UKC

I currently have an old bike stand for doing maintenance but it has several (annoying) faults, so am thinking its time to invest in new.

Its not stable - the 3 legs are jointed at the top and it tends to 'walk' : When working on the bike the whole lot flexes and tends to want to move sideways and fall over.
The clamp to hold the bike tube is metal and needs padding under it to prevent chipping off the paintwork, and the tube clamp is difficult to get tight so as to hold the bike firmly.
The clamp to hold the front wheel from sideways motion is hard to tighten and keeps slipping so the front forks slip round to 90 degrees to the bike and get in the way.

So what I am after is a bike stand that is very stable when holding a bike and doesnt wobble or flex when you apply a bit of pressure form one side, like when cleaning the chain: is easy to tighten and undo the various clamps, and without scarring the paintwork. Preferably one which is height adjustable so the bike can be raised / lowered, and maybe the angle of the bike front to back is also adjustable. An additional benefit is a stand that can be used on a slight angled slope without walking and in which the bike can be held horizontally.

Many Thanks.

In reply to ianghogg:

I have the £40 Halfors one....good quality, sturdy and solid clamp....feels very stable even using it with my Dawes tourer which weighs a lot...

In reply to ianghogg:

Hi, I've got one of these...

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/spider-team-workstand-id_8242726.html

a little pricey but great for carbon frames as it only clamps the dropouts on the front or rear. very light but stable and adjustable. I've been really happy with it.

In reply to ianghogg:

I have a Topeak Prep Stand Race that I got from a certain auction site virtually un-used for a fraction of it's normal price.

Just been using it to re-build my road bike. Only niggle is that at it's lowest height, the bike is still quite high and I had to take it off to do the bar tape.

In reply to ianghogg:

I have a Bike Hand workshop stand:

http://www.bikehand.com/style/frame/templates8/product_detail.asp?lang=2&am...

Very pleased with it.

N

In reply to ianghogg:

the aldi ones are fine, so are the Halford ones

In reply to Mountain Llama:

I'll second the Aldi ones. Had mine for a couple of years.

I believe you no longer have to wait for the specials to appear in store, and that you can order them online. Under £30 at the last time I saw them.

In reply to ianghogg:

I've been using...

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/park-tool-home-mechanic-repair-stand-pcs...

...for a few years now. Simple and robust, can't fault it.