Lifeline Pro Bike Workstand review

LifeLine Pro Bike Workstand offers height adjustment, 40kg max weight, magnetic tool tray and adjustable dual cantilever clamp.

Brand: LifeLine
Product: Pro Bike Workstand
From: wiggle.co.uk
Price: £149
Tested: by Rhys Wainwright for 4 months

Three things I loved

The clamp is terrific. The simplicity is refreshing compared to more complex quick release designs at the ‘value’ end of the market.
Super easy to fold up the legs when moving or storing.
Feels robust and built to last.

Two Things I’d change

If you have an oddly weighted heavy bike (long enduro bike missing a back wheel) then it can overbalance the stand in certain situations.
Possibly a little heavy if you plan to take it to races and events.

Bicycle holding workstands have been somewhat of a luxury in my cycling career so far. Making do with rope tied around the saddle and looped over the joists in my parent’s garage as a teenager as well as various positions used to balance a bike on a black and decker workmate was a faff. Being honest, adulthood hasn’t given me the space or sense to bother investing in a proper workspace or stand until recently. I think most people are in a similar position with garage space mostly used for storing bikes and general life crap.

By establishing the limitations of general life we can loosely define what is required from a bicycle work stand. It needs to be compact enough not to dominate the garage/shed; probably collapsible. It needs to be sturdy and robust to hold a bike in the desired position whilst hanging off a torque wrench to remove a sticky bottom bracket. It needs to be easy to use with one hand whilst dangling a bike in the other. It should be ergonomic enough to allow the bike to function unobstructed for drivetrain tuning, etc. It should probably last a long time too.

How does the LifeLine Pro Bike Workstand stack up?

Pretty well actually. The spoof on the Wiggle/CRC website explains that they’ve used their UK based engineering team to have a good old think about what punters might want from a bike stand and set about designing it from there. With a strong focus on value as per all LifeLine products.

It all arrives pretty much fully assembled in a box so there’s basically nothing to do aside from open the QR clamp, fold down the legs, close the QR clamp again (important but not totally critical) then head off to find a bike to dangle in it. Don’t forget to raise it to a sensible height too. Which is barely high enough to get a bike in if you’re my height (172cm).

It’s easy enough to fold the legs back up for storage or transport. I frequently lift the legs and take the stand outside to wash bikes on. Makes for spotting the almost unreachable dirt patches under suspension linkages slightly easier to deal with.

Ultimately the interface is simple but effective and does everything you could want it to. It doesn’t have any irritating traits and has successfully held many (kinda) heavy bikes. The industrial construction feels like it’ll last forever which is reassuring compared to some plastic items from other brands.

My only concern has been with stability. The stand rests on the base of the main shaft and the two fold-down legs. When removing one wheel from a bike, primarily the rear one, it is possible to tip the stand quite easily. It’s not a major issue as you can rotate the bike in the stand to counter this but just something to be aware of.

The clamp itself is not overly complicated, just two cast aluminium jaws with purposely shaped (and replaceable) rubber clamping faces. The threaded clamping bar is free spinning and has a thrust bearing in so it’s easy to turn and clamp things nice and tight. There is a short sliding bar type handle so you can easily avoid it clashing with your saddle/top tube when inevitably using it with one hand.

There is a tapered fitting where the clamp fits into the moulding atop the main shaft. This means when you tighten the handle on the back of the fitting the clamp stays put and doesn’t rotate forwards and drop your e-bike on the floor. I don’t personally ride an e-bike; preferring my 17kg enduro bike. Which, come to think of it, is probably heavier than the latest gen of lightweight e-bikes anyway.

Overall

The most crucial part of any stand is the clamp. It’s the piece you’ll integrate with the most as well as the crucial bit for making sure your bike doesn’t fall off and knock all your paint cans off the shelves in the garage. LifeLine has clearly spent an appropriate chunk of the budget on the clamp and the result is excellent.