Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
Class 1 Euphemism alert!!!
Park workstands - worth the premium?
- Thread starter wafter
- Start date
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cool_hand
Über Member
The distribution is probably targeted at Stores where they know they will sell. The problem is there are 990 Aldi Stores in the UK!
Forgot to say - Park Tool Stands have come down in price quite notably - they're still a couple of hundred quid though.
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I got mine 4 years ago. They did a specials promotion of a lot of their "Bikemate" branded stuff just after I first got a bike for commuting. I got the stand, the £4.99 bike computer (worth about 49p IMHO, couldn't get it to work reliably so gave it away), and £3.99 mini pump (a surprisingly functional item and great value)
- Location
- Somewhere wet & hilly in NW England.
Lots of cyclists here in The Lakes.
vickster
Legendary Member
Clearly a bit more expensive but £40.50 in bank holiday sale and if a local store has stock, you could collect asap
https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bi...ork-stands/halfords-repair-stand-164412.html?
cool_hand
Über Member
Tried another ALDI store this morning and they had stock - price is on Sale at £19.99.
They did not have a stand on display so I took my chances.
The good: the price is a bargain.
The bad: I have just assembled and IMO it's not really fit for purpose.
The main issue is the pole that connects the claw to the main upright twists as soon as you put any pressure on it such pedalling the drive chain.
If you look at last years model the pole has a serrated finish which creates friction with the clamp (you also get the same serrated finish on the Halfords version mentioned in this thread).
https://www.aldi.co.uk/bike-assembly-stand/p/811579578216200#product-reviews
The one I've purchased has the same overall design but all parts are black, however the connecting pole is completely smooth.
The claw is narrow in depth and of course the rear brake cable inevitably is seized when you use it – I had the same rear-brake issue with an old Park Tools 9 stand I borrowed from a neighbour so probably not a deal breaker.
The claw has 4 small rubber pads - I did not feel confident using these rubber pads – I felt there was a risk of damaging the frame when using them.
The claw itself works fine but I'd be surprised if it lasted past the 3 year warranty.
It has 5 legs which enhance stability but take up a lot of floor space - if you're tight for space you should avoid this stand.
Included is an optional non-magnetic tray and a pole for securing your handle-bars.
They did not have a stand on display so I took my chances.
The good: the price is a bargain.
The bad: I have just assembled and IMO it's not really fit for purpose.
The main issue is the pole that connects the claw to the main upright twists as soon as you put any pressure on it such pedalling the drive chain.
If you look at last years model the pole has a serrated finish which creates friction with the clamp (you also get the same serrated finish on the Halfords version mentioned in this thread).
https://www.aldi.co.uk/bike-assembly-stand/p/811579578216200#product-reviews
The one I've purchased has the same overall design but all parts are black, however the connecting pole is completely smooth.
The claw is narrow in depth and of course the rear brake cable inevitably is seized when you use it – I had the same rear-brake issue with an old Park Tools 9 stand I borrowed from a neighbour so probably not a deal breaker.
The claw has 4 small rubber pads - I did not feel confident using these rubber pads – I felt there was a risk of damaging the frame when using them.
The claw itself works fine but I'd be surprised if it lasted past the 3 year warranty.
It has 5 legs which enhance stability but take up a lot of floor space - if you're tight for space you should avoid this stand.
Included is an optional non-magnetic tray and a pole for securing your handle-bars.
The clamp ought to be attached to the seat tube not the top tube. Wondering if the rotation issue could be resolved by wrapping some duck tape around the part to give a tighter, more friction, fit.
cool_hand
Über Member
My seat tube is carbon so I was a little worried about clamping. Funnily the ALDI link shows the clamp attached to the top tube. I did think about wrapping tape around the pole - the problem is the fit between the pole and the clamp is very tight - probably going to find very difficult to get the pole into/through the clamp once there's tape around it.
Jameshow
Veteran
I clamp the seat tube tbh where it's got the post inside it. Not tightly either!
cool_hand
Über Member
Good suggestion. I still don't have a solution to the tube supporting the clamp not having any grip; the weight of the bike is tipping the bike over.
Just to show how smooth the clamp tube is. Why didn't they keep the previous finish that helped address this?
Previous version of the Bike Assembly Stand:
One solution is to support the front wheel with something:
None of this is ideal. I still don't like that the legs take up so much space and quite awkward to work around. The next step-up in quality is going to be around the £70 mark.
- Location
- Somewhere wet & hilly in NW England.
FishFright
More wheels than sense
I clamp the seat post , cheapest thing if you get it wrong.
My £60 Decathlon stand has been brilliant, one the best investments I’ve made. Probably been used for over 15 restorations now. For home use I can’t see why you need anything better.
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/bike-workstand-500/_/R-p-309118
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/bike-workstand-500/_/R-p-309118
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Agree that's what I meant to say not seat tube. Simple to replace if the worse happens.
