Anyone tried one of these stands that I can only see on eBay?
Home Mechanic Folding Bike Cycle Repair Stand

With today’s Merlin discount I was going to buy one of their stands that seems to come highly recommended across the forum and the mags, but my concern about stability, especially on anything less than smooth ground has been voiced by a few people. A quick search on eBay brought the above stand up which looks like a bargain but has anyone got any experience to get an idea of quality?

LIDL?

Hmm does look awfy similar. How much was it in Lidl’s?

Don’t worry found it – £30
but are they any good…?

The clamp on the lidl one is rubbish. But the stand makes a better basis if you are prepared to fettle. I found the plastic clamps on the merlin/ribble/edinburgh stands had too much flex in it and couldn’t be bodged in any way.

Yes that is a LIDL one.

The clamp on the lidl one is rubbish.

True.

If you do get one expect to spend some time modifying it. Carbon paste helps. Drilling a bolt through the head is better. Even bolted in one place the plastic clamp still flexes and creaks.

Also the legs rust. It is stable though – usually cause the front wheel slowly moves around and sits on the ground.

Mine now sits outside and gets used for the degrading bike washing duties.

Edit – and it doesnt have a QR clamp so its slow to tighten up while you balance the bike in your other hand.

Ok thanks guys, I think I’ll go for the Merlin/Ribble/EBC one that has had so many positive comments. I’m sure it’ll be stable enough in the garage and probably am unlikely to use it at events on a rough surface so it’ll do the job. Cheers