About time I got a workstand !

lfoggy said:

Dear all,

After many years of scrabbling around on my knees I've decided to finally get a workstand, trouble is I don't know what sort. There seem to be two types, one that clamps the bike at a single point and the other type that holds the bike at two points such as under the bottom bracket and by the forks. The latter seems more stable to me.......I also worry about damage to the tubes with the single clamp variety. Having said that bike shops seem to use the single clamp type. My bikes are all touring bikes so a little heavier than the typical racer. I would intend to keep the stand in workshop and there is plenty of room for it so don't need anything collapsable etc
My approach with tools is always to get the best so I am willing to spend some money here. Any advice from users?
😕 😕
NB I haven't seen any threads on this topic before......

Go withn single clamp, dont worry about damaginf the tubes, the only thing that mioght happen is you could scratch the paint, and to prevent this i just wrapped the clamp in a an old rag. Id avoind one that is collapsable unless you plan on using it at races or something because they take alot of room. Look for one with a very sturdy and HEAVY base.

swcycling said:

Go withn single clamp, dont worry about damaginf the tubes, the only thing that mioght happen is you could scratch the paint, and to prevent this i just wrapped the clamp in a an old rag. Id avoind one that is collapsable unless you plan on using it at races or something because they take alot of room. Look for one with a very sturdy and HEAVY base.

Agreed - go with the single clamp kind because it does not hinder working on the bike in any way.

Also, using a rag or something of the sort WILL protect your finish.

However, consider whether or not your bikes have non-round tubes. These single-clamp workstands are optimized for round tubes, and are typically clamped to the seatpost (however, if not enough seatpost is sticking out, the seat tube works just as well).

There's no need to spend tons of money (i.e. parktool), as the Ultimate professional stand, retailing for $140-ish is just as dependable.

However, if you're crafty (or a welder) you can purchase the clamp itself, and construct your own stand. In this case, get Park's best clamp (I can't recall the model currently)