I also use the Pletscher/ESGE/SKS/whatever stand. I got it because I got tired of my bike tipping over whenever I'd start to load beer in the panniers. So far, it works great! It did get a bit tippy one time when I loaded some heavy stuff (maybe it was a 12 pack of bottles) on one side and nothing in the other, but ever since then I've paid attention and it's been fine. I probably ought to trim mine since the front wheel (the nexus 8 makes the bike balance to the rear constantly) is probably about 3-4 inches off the ground. The downside of this is that the front wheel will swing around and when it stops, that can throw the bike off balance.

As far as sand a grit, I noticed the mechanism getting a bit stuff, so I shot some dry lube in there. It was fine for a while. The next time I used a bristle brush to clean it out, then WD40, then this lube I picked up at the local indy auto parts store called "Fluid Film." That worked even better than the dry lube.

The pletscher kick stand seems to be typical German mechanical engineering. Well made, should last a lifetime or two and just works like a hose.