Wogster

I am thinking of setting up a work area in the cellar, so I can do some tuneups and other nonsense down there, it's a completely unfinished space in a 100+ year old house, I rent so I just want to be able to do a little work down there over the winter, temperature is not an issue, given the number of heating pipes down there.

I can't afford to add a bike stand, so I am wondering about installing a few hooks and then suspending bikes from the ceiling to work on them, thinking a length of chain that would catch under the top tube, at each end with some rag around to protect the finish, yeah I know it will be able to move a little, that is okay. Suspended I can move around the bike without moving the bike. Since some of the bikes here have slanted top tubes (parish the thought, I know), it can be adjusted so that bike is still the right height to work on, and can be raised or lowered a link at a time. I will probably get a work light to provide some more illumination, since it is a little dingy. I can then give each bike a good tuneup over the winter and get them ready for spring.....

Comments?

wrk101

Suspended even by a rope would be OK, but not ideal. Portable light is a very good idea, most will give off a little heat which should be nice too.

Don't give up on a workstand yet. I have picked up several good workstands off C/L, anywhere from FREE to $50 (OK I paid more for a PRS2 professional stand, but my other stands were all $50 or less). The free one was a $300 stand that the owner had taken apart, and couldn't figure out how to put back together (he disassembled a fairly complicated mast, into each little nut/bolt washer/bearing/etc. Took me about 45 minutes to get it back together. I am still using that stand quite a bit. Saw one on C/L last week for $20, someone got to it sooner than me.

I would post a WTB workstand in your local C/L.

Of all my tools, my top priorities are a good work stand, a good chain tool, and a good cable cutter. The other tools to me are less critical. The only tool on that list that I bought new was a Parks CT-3 chain tool. Over time, I have accumulated a variety of bike specific tools on a as needed (or thought I needed anyway) basis.

Happy hunting.

Oldpeddaller

Agree with Bill about the work stand, but the chains sound like a good idea. Rather than padding with rag, I use some pieces of foam pipe insulation that fits over chains. My chains are for security but the principle is the same. You are lucky having a cellar, I'd love to have one. At present I would have to dig my way through snow to get to my frozen bike workshop (a detached garage). It's also more secure and easy to just pop down to do a few minutes work between other jobs. Hope it works out well for you.

Thumpic

if it's a 100+ year old cellar; chains and hooks may already be there!.....

Old Fat Guy

A good work stand lasts forever. First thing I bought when I started working on bikes seriously. The rope/hook thing basically sucks, been there.

Buy the best stand you can afford. I suggest a Feedback Pro Elite. Worth every penny.

SteveSGP

I've been using a cheap tool cart with padded rails and a pair of hooks in the rafters with inexpensive ratchet straps and alternate between bungy cording the bike to the cart or hanging it from the hooks, works pretty well for the most part.

roccobike

Before I bought a work stand, I bought an inexpensive double hook affair from Ace Hardware. The unit has two arms that project from a base that you attach to wood with screws. The arms stretch out to form a "Y" and you put the bike on the end of the "Y". Cost is around $10.

Found it:
https://www.acehardware.com/product/i...Id=50401008484

Wogster

No hooks or chains, if there were I would just use them.... But the original coal fired boiler is there, a huge hunk of iron that weighs in around a ton or so, the reason it's still there is that it would have cost too much to have someone cut it apart with a torch and haul the pieces out of there in the 1950's when they switched to oil. The newest boiler is 5 years old, and is about the size of a 2 drawer filing cabinet cut in half, it's a high efficiency natural gas unit, hung on a wall. It's funny to see this tiny boiler that feeds into this massive cast iron manifold that is about 10 times it's size....

No chains or hooks, if there were I would just use the ones that are there

Mike Mills

I would not use anything hard like a chain. It is a disaster waiting to happen. Get a set of Ancra tie-downs. They come with a hook on each end and are easily adjusted for length. You can use the strap, itself to hold the bike.

Otis

I could never understand what you could actually work on while a bike was swinging from the ceiling? Your not going to get a pedal off, remove a fixed cup, or wrap your bars, that's for sure. Maybe some light dusting?

But there are cheap alternatives to a proper workstand. A wooden saw horse (which you can make from a free pallet or two) with one of those "roof-rack" type clamps (the type with a hub Q/R that the forks fit on. Makes a good work stand if you get the geometry right. The rear wheel can stay on and hang over the back, and you can use a toe-strap around DT at the BB shell to hold the bike in place. There's many old pics of Euro work stands built like this, and if you are handy could build one for under ten bucks.

A large Jorgenson wood-workers clamp with a 1" hole bored center on the clamps is also good for holding a frame or seat-post and the whole clamp can be held in a bench vise to get the bike off the ground. I did that for a couple of years before I had the funds to get a pro stand. I still use it all the time to hold bars/stems, seat-post polishing, etc.

sailorbenjamin

I used rope to hang my bikes. There's a lot you can't do but you can bring the deraillers up to eye level and watch them shift and stuff like that.

RobbieTunes

An old trainer that holds the front fork works pretty well, up on a table for lower end stuff, on the floor for great access to bars, seat posts, saddles, etc. I can wrap a bar a lot faster with the bike on a floor stand and a bungee cord between the wheels to keep it straight.

treebound 

Run a google type search for:
Cheap bicycle workstand
and you'll get all sorts of ideas

https://s.wiggle.co.uk/images/tacx%20...0workstand.jpg

noglider 

What might happen?

Tom

auchencrow

+1. Your workstand is the best tool investment you can make, so get the best one you can afford, whether it's a ProElite or otherwise.

BluesDaddy

You definitely want a work stand the holds the bike rigidly by the seatpost. That is the standard because it works. You can't easily work on a swaying, swinging bike. I have come up with the ultimate cheapo solution. Take an old 2X4 and cut a seatpost-sized notch near one end. Securely mount the 2X4 so it is horizontal. I have mine clamped to a plastic garage shelving unit. Then use a C-clamp (padded with a bit of cardboard) to clamp the seatpost into the notch. I've been using this setup for nearly 10 years.

Mike Mills

Oh, I was thinking of scratched paint, or scratched aluminum or a dented tube. You never know what Murphy has in store for you. Mostly, I'd say use something soft, so nothing can happen.

buldogge

Although I have a workstand, I also set-up an alternative in my basement.

If you have a scrap 4x4 and a 2x4 and maybe a 24" square of plywood you can build something reasonably stable.

I ran the 4x4 up to the joists with the plywood square as the "base". Then, I cut (2) 2x4 24" lengths and ran them parallel on either side of the 4x4 at chest height.

Stick the bike or frame on the 2x4 crossbars (with a layer of pipe insulation on top of the 2x4s) and use a rubber coated quik-clamp to secure it.

Not ideal, but I have built several of my bikes using this "stand".

snarkypup

As a teacher, I just keep reading the title of this thread wrong.

WNG

If you're going to use chains, might I suggest covering the lengths of chain with old inner tubes to protect the frameset. I personally use cargo tie downs from Harbor Freight. Nylon straps, adjustable length, and vinyl covered hooks at both ends. About $5 per set on sale. They make great portable temporary bike work lifts. Suspending a bike from above with rope/straps/hooks, is an age old tradition used by many and even old shops. So, if you only think dusting a bike is all you can do, then your experience or skill set is limited. I've worked on BBs, installed headsets, trued some wheels, and built up whole bikes this way. There are some useful ideas posted here, and home made stands in another thread. If you don't have plans for a work stand in the near future, then any alternative to help work on your bikes that much better is worth doing. Some folks have hung their trunk or spare tire-mounted bike carrier to a post, as a work stand. I personally created a ceiling mounted work 'stand' from 1" conduit and brackets. Floor space is a premium for me in my garage, and can't justify a traditional stand.

DRietz

WNG: Any pictures of your current set up? Sounds interesting.

randyjawa 

Now is a great time to share pictures of your home made work stands. I need a few more work stands for Bicycles for Humanity work shop and I have been toying with the idea of building them out of two by fours.

So, share your ideas. Ropes are just fine and I use them myself, when no stand is available, but my guess is at least one of us has a pretty decent home made stand and I would like to see it.

wrk101

Double check that old boiler. I had an old coal fired boiler in the basement of a 1906 house I restored. The thing was huge! All cast iron. But it turned out to be built in sections, each section was about 8 inches thick as I recall. I unbolted the sections, and moved each section out with a handtruck. Really gave me a lot of space. I replaced it with a modern hot water boiler, about the size of a trash compactor.

Wogster

I've had a good look at it, it's one piece, although it takes up a lot of space, the cellar is unfinished and the space is quite large, so even with that boiler there and the massive size of it, it's not in the way.... I'll see about picking up some chain today, not sure if I should go with 1 piece about 15' long, or 2 pieces 6' long. 15' would be heavier, but could be used as part of a bike locking system in the shed in the summer, then again 2 chains could still be used for locking, just need a second lock.....

gerv 

Would this work? If the cellar has studs exposed, you might be able to create a triangle with some like this: