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Maybe it is my fault for buying 'cheap' but I got an aluminium workstand last week that gets very good reviews and am very disappointed. There is lot of play in the toothed locking system (for rotating the clamp head) and a lot of flex in the head assembly which turns out is made of plastic. On the website the head body looks like it is metal as the head and brackets are gold like the aluminium tubes but in real life it is black plastic.
Obviously when buying a sub £100 and folding work stand you are going to have to accept some flexibility but there is a lot of movement when trying to do anything on the bike with it fully suspended and it feels like it is going to break or slip.
I've got the Edinburgh bike co one, which appears to be a fairly generic design. I've seen it badged up as all sorts of different brands.
It does flex some in the rotating mechanism, and a bit in the plastic jaws, but I've had it for 5 years now and its not failed. I don't tend to abuse my kit though, nor am I particularly Ham-fisted, Its happily held 34lb bikes in the past.
yeah this is the one: http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/comms/srv.a4d?f_pg=site_sizing/product-reviews/revolution-tuneup-workstand/revolution-tuneup-workstand.htm
but got it somewhere else. I don't abuse my stuff but this feels disapointing. If I had known the teeth would have so much play I would have gone for this one:
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I've got the previous incarnation of yours, with a slightly more right clamp mech. It wobbles a bit depending how the bike is held but is otherwise 'ok '. I find it an advantage to be able to quickly rotate the clamp too, although the QR clamp to hold down the head when it's flipped into position is pointless - luckily you don't really need it.
For the current price I would have expected better too, but I got mine for 54.99 on a promotion, when the RRP was 65.99, so I wasn't too fussed and I don't think its that bad anyway.
I've got a very light rigid SS alloy commuter in it at the moment (held by the seat post) and moving it gently with my finger there is about 8 inches of movement in the front wheel from the rotation in the teeth and flex in the head - I am holding the stand just below the head to rule out flex lower down. Tried tightening up the teeth mechanism but the teeth then catch when trying to rotate it. Does this seem extreme?
Just re-assembled the head and tightened up some of the screws that secure it to the upright and now have more rotation in the locking handle on the back so it pulls the teeth tighter. Probably taken about 3/4 inches of rotation at the front wheel out but it's still flexing a lot - more than I am really happy with. If this is the best it can be then it definitely should be regarded as a portable stand and not one you would want to use at home for heavy jobs.
I guess you need to experience a cheap one to understand why some are much more expensive.
You can still fix your bike in it though?
"heavy" jobs like BB removal etc...best done ont of stand anyway, even for the pros.
I've had a BikeTools (same) stand for about 10 years and still going strong. A bit of flex evident but nothing like the OP is experiencing! Although when a bike is clamped by the seat post, this is hardly near the bikes centre of gravity, so some movement is surely expected - I can lift the front wheel a couple of inches or so - this is perfectly acceptable IMO.
In the good old days, when frames were not carbon or paper thin alu. and round in section, then it was much easier to hang the bike from the top tube! Much more stable.
As stated above, all heavy engineering jobs like bb's, are not done with the bike in the stand anyway.
Cant remember which stand I got but it was sub £100 and as with OP there is quite a lot of play in the toothed ring head section, teeth seem only 50% meshed in, and cannot see how to adjust this; I think it is aBike Handmodel...if anyone knows how to tighten up rotating head most grateful 🙂
I am trying to be reasonable and expecting some wobble due to it being low cost and portable and the seat post is no where near the C of G but I just had to take the bike out to refit the stem as it was wobbling too much. Have emailed the shop to see if it could be a bad batch.
Obviously doing anything like a stuck BB I will do it on the floor - had to use a 1/2m long wrench to remove the internal BB from my inbred while standing on the frame. But rotating the cranks and applying a disc brake make the head of the stand wobble horribly and give off nasty sounds.
@jamesb: remove the pivoting handle on the back of the head (4mm allen key) and then slightly tighten up the bolt behind it (6mm allen key).
Do it to much and the teeth will not disengage properly. I actually took the bolt out completely and re-seated it all and it gave more movement in the head to allow the teeth to go tighter but still fully engage.
To be honest unless you buy a expensive workshop quality work stand such as kestrel engineering, "home mechanic" work stands are pretty shit. I've used a Park home mechanic one a few other cheap ones and my cheap Aldi one and they are all pretty much as shit as each other. At lest my Aldi one cost £30 instead of £130 like the park home mechanic one. If I ever become rich I'll buy a kestrel engineering stand until then I see no reason to "upgrade" to an over priced park one.
andy! thanks for that 🙂
appreciated
Thats sounds far, far worse than my one. Change in materials since mine perhaps?
does yours have the metal head? The picture on their site shows this one:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=15815
Click the zoomed in head pic and you can see it is metal.
It seems the manufacturer also sells a plastic headed one which sells cheaper.
Yes mine has plastic jaws but metal head as the one on the ChainReaction link - BikeTool by Union. Didn't realise there were different versions available.
neither did I until I looked today.