I’ve been after a Lidl one since I used a mate’s. Obviously they don’t appear to have had any for ages. Can anyone please recommend a cheap and cheerful alternative, ideally that folds reasonably compact.
Ta…

These are similar to the Lidl/Aldi ones:
Planet-X Jobsworth bike maintenance stand

Do you have one? Are they OK? What sort of shape do they fold up into?

I have a lidl stand in the shed, it was cheap and it’s not very good at all, couldn’t support the bike when clamped on the seatpost. It may work better when clamping the top tube but having a carbon frame that wasn’t an option for me, ended up buying another from Edinburgh Bicycle Co op for a bit more £££ but it’s a far better stand

Lidl ones are cheap for a reason. It’s functional, just.

merlin do a good one and it drops to ~£70 every now and then. It’s worth the extra. Buy cheap, buy twice etc.

flashes
Do you have one? Are they OK? What sort of shape do they fold up into?

I don’t have the Planet-X one, but I had a Halfords/Bike Hut one that was similar – folds up to a decent enough size to just sit in the corner of the garage/shed.

I had it for about 5 years – upgraded to a Feedback Sports stand as the Halfords stand had started to get droopy if you didn’t clamp on the top tube and get it perfectly balanced.

@jam-bo is this the Merlin Workstand? looks like a good buy at £79.

Following as I’ve been thinking of replacing my budget on (can’t quite remember where it came from but may have been a crc cheapie) on the grounds of it being a bit useless when clamping the bike on the seat tube.

That’s the one. I paid £70 back in October but it was £100 just prior to that. Looks like price fluctuates regularly

I’ve got a Feedback one, not cheap at all but very impressed with it. Had a cheap and cheerful one I’ve forgotten the make of before which kept toppling over and was a pain to adjust
My advice is to keep an eye on Ebay gumtree,etc for a secondhand posh one rather than a cheap new new.

That Merlin stand looks to be the same as I bought from Edinburgh Bicycle Co, not sure what I paid but it’s far better than the Lidl, looks like a few shops sell them under various brand names and various prices

I’ve had cheap ones and now have a feedback ultralight
Love it

Park – no contest

Another Feedback Sports here, expensive but really very good. I had a Minoura W3100 before that which was just about as good in use, but had some wear parts that wore out just from normal (if probably more frequent than typical) use.

And a Lidl cheapie, which is now in the garden but still gets used. Perfectly decent, nothing like as nice to use or as solid or confident inspiring but it always got the job done. The difference between that £30 stand and the £80 Minoura or £120 Feedback Sports is really pretty small, but I do like nice solid reliable tools that last.

I picked up a park tool PCS-10 of FB Marketplace for £60 middle of last year and couldnt be happier with it, had a Lidl one before which didnt handle an enduro bike too well at all, made me nervous turning my back on it!

I have a lidl stand in the shed, it was cheap and it’s not very good at all

Paid a tenner in the middle aisle for one, holds my 30lb XL Bronson perfectly well, far better than the Minoura one it replaced which was over 10 times the price.

Feedback sports all day long, so solid so easy to use and folds up small.

I have no issues with my Lidl/Aldi stand, you just have to find the right spot on each bike to clamp it.

I tend not to do jobs like undoing bottom brackets that involve a lot of force with the bike hanging but I always assumed that would be the same with any stand.

The Lidl/Aldi ones are fine for hanging bikes off the ground while setting things up,but if you are clamping anywhere other than the seatpost you need to put a rag over those hard plastic vees.I also used some jubilee clips around the main clamps which adds a bit of pre-tension and makes it easier to lock up with heavier bikes.

I’ve got two of those Merlin ones. Or at least a differently branded identical one. One in the garden for washing duties and one in the workshop.
They are great for the money. Don’t think I paid much more than £60 a couple of years ago so shop round, but £70 at the moment is pretty good. Obviously Park / Feedback sports are much better but accordingly priced.
The Aldi one is the type we have a the kid’s club. It’s not great!

another wee vote for the Merlin type stand from me too. Yes, there are fancier stands that I’m sure could maybe add height and an improved clamping mechanism, but I’ve had the Merlin type for about 10 years now and (so far!) it hasn’t missed a beat.

Park, had mine 30 years, still going strong – needed a new part ( a knuckle) on the head last year but it was avaialable.

I have the merlin/Edinburgh one. It’s fine and has been doing a decent job for years now.

Found this tread a few days ago as finally got round to biting the bullet and buying a stand after working on my own bikes propped against the wall or stood upside down for the last 25 years, safe in the knowledge that like all other bike tools I buy after ‘getting by’ for ages, I would regret not having got one sooner.

Having got over my initial ‘buy the cheapest one’ temptation I went for the Merlin stand.  It was the cheapest of that variety I could find at the moment.  Delivery took a couple of days.  On arrival I was pleased to pull out the stand and not have to assemble it, it was neatly folded up.  3x QR levers let out the legs, adjust the height and put the clamp in place, it’s that simple, set up is a 30 second job.

I’ve just used it so I can replace a headset on one bike and adjust gears on another, both of which are a right pain in the backside to do without a stand.  Very quick and easy to use, and I’m confident it will last as seems well built.

In conclusion, it’s a recommend from me unless your budget is very tight, and why oh why did I not get one years ago!

I had the Merlin one (not from there but the same thing) for about 10 years. It served the purpose very well for the money I thought. It did die eventually (a couple of the plastic joints broke) and the Feedback I have now is superior but a hell of a lot more money.

I’ve half an eye on another for bike washing, although if I get a Merlin one for that I think it’ll rust.

I looked at loads of stands recently but ended up with a Park Tool one (my bike weighs 23Kg with the battery in). I bought a cheap one initially but sent it back as it was utterly useless and awful to setup. The Park one is superb even if it is £££. 1 lever for height and another to fold up. Light as a feather and I use it all the time inside and out. It’s worth every penny IMO and holds my bike securely with or without the battery.

With spring around the corner Aldi and Lidl will probably have stands in a few weeks, if you’ve used one and think its adequate for your needs I’d wait a while, usually they’re around £25. I’ve got the gold merlin one, had it for years but its an X-tools from CRC and cost me £60, as said above its re-branded by a few companies, the plastic sections creak and move a bit under heavy load but its never failed and would take some serious abuse to break it.