Bicycle Mechanics - Worth investing in a bike repair stand?

Hi, before I start asking questions. I'm going to give some background information about myself. I'm sixteen years old and own a 600 Aus dollar bike ( this is relevant ) I do not make money and rely on my parent's to fund for my hobby/sport. Biking is already very expensive and I really want to invest in a proper bike when I'm older with my own cash but for now I'm wondering if I should really dish out cash.

There's a bike repair stand at my place costing about 220 Aus Dollar the the sales person is willing to sell it to me for 190 Aus Dollar. I was really wondering if i need to spend 190 dollars on a repair stand just for my bike which is only worth 600 dollars? I'm also quite into repairing my bike and maintaining it and currently i usually just hold my bike and repair it. I am wondering if it's really necessary to spend 200 dollars on "just" a repair stand.

Thanks for your help =]

Ps: my parent's don't like bikes and stuff so they aren't keen in investing for me.

its worth it to me. time to learn to pick up junk bikes and flip them to buy tools

Makes maintenance tasks like tire replacement and chain cleaning easy and quick. Bought my first one at a flea market for $25. Don't know about your area, but around here they frequently show up on CL for less than 1/2 the cost of a new one.

In my opinion, with one bike, and not having income, it's not worth it at that amount of money. But if you can find something cheaper then you should definetely get one. By the way, cost relative to bike worth is meaningless. Cost relative to what you can afford is what matters.

You could consider making a bike stand instead of buying a new one. Instructibles.com has a number of articles for making one. At least this way you could work on junk bikes, flip them and then eventually have enough to buy a stand.

With no income, it's hard to tell you that you should spend someone else's money.

But, if you ride a lot, somebody is (or should be) doing maintenance on your bike. You can save a lot of money if you do that maintenance yourself and a bike stand will make that a lot easier.

I'm sixteen years old and own a 600 Aus dollar bike ( this is relevant ) I do not make money and rely on my parent's to fund for my hobby/sport.

Step one: develop an income. I started mowing lawns at age 12, and by 15, was washing dishes in a restaurant. I funded all of my hobbies.

And you should be looking at a used bike stand. But with a fleet of just one bike, not worth it regardless.

Biking does not need to be expensive. With some entrepreneurial efforts, you could develop a nice bike hobby/business. Bicycles have been self funding for me for many years.

+1 Cost relative to bike cost is meaningless. My current work stand cost more used than most of the bikes I work on, and new, it cost more than any bike I have ever owned. But I use it enough, work on a couple of bikes a week, that it has paid for itself many, many times. But I started with a much cheaper used work stand. Took me a while to work up to this one.

One nice thing about buying used is that if you buy right, you should be able to resell it later if you want to move up to a better stand, or get out of working on bikes. New stands lose about half their value the moment you pay for them. I have bought and sold several stands over the years as I moved up to nicer work stands. I made money or at least broke even on every one of them.

I routinely see people selling $250 US bike stands for $75 US. I would look for a used one before buying a new one.

Don't know about prices down there but that seems like a very expensive stand. My Park PCS10 was only $135 US and is all the stand I will ever need. However, as you have no income and only one bike, I'd suggest waiting till you can buy it on your own. That can either be when your parents finally kick you out of the house and you are forced to work for a living or you can be preemptive and go find a way to make money now.

Ask if they mind you drilling holes in the ceiling to make hooks
to hang ropes to get your bike up to a height you can work on it standing.

Then helping get a paying home task, say repainting the exterior,
to get a simple repair stand will be met better as a solution,
than disfiguring you mother's house with some ceiling holes .

With only 1 bike I would not bother with a work stand. I've worked on/overhauled dozens of bikes in the past few years and still don't have a stand. I've used one and they are nice but I simply don't have the space. Even when I do have the money I end up spending it on another bike/parts rather than a stand.

I know how it goes with the parents. My dad would get annoyed whenever I had more than two or three bikes in the garage saying I was making a mess or something. Anyway, best thing I've found is to keep it to a dull roar until you move out and can have as many bikes as you please. I would definitely not push for a stand if your parents are paying for it. They bought you a $600 bike, that sounds pretty good to me.

Christmas is coming up. If you don't already have them I'd ask for a pair of clipless pedals and shoes.

The value of your bike isn't really the constraining issue. If you had a bike worth $50 you might still spend $100 on a bike stand so you could maintain it yourself.

A stand makes cleaning a bike much easier. I cleaned mine a few times without a stand and it was a royal pain the backside. Now with a stand I don't finish the job with aching knees and back from working at ground level. Before I bought the stand I tried flipping the bike over and standing it on an outside table but it just didn't feel stable enough.

If you're going to do any meaningful work on the bike then a stand is useful, but obviously it means more money you need to recover by doing work yourself before you end up ahead of the game. Tools that pay for themselves immediately are a no-brainer (I can buy a chain and cassette plus a chain whip and chain tool for less than my LBS charges to supply and fit the chain and cassette, so effectively the tools are free). Tools that take longer aren't necessarily a bad thing, you just need to consider how much you'll save and how long it will take you.

Even if your parents don't like bikes all that much if you can show them how you can do your own work on bikes and thereby save money by not having to take it to the shop they may see it as an investment. And if they buy it for you, you could always use it to work on bikes to flip, make yourself a few bucks, and then give them the money for it. If nothing else it will hone your bike mechanics skills and let your parents see that you're doing something to get your passion to pay for itself rather than simply letting them pick up the tab for everything.

FastRod: I have a repair stand but I often use one of these to hold the bike steady, with the rear wheel free to rotate, on a workbench: http://www.amazon.com/Sunlite-Bottom-Bracket-Bicycle-Display/dp/B000C17HJ4 It might be helpful for you while you are searching for a bargain on a regular repair stand.

I admire you for posting and your excitement about cycling. I made my first one out of wood and it works ok. I do believe I can adjust my bike better with a good repair stand but like others suggested, keep your eyes out for a used one. best of luck!

If your serious about being into bikes for years to come a bike stand is worth getting. Considering your income resources I would check around in local bike listings to see if you can get one used if you look for while you should be able to find one for less than half the price of the one you mentioned.

Hi, before I start asking questions. I'm going to give some background information about myself. I'm sixteen years old and own a 600 Aus dollar bike ( this is relevant ) I do not make money and rely on my parent's to fund for my hobby/sport. Biking is already very expensive and I really want to invest in a proper bike when I'm older with my own cash but for now I'm wondering if I should really dish out cash.

There's a bike repair stand at my place costing about 220 Aus Dollar the the sales person is willing to sell it to me for 190 Aus Dollar. I was really wondering if i need to spend 190 dollars on a repair stand just for my bike which is only worth 600 dollars? I'm also quite into repairing my bike and maintaining it and currently i usually just hold my bike and repair it. I am wondering if it's really necessary to spend 200 dollars on "just" a repair stand.

Thanks for your help =]

Ps: my parent's don't like bikes and stuff so they aren't keen in investing for me.

I am in pretty much the exact same position as you. I am 16 years old, I have a $850 bike(CAAD9) and I really mainly on my parents for my bike supplies.
I really don't think it is wise to spend that much money on a repair stand, I say save the money and use it when you actually need it for parts that wear out on the bike.
I do get some money from my dad by doing small jobs for him.(Payed me $200 for putting up drywall in 3 rooms and our garage), but I don't have time to get a real job.

And set aside $50-$75 for going out with friends or going out on dates :D

And set aside $50-$75 for going out with friends or going out on dates

Best advice so far much better than the advice I gave earlier in this thread.

Hi, before I start asking questions. I'm going to give some background information about myself. I'm sixteen years old and own a 600 Aus dollar bike ( this is relevant ) I do not make money and rely on my parent's to fund for my hobby/sport. Biking is already very expensive and I really want to invest in a proper bike when I'm older with my own cash but for now I'm wondering if I should really dish out cash.

There's a bike repair stand at my place costing about 220 Aus Dollar the the sales person is willing to sell it to me for 190 Aus Dollar. I was really wondering if i need to spend 190 dollars on a repair stand just for my bike which is only worth 600 dollars? I'm also quite into repairing my bike and maintaining it and currently i usually just hold my bike and repair it. I am wondering if it's really necessary to spend 200 dollars on "just" a repair stand.

Thanks for your help =]

Ps: my parent's don't like bikes and stuff so they aren't keen in investing for me.

I want one, they make working on a bike much easier, but I have yet to acquire one again due to the expense of a good one, despite seemingly always working on one of my, or my girlfriends bikes. I had the Park Tools one for a few years that I acquired from a friend, but found it unsatisfactory and sold it when I was planning on moving out of town. In my experience, a person can survive for years without one, if they have to, but it IS unpleasant. I find myself taking breaks every few minutes because of the time spent hunched over (back hurts), and being frustrated going from sitting cross legged to lying down trying to access things.

Ideally? Yeah, it'd be really nice to have a stand. When you have to choose between new tires, winter cycling gear, racks, touring gear, or a stand - to me the choice is obvious - I need to keep rolling first!

My experience with a less than satisfactory stand have led me to believe there isn't any point in buying any stand but a very good one. I may be handicapped by having heavy old steel mountain bikes kitted out with touring gear, but you need a stand that will actually hold your bike in place no matter how heavy it is. Read the online reviews carefully of any stand you are considering buying, and if there isn't enough of that information out there for some reason for the one you are considering, then you should contact the manufacturer with any questions you have about its performance and specs. This is a piece of kit you are going to be saddled with for a long time and will have a hard time unloading if you feel it is less than satisfactory, so you really cannot skimp and get a cheap model.

my zwei pfennig anyway

If there's a vice in the garage - and you have the right sort of bike rack - sometimes you can hold the rack up in the vice and use it as a cheapo workstand. Bike rack something like this: http://manlybiketours.com.au/wp-content/gallery/bike-images-small/tow-bar-bike-rack.jpg

worked for me for many years. hth

I'm in favor of getting a real bike work stand. The work-arounds and substitutes always sacrifice a lot. However, you don't need anything that expensive. There are functional stands at much lower cost and used stands should be very reasonably priced. So, yes, buy one. No, don't spend $200 Aus to do it.

You could consider making a bike stand instead of buying a new one. Instructibles.com has a number of articles for making one. At least this way you could work on junk bikes, flip them and then eventually have enough to buy a stand.That's a great suggestion! They have a lot of plans for various stands on that site. Do you have one you like best?

Also - the commercial stands have an easy way to rotate the clamp. How important is this feature in real life? (Until now, the only flipping I've been doing with bikes has been to turn them upside down to work on them - a method that has gotten very old...)

The racks that strap onto cars make adequate repair stands for most operations. They can be hooked on to a fence or a ladder or something if there's no car around to support your project.

Also - the commercial stands have an easy way to rotate the clamp. How important is this feature in real life? (Until now, the only flipping I've been doing with bikes has been to turn them upside down to work on them - a method that has gotten very old...)
Not at all important....till you've used a stand with that option and realize how easy it is to get to parts of the bike that were difficult to access with the bike sitting level. I find myself using this feature often especially when cleaning a bike.

Heh. I know plenty of people who do basic repairs at home, and none with a repair stand.

Also, torpedo7.com.au sometimes has them cheap. (Not right now, sadly). Keep an eye out.

Hi guys,

I've been looking at this bike repair stand it seems relatively cheap. I asked my local shop and he asked me to do a DIY one which the shop uses similar to this which I recently found after posting this. To repair your bike you'll have to take out your seat post and flip your bike upside down and clamp it on using your quick release or what you got to clamp your seat post. The bike repair shop down at my place uses this method so I assume it's pretty stable and a useful for repairs. Plus side is that it's pretty cheap.

http://www.amazon.com/M-Wave-Universal-Bicycle-Work-Stand/dp/B001NGF6E0

Thanks guys for all the advice, really appreciate it.

another cost conscious approach is to hang ropes / bungee cords from the ceiling of your garage / basement and hang the bike from that. I made do with that approach for a few years. In some respects it's easier because you can easily rotate the bike as you work on it, which is nice if the best lighting only comes from one direction.

I've been looking at this bike repair stand it seems relatively cheap. I asked my local shop and he asked me to do a DIY one which the shop uses similar to this which I recently found after posting this. To repair your bike you'll have to take out your seat post and flip your bike upside down and clamp it on using your quick release or what you got to clamp your seat post. The bike repair shop down at my place uses this method so I assume it's pretty stable and a useful for repairs. Plus side is that it's pretty cheap.

There's no way I'd buy a stand that only allows me to work on my bike upside down. A good repair stand will last for decades of normal use. A cheap one will beg to be replaced every time you use it. IMHO, it is better to do without, save up and buy a good stand (and keep an eye out for used stands). That stand is half the price of a good stand but far less than half the value of a good stand.

One of the bikes I'd be working on is pretty heavy - an early 1990's Specialized HardRock (steel MTB) frame, done up as a utility bike with fenders, baskets, kickstand, yada-yada. Is the Park PCS-9 a decent stand for working on a heavier bike, or would it just be money wasted?

One of the bikes I'd be working on is pretty heavy - an early 1990's Specialized HardRock (steel MTB) frame, done up as a utility bike with fenders, baskets, kickstand, yada-yada. Is the Park PCS-9 a decent stand for working on a heavier bike, or would it just be money wasted?

The PCS-9 will do the job but I'd go for the PCS-10. The quick release on the clamp is much better, IMHO. I have several early '90s steel MTBs and the PCS-10 handles them just fine. Very stable and easy to work with. Bike Island has the PCS-10 for $135 delivered and I've heard there are other sites with even better pricing.

My work stand is an older version of the what is now sold as the Feedback Sports Pro-Elite and easily handles my Surly Cross Check that weighs almost 40 pounds fully loaded. The lower cost Feedback BRS-50 is rated to hold 60 pounds and that should be enough even for most tandems.

I prefer to work with a stand. Something like this might fit the bill for yo. http://www.campmor.com/feedback-sports-recreational-repair-stand.shtml?source=CI&srccode=cii_23393768&cpncode=22-187581804-2

Buy the PCS-10 from Amazon. I think they may be on sale this week. They pay the shipping! Great stand! You will not be disappointed! Do not buy some cheap ass bike stand that may discourage you from doing your own maitenance! You may get hurt! Good Luck!

I did everything by mounting the bike on a trainer. My back is weak and it hurts to bend down working for a long time (especially with derailers and BB). That's the only reason I recently bought a repair stand is to make things a little easier. I wouldn't say I needed it to do what I do though. So, think about if you really need one or you can do what I do, get a trainer where it can serve both purposes.

Just did a 2 minute search on Ebay AU and found this. 99$ AU.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Alloy-Cycle-Pro-Mechanic-Bicycle-Repair-Stand-rack-Bike-/160673390990?pt=AU_Sport_Cycling_Accessories&hash=item2568e1618e#ht_2010wt_1060

I have this stand, it is excellent. I paid about 70 GBP for it. Good money spent !!

The one you are looking at from the LBS is too expensive imo, not worth it. Get one of the ones above from ebay (there are also auctions for them, so you may get it for less than the 99 BUY IT NOW price, and shipping is free too... Spent the extra money on the "Dates and Going Out With Mates" part. LOL

Cheers

There are better places to put your money.
For most repairs and adjustments you do need some way to hang your bike in an upright position with the wheels off the ground. I used a cheap wall hanger for years before buying a stand. I bought a TS-2 truing stand and built wheels and built up a good road bike from a frame and fork before owning a repair stand. As said above, a car bike carrier mounted to a fence or tree or garage wall would work.

Just did a 2 minute search on Ebay AU and found this. 99$ AU.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Alloy-Cycle-Pro-Mechanic-Bicycle-Repair-Stand-rack-Bike-/160673390990?pt=AU_Sport_Cycling_Accessories&hash=item2568e1618e#ht_2010wt_1060

I have this stand, it is excellent. I paid about 70 GBP for it. Good money spent !!

The one you are looking at from the LBS is too expensive imo, not worth it. Get one of the ones above from ebay (there are also auctions for them, so you may get it for less than the 99 BUY IT NOW price, and shipping is free too... Spent the extra money on the "Dates and Going Out With Mates" part. LOL

Cheers

Thanks all of your for helping me out, I'm quite convinced that maybe I won't work upside down but I'll see. I feel that park tool, I know it's good, but it's expensive I would say. The hanging rope method, I doubt it would work as we have a small garage which my mum parks in it. Currently my mum just bought two bikes for my sis and herself so that means more bike for me to play with =D.

ScottieDog: It seems like a good price and according to you it seems to work well. I might have a look into it =D, thanks for the advice.

I think I mentioned this before, but here goes again - in Europe we have Aldi and Lidl supermarkets, dunno about USA or Australia. I bought a very well made stand for £30 from Lidl, and Aldi sell an almost identical one for the same amount. Unfortunately these are only sold once or twice a year in either store. You just have to look out for them. If anyone is curious I can take some pics, it's too cold and dark at the moment...

I'd like to see it aljohn.

ScottieDog: It seems like a good price and according to you it seems to work well. I might have a look into it =D, thanks for the advice.

it's great. Really stable, can turn the bike whichever way you like (whilst mounted), change height, whatever. And the one in AUS actually has the tool shelf included which mine didn't have - had to make my shelf for it. you'll thank yourself for it IMO, even leaning over just to do simple jobs is a pain, no more leaning over with a stand. Will be using mine tomorrow to lube up and check over 4 bikes, 2 of mine and the kids, ps. the kids love it too (4 and 5) lol.

I bought a stand today, after working on the brakes on the old Trek, I really don't
know how I got by with out it. I always worked on the bike up side down on a table.
No more, This is Great!

I think it is an XLC? $175, LBS, he wouldn't budge on the price, but I go three of the
"Y" stands thrown in, $15X3=$45. Folds into a very small item.

After 30 minutes I am sold on it. I had it on trial till Monday.

I got the pcs-9 park mechanic stand off amazon for around 100$ , well worth it.

I've got a PCS-10 and love it but there is nothing wrong with the PCS-9. When you are working on your own bikes at your leisure, speed and ease of clamping is not a big issue. The PCS-9 is adequate for home use and will serve you well for many years.

At 16 years of age, I suggest you find a part-time job and not rely on your parents to support your interests.

for years I used a simple stand that attach hooked around the down tube and supported the bike beneath the bottom bracket. It cost $20 new. My park repair stand is better but not essential. I would recommend saving the money for tools.

I think I mentioned this before, but here goes again - in Europe we have Aldi and Lidl supermarkets, dunno about USA or Australia. I bought a very well made stand for £30 from Lidl, and Aldi sell an almost identical one for the same amount. Unfortunately these are only sold once or twice a year in either store. You just have to look out for them. If anyone is curious I can take some231919 pics, it's too cold and dark at the moment...
I'm sorry for the delay, but here's a couple of pics of the £30 stand from Lidl (or Aldi)231920I hope you can see them OK, there is an arm for securing the front wheel to stop it swinging. I've not done anything too hefty on it, if I did I would fit a brace (?) from the stand to the frame near the bottom bracket, to stop the bike wanting to move sideways when held by the top tube. I never thought of photographing the stand with a bike in it ! I'm not saying this is the best or ideal, just that it is well built, strong - and cheap! No matter how good other stands are I would never have bought one if they were much more costly than this. If any more pics are wanted then I promise (really) to post them quickly....

FastRod, you've gotten some very good advice here. I'm going to pass along my $.02, based on both my working on bikes for a number of years and my past experience as a journeyman automotive tech in car dealerships.

First, you can do many/most repairs on a bicycle without the need for a stand. What a stand brings into the picture is convenience, and that can translate into productivity. When I was a teenager, I paid for my first "storebought" bike by working at a small Schwinn shop in my neighborhood. The shop only had one stand, and being the junior employee, it was rare for me to get use of it. So, I learned how to do much on the floor, with the bike either upright or inverted. Most wheel services can be carried out in this manner as can things like gear adjustments, seat/bar adjustments, tightening of cranks, removal or replacement of pedals, etc.

The stand just makes many jobs easier, and therefore sometimes faster. If you are only going to be working on your bike or those of your family, you can probably get by without a stand.

Now, all that said, it may depend how into bicycling you are. Once my friends realized that I knew what I was doing with bike repair, it wasn't long before I was being asked to fix things on their bikes as well. This grew into a money-making venture. It also led to me adapting skills I had learned with bicycles into cars and motorcycles, and eventually work in a car dealer. The bikes went by the wayside for a bit, although I still did ride for recreation.

Through a weird twist of events, I found my way into the IT field. I bought a new bike and started riding more. I began to upgrade the bike. Having the disposable income, I bought a portable Park stand, the PRS-5. I also began investing in my bicycle tool box. A chance meeting with the son and now owner of a bike shop I'd visited as a kid resulted in me doing some IT work for him and receiving parts in exchange. At some point, this grew into a regular Friday night thing where I would come in and help build bikes or facilitate repairs on customer bikes. My portable stand came in real handy. Sadly, a downturn in the economy hurt his business badly and he was eventually forced to close shop.

In my case, that stand and the tools that I invested in turned around helped pay for themselves. In that respect, they were a wise investment. If you invest in a stand and some specialty tools, I would advise that you make use of them in a similar fashion, making money repairing the bikes of friends and neighbors. Get a good manual or two to guide you along and use a number of fine resources on the web.

OK, that should help you to decide whether a stand/tools are a good investment prospect for yourself. Next, let me talk about tools themselves. As you may already have discovered, there can be a wide margin of price between two very similar tools. I'm 58 today, and I have been working with hand (and power) tools since I was ten years old. I have learned a few very basic guidelines about tools in that almost fifty year span. The first lesson that I learned was, that if I needed to use a tool more than twice, I needed to own that tool. Early on, I discovered times where I'd spend half a day hunting down a friend who had a tool that I needed to borrow. That gets old fast! The second lesson that I learned related to quality. I started out like most kids, with relatively cheap tools. It doesn't take too many snapped screwdriver blades and cracked sockets, with possible emergency room visits and things like stitches to quickly teach you the value of a high quality tool! Over the years, I have seen people seriously injured and even one person killed through injury related to working with a sub-standard tool. Spend the money and buy quality tools. Your hands, face, and other parts of your body will thank you! The third lesson that I learned was that, if I bought quality tools, and if I then took good care of those tools, they would last me for a lifetime. Today, I have many tools that I purchased back in the late 1960s or early 1970s that still do the job just as they did when new. To this day, the screwdriver that I use to set float adjustments, air/fuel mixture, and idle speed on Holley four barrel racing carburetors is the first high quality screwdriver I came to own, handed down to me by my mechanical mentor in 1968.

Good luck, and may you have many years of fine riding and wrenching in your future!

All homes should have a bicycle repair stand. Even if you only use the stand for cleaning the bike it's worth it.
Charge your friends to use it for their bikes. Then it's a help for everyone.

I wrote a nice review on my Park Tool PCS-10 (http://breadbike.wordpress.com/2011/12/15/park-tool-pcs-10/) Repair stand, there are also lots of good reasons to get one in there.
Read my Post HERE (http://breadbike.wordpress.com/2011/12/15/park-tool-pcs-10/)

Not an essential piece of equipment, but it sure does make it more convenient. I just spent untold hours overhauling a couple of pawn shop finds for my nephews. I was glad to have a workstand.

O I've bought the bikestand already and i've been using it a lot. I got it off ebay cheap around 99 dollars including free shipping. I've done basic wheel truing and maintence on the bike. I absolutely love it!

Thanks to all the info here, I just bought a PCS-10 from Amazon. Wish I'd have bought it yesterday, it was over $10.00 cheaper. Prices vary from day to day.
Wes