DataJunkie

I have no use for a kickstand but I do not frown on them.
I have better things to complain about.

bobn

Forget the "wind" argument about the wind blowing a bike over on a kick stand.
That same wind will knock it off anything it is leaning against.

mprelaw

It won't lift it up if it's laying on the ground in most cases, and if the wind is strong enough to do it, you won't be out riding in it.

Bikeforumuser0017

Because they look bad (on newer bikes).

seafood

Not sure what's up with all these kickstand threads, but seeing another made me realize that I use kickstands a whole lot on my commuter bike and most of the time it's used indoors. In my apartment, I prefer to leave the bike on the kickstand next to the wall. I could lean it against the wall, but then it is more prone to rolling and falling or leaving dirty marks on the wall from the wheels. At work, when there is no room on the hanging rack, I prefer to leave it on the stand next to other bikes on the floor. If people didn't have bikes with kickstands, it would be a problem, as there isn't enough room to lean all the bikes against walls. My bike came with its kickstand and it has never deployed by accident. I have not touched the nut and I see no damage to the frame. It's also super handy when loading and unloading groceries. Added weight doesn't bother me.

It's funny, there's a similar kind of snobbery in the motorcycle world, where people feel center stands aren't sporty. Indeed, sportbikes tend not to come with them (they do come with kickstands, which are actually disallowed by racing clubs for safety reasons). My racebikes can't have any stands, but my street motorcycle has both a kickstand and a center stand because they are practical. Simple as that.

fietsbob

Esoteric whiners ,, the KS plate usually makes a decent chainstay bridge.. ignore it if you wish, nobody insists.

super thin-wall tubed racer like bike, or rugged touring/ utility frame
is an un stated, but significant, variable .

Monster Pete

Even if a kickstand were to accidentally deploy, the design is such that it would be flicked back up as soon as it contacted the ground. With mine, mounted behind the BB, simply turning the cranks into the deployed stand folds it away. I don't see how accidental deployment should ever cause a problem. Honestly, I think a lot of the time it comes down to wanting to imitate racing bikes, and downright snobbery winning over practicality.

Burton

So why does 'snobbery' have to have anything to do with that? After spending a ridiculous amout of money to approach a 14lb weight you expect someone to upset their power to weight ratio by sticking a couple hundred grams of weight on the back end? Thats a practical consideration. Lots of bikes just get hung up on hooks.

Same for motorcycles. Service stands and side stands compromise cornering clearances so compromise performance as well as being safety issues. Nothing snobbish about that - makes a lot of sense for anyone involved in competition to take them off.

seafood

Firstly, I do not care what people do with their time and money. By your own words though, spending "ridiculous" amounts of money to shave weight off a street bike and counting grams feels like this is more about training or recreational rides without possibility of carrying a load, attaching a trailer, etc. We're still talking about street use, not competition, right? As to snobbery, I'll just quote a post from one these kickstand discussions and let you judge for yourself:



As I said earlier, I understand and comply with the racing requirements, but for normal street use, cornering clearance is not a problem. If it is, the rider's doing something wrong.

jjvw

Regarding snobbery:

Would it be fair to say that the pro-kickstand crowd generally understands and doesn't care if someone chooses to not have a kickstand; while the kickstand opponents are often quick to deride those who do have one? Could that be why this entire discussion seems silly to me?

wphamilton

I like kickstands. Yet I've taken off or left them off of the bikes I use because they weren't useful in those applications. Like with any other accessory - I honestly don't get the potential for snobbery or even arguments about it.

Now which kickstand is best, the relative worthiness of each design, that could be worth arguing about.

rebel1916

That would not be fair. The pro kickstand crowd has been a good bit snottier than the non kickstand users in this thread.

jjvw

Perhaps. However, from what I am seeing, it feels like you need to defend yourself if you choose to use a kickstand. I don't recall any pro-kickstand person saying all bikes should have one, including carbon fiber track bikes. That would be silly. Yet the general sentiment, certainly for those new to the scene or those who have relegated themselves to the racing world, seems to be that kickstands are heavy, useless and keep you from going fast.

DataJunkie

Perception <> reality.

jjvw

Welcome to the internet.

In reality I'm sure we could peacefully ride past each other without issue.

DataJunkie

Or we could break out a pair of frame pumps and duel to the death.

jjvw

My Lefal frame pump is heavier than your Slica. I would win!

cyccommute 

No, it would not be fair to say the pro-kickstand crowd generally understands. Snobbery runs high on both sides. I have used them in the past and have stated such. But once I moved into certain disciplines...mountain biking for example...I found them a hinderance. Once I stopped using them, I found that their utility wasn't all that great. It's not about weight savings for me, it's about usefulness.

If you want to use one, I have no problem with it. But often times, kickstand users can be every bit as superior about the need for a kickstand as they perceive the nonusers to be.

As for seafood's out of context quote, here's the context

In the original context, AlmostGreenGuy was implying...to me...that he was using the kickstand to hold up the bike while his daughter got on board. This would be a dangerous thing to do since kickstands often fail to hold the bike up.

Finally let's not forget the original question

miamicuse asked the question and got answers. It seems to me that the pro-kickstand crowd didn't like the answers.

Retro Grouch 

The last time that I tried to buy a kickstand, as I was leaving the LBS, two big, burley policemen pulled up and arrested me. I learned I was being charged with identity theft. "You paid for that kickstand with a credit card." they said. "Only Freds buy kickstands. The name on the card you used was something different." My public defender settled out of court but a condition of my probation prevents me from ever buying a kickstand.

rebel1916

Legitimately funny

MichaelW

It's worse than that, Jim, its like walking into a black-tie event wearing a chicken costume.

If you need to lock your bike to something fixed, you don't need a kickstand.
I always need to lock my bike to something, ergo I dont need a kickstand.

Burton

LOL 'Ridiculous' is probably a personal evaluation on my part as I know of three businessmen who have spent $10K to $17K on single road bikes the past year for no other reason than they wanted them. None of them race. Personally if I was going to spend that kind of money on two wheels - it'd come with a motor!

Cool! not everyone drives that sanely on the streets. In fact, I gave up my last motorcycle (BMW K1) a number of years ago because the street road racers in this province managed to drive the cost of insurance through the roof.

My post wasn't intended to be confrontational - I just didn't get the 'snobbery' part. Think you'll find a few posters will have the same attitude regardless of the subject.

I have some bikes with stands and some without myself. Practicality aside - there just doesn't seem to be any convenient way to stick a stand on a carbon fiber bike.