Repair stand recommendations?

[Adent]

I’m trying to decide which repair stand to buy. I don’t need anything “pro” level; just sturdy consumer level is fine. How are the low-end Park models, like the PCS1, PCS4, and PCS9? Other brands/models you'd recommend?

[Needs Help]

Any indoor trainer. My repair stand never makes it out of the closet anymore.

[700 x 23c]

Ultimate Pro Repair Stand.

Easy to open, very stable, and folds up into a small package very quickly.

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=5962&subcategory_ID=4216

$189 at Performance....

[dirtdigger88]

I have this one- the scale is fun to play with- the stand does what it is expected to do

https://shop.sunrisecyclery.com/item/10948/

Jason

[keno]

is perfect. I used to struggle using my trainer as a repair stand, but it just doesn't make it. Having the bike up at eye level makes all the difference in the world. I find that I adjust the derailleurs more often, clean the chain more often, and clean the bike more often just because it's much easier to do.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=27953&item=7151795213&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW looks very good as to seller and price, all in.

keno

[Wayne77]

Ultimate Pro Repair Stand.

Easy to open, very stable, and folds up into a small package very quickly.

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=5962&subcategory_ID=4216

$189 at Performance....

I'll second the Ultimate Pro. Ultimate's customer service is excellent. I had purchased the Ultimate "Consumer" stand, yet one of the clamps wasn't working as it should. Instead of just sending me a replacement clamp, they sent me an entire clamping head from the Ultimate "Pro" model. So now, aside from the legs, I have an Ultimate Pro stand. It is very robust, easy to fine tune clamping pressure, and much easier to open and close than some of the other stands I have tried.

IMO, attaching the bike to a trainer works, but with a stand you won't have to crouch down and you can rotate the bike to different angles very quickly.

[eddief]

I had two stands for a while. First the Ultimate and then the Pcs9 for my recumbent.

The Ulitimate is light, foldable, sturdy, convenient to use. One downside I have noticed recently, is that the slide feature to close down the clamp quickly is a bit finicky.

The PCS 9 was a pleasant surprise. It was not nearly as portable, a little heavy and a little clunky, but I really liked the plain old turn-the-crank clamp. It seemed a bit shaky when unloaded, but with the weight of a bike in it...it was simply solid!

[Louis]

This isn’t a recommendation, but more of a comment / question. With today’s wimpy top tubes and seat tubes that make it difficult to “put the screws” to them, I am more and more intrigued by the work stands that don’t use a clamping system. Anyone out there like a specific model of that type?

Other than my ~ ten-year-old Blackburn, which uses a screw-clamp, I have a super-simple Nashbar model that uses two hooks to cradle the stays. I use that one all the time to lube the chain and do other minor adjustments. The only problem with that one is that you have to sit on the floor when you use it. (And it isn’t the most stable thing, but for small jobs it works just fine.)

I guess I’ve settled into a “use the big stand for frame builds and major, major work” and use the stay-stand for nearly everything else” routine.

Louis

[11.4]

I've used a number of stands and currently have the Ultimate Pro and the new Park PCS-20 Euro-style workstand (the one that doesn't clamp the frame or seat tube).

The Ultimate is great. I can wash a bike in it and it doesn't rust, it's solid and stable. Ultimate's main line of business was stands for outdoor rock-concert speakers, and they went into bike stands as a sideline. The quality emphasis and the engineering really show. The clamp is a lot easier on frames than the traditional park frame clamps and is shorter, so it works on seat posts that don't have a long length exposed. You can't really go wrong with it.

The PCS-20 has some special places that make it important for some people including, at times, for me. If you have a monocoque frame and an aero seat post, there's no way to put it in a traditional stand. This was my reason for getting it. Same issue if you have a very small frame with no clearances for clamping or very little seat post exposed. If you want to remove either wheel to clean the bike (essential in the Northwest in winter or if you are cleaning a cyclocross bike), the PCS-20 works really well. It gives you really solid clamping at points on the frame that actually are made for clamping, so you can torque the frame more effectively than you can with a traditional stand clamping down on a frame tube. The PCS-20 seems a bit better than other Park stands, which have lots of chrome parts that tend to rust if you clean your bike in them at all; I do have a little bit of discoloration but nothing worse.

[Larry D]

I will add my recommendation for Ultimate's stands. I have been using one for the past 8 - 9 years, shortly after Ultimate came out with the stand, and it has performed flawlessly.

Yes, their customer service is outstanding. I had broken a screw piece to the wheel truing attachment and they sent me a new clamp assembly not just the screw part.

[djg]

and cannot speak to the others, but I like my PCS-1--pretty solid, adjustable clamp, easy enough to get it out of the way. And it didn't cost too much either.

[Lost Weekend]

One more vote for Ultimate stand-easy to use the clamp on seat post and well built. I recommend getting the tool tray- It's a great place to keep your beer close at hand.

[Ray]

I've been using two of these (one in the basement workshop, one in the garage for quick stuff) for several years now. I think they cost about $40 apiece at the time. Extremely simple, very stable. The bike doesn't move, but it's high enough to comfortably do anything I need to. The only time its a pain is when running cables under the bottom bracket - I sometimes have to take the frame off the stand to run the cables through the bb guide. Otherwise I have never been able to justify going to a more expensive stand despite tempting myself on a number of occasions. Many builds, many repairs, many retro-fits, lots of just messing around with different parts to see if I like 'em. The stand has never been an issue.

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=3636&subcategory_ID=4216#

-Ray

[victoryfactory]

Louis:

Ray has the answer, I agree. The Performance spin doctor solves the
problem of squeezing thin, shaped tubes on modern bikes and eliminates
the need to keep a "work" seatpost around for clamping purposes.

For all but the most severe work, this is a winner.

VF

[Ray]

For all but the most severe work, this is a winner.

I haven't even found it a problem for the most severe work. For stuff like recalcitrant bottom brackets, cranks, etc, this stand is dead solid. I've used a friend's Park stand (don't remember which model) that grabbed the bike by the seatpost, and the bike moved quite a bit in that stand. Not an issue in the simple spin doc.

Also, it takes less than a second to fold up to nothing, and about another second to stash it in the corner, completely out of the way.

-Ray

[Kevin]

I'm with Ray. The stand is great for small things. I send larger projects to the LBS.

Kevin

[hypnospin]

ive got a "spin doctor" from performance. made in italy, over built with a great clamp.
oh yeah, word to the cautious, clamp the seatpost not the frametube or you risk a dent in thin tubes of today...

I’m trying to decide which repair stand to buy. I don’t need anything “pro” level; just sturdy consumer level is fine. How are the low-end Park models, like the PCS1, PCS4, and PCS9? Other brands/models you'd recommend?

[dave thompson]

I've used the Park PCS-1 for the last three years for building and maintaining the family bikes. It works great, holds the bikes steady and stores easily in a small area when not being used. The newer PCS-1 have an adjustment for height, which I would highly recommend.

[Adent]

I've got quite a few recommendations to choose from! I think they would all do the job, so I've decided to go with the Ultimate Pro from Performance Bike. Just too many good comments to pass on this one.

[Trouble]

I have the Ultimate Pro in red and I am very happy with it. :D :) :banana:
Now I seem to work on my bikes a lot more, maybe it's just because I like using the stand. :confused:
It does work great for me, especially washing my bike and you can sit or stand and work on your bike, very, very nice. These are not things you can do using a trainer :no: it's a "trainer" :eek:
The customer service folks were pleasant to work with. Note: My customer service complaint was not about the product, it was about Performance Bicycles :crap: where I bought the stand and still Ultimate took care of me.

[BarryG]

I use both a PCS-9 and a SpinDoctorPro. I generally like both of them. Here are coupla comments to each:

PCS-9: You need an allen wrench to adjust the height and it doesn't fold up very well for storage. I do like the clamp and rotatibility however. This is one of the only stands available with a clamp that can open to accomodate megabig tubes (like on a recumbent).

SpinDoc: My only objection is the detents on rotation and wish it was infinitely adjustable - relatively minor. Folds up quite nicely, height easily adjustable. Definitely the best buy out there, esp when on sale (Performance house brand).

Barry

[Brian]

I recently purchased on ebay an Ultimate BRS-70B Deluxe Consumer Repair Stand (www.ultimatesupport.com). I paid $145 and that included shipping and a tool tray. The stand sets ups in seconds, has an amazingly stable tripod base and is of VERY high quality. It also folds up into a fairly compact package (about 7” x 36”) that’s easy to store. I couldn’t be happier with the product.