UmneyDurak

After reading this post only people who "rag", "rant", etc are people WITH kickstands. Of course they also add idiotic things like "Lance Wanabe", and "I drop all those people without kickstand." Insecure are we?

vtjim

No, just mature.

djSlvt

STYLING IS EVERYTHING... I rather have a cool bike, look buff, and ride in style. I WANT to ride in style.


I can ride like a hick or a nerd, I can, but I choose not to.


I choose to ride in style.


Try to top that off, sheep.

UmneyDurak

Right...

why2not

Dj, you're my favorite poster & I like to read your take on things. Sometimes I get it a little confused though.

Because of this, I recal you saying something like "Reality is in my head, I live in my own reality & like it there."

In that case, wouldn't you care less about styling? I mean, styling is to appear attractive, which you don't need to worry about because that's worring about external reality, when you're living in your own reality.

It seems to be at odds. Please make it make sense for me!

caloso

Only on the beater. Its main job is to haul the kids' trailer, and it's much easier to get them loaded up with the bike standing on its kickstand.

franklen

I took the kickstand off my used bike when I got it, and traded it in for a U-lock. Now whenever I go somewhere I find a place to lock my bike up to if I am not riding it. If I can't find a convenient spot, then I move somewhere else, and voila the lock-to item (fence, tree, rack, picnic table, other bike, etc, etc) in effect becomes my kickstand! In the rare instances I am not in a position to find a suitable lock-up item, or just making a quick stop, I keep my bike with me, between my legs, or laid at my side. It certainly won't harm the bugger to feel the dirt or grass on it's side now and again. It also seems to me that kickstands only work in certain conditions, like level, flat, sturdy ground. Any site sloping or soft (wet lawn) can cause a problem from my recollections of using a kickstand a few times in my childhood. I don't think the weight issue is that big of a deal either, but really you can't compare the added weight of water (a neccessity) to that of a kickstand (an option in most people's minds). Every little item adds weight, and we all make our personal choices as to what weight we want to cart around with us.

wrafl

I do have kickstand on both of my bikes. It never bothered me while riding and keep the bikes proud when upright on it's stand when it's not being used. Besides, I don't think I bike should be laid on it's side on the ground or leaned against a wall that could scratch the finish of the saddle.

slowandsteady

What about concrete and gravel? I have an MTB with a kickstand. Having a kickstand is much better than laying the bike down in a pile of rocks. There is a reason that my 14 year old MTB has very few scratches on it.

franklen

dang, that must be one heck of a kickstand to balance your bike properly on a "pile of rocks"

Is this concrete and gravel surface you speak of in the middle of a flat and featureless area with nothing to prop your bike against?

AlmostTrick

Yep. I have a handful of old Schwinns with the built in kickstand. They are very sturdy, never rattle and often come in handy. As mentioned already, a bicycle standing proudly on its own can be a beautiful thing. Then again I would sooner stab myself in the heart with a kickstand, than put one on some of my other bikes.

franklen

This in my opinion is the only legitimate practical reason I have read on here yet for regularly needing to have a kickstand. I can actually picture the problems in my mind of trying to load the trailer while holding the bike upright!

djSlvt

@ why2not... You misunderstood.



Reality A:
Reality B:

Reality YOU:
Reality ME:

In YOU land..... You take things at face value.. In djSlvtville.... We don't play this nerd still a baby can't think straight $h!*.. You need, I emphasize NEED, to get the FUX out of my face.

slowandsteady

Some areas are flat, some are very hilly, some have trees, some don't, some are paved, some have small gravel, some have big rocks. If I ride my bike on the roads where I live for example, there are no trees for miles on end(farm land), with nothing but gravel shoulders and tar and chip roads. My road bike has no kickstand and it has fallen over more times in a year than my MTB has in 14 years with a kickstand.

There isn't always a good place to lean your bike. And what if I go to the store where the only thing to prop my bike up agaisnt is a stucco pillar or wall? I can't think of a single store or bank in my area that is not either stucco or brick. Only one actually has a bike rack(CVS).


How about doing charity rides where all the good trees/bike stands are taken and you are left laying your bike down in a parking lot while you stand in line at the porta john?

wulery

You need, NEED, therapy.

fuerein

For one, I'm running 700c slicks on my bike. I have no clue what I'd be doing on gravel with those tires. As for concrete, what about it?? I have yet to lay my bike on it's side. There is always a tree, sign post, bike rack, meter, wall, etc. that I can lean the bike against.

slowandsteady

I have two bikes. One is a MTB and one is a road bike. And one of them sees gravel trails. The other one goes on roads with a gravel shoulder with an occasional rare tree. Of course I don't ride my road bike on gravel, but if I want to pull over my only option is to lay it down in the gravel shoulder. There is one stretch of road that I ride on that has two trees in 5 miles. And guess what? Both of those trees are covered in poison ivy. Cruel irony I suppose.

At least for me, there isn't always something to lean it against. And when there is, it might be covered in stucco which is basically a really rough sand paper and not the best thing to keep that paint sparkling new.

Cosmoline

Exhibit A, boyos, in support of my arguments about the no kickstand crowd

Seriously, I understand you can usually set it against a wall. But for those of us who live without cars and commute to work, this gets a good deal more tricky. I start setting my bike against my boss's walls and I'm in trouble. I often find that it won't fit properly in the stupid little bike racks outside of stores. So I put down the kickstand and let it stand apart, with only the cable connecting it. I have yet to have anyone knock it over. Finally, when I'm loading or unloading my bike it's very nice to have the stability of a kickstand.

Exactly. And even if there is, it's usually a whole lot easier to just pop the kickstand down.

Allen

My works bikes always have kick stands. My Salsa does not have one attached to the frame, but I do use a click-stand. My Voodoo does not have a kickstand, but it's about to be temporarily reassigned to duty as my heavy hauler while my current build is finished up, and will be forced to have a kickstand, a rack, and even fenders.

JR97

This thread makes me want to put two kickstands on my bike.

CommuterRun

I have a kickstand on one of my bikes. Like having a mirror, it's useful, but not really necessary.

slowandsteady

Need is relative anyway. You don't need gears either. You don't need that second wheel. Handlebar tape, who needs it? I don't need clipless pedals but I have them. I don't need $50 tires.

Isn't about 90% of what we have on the bike just optional accessories that make it easier, faster or more fun? And what we need depends on our situation and what we value. I don't understand why people think some accessories are "wrong."

Flak

Then i would argue you don't really mtn bike.

Kickstands on mtb bikes (that actually get ridden as such) are a danger. They come down and snag on stuff causing a loss of control. Kick stands on road bikes add weight.

If someone handed me a kickstand today for free i'd probably put it on my commuter, but ive never had any issues with leaning bike bike on stuff.

CommuterRun

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy, Hoss. Take a breath.

What I meant was it's not a show stopper to not have one, you can still ride without it. Of course if someone just wants one, that's cool too. Rock it out.

I never said having accessories was wrong, and don't know where you think you found that.
Actually I have 5 bikes, 2 with bar mounted mirrors on them, 2 with a kickstand, 1 with a rear rack, 1 with all three, 3 trailers, 4 headlights, 6 taillights, 2 lighted reflective vests, a bunch of different kinds of bags to haul stuff in, etc. Only one computer and one GPS though. The computer stays mounted on my road bike and the GPS gets swapped around on the other bikes.

Nermal

I use a kickstand on both bikes. If I'm parking by something really suited to leaning, I will lean. Still, if you lay the bike on the ground, there's just no way it's going to fall over. If I must park in soft sand, I'll lay it down before I'll trust the kickstand.