I like to wash my Klein more often than my car, it seems. The two tone, powder blue paint job is a beautiful sight. Looking at a messy drive train and greasy crank, makes me cranky.
So I wash my bikes about once a month. My question -it is not acceptable to have kick stands on really classy road bike.
It seems every time I wash my bike or change a flat on the road, I acquire another scratch. I see these scratches it really gauls me.
Does this just happen to all bikes as they age. Any thing with wheels will not remain stationary, even when you want them so. Do you have any luck in scratch prevention, when working on your bike.

If you want to avoid scratches whilse washing the bike, why don't you get a cheap workstand ? To prevent scratching while fixing flats, just turn the bike upside down and rest it on the saddle / grips .

Kickstand ???? = can you get titanium ??, then forget it !, unless you ride a 1970's Dragster or an original Schwinn cruiser !!!!

i'm longing for the day someone builds a quality kick stand. I want something small and light that doesn't look like a kick stand. The best kick stand I ever saw was one of those wide offroad pedals that supported the bike when leaned on the pedal. It was the coolest thing I'd ever seen on a fixed gear.

hey, guess what. I LOVE my greenfield kickstand. check em' out on nashbar.

You can not put a BB-clamp-style kickstand on any aluminum frame bike. It will cause chainstay failure at the point of clamping, and will void the manufacturer warranty. Both Klein and Cannondale state this.

At bikeshops they have small floor stands that they use for display. Something like this may be of use when you wash the bike.

I think Rainman had a thread on some small stands awhile back, you might check his posts.

Also, if your ego can handle it, there are stands that attach to the rear axle which won't mar the paint at the chainstays.

A simple way of keeping your bike upright to wash, would be nailing a few boards together.

my bad. my frame is cr-mo. hmmmmm... looks like i'm going to have to invent a kickstand that disappears when not in use, keeps the bike supremely stable, is extremly lightweight, and does not harm the frame. don't worry, when i make my millions, i'll spread it around.

I've been riding for quite some time, but I just can't quite understand why, now days people just do not want kickstands on their bikes anymore. On the new bike I just got I even had to pay extra for one.

I would not really put a kick stand on my Klein. Just each scratch hurts. Probably should look for a cheap used workstand, since I do not do major repairs my bike at this time.
One of the worst scratches was while standing against bookcase in living room, and rolled when wife unexpectantly walked into it. Ugly scratch that one. Maybe sometimes a klutz, but when upside down during flat repair, has couple times over the years fallen over. I think I know origins of each scratch. Most originated during washing.

The only way to avoid scratches is to treat your bike like a piece of pretty artwork and hang it on the wall, never to be ridden. What's the point in that? If a bicycle is used the way it was meant to be used then scratces are unavoidable.

RE: kickstands. I love 'em!! They are especially useful in large organized events. When there are already 300 bicycles at the quiky-mart it can be really hard to find a leaning space. A kick stand solves the problem.

Bike snobs laugh but I don't care.

RE: chainstay failure. I never thought of that. I have had a kickstand on my aluminum hybrid for over year with no problems. Is it only a problem on certain (thin) aluminum frames or with all of them?

Kickstands can be useful for loading up a shopping or touring bike, and are vital for carrying children, but otherwise, I have never been short of a place to rest my bike, usually locked to a solid object.
On one bike event, many of us leaned out bikes against an iron railing at a checkpoint, but didnt bother to lock them. A very strong and unexpected gust of wind toppled all of them.

The best stand on the market is made by ESGE, but it's no lightweight.
It should be pretty easy to have a braze-on metal tab on the chainstay to attatch a lightweight stand made of tubular steel or al, and its attendant spring. You just have to angle the tab correctly so the stand swivels out as well as down.

The problem with chainstay failure is limited pretty much to the "thin-wall fat-tube" bikes, such as Cannondale and Klein. These type bikes should never have a kickstand clamped to the chainstays, near the BB.

Thank you for clarifying that, Alex.

Mine, BTW is clamped to the chainstay/dropout junction to prevent it from sliding around the chainstay.

Thanks D* Alex. Mine is a thin walled fat tube Klein. So a kick stand is not recommended. Take care of the wash problem and I would have far fewer scratches.
After 7 years a friend who paints cars did a quick re-paint on my first road bike, looks pretty decent for a bike with probably 60,000 miles on it.

by the way, i've had both the ESGE and Greenfield. as far as i can tell they're the same company, the stands seem to be identical. it may be no lightweight on an aluminum frame, but on a cr-mo, it's feather light.

Freds/Phreds have kickstands on their bikes. I would never put a chainstay-squeezing kickstand on any high-quality frame (the Bianchi has no clearance for one, anyway). I can almost always find a wall or a curb against which to park, and I consider a half-kilo weight penalty unacceptable on a sub-10kg bike.

That's an average of almost 8,600 miles per year. Very respectable mileage, cyclezealot!

Interesting that cyclezealot can be pronounced two ways:

cycles-alot

cycle-zealot

Yes, last year was disappointing- I did like 7,800- have to look up in my log to be precise. Year before like 8,700 miles. Do not like dong less from year to year, however guess we have a maximum limit somewhere?
Biggest factor commuting to work, like 200 miles a month. Stuck on day shift now, so can't commute on bike- forces me to buy about 20 gallons of gas a month, I would not have to.Which I resent. At these times of gasoline price gouging in California.
So with this loss- hope I can do at least over 6,000 for the new year. Go back on shift in may. One factor making me crankier than normal. Can't commute to work on bike day shift, start time tooo early.

PS- I have two road bikes and a touring bike. Seems, I am mostly riding my oldest road bike now. A '95 Scott cromoly frame. Like the feel of steel still. Drive train has been re-worked and rides great. New Velocity wheels.
Reason, I ride it so much, besides like the feel of steel. Never whould I put a rack and rack pack on the back of my Klein. Not allowed. Packs are convenient. But do love the feel of my Klein road bike also. The Klein is for more special riding.
Touring bike is used for commuting to work and touring.

If having the bike roll unexpectedly is the problem, Rhode Gear makes a device called the Flick Stand. It is a small band that clamps around the downtube where the front tire is closest. A wire lever hinges down and presses against the tire to keep it from turning. Weights about 2 oz. and works like a champ. Lean your bike up against anything and it will not roll. If you do start rolling the bike forward with some force, the lever folds up. You control how tightly the tire is held by where you position the clamp.

Terry Bicycles has a workstand that looks sort of like a removable kickstand. You might try checking that out.

https://www.terrybicycles.com/BPA/7401400.lasso

Just curious. Would anyone use a portable, light-weight (possibley folding) kickstand? I have designed one but have not built it yet so I'm wondering if there is even a market for such an item. (Still a work in progress)