Work Stands - Feedback Sports and how they attach to the bike

[John_S]

Hi All,

I don't currently have a work stand but I commute by bike and so try to clean plus maintain my bike as much as possible.

I've now got fed up with trying to maintain my bike whilst leaning it against things or trying to hold it with one hand and trying to work on it with the other and so I've decided that I need to but a work stand.

Having not had one before I'm confused about the pros and cons of the various ways of attaching the bike to the work stand. I appreciate that which method of attaching the bike to a stand might be personal preference but I'm also wondering whether different methods are more appropriate for certain types of bike or if there are just genuine benefits/negative points of different mounting options.

I've thought about buying a stand from Lidl / Aldi but because I commute all year around and I will hopefully make a lot of use of the stand I'm thinking that it might be worth saving a bit more and trying to buy something sturdy that will hopefully last for years.

Today I read this review of the Feedback Sports Sprint Work Stand on the Road CC website.

http://road.cc/content/review/154719-feedback-sports-sprint-workstand

Then when I went to read some details about the stand on the Feedback Sports website one thing which caught my attention is that they have two different stands at a very similar price point.

There's the Sprint as reviewed in Road CC:-

http://www.feedbacksports.com/shop/sprint-work-stand/

But also the Pro-Elite:-

http://www.feedbacksports.com/shop/pro-elite-work-stand/

Looking at them it looks as if the Pro-Elite might clamp to the seatpost/frame whereas the Sprint attaches at the fork(s)?

I just wondered if anyone has any thoughts on the pros / cons of the two methods? I'm assuming that if the stand has to use the forks to attach to the work stand you'd always have to have at least one wheel off?

Thanks for any thoughts on the pros versus cons of either stand &/or the different ways of clamping a bike to a work stand.

Cheers,

John

 

[roadrash]

cant comment on any others but the aldi / lidl stands are more than up to the job especially at the price.

 

[arch684]

I have been using an aldi workframe for over 4 years and it's fine.Alloy bikes get clamped on the top tube carbon on the seat tube never been a problem

 

[Basil.B]

Was looking at getting a Feedback Sports, looks more stable as you attach the bike by the front forks, bit expensive for me though.
Elite do a similar work stand at half the cost.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/elite-race-...zJzzEm7b_dt|pcrid||pkw||pmt||prd|5360523244uk

 

[Milkfloat]

I am another fan of the Lidl/Aldi/eBay stands. Perfectly functional for my stable of bikes, it even supports a very heavy Pashley.. I clamp on a mix of seat-post and top tube, depending on the job in hand.

 

[mrandmrspoves]

This off eBay is all you need. Strong, stable, hard wearing, versatile, compact when folded (which is easy to do) very adjustable. It has quick release clamps which are much more convenient than screw knobs. Finally (although the pretend RRP is a joke) it is a seriously good bargain at £30 delivered

 

[Drago]

Clamping crossbars on any bike is dodgy. Some tubes are at thin as 0.5mm and it doesn't take a lot to do damage. Seat post every time on mine.

 

[howard2107]

This off eBay is all you need. Strong, stable, hard wearing, versatile, compact when folded (which is easy to do) very adjustable. It has quick release clamps which are much more convenient than screw knobs. Finally (although the pretend RRP is a joke) it is a seriously good bargain at £30 delivered View attachment 93162

Thanks, saves me asking the same question, so i will have one.............you should be on commission.

 

[mrandmrspoves]

Thanks, saves me asking the same question, so i will have one.............you should be on commission.

I wish I was!
I have 2, the original with knobs - about 8 years old and a new QR one about a year old. Can't recommend strongly enough.

 

[John_S]

Hi All,

Thanks for all of the tips above and I'll have a look at all of the suggested alternative workstands as well keeping the Lidl/Aldi stands on the shortlist!

One thing that I'm now thinking is am I best making sure that whichever stand I get it can clamp to the seatpost? The reason I'm asking is to check in relation to the bikes that I'll be working on.

At present my bike which I use to commute on year round in all weathers, so it needs a fair bit of cleaning/maintenance, is an aluminium framed hybrid with fixed mudguards. The reason I mention the mudguards is because I'm wondering if using the seatpost or the frame is the best place clamp for this bike because a work stand that attaches using the forks wouldn't be ideal because I'd have to remove the mudguards each time that I wanted to work on it? In long term my aim is to replace my current bike with a steel framed bike but again that will also have fixed mudguards.

The other bike that I'd work on is my wifes aluminium step through framed bike which also has fixed mudguards.

Cheers,

John

 

[mrandmrspoves]

Seat post clamping is often ideal as it avoids compressing gear and brake cables against the frame - which is a problem if you are trying to adjust your gears or similar. Seat post clamping also avoids damage to paintwork and even possible damage to frame tubing. The model I recommended will happily clamp by the seat post.

 

[Tojo]

I was always told, clamp the bike by the seat post, its the best place as the bike will want to sit front wheel down an you then have it in an ideal position to work on and the stand is more stable as you don't need to have it set as high and as mentioned by mrandmrspoves on above post it avoids fouling the cables.....

 

[Klassikbike]

I have the Pro Elite scince about 4 years now and I am very happy with it. To my knowledge Its pretty much the best work stand existing on the market. Used by Roadbike Pro Teams as well as MTB professional teams as well. If you go to bike events or trade shows youll see them everywhere too.

Advantages of the Pro Elite:
- It folds easily and comes with a convenient transporting bag.
- Its very lightweight compared to other simmilar alternatives.
- Its strong durable and sturdy will hold a 25+ kilo bike in any angle.
- You can clamp your bike 360 degrees and turn it in any angle you want
- It has a really smart clamp, just push in and your bike is fixed, press the button to open the clamp again.
- you can mount many gadgets to it (Tool trays...)

Dissadvantage is definitely that its not the cheapest, but hey quality has its price.

The sprint is more oriented for road and TT bikes (adjusting gearing and so on), the Pro Elite is more for everyone.

 

[Katherine]

This off eBay is all you need. Strong, stable, hard wearing, versatile, compact when folded (which is easy to do) very adjustable. It has quick release clamps which are much more convenient than screw knobs. Finally (although the pretend RRP is a joke) it is a seriously good bargain at £30 delivered View attachment 93162

I got one of these for my birthday. Great and easy to use. The little shelf is magnetic!

 

[Tom B]

The ebay one looks rather like the ALDI one which I have.

Its perfectly serviceable the only issue i have is that the clamp tightening nut spins and it just makes it harder... Ill probably modify it in due course.


I still fancy the Cyclo Tools Wall mounted bracket as it would be less faff to store and drag around.