Just bought a Trek FX 7.5. Asked the dealer to install a kickstand. What was installed was a heavy, steel kickstand that I would need to cut to give the bike a little more lean to the side. But what bugged me about it was that it was metal on my new bike's finish.

So my question is, are we stuck with steel kickstands? Is there anything unique out there? Adjustable? Lightweight? With a plastic-coated finish where it clamps on the bike?

I seem to need a kickstand occasionally, as when I ride to a friends and just want to hop off without propping it up next to something. Or when I want to get stuff out of my car, along with the bike itself.

What have you got for a kickstand?

I am a bit puzzled as the primary material for kickstands on the market is alu. Steel is used, in the form of a bent rod, in the lowest end kickstands and, to encounter steel again, you need to go to high-end kickstands. In terms of sturdiness the majority of kickstand offerings in the US is pretty marginal, but your issue is not with the sturdiness. Getting the right balance will always be iffy with single-legged kickstands.

If you want something looking nicer, just go to a store, possibly another one, and peruse what is available. Some single-legged kickstands are adjustable, so that anything that you do in terms of balancing can be reversed. Without a kickstand plate, a center mounted kickstand will always loosen. Crimping of alu chainstays might be an issue. A stand mounted by the rear triangle might hold better but might not hold the bike as well as a center mounted stand.

Every time I've purchased a kickstand the LBS always sells me an aluminum Greenfield, not the heavy steel ones like they have in the BSO section of Wallyworld. I have seen adjustable ones at Wal-Mart though.

I use the greenfield stabalizer. https://www.greenfieldny.com/chart_bicycle.htm

Nice aluminum w/powder coat and plastic finishe protection sleeves included. When had the more traditional bottom bracket mount I would cut an old belt to put a piece of leather to protect the finish. I once had a question about kickstand sizing and fit and emailed greenfield. I received a new size kickstand and a letter signed by Mr. Greenfield pres. Himself pretty cool. Great products. Great customer service from an old American company.

I'm seconding the greenfield stabilizer. They're very nice; I had one on my Trek 520 before I crashed it. Rebuilding my bike on a new frame, I didn't reinstall it (as it doesn't fit easily on my Long Haul Trucker Frame) and don't miss it a bit, but the stabilizer worked very well and didn't harm the finish with reasonably careful installation. They are very convenient for loading stuff into panniers. The stabilizer is very easy to kick open.

The regular Greenfields also are fine if they fit in your frame well, though I think the stabilizer is a little more...stable. You can use old inner tube and/or electrical tape to protect your bike's finish. My local bike coop has a seemingly infinite supply of these for next to nothing.

Greenfield is just a touch above the bottom, identical to hundreds made around the world under different names. For many people in the US Greenfield is the only kickstand they know and for many people that very kickstand is sufficient. I am just trying to fix the record here.

Velo-Orange.com has some pretty fancy aluminum double kickstands, but they look pretty heavy if that's an issue.

https://store.velo-orange.com/index.p...ickstands.html

Also check Rivendell, which has a double stand as well as a relatively lightweight single stand.

https://www.rivbike.com/category-s/335.htm

Swiss Plietcher their 'Zoom' , is a KS with the plastic foot
that attaches to the alloy strut
with 2 small machine screws and some nyloc nuts ,
so it is adjustable in height,
the behind the BB mount is sold thru QBP in the US..

Thanks for the suggestions. I believe my Greenfield kickstand is aluminum, not steel as I had thought. I hack-sawed it to make it shorter. All I need now is to find something to place on the chainstays to keep metal off of metal. But I'm keeping my eye out on nice kickstands.

Just a thought: what if Steve Jobs had designed a kickstand? Would it be innovative?

It'd be white, cost the earth, and not do something basic (like fold away).

Check out click-stand (click-stand.com). We have one for our tandem and absolutely love it. Nobody realizes we have a kickstand until we set it up, and then everybody wants to know about it.

The US market is too meager in that area to become a target of innovation. For the latter+style, you have to look outside and my recent purchase has been a model from this Swedish company.

I saw a bb shell mounted kickstand a while back that had potential, but a moderately thorough internet search failed to bring it up

+1 !!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wondered how long it would be before someone would comment on that.

I'd like to see a way to convert a trekking pole to a click-stand.