I don't have a dog in this fight but I don't understand how this is being used for storage. It seems to lift just one wheel off the ground, correct? Is there a benefit to storing bikes this way? I usually just hang the bikes I'm not using up in the rafters.

..... You're talking about the mark on the bike, right?.. ;) :p

Exactly.
http://www.topeak.com/products/Stora...lay/FlashStand
So, yeah, I could see keeping it in the trunk of the car, or maybe even packed in the bike box on the plane to help in reassembling a bike on a trip. Storage? Nah. Definitely better solutions out there than this. Buy the right tool for the job and quit yer *****in'.

Sigh!

I'm living in a rented house, and I have 6 bikes in a small shed. 3 of them have kickstands but the other 3 needed a way to stand upright. After looking at all the options, these seemed like a good solution.

One does not expect a BIKE STAND to mar the bike finish. PERIOD.

I suggest that many of the antagonistic comments here are from people who sell this item, or own it and only use it occasionally (if ever), or who have some emotional attachment to other Topeak products. Give it a rest please. Or at least give your hand a rest and save me from reading your tripe.

One does not expect a "portable tune-up stand" to be sitting around holding a bike for several months.

Actually, if I tried using stands to hold up my bikes, I wouldn't have room to walk through my apartment. They lean on each other up against the wall.

Again, not even Topeak says it's a storage stand, and they're the ones who sell it.

Prior to Topeak being bought out by Todson, Inc., they had good customer service. My experience with Todson, Inc. was - no free parts for a new pump which the head failed, $10 PLUS shipping to fix the pump. Although I like Topeak, next time I will take my business to a company that still has better customer service than Todson, Inc.

Actually your argument doesn't hold water. Whether he bought it from an eBay seller or a local Bike shop both more than likely paid the same wholesale price to get it for resale. Topeak made the same money regardless. Only person that lost the profit was whoever had the highest markup-that he didn't buy it from. That wasn't Topeak.

Regardless, it's a manufacturer issue and if it were my bike I'd be pissed too. Yeah, it wasn't it's intended use but what he did use it for wasn't out of scope either. Not like he bought a bike stand to support a car and then whined about it.

I dunno... neither party is without sin here I think, although I tend to side with the OP. Some kind of compromise out of Topeak would be fair. I'd try to buff it out first though as others have suggested.

In this day of anonymous internet posts, what did you expect? As long as you maintain you have NO responsibility for the 'damage' to your bikes, others will call you on it. You would be better off taking one of those 'thousand dollar' bikes out for a long ride. More physically taxing, and a lot less mentally strenuous. JMHO

You're making a mountain out of a molehill, both about the mark on your bike and the comments in this thread. I bet if you spit on your thumb, rubbed it on the mark, that vigorously rubbed it with a cotton cloth, the mark would disappear.

If that doesn't work, Scratch-X will do the trick. Note that for it to work properly you have to rub hard enough to make the area warm, almost hot. I find it difficult to believe that a comparable product isn't locally available. It's not magic, it's just an automotive rubbing compound.

But... it's JUST A BIKE. Even if you never get the mark off, it's not that big a deal. It's a bike, not a museum piece. The only person who would ever notice such an inconspicuous mark is you.

I'd be a little bummed at getting a mark on my new bike, too. But then I'd try to buff it out, and if that didn't work I'd put some clear nail polish on it and go for a ride. Blaming Topeak isn't really fair; even if you'd put a soft cloth at the contact point, you probably would have seen some abrasion. I've got a for-real bike stand, the kind you slip your rear wheel into. Holds 6, which is just about right. Nothing touching the paint, therefore no scratches.

First, the point of what you were quoting was that even a dirt cheap stand (and therefore built with the cheapest materials available) was still too expensive for the OP and he bought it from a discount vender. The only thing better quality parts would have done for the manufacturer is lower their profit. It certainly wouldn't prevent someone from complaining, even when they put the product to a use for which it was clearly not intended.

Further, discount sellers on ebay may well have gotten seconds and discards, rather than QA/QC'd parts delivered to the normal distribution chain. That is why what may well be a perfectly good product performs poorly or has issues. What the OP hasn't bothered sharing is the wording of the warranty included with the product literature... In many cases, such warranties exclude damage caused by not-approved uses and almost certainly limit damages to something reasonable considering the cost of the product. And for certain items (cameras come to mind) they specifically void the warranty on gray market (not purchased through approved distribution chain).

The bottom line is the OP made a series of mistakes, had a bad consequence from those mistakes, and now is mad because someone else won't take responsibility for HIS mistakes...

Oh, and in my case at least the OP is wrong to claim I have some business relationship with TOPEAK or this product... I don't, though I admittedly own a couple of TOPEAK products with which I am satisfied.

I think its more important to be concern yourself with the proper lubrication of chain, derailers, adjustment of brakes, etc. than to worry about the paint. So long as it's not corroding.

2 mistakes

1) Buying a topeak flashstand

2) engaging the aments like you in this forum in conversation

cheers, I'm out

Thank goodness this is done. Go get a storage stand that's actually intended for long-term parking.

http://www.amazon.com/Swagman-Bicycl...2080341&sr=1-3
http://www.bicyclebuys.com/item/0130008/mostPop4
http://www.bicyclebuys.com/item/0129919/mostPop4
http://www.bicyclebuys.com/item/0130012/R3
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...3N5RK4E2BZHV8N
http://www.amazon.com/Delta-Rothko-R...080341&sr=1-13

I'd make those two:
1) Whining about misuse of the Flashstand
2) Not being able to 'man up' for his mistake

I bought one several years ago, and have used it for the advertised purpose. It's not any more than a quick stand. A kick stand without a permanent attachment to the bike I would say. Works in a pinch. Expecting anything more out of it is wishful thinking. No real complaints about ...in other words "you get what you pay for."

Many plastics intended to be soft enough to avoid scratching a delicate paint job will have enough plasticizers in them that they can react with some finishes if left in contact for a long time. It sounds like Topeak picked a material suited for its intended purpose -- holding the bike frame temporarily during tune-ups without scratching the frame.

Nice, I learned a new word so this thread is totally worth it!

Ohh yah ! +1

Actually a bike stand can do much worse damage IF USED IMPROPERLY. Have you ever seen a stand crimp a top tube? Why you think they put a rag over the tubing before clamping it. Similarly my greenfield kickstand will crush the chainstays if it is not used properly.

IMO you used this device outside of its intended purpose.

And no, I do not sell or own this product, have no stock in topeak, nor do I work for them.