Recumbent - Do you use a kickstand with your bent?

I just got my bent and trying to lean it up against anything is real tricky. Trying to work on it without the stand adapter is a real pain too. So if you use a kickstand any recommendations?

I use the kickstand that came with the bike.(EZ-1 SC) Would not think of not having one. Just too handy parking next to the truck that I had redone 4 years ago and do not want to scratch or mark up. I have not yet had to take a wheel off...yet, so I can not tell you how that will work out. But so far I always use the kickstand.

Recently bought a Burley Koosah and it cames without a kick stand from the factory. I would rather pay extra money to have a kick stand, and a complete bike when I purchased it from Burley. Come on Burley, cutting corners is one thing, but putting a bike on the market without kickstands!

Recently bought a Burley Koosah and it cames without a kick stand from the factory. I would rather pay extra money to have a kick stand, and a complete bike when I purchased it from Burley. Come on Burley, cutting corners is one thing, but putting a bike on the market without kickstands!

so few bikes come with them anymore it's not something you expect unless you shop at walmart.

so few bikes come with them anymore it's not something you expect unless you shop at walmart.

Yeah, what he said.
:)

My EZ Sport Ltd came with one. I thought all bikes did!

I bought one with my Vision R40, but took it off after a little while. When I learned it could be putting to much stress on the seat & chain stays. So now I just find something to lean it against. Never had a problem finding something yet. I will not lay it on the ground as I would a wedgie road bike. My recumbent is to long & the main frame boom tube & front chain rings are not as easy to see if it is laying in the grass, IMO. It is not about someone getting hurt if they trip over my bike, it is about my bike getting hurt because they were not watching where they were going so I don't lay it down.

ONLY bike I have one on...a LWB Easy Racer. Next SWB I have will NOT have one...

Talking to the local LBS, I found that in the past few years many bikes don't come with kickstands, but some still do(and not just the mart bikes). A kickstand came with my EZ Sport and I can't imagine not having one for this bike.

My HP Velotechnik Street Machine has one fitted and I wouldn't do without it. I saw a similar thread on a UK bike site about kick stands and it seems to me that for a lot of folk they are an image thing. Personally I think its barking mad to spend a load of dosh on a bike and then lay it down on the ground or prop it up against something with the risk of it falling over.

my regular bike never needed one. it was easy to lock up or lean agaisnt a wall. but my bent is a battle doing so. hell just manuvering it when your not riding is a fun chore (G)

Personally I think its barking mad to spend a load of dosh on a bike and then lay it down on the ground or prop it up against something with the risk of it falling over.

I've seen plenty of bikes with kickstands that fell over on the ground. Happens all the time.

Both my touring (Longbikes Slipstream and Gulfstream) bikes have stands, mostly to keep the bags out of the dirt. The two legged model on the Gulfstream works really well when the bike is loaded.

I've seen plenty of bikes with kickstands that fell over on the ground. Happens all the time.

Good point. It should be pointed out that you've got to take into account the slope of the ground running laterally from the bike when you choose a place to use the stand. In other words if a kick stand fitted bike falls over its usually down to the rider.

I was thinking about getting a kickstand for my Catrike. Any suggestions???


:lol: Sorry I couldn't help myself. :D

My EZ Sport came with one, and I have them on my mouontain bike and hybrid also - I can't stand (no pun intended) leaning my bike against something or laying it on the ground. I'm not surpised if the stand is an extra cost, because on every bike I've bought I had to get the stand separately.

I never used kickstands on any of my df bikes, but, when I went to recumbents, I found them soooo necessary to prevent that nasty scenario, where you lean your 'bent up against a tree or a sign pole...walk away to tend to some kind of business...then turn around to see the front wheel flop, and down the expensive 'bent goes, to the ground with a paint-chipping, parts-scraping **THUD** ! :eek:

Yeah, I've heard that many 'bent companies that used to throw in the kickstand free with the bike purchase now charge up to $30 for them as an option... :mad: ...but every 'bent that I've purchased, so far, has come with the kickstand free of charge, thanks to the dealers that I've purchased them through. I know that, with my '02 Burley Django, Burley only provided the kickstand "adapter"(an almost $1400 bike--you'd think they could see their way to giving you the actual kickstand to go with the adapter they so generously gave you as a "gift with purchase"! :mad: )

And now that I've got my lwb Stratus, I'm soooo glad to have a kickstand...and soooo happy that my dealer, Gold Country Cyclery(Cameron Park, CA), gave and installed it(as well as the mirror and two water bottle cages and bottles) free of charge! Way to go, Rick! :D

I'd never get a 'bent without a kickstand....

;)

Kickstand? Uhh, not with a trike! Parking brakes are a must!

I'd never get a 'bent without a kickstand....


TWO-WHEELED 'bent, that is! :rolleyes:

Yeah, I can see it now...SWB V-Rex or Rocket falls over...bends the chainrings...I'm 50 miles from home...I'm "SOL"!!!

Sometimes a kickstand is a "good thing"! :D

Yeah, Me too.... Always a kickstand on my 'bent... But I did swap out the one that came with my 2000 RANS Rocket... I found that I just couldn't tighten it enough to stop it from spinning on the chain stay... Went to a Greenfield stand that has a stablizer mount that grips both the chain stay & the seat stay... No more movement of the kickstand which could result in the bike "toppling over"....

I love my kick-stand. I was under the impression that kick-stands didn't come on bikes anymore because it wasn't "cool." Who cares. I love having a kick-stand. Cost $10 extra.

I took the kickstand off my BikeE. I would sometimes forget to put it up and ride off with it in park position. If I hit a turn too hard or sharp, the stand would scrape the road, cause a little tail spin, and generally shake up your humbled rider. I never have to lay the bike down to park, there's always something handy to lean against and lock onto. I use an elastic on the front brake lever as a parking brake, to keep the bike from rolling. It works great.

StreetMachine GT here, and it has a kickstand fitted, though it was a specified option, rather than standard equipment. The stand is fitted onto the under-seat pannier racks, so is well out of the way; also makes it near-impossible to ride off with the stand down. Having front and rear fairings fitted, it is ruddy awkward to actually get on or off the bike unless it's on the stand, so wouldn't do without it.

Downside is that whenever the chain-gang heads for the Cake Stop, they always want to lean their bikes against mine!

My riding partner bought a $1,000 very lightweight Trek DF and the shop refused to put a kickstand on it acting as though the extra weight would be an insult to the manufacturer.

I would shop at that LBS ever again. It seems that guy just sold you a bike and didn't ask what you would use it for.

I want to get into touring. A bicycle hauling 60lbs+ gear, life would be easier with a kickstand.

I think that the poll is just a little misguided :) it needs to have "no need (trike)" as an option! :)

I had a kickstand but half of the time the bike fell over from either the ground giving out under the kickstand or a gust of wind blowing it over. Now I set it down. Either way it ends up in the same place but at least now in doesn't go THUMP when it meets the ground.

There are stands that I have seen very alot of in Europe that people use for all their bikes , recumbents included. These lift the rear wheel completly off the ground, sort of like old motor cycle stands. The only problem is they swing out the back and won't work if hauling a BOB trailer.

There are stands that I have seen very alot of in Europe that people use for all their bikes , recumbents included. These lift the rear wheel completly off the ground, sort of like old motor cycle stands. The only problem is they swing out the back and won't work if hauling a BOB trailer.

My problem with the standard type of kickstand is that I often use only one pannier and the bike will fall because the off-center weight is too much for the stand. This tripod sort of set up may balance better.

thanks for the photo.

serious bike riders don't ever mount kick stands to their bike, any bike, after 12 years of age. center style, or motor cycle style, kick stands will label you a recumbent geek for sure.

There are stands that I have seen very alot of in Europe that people use for all their bikes , recumbents included. These lift the rear wheel completly off the ground, sort of like old motor cycle stands. The only problem is they swing out the back and won't work if hauling a BOB trailer.

Hi Bentrider,

Hostel Shoppe sells a twin kickstand that works similarly to the one you showed in your post. They sell it for $48, and I don't think that it would get in the way(in its "closed" position) if you're hauling a trailer.

Check it out:
Esge Twin Kickstand (http://www.hostelshoppe.com/cgi-bin/readitem.pl?Accessory=983906737)

serious bike riders don't ever mount kick stands to their bike, any bike, after 12 years of age. center style, or motor cycle style, kick stands will label you a recumbent geek for sure.
Where's my slide rule and my pocket-protector?

I've heard others express that sentiment, however, I'm sick and tired of trying to figure out creative ways to make my bikes (DF and 'bent) balance in those ridiculous things they call bike racks.

Sheldon Brown's site has a 2 legged kickstand that folds up into one leg.
It is pretty cool looking but a git expensive.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/accessories.html

Sheldon Brown's site has a 2 legged kickstand that folds up into one leg.
It is pretty cool looking but a git expensive.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/accessories.html

Hi tom o,

Yeah, that's the same twin kickstand that Hostel Shoppe sells, the Esge Double Kickstand. I've seen them on a couple of Tour Easys, and they work great--as long as the bike's on fairly level ground....

serious bike riders don't ever mount kick stands to their bike, any bike, after 12 years of age. center style, or motor cycle style, kick stands will label you a recumbent geek for sure.

Hi bikerski,

I'm glad that I got kickstands for both my Fusion and my Stratus. Between my wife and myself, we have eight bikes, df, semi-'bent, and 'bent, parked in our two-car garage, along with our two cars, chest freezer, and other stuff(junk) that people typically find collecting in their garages. We have four of them hanging on those Delta wall bike hangers, but we had to get creative to be able to fit the other four. The kickstands made it possible to pull it off. Otherwise, we'd have to lean two of our bikes against two others...and, as far as I'm concerned, that's a lot worse than having to worry about what labels people are pinning on us.

Yes, kickstands don't work in every situation. They won't keep bikes from falling over in very windy conditions...and they won't keep bikes from falling when parked on unlevel ground...and they won't keep bikes from toppling over if the bike's loaded down with panniers. But, in most other cases, they DO WORK.

Unlike the ugly, heavy, two-bit kickstands that adorned our childhood bikes, most kickstands that are available for recumbents today are relatively light, but strong, and are aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Mine are Greenfield kickstands, and they're very well made, and don't take anything away from my bikes' visual appeal. IMHO, there's absolutely nothing wrong with using an accessory for your bike that is functional and practical. There will be times when you will just have to lean your bike up against a tree or pole(when conditions like the ones I listed earlier prevent using your kickstand)...but why do it if you don't have to???

I completely respect cyclists who prefer not to use kickstands, as much as I respect those who do. My wife prefers not to use them on her df bikes, but she understands why I choose to use them on my 'bents with the much longer wheelbases.

In other words, to each his or her own....take care, and enjoy your ride.




:)

i guess a kick stand on a trike would be like a screen door on a submarine???

maybe i'll have to look for a kick stand in another life???

happy trails,and keep dodging those squirrels

i guess a kick stand on a trike would be like a screen door on a submarine???

maybe i'll have to look for a kick stand in another life???

happy trails,and keep dodging those squirrels
metaphors, got to love them
a kick stand on a bike is like snow tires on a vette
a kick stand on a bike is like flat pumps on a women
a kick stand on a bike is like light beer
give me a light, fast bike, 10" slicks, 7 inch stilettos, and good beer!!!!

i guess a kick stand on a trike would be like a screen door on a submarine???



Wow!!! They can do that! Amazing what they can do with technology these days.

I use my kickstand all the time. I never lean up against anything. My recumboni has fallen over a couple times and it was my error or a strong wind. I picked it up and put it back on the stand more carefully. The beauty of cycling is that there are many options that the individual can make for themselves.

On my BikeE, Yes.

On my TiAero, No.