Topeak Flashstand warning
#26
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I don't have a dog in this fight but I don't understand how this is being used for storage. It seems to lift just one wheel off the ground, correct? Is there a benefit to storing bikes this way? I usually just hang the bikes I'm not using up in the rafters.
#27
Bike ≠ Car ≠ Ped.
#28
Bike ≠ Car ≠ Ped.
The product is sold as a portable tune-up stand, not a storage device. The instructions would have no caveats about length of use since the intended purpose of the product (portable tune-up) would preclude any reasonable person from expecting someone would have a bike on the stand for more than an hour or so.
https://www.topeak.com/products/Stora...lay/FlashStand
Originally Posted by Topeak
The Ultimate portable tune-up stand. Great for keeping in the car or for travel. You could even take it on a bike tour. It also comes with it’s own storage bag!
#29
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Sigh!
I'm living in a rented house, and I have 6 bikes in a small shed. 3 of them have kickstands but the other 3 needed a way to stand upright. After looking at all the options, these seemed like a good solution.
One does not expect a BIKE STAND to mar the bike finish. PERIOD.
I suggest that many of the antagonistic comments here are from people who sell this item, or own it and only use it occasionally (if ever), or who have some emotional attachment to other Topeak products. Give it a rest please. Or at least give your hand a rest and save me from reading your tripe.
I'm living in a rented house, and I have 6 bikes in a small shed. 3 of them have kickstands but the other 3 needed a way to stand upright. After looking at all the options, these seemed like a good solution.
One does not expect a BIKE STAND to mar the bike finish. PERIOD.
I suggest that many of the antagonistic comments here are from people who sell this item, or own it and only use it occasionally (if ever), or who have some emotional attachment to other Topeak products. Give it a rest please. Or at least give your hand a rest and save me from reading your tripe.
#30
Bike ≠ Car ≠ Ped.
One does not expect a "portable tune-up stand" to be sitting around holding a bike for several months.
Actually, if I tried using stands to hold up my bikes, I wouldn't have room to walk through my apartment. They lean on each other up against the wall.
Again, not even Topeak says it's a storage stand, and they're the ones who sell it.
Actually, if I tried using stands to hold up my bikes, I wouldn't have room to walk through my apartment. They lean on each other up against the wall.
Again, not even Topeak says it's a storage stand, and they're the ones who sell it.
#31
Cycle Year Round
Prior to Topeak being bought out by Todson, Inc., they had good customer service. My experience with Todson, Inc. was - no free parts for a new pump which the head failed, $10 PLUS shipping to fix the pump. Although I like Topeak, next time I will take my business to a company that still has better customer service than Todson, Inc.
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#32
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Your precisely the type of consumer that causes manufacturers to use the cheapest materials they can... This stand is less than $40 MSRP and yet you chose to buy from a non-authorized discount dealer to save a few more dollars... clearly demonstrating that all the manufacturer would have seen from a better designed product is a lower profit...
Regardless, it's a manufacturer issue and if it were my bike I'd be pissed too. Yeah, it wasn't it's intended use but what he did use it for wasn't out of scope either. Not like he bought a bike stand to support a car and then whined about it.
I dunno... neither party is without sin here I think, although I tend to side with the OP. Some kind of compromise out of Topeak would be fair. I'd try to buff it out first though as others have suggested.
Last edited by CCrew; 12-09-10 at 07:59 PM.
#33
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Sigh!
I'm living in a rented house, and I have 6 bikes in a small shed. 3 of them have kickstands but the other 3 needed a way to stand upright. After looking at all the options, these seemed like a good solution.
One does not expect a BIKE STAND to mar the bike finish. PERIOD.
I suggest that many of the antagonistic comments here are from people who sell this item, or own it and only use it occasionally (if ever), or who have some emotional attachment to other Topeak products. Give it a rest please. Or at least give your hand a rest and save me from reading your tripe.
I'm living in a rented house, and I have 6 bikes in a small shed. 3 of them have kickstands but the other 3 needed a way to stand upright. After looking at all the options, these seemed like a good solution.
One does not expect a BIKE STAND to mar the bike finish. PERIOD.
I suggest that many of the antagonistic comments here are from people who sell this item, or own it and only use it occasionally (if ever), or who have some emotional attachment to other Topeak products. Give it a rest please. Or at least give your hand a rest and save me from reading your tripe.
#34
You gonna eat that?
I love all the posts telling me this is my fault. That's why I generally avoid forums. The signal to noise ratio is far too low. Please note that had Topeak used a proper sleeve on the tool, there would have been no damage and I would not have started this thread.
There is nothing in the product instructions saying that it cannot be deployed for long-term use. Therefore, there is nothing wrong with assuming that a Flashstand can be used long-term, and I cannot be held responsible for the damage.
Staggerwing, you make a sensible comment (one of the few here). I intend to purchase some Meguiar's Scratch-X to try out. It's possible that the mild abrasives in this product will lift the bonded layer off the clearcoat without penetrating through the clearcoat.
There is nothing in the product instructions saying that it cannot be deployed for long-term use. Therefore, there is nothing wrong with assuming that a Flashstand can be used long-term, and I cannot be held responsible for the damage.
Staggerwing, you make a sensible comment (one of the few here). I intend to purchase some Meguiar's Scratch-X to try out. It's possible that the mild abrasives in this product will lift the bonded layer off the clearcoat without penetrating through the clearcoat.
If that doesn't work, Scratch-X will do the trick. Note that for it to work properly you have to rub hard enough to make the area warm, almost hot. I find it difficult to believe that a comparable product isn't locally available. It's not magic, it's just an automotive rubbing compound.
But... it's JUST A BIKE. Even if you never get the mark off, it's not that big a deal. It's a bike, not a museum piece. The only person who would ever notice such an inconspicuous mark is you.
#35
Senior Member
I'd be a little bummed at getting a mark on my new bike, too. But then I'd try to buff it out, and if that didn't work I'd put some clear nail polish on it and go for a ride. Blaming Topeak isn't really fair; even if you'd put a soft cloth at the contact point, you probably would have seen some abrasion. I've got a for-real bike stand, the kind you slip your rear wheel into. Holds 6, which is just about right. Nothing touching the paint, therefore no scratches.
#36
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Actually your argument doesn't hold water. Whether he bought it from an eBay seller or a local Bike shop both more than likely paid the same wholesale price to get it for resale. Topeak made the same money regardless. Only person that lost the profit was whoever had the highest markup-that he didn't buy it from. That wasn't Topeak.
Regardless, it's a manufacturer issue and if it were my bike I'd be pissed too. Yeah, it wasn't it's intended use but what he did use it for wasn't out of scope either. Not like he bought a bike stand to support a car and then whined about it.
I dunno... neither party is without sin here I think, although I tend to side with the OP. Some kind of compromise out of Topeak would be fair. I'd try to buff it out first though as others have suggested.
Regardless, it's a manufacturer issue and if it were my bike I'd be pissed too. Yeah, it wasn't it's intended use but what he did use it for wasn't out of scope either. Not like he bought a bike stand to support a car and then whined about it.
I dunno... neither party is without sin here I think, although I tend to side with the OP. Some kind of compromise out of Topeak would be fair. I'd try to buff it out first though as others have suggested.
Further, discount sellers on ebay may well have gotten seconds and discards, rather than QA/QC'd parts delivered to the normal distribution chain. That is why what may well be a perfectly good product performs poorly or has issues. What the OP hasn't bothered sharing is the wording of the warranty included with the product literature... In many cases, such warranties exclude damage caused by not-approved uses and almost certainly limit damages to something reasonable considering the cost of the product. And for certain items (cameras come to mind) they specifically void the warranty on gray market (not purchased through approved distribution chain).
The bottom line is the OP made a series of mistakes, had a bad consequence from those mistakes, and now is mad because someone else won't take responsibility for HIS mistakes...
Oh, and in my case at least the OP is wrong to claim I have some business relationship with TOPEAK or this product... I don't, though I admittedly own a couple of TOPEAK products with which I am satisfied.
#37
Senior Member
I think its more important to be concern yourself with the proper lubrication of chain, derailers, adjustment of brakes, etc. than to worry about the paint. So long as it's not corroding.
#38
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The bottom line is the OP made a series of mistakes, had a bad consequence from those mistakes
1) Buying a topeak flashstand
2) engaging the aments like you in this forum in conversation
cheers, I'm out
#39
Bike ≠ Car ≠ Ped.
Thank goodness this is done. Go get a storage stand that's actually intended for long-term parking.
https://www.amazon.com/Swagman-Bicycl...2080341&sr=1-3
https://www.bicyclebuys.com/item/0130008/mostPop4
https://www.bicyclebuys.com/item/0129919/mostPop4
https://www.bicyclebuys.com/item/0130012/R3
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...3N5RK4E2BZHV8N
https://www.amazon.com/Delta-Rothko-R...080341&sr=1-13
https://www.amazon.com/Swagman-Bicycl...2080341&sr=1-3
https://www.bicyclebuys.com/item/0130008/mostPop4
https://www.bicyclebuys.com/item/0129919/mostPop4
https://www.bicyclebuys.com/item/0130012/R3
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...3N5RK4E2BZHV8N
https://www.amazon.com/Delta-Rothko-R...080341&sr=1-13
#40
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1) Whining about misuse of the Flashstand
2) Not being able to 'man up' for his mistake
Last edited by badamsjr; 12-12-10 at 09:15 PM.
#41
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I bought one several years ago, and have used it for the advertised purpose. It's not any more than a quick stand. A kick stand without a permanent attachment to the bike I would say. Works in a pinch. Expecting anything more out of it is wishful thinking. No real complaints about ...in other words "you get what you pay for."
#42
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Many plastics intended to be soft enough to avoid scratching a delicate paint job will have enough plasticizers in them that they can react with some finishes if left in contact for a long time. It sounds like Topeak picked a material suited for its intended purpose -- holding the bike frame temporarily during tune-ups without scratching the frame.
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#45
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Actually a bike stand can do much worse damage IF USED IMPROPERLY. Have you ever seen a stand crimp a top tube? Why you think they put a rag over the tubing before clamping it. Similarly my greenfield kickstand will crush the chainstays if it is not used properly.
IMO you used this device outside of its intended purpose.
And no, I do not sell or own this product, have no stock in topeak, nor do I work for them.