And another reason for a kickstand or at least this style of kickstand; http://www.amazon.com/Pletscher-Two-...cher+kickstand is that it makes field servicing MUCH EASIER and less likely to scratch the bicycle. With these stands it is easy to remove front or rear wheel for servicing as well as derailleur or other adjustments that simply can't be accomplished by leaning the bike against a tree. Oh, and for some of us, trees are simply not all that common.


While a kickstand may add a little weight, in the vast majority of cases concern over weight should start with the bicycle's engine rather than other components whose weight savings are almost always less than 1% of the engines weight. For instance, kickstands can easily weight less than one pound, while virtually all of the bicycle engines exceed 100 pounds and many can approach twice that.