerous for serious MTBing they can get caught on something and cause a dangerous crash. On road bike they are pointless because of the extra weight vs utility. They are good for kids bikes or commuters, but I hate em.

Not as dangerous as those crappy egg beater pedals.. I've broken three sets of those darned things. I finally tossed those in the trash and bought a real set of Time ATACs and some SPD platforms. Neither have broken yet.

PS, haven't snagged anything on my kickstand yet either.

:D

Dangerous on mountain bike or any bicycle that flies. If you land on the kickstand or the
bike lands on you kickstand first, you are in a world of hurt.


I'd probably be more worried about the chainring or cassette landing on you than a kickstand.

I'd probably be more worried about the chainring or cassette landing on you than a kickstand.



Fell off my MTB on a trail before... prettymuch anything landing on you sucks... TRUST ME

I have a kick stand on my road bike. The bike is an old steel peugeot. It weighs... a lot, for a road bike. When I go over to my friend's for a ride, i have a use for it then. or... whenever i need to pull out the bike outta the garage for w.e. reason. I don't race, so i don't care.

no kickstand on the mountain bike, though. the "trails" i ride are trails i made with my buddies, so they're a little tight, with a lot of vegetation on sides. I get my pedals hooked a lot - i can't imagine a kickstand.

Want to pay to add some unecessary weight to your bike and make it look more ugly at the same time, kickstand is the answer!

Woo!

Want to pay to add some unecessary weight to your bike and make it look more ugly at the same time, kickstand is the answer!

Woo!

:rolleyes:

Not as dangerous as those crappy egg beater pedals.. I've broken three sets of those darned things. I finally tossed those in the trash and bought a real set of Time ATACs and some SPD platforms. Neither have broken yet.

PS, haven't snagged anything on my kickstand yet either.

:D

KILLLLLLL MEEEEEE.

What EggBeaters are you running? I run EB's on all of my bikes that have clipless pedals.

That side, anything below the SL level will explode and the fragments will kill you.

they were SL models. spindle broke, metal clip for the cleat broke.. at least it wasn't the same problem every time, anyway. Some people have better luck with them, but I have seen quite a number of horror stories with them as well. Haven't seen many with Time ATACs though, comparatively.
I ended up going primarily to some SPD platforms I can ride without cleats if I desire, so for short rides to the neighbors' and such, I can do it in sneakers. For longer trail rides, I can go with cleats.
Makes life more convenient I guess.

I might have made that up.

:roflmao:

they were SL models. spindle broke, metal clip for the cleat broke.. at least it wasn't the same problem every time, anyway. Some people have better luck with them, but I have seen quite a number of horror stories with them as well. Haven't seen many with Time ATACs though, comparatively.

Mm. Well, I agree with the fact that it seems like a lot of people's Eggbeaters break. That said, you'll notice the spindles are very thin, presumably to save weight, since they ARE XC race pedals. Even though I have them on my trail bike, and do large-ish drops on that.... But I do weigh 130 pounds....


Mallet's have a thicker spindle, but there's the oh-so famous picture of the DH racer with the snapped Mallet.

I've read some posts around here that knock Kickstands? Just curious why this is? Are they for kids bikes only?
I think it stems from the stories of, "Real Men do it This Way.":D

If you ride a good bike and paid a healthy penny for it ...sooner or later the weight savings bug will bite you. I had a "Flik Stand" which held the front tire straight so you could lean the bike against anything. Those are outdated perhaps.:o All in all ...everyone in this thread has stated it one way or another. If you want a kick stand on your bike by all means ...do so.

side note, I remember a friend of mine who owned a Western Ross [scotland] w/Campy Super Record in 1978 who drilled out his kick stand as a joke to save a few grams.:D

i took the one off my mountain bike because aluminum frames dont need a little vise-clamp dealio cutting into the bike.

i sometimes leave them on and see how long they take to fall off. i dont like them.

Try pulling a kid trailer without one suckas!

I love my kickstand, it helps a lot with my heavy commuting bag with water and my U-lock.

Wouldn't use one on a recreational bike though

I pulled a trailer for a few years without one. Why does specifically having a trailer require a kickstand?
The hitch allowed my bike to rotate and lay flat on the ground while attached to the trailer.

Really? I never imagined trying to do it without a kickstand.

Not sure if my hitch will allow that, but it seems to be more trouble to lay the bike down than to flip out a kickstand. Less hard on the bike too.

Kickstands became uncool in the US in the 70's when higher quality 10 speeds became available and did not have kickstands. And since racing bikes didn't have kickstands, *serious* bikers didn't use kickstands either. Even though this meant that they were always laying their bike down or looking for somewhere to lean it. So aside from people who are actually racing or doing actual downhill mountain biking, it's a fashion thing.

Almost every bike sold in Europe comes with a kickstand.