EKW in DC

So, I try to fix as much as I can on my bike on my own. This weekend, that meant tackling the project of readjusting the front derailleur, which had gotten to the point I just left my chain in the middle chainring. Shifting was pointless.

So, I get to working on the project this weekend, when I encountered the problem I so often do. I have no repair stand. Looking around me, since I realized I really needed one for this project, I MacGyvered one up.

I do my repairs in the basement utility room of my apartment building. What I did was to take some abandoned pieces of wood from the corner (1x2s or 1x3s from an Ikea project it looked like) and straddled them across the washing machine and dryer as in the image below, with the top tube resting on the boards. With the boards back by the seat post end of the top tube, it was pretty well balanced and worked remarkably well. The boards even provided a built-in tool tray!

A new co-op closer to home with better hours is set to open soon, so I hope to be able to go there in the future if I really need a stand, or I may try to save up for one of the cheapy fold-up ones from Nashbar, e.g., but I was just curious if anyone else had any improvised repair stand ideas like this they've made work before...?

Should have taken a picture when I was working with it, but here's a diagram of the "stand".

Poor Mans Repair Stand.JPG

justintime

I use a trunk mount bike rack that I no longer use hung from a shelf in the garage. Works really well.

rumrunn6

for outside I tied my car rack to my patio railing with rope. in the basement I clamp a single strong board to my work table. this is convenient because I can slide the bike in and out from the front. do the front or the back and flip the bike for the other side. no picture of the basement setup but this is my back yard deal

Doohickie

They have something like that at my LBS- a trunk mounted rack that has a bases that you can put the rack in to use the rack as a stand. Very cool.

genec

I have used just a couple of J hooks hanging from low garage rafters... holds the handle bar and the seat. I worked on the bike at a standing level.

gerv 

You could try one of these:
https://www.instructables.com/id/hype..._repair_stand/

https://www.instructables.com/id/PVC-...-Repair-Stand/

https://www.bicyclebikes.com/bicycle-...and-plans.html

CB HI

At work:

https://www.bikerackshops.com/PSB-1RBRS.html

At home:

trainer
or
free standing stacked multi-bike storage holder

old's'cool

Along similar lines, I use a cargo strap (the kind you get at sporting goods, i.e. camping/fishing, stores with the sliding buckle that makes the strap into a loop); I loop it over my garage door track and through the bike frame. Viola, instant hoist to get whichever part of the bike I'm working on up to standing level. Last Sunday, I hoisted a bike up by the handlebars, and trued the front wheel I had just built up.

ItsJustMe

There are a number of DIY bike stands on instructables.com - just do a search. They have made them out of PVC, iron pipe, wood, old car racks, etc.

BarracksSi

Cheapest repair stand ever = one that was covered by a gift card that I got from my mom for my birthday.

RogerB

You could have built your own repair stand and then spent the balance of your gift card on something sexier.

enine

I've tried hanging from differnet things but I'm thinking of just buying the clamping head from a repair stand and bolting it to the wall, then I can store the bike there too.

ItsJustMe

A couple of pieces of wood and some simple hardware will make a good clamping stand. Even better, if you have access to a welder, a cheap vice-grip clone and some iron pipe welded to it with a rubber cushion.

texasdiver

Spent my childhood and youth working on my bikes in the garage with a home made repair stand. What I did was just fix two nylon ropes to the rafters spaced about 4' apart with rubber-coated hooks on the ends. Took one hook and hooked it on my seat. Took the other hook, wrapped it around my stem and hooked it to itself. Voila, bike is hanging there in front of me perfectly positioned for repair work.

Now I have a Park stand. But it doesn't really do anything that the old hanging system did. Except that it is more stable when I'm turning the pedals.

mulveyr 

Come on guys, you can't beat the stand here: https://rochester.craigslist.org/bik/1640807498.html

He's been trying to sell it for months. I believe it started out around $50.00. Now he's trying to get $20 for $5 of PVC. :-)

Dzrtrat

ROFL...I'de buy it but I don't have a stair case to lash it to..

BarracksSi

Like what? I already had everything else I needed. Besides, the card was specific to my LBS.

EKW in DC

Lovin' all the PVC and steel pipe DIY racks on instructables. Some actually seem worth the time and the effort! Some even really don't require over $100 in tools that I don't have!

Cool to see what others are doing for stands. I like the car rack idea and some of the wall mounted things. Unfortunately, I'll I've got to work with are cinder block walls which I don't own.

Storage is my main issue, so the wood boards will do in a pinch for now if I can't get to a coop and use their stand.

RogerB

My point (with humorous intent) was the opportunity cost of your decision. This thread is about low-cost bike stand solutions. Obtaining a high-cost stand by laying down gift money is not a cheap solution, as you claim, but is still an expensive solution, when opportunity cost is considered.

Besides, you had everything you needed? Really? What's that like? Consider, for example, the chimeric notion of a "complete set of tools." Everybody knows about it, but nobody has ever actually seen one.

BarracksSi

Everything I need besides an array of BB tools and a headset press.

Out-of-pocket, you can't get any better than "free". Sorry if I don't like nailing things together. Even cheaper than PVC pipe is a nearby tree branch (been there, done that, too).

gerv 

I build a simple wood stand a couple of years ago. It works pretty well (although you should wrap your seat tube with a towel...) Mine is attached to a bench vise, but you could pretty easily bolt it to a wall.

vrkelley

I don't fuss with any stands. More stuff! If you've got a bike rack on the back of your car, it works perfectly. If you've got a portable indoor trainer, they are also nice for wheel repairs. You can sit down and work over the bike.

triplebutted

How much for the cinder block?

triplebutted

Freaking brilliant!!!
McGuyver award!

Moozh

Is there genuine pride in the 'freebie' or are many bicycle riders truly that cash strapped? I ask because I've recently joined and see many instances of dumpster finds, "macguyvering" of this and that and didnt get the clear sense if it out of sheer necessity, fundamental frugality (trying not to say stingy here..) or honest to goodness "I dont have the cash".

I absolutely do not mean to pass any judgment here, just getting to grips with the broader biking culture I suppose and the what and why's.

I just picked up a 'Park tools' bicycle repair stand for a little over $100 and it feels it'll be useful for the next 20-years and as a fellow coming from motorcycling I'm almost giddy with the sense that all the stuff I've recently purchased for the bicycle seem to be "cheap" pleasant surprises compared to the types of expenditures I'm familiar with while "feeding" a motorcycle.