Originally Posted by
kaimat
I saw lots of pictures of people using their PCS-10 to grab their bikes by the top bar and not the seat post--is one way better than the other?
Unless you`re dealing with a junker, the seatpost is the best choice for a number of reasons:
(A) The finish on the seatpost is impossible to damage by clamping, The bicycle tubes often have decals that can be damaged by clamping, and particularly on new bikes, the paint can still be a little soft if right from the factory. Even if the paint ia a two part catalyst system.
(B) The normal reason a bike is put in a work stand is - to work on it. And the most common tasks are tune-ups and flat tires.
OK - so considering that most bikes have cable runs on the toptube, clamping the bike by the top tube would squeeze/trap the cables and impede or prevent optimal adjustment of both the brakes and the shifters. In some cases it might also prevent the rear brake from being easily disconnected to simply remove the rear wheel to fix a flat.
Thats my take on things anyway.