Workstand Adivce
 

I have decided to buy a workstand to make life easier as I am tired of working on the bike upside down. I have heard a lot of good and bad about everything that is not Park. I have scoured CL for over 2 months and nothing has come up. I guess that I will go new instead since I have no choice. My immediate need is to remove my mtb groupset and put a new one on there. That will be about the most severe thing that I do. I am sure that it will be routine maintenance for the most part.
Thus, I have narrowed it down to these 3 and would like some advice:
1) Spin Doctor Pro G3 Work Stand
I would not pay retail for this one. I would wait on one of their better sales and pull the trigger.
2) Park Tool PCS-10 Home Mechanic Work Stand
I have seen this for less on places like Amazon.
3) Feedback Sports Sport-Mechanic Repair Stand


I have seen all of these but never used any of them. They all look good but the Feedback sports looks like the most well made to me. Since I have never used any of them, I thought that I would check with those that have.

I have a cheap workstand ($70) which I built 2 bikes on and have one endless repairs on. However, in that price range, I'd probably go for the Feedback Sports one. It's the one the guy who owns one of our LBS use when he's doing ride support, and with Nashbar's 25% off, the cheapest.

park PCS 10 Solid, works great. Best tool investment for bikes I have made.

I have the Park PCS-10, and I love it. I wouldn't trade it for either of the other stands that are listed. The clamp is easier to use, and easier to position, and I like the QR clamps for adjusting the height of the clamp head.

IMO the Park is the nicest of the three because of the clamp; it's faster to use. I have an old Ultimate stand, which is the company acquired by Feedback. I use it at home. The Performance stand is fine as well; we have one at the co-op which we have used as a back-up when we're really busy. The one thing I don't like about portable stands is that they are all a bit wobbly ... I'm spoiled from using Park's shop stands. :thumb:

I have a Park Tool PCS-9, a slightly more basic version of the PCS-10, and love the thing. The biggest difference between the 9 and 10 are the quick releases for the clamp and height adjustment on the PCS-10. While I can see how those would be handy, the ones on the PCS-9 are perfectly functional and I saved 40 bucks.

Along with a stand, I'd recommend picking up (or improvising) something like the Park Tool HBH-2 handlebar holder as well, to keep the bike's front wheel from flopping around when the bike is clamped in the stand.

I agree with this. As nice as these portable stands are, they just can't compete with shop stands. I have a Cinelli shop stand that purchased over 30 years ago and it is stable. It doesn't have the bells and whistles of my Feedback Ultimate repair stand which I love for the portability.

To the OP, I think all the stands you linked are good, you can't lose with any of them. Once you get it you will wonder how you lived life without it.

I use this one;

https://www.feedbacksports.com/shop/...al-work-stand/

It gets the job done, and folds away easily, but lacks a quick-release clamp.

I'm a cheapskate, and not willing to pay any of those prices. Sometime this year I will be buying myself this or that. Probably the 2-leg one because, you know, 2-legs good, 4-legs bad. Or something like that.

I bought one of these used and love it. Solid construction. Stable in use (I've worked on bikes from 16 to 30 lbs with it). Folds up nice and compact for storage. The clamp isn't as quick and easy as the Park, but since I have to pull the stand out and set it up each time I use it, a few more seconds spinning down the clamp really doesn't matter.

I have a Feedback stand I've used for many years and am very satisfied with it. It's adjustable, sturdy and fold up easily for storage. The clamp will hold the bike by the frame tubes (steel and Ti) or by the seatpost (Al and Carbon) and can rotate the frame 360° for convenience. That said, the Park stands all have a great reputation so they would also be a good choice.

BTW, yes, a shop stand is indeed better to work with, if you have a permanent shop set up. Otherwise they are bulky, heavy and take up a lot of floor space which most of us with ad-hoc shop areas can't dedicate to them.

No stand is better than a cheap stand.

Interpret that how you will. :D

I bought a "Bike Hand" stand on Amazon for about $55-60. it's got thicker tubing than the other cheap stands, and the clamp, while mostly plastic, is pretty beefy. Best deal I've found.

I have the Park PCS-10.

Bought it off a Craigslist Seller for $90. It looks like new, and it came with the Optional Tool Tray.

For $90 I doubt that you find a better stand.

If price is a factor, I'd recommend looking on Craigslist and waiting until a good stand pops up. Then, run to the Seller with cash.

Also use the Bike Hand here. Works great. In fact, I store the bike in the stand.

scott s.
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I've had a Park PCS-10 for about 5 years now and love it! The only thing I'd change, if I could, would be for Park to make a really good quality aluminum tool/parts tray holder to affix to the top of the stand. I made my own with bolts and plywood. Works pretty good though.

However, if I had it all to do over again I'd save-up my money for a while longer and get a Park Pro model.

+1 I have a feedback stand and am a big fan.

+1 on feedback recreational stand. While the legs that form the tripod are not as stable as an expensive stand, I have been able to build up a bike from the frame and parts with it.

My only experience is with the PCS-10. I wish I'd have bought it faaar sooner than I did.

yeah this is the one I have. I hesistate to recommended it, because it has its quirks and obvious quality issues, but at the end of the day it works fine.

Park PCS-10. We have one at work, and at home I have the Spin Doctor G3.

The Park has a better clamp, doesn't tend to rotate about its yaw axis, and is easier to adjust around its pitch axis when there's a bike mounted.

The Park isn't enough better for me to get rid of the G3, but I'd pay a lot more for one if I was buying new.

I waited for a Park shop stand to come up on Craigslist.

Doesn't fold of course.

IME, the majority of the time, the saddle nose just hangs over the body of the clamp,

so one that does this well is a good idea.


http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=518310

PCS-10 here. It's a great stand, is really stable and adjusts easily, but I have a couple of complaints: it's REALLY heavy, being steel; the head doesn't fold out of the way for transport. These two things together make it more difficult to transport than the aluminum feedback stands. Other than these two little issues, it's a great stand with a truly excellent clamp. I got mine on sale at performance bike, plus points, for $110--and for that money it's a complete steal.

Do you have a trainer that you ride on indoors? In a pinch you can do a lot of repairs on that rather than having the bike upside down while you wait for a good deal to pop up on craigslist. You have to squat and the fork stand I can put on my rollers makes it a bit easier for most things than a trainer where you clamp in the rear wheel, but it's a doable short term solution (long term, I wouldn't give up my PCS-10 though).

I agree with techsensei, the Park clamp is pretty good. I have an older version of the Deluxe Home Shop version (similar to the PCS-4, but the center tube can slide up and down, which is great cuz I'm 6'2" and the extra height makes work more comfortable). Like others above, I lurked on eBay and on Craigslist and got mine for about half retail. But I'm what economists call an "optimizer". If you want something that will make your life better, now, you should be a "satisficer". For that, it sounds like you've IDed three good choices.

I used to use the Park shop stands (so I'm spoiled, as another poster alluded to). The Park I got is very close in stability to that old shop stand. I've never been dissapointed by a Park tool.