Guest Article: Workstands and Toolkits
Without the workstand, where would we be? Working on a bike while it leans against the wall is no way to work. Yes, we all put off even buying the first poor excuse for a stand for much too long because those Campagnolo upgrades came first. That would have been another benefit of working in a bike shop as a teenager; the early introduction to the proper tools and stands to do the work. Thanks to @Teocalli for a review and a tale of how to get one.
VLVV, Gianni
It all started perfectly innocently.
VMW – Sighs and looks at the Conservatory last Spring. “If only I could get the Conservatory back”.
Like many, I suspect, our conservatory swings between habitability and dumping ground but in this instance had become my bike workroom. Typically, there was at least one bike in the conservatory with tools spread over the table and toolbox gaping on the floor like a man-trap (VMW trap?). Workroom might be a bit of a misnomer as I didn’t have a decent workstand and survived using axle-stands or a frame vice clamped to the table. It was all very ad hoc but a decent workstand always seemed hard to justify. However, my lower back was definitely feeling the need as at my age sitting on a low stool (how many know what a Crackett is?) working near floor level was doing my back no good whatsoever.
Me – “Well if I had a decent workstand I could work in the garage”
WMW – “Why can’t you use your cabin?” (note here that I have a work cabin for woodwork and dirty stuff and the VMW has a garden shed – terminology when it comes to man-sheds is important!).
Me – “We’ll that’s not very secure and my tools would go rusty in the winter as it gets a bit damp in there”.
VMW – “Well, can’t you put them all in the garage?”
Me – “I’d need to clear all the garden stuff out of the top half of the garage to be able to work in there”.
VMW – “OK but I’d need a new Garden Shed to put it all in as the current one is full and not big enough and it leaks”.
Gianni was right, it’s all a matter of negotiation and making sure that the other half gets the bigger slice. Hell’s teeth, a new Garden Shed is way more expensive than a bike workstand!
Me (pressing my luck) – “I could do with a decent tool cabinet too as scrabbling in that toolbox is a real pain and it won’t take all my tools and still close anymore”
VMW – “Ok if I get a new Garden Shed and you put down a base for me THEN you can buy a workstand and tool cabinet”
DEAL !
So that is how I now come to have a great tool cabinet with all my tools neatly spread out in single layers and easy to find and a decent workstand.
So the purpose of writing this was actually to comment on the Feedback Sports Workstand. I went for the Sprint Workstand model as I have never been too keen with clamping lightweight frames ever since my first lightweight Alu frame that came covered in stickers “Do Not Clamp Here” and the Feedback Sports model also has a neat arrangement of spacers on the axle QR clamp that will take variable OLD sizes suitable to my small collection and also can take Through Axle so is very versatile. It is not cheep but I highly recommend it. Sturdy construction with a wide base it is fully height adjustable and swings through 360 deg or can be clamped in a fixed position. Bikes can be clamped by the forks or rear axle depending on what you want to work on. Being Aluminium construction it is also great for cleaning bikes and hosing down as well as folding into a neat package to be easily portable.
Having the tool cabinet is an absolute joy with everything having its own place and (so far) ensures that I put all tools back in their place after using them. No more scrabbling to find that left hand widget that I know is somewhere. In fact, now I’m looking for excuses to find something to fettle on one bike or another as it is so much easier than previously. The right tools for the job do make a huge difference. The slightly funny part of emptying my tool box was that I did find that I had duplicates of a few things that were hidden unseen way down at the bottom and I had bought the second not knowing there was a lurker down in the dark recesses of the toolkit.
All I need now is a proper bike room, the VMW has okayed that as part of the new seafront house – sadly though, our combined plans for that will have to wait for the lottery win.
Feedbaclk Sports Workstand
Rule #5 Buttercup.
When The Boss announced she was with child, and said something about a “nursery” being needed, I knew I was going to move a notch down on the old family totem, AND that my workplace in the extra bedroom was going away.
I called one of those “we build it on your property” places, and had them come out and build a Service Course. Stuffed it into the corner of the yard, painted it dark green so it would blend, and put a very Little Rascals “No Girls Allowed” sign on the door.
12×16. 8 foot ceilings. Full electricity. Insulated and drywalled. 1/2 linoleum and 1/2 carpet. Cable, WiFi, 32″ flat screen w/DVD & VHS (gotta watch the old WCP race videos!). Locks from the inside AND outside. Heat and A/C. Full stereo system.
A folding cot and 40 deg. bag are kept in there at all times.
It’s Service Course, and the Fortress of Solitude. We’re selling the house, and I’m already making plans for Service Course Mk2.
Bigger (two stories?), all of the same stuff as above, plus a bathroom, and work sink.
If you have to negotiate, shoot for the Moon. The garage is settling. Never settle.
And are you going to be one of those full on anal-retentive types who then outlines the silhouette of the tool in the cabinet to know the exact resting place for it’s return once used? Myself, I have my work shop in a splendid state of disarray to balance out the rest of my life.
Yes the Sprint was a necessary addition to keep my new MX Leader good. And good enough for Tinkoff Saxo.
I’ve got Sprint on my mind – the next Merckx frame coming. It is “Yes the Sports was a necessary addition…” It had the best looking arrangement of rails for the bottom bracket.
It only took 5 seconds to tell my wife that the Feedback was ordered.
Not being married, I can devote half my garage to my toys. Now I just need a tool cabinet. Problem is, my best friend just picked up a wall-size Snap-On second hand. I can’t just get a decent cabinet now, I’ve got to trump my mate. There goes the SuperBike fund…
@Ccos
LMAO
I’ve been using a Feedback stand for years. I do use the model with the clamp head. Just too convenient. Super light. Works great. Really dig mine. Folds up easy peasy and in to a little gig bag. Am regularly ratcheting the lever for the height adjust one turn tighter and envision that’ll need attn some day. The clamp makes things easier. Especially running bike thru the gears and checking brakes. I just clamp the seat post. Cheers
@Scott
I’m married and devote half my garage to my toys. Guess what gets the other half? My better half yes.
@Ccos
I’m not that sad! Oops sorry to anyone who does.
Weird, i am just in the process of buying a shed who will serve as my workshop.
Any advice about which type stand to buy? Precision: i work 95% of the time on vintage bikes and i don’t want my bike’s paint (which can be fragile on those oldies) to be damaged, so i am not so sure about a clamp. I also don’t need a folding one: the stand will be permanent(and more stable i tink).
Thanks.
@Ccos
A proper shadow board, either with foam with recesses cut or hooks and outlines, is a thing of wonder and beauty. Essential if you want to work efficiently using the principles of 5S.
And as a house-sharing renter, something I can only fantasise about
@Al__S
You mentioned ‘5S’ in a forum post?!
I can only assume manufacturing environments have damaged us both.
@LeBelge
Re Vintage, that’s why I like the Freedom Sports as it has various combinations of spacers that will work with vintage bikes – and you can always make up additional spacers if you need something completely off the wall. Most of the others I have looked at seem to come as fixed OLD mounts.
Freedom = Feedback of course.
So uhhh… just to go on a completely unrelated tangent here, @chuckp I’m noting the color of the Feedback stands and also noting what I saw when I walked in to a bar in Savannah on Thu this week
They clearly took their Campari seriously. So I had my first ever Negroni. Then my second. Turns out that there is a story (isn’t there always?) behind the strange name of this drink. Cheers
I think that stand looks like a winner. I have a Park stand with a big heavy steel plate of a base so it is stable but it’s not mobile or good looking or anodized aluminium. When it’s bike washing time I do some heavy lifting to move outside.
And I endorse spending money of a tool chest too, another thing I put off for too long. Oh youth, why so cheap?
@Teocalli
I have the same Feedback stand. It has many positive attributes. My only issue is, you can not align the front brake and rim simutaniously (guess why?) Otherwise, it the best built and most bike friendly stand I have ever owned.
Looking at getting one of these sometime to replace the e-bay special I use at the moment;going to have to wait for a while though as new wheels have been bought,Wiggle and Chain Reaction orders made and a Dura Ace chainset,although that stand would help put all these new parts on the N1.
@Teocalli
Great article and thanks for the heads-up on what looks like a superb stand. I was looking at the Park PRS-20 which is similar, but the Sprint looks like it’s the mutt’s nuts.
When we moved home recently and I eventually got ‘my’ garage and tool room, I had great plans for the storage and maintenance of my bikes, camping and climbing gear, but I made the mistake of allowing a few archive boxes of my other half’s reference books in … big mistake. Of course the books couldn’t just live in the boxes (why not?!), and so they’ve slowly started creeping out of the boxes and taking up shelf space. It’s the thin end of a wedge I reckon and this unholy land-grab needs to be nipped in the bud before it’s too late … it’s a bike workshop FFS, not a book store!
A question to the older and wiser: does Rule #41 apply to workshop stands…?
@wilburrox
Welcome to the club!
Park Tool PCS-10 stand. Got to maintain loyalty to my home boys in St Paul. Roses are for our 20-anniversary. Downsizing to a condo and a bike stand in the dining room is what happens after 20-years and no kids. A special thanks to the best VMH ever!
Good timing, picked this bad boy up from the LBS on Friday. Nothing special, but at under 1/3 the price of the Park Tools version, it was kinda tough to pass up. Doesn’t hurt that the colour scheme is a perfect match for the Redback.
@Mikael Liddy
So that’s what the wee tray thingy’s for – holding beer! D’oh! Nice score on the stand. I have a real stand too and can’t imagine life without it.
@wilburrox
+1. 1/2 of the garage is for bicycles, motorcycles, and workspace. The other half is her car, gardening stuff, and things she refuses to throw away. The trick is to keep my half as messy a possible so that she won’t move in on my territory.
Bought a house last year. Now I’m saving up for a proper bike workshop, both for storing and working on them. I dream of the day when I’ll get all the bikes out of the house and not have to work on them in the dining room. The VMH is a good one though, 5-6 bikes in the house, 2 on the front porch and she never complains.
Why choose just one? I have a Park Tool stand that cradles the BB and clamps the fork, then I have a no-name stand that clamps on the seat pillar or TT, and then I also have a very basic j-hook one that allows you to elevate the rear wheel for quick drivetrain work.
I’m all set on bikes and gear, now I just need a proper home for all of them to live!
@Mikael Liddy
Handsome whip. How do you like those wheels?
Our house was built in the 50’s and had a great “Herrenzimmer” or “Masters Room” complete with Humidor, liquor cabinet and cool wood panelling. We restored the house fully, but I left this room as-is except for the fact that my bikes and workshop has moved in. It’s a bit full, but a great vibe and my favorite room in the house. Suffice it to say that the liquor cabinet is still there.
As far as a bike stand, the Park Tool PCS-10 has served me very well.
@wiscot
It’s not quite fit for purpose though, the bottle doesn’t sit down in any of the sections on the tray, so it kinda ends up teetering there on top. It was moved once the work began.
@The Pressure
Love the width of the rim, makes for a much rounder tyre shape (especially with 25s) rather than the “lightbulb” shape that a narrower rim creates. Theory is that it allows for much better grip & handling, without costing you much in the way of rolling resistance.
Once they’re up to speed they’ll roll for days as well, but I can’t help feeling like they’re not quite as snappy up a hill as the C-24s I had on my old R3. Think it’s probably down to there being more rim, ergo more weight at the outside of the wheel, requiring more effort to accelerate it (don’t quote me on that science though).
@1860
Have we seen a more detailed photo essay based around that ‘nago? If not, why not?
@Mikael Liddy
“Moved” being a synonym for “imbibed”?
When you think about it, that’s about all a Velominatus should use a Camelback for: filling with beer and imbibing while wrenching.
@wiscot
You’ve heard of “Beer in the Bidon”, no? Why the fuck would we need a Camelback?
Awesome British dude Mr Stannard not racing this weekend ?!? Go back two years ago and we get one of the all time awesome snapshots with he and GVA reminding us that the spring classics are indeed for badasses and then last year he proceeds to make a team full of studs look silly at the end. Love this time of year! Cheers all
@Mikael Liddy
Well spotted! I did write a whole article about testing Rule #12, but I am slightly embarrassed to admit that I never came back with the photos on the finished beauty of the Colnago Master Olympic. The reason why, I am not fully happy with the handlebars and am just waiting for a NOS 3T Quill Stem and Deda handlebar so I can finally finish it to the level I am happy with it. Plus despite massively improving my handlebar tape wrapping skills, after reading the articles on that I also want to improve the handle tape as well….. Then I can finally also take some decent pictures and present it at a level I am happy with.
On the workstand article:
I have an old Ultimate stand (which is now Feedback) and it’s a trooper. Got it from a friend who didn’t want to buy replacement parts thinking they were too expensive. Feedback still makes the parts and the part I needed was only ten bucks. It’s honestly the best stand I’ve used. You guys should check them out!
That Feedback stand is a thing of beauty.
I’m currently in the process of building my own stand so that I can begin the process of building my first road bike. A Gavia Imperiale frameset which I got a knock down price.
That is, it is my first ever road bike that I am building, which is also the first ever bike build that I am attempting, which induced me to buy a wall mounted bike stand only to realize that the basement storage room I intended to use as my workshop is (a) too small (b) too cold and (c) too dark. This in turn has required me to cobble together some sort of home made bike stand. Well, either that or mount the bloody thing in the downstairs sitting room (which would most likely result in exile to the basement on a near permanent basis – which would give me plenty time to build the bike, I guess…).
Anyway… Just thought I would pitch in, being new and all that.
Here here.
I have the feedback pro-elite and it is an unreasonably good work stand. The push button release is so good on their clamp stands. And it is light enough to carry around. It remains stable with the clamp at my eye level. I stand at 1.88m, so fairly high for a bike stand.
For us that already take great enjoyment from maintaining the fleet, a proper work stand turns the enjoyment up to 11.
Just got the tool tray attachment. It’s the DBs for safely holding essential work items……
@wiscot
Hey @wiscott, sorry to hijack the thread but if anybody knows it’ll be you. My unbelievable VMH struck me dumb with what’s below for my birthday and I’m trying to research it. The only one I can find remotely like it is in a café in Italy where the owner has a shrine to Eddy alongside a gold Colnago.
Ive been through Herbie Sykes Maglia Rosa with no luck and the internet has very little. Do you know if any other Molteni rider ever wore pink? The jersey is wool, badly bobbled in places and was bought in a coffee shop in Totnes, a small town in Devon. There is no label on the back of the collar. Any help greatly received
@gilly
Gianni Motta?
That’s brilliant Davy, thank you. The jersey being worn by Motta is very close with only the gazetta font being slightly different. The guy who owns the coffee shop apparently has a box full of vintage jerseys that he periodically puts up for sale. Pure luck that Mrs G was driving by when she did. Thanks again
@gilly
No worries, glad to be of some help. That VMH of yours, she’s a keeper!
I have a feeling one (possibly more) of Eddy’s domestiques held the Maglia Rosa early in his victories. The names that spring to mind are Martin Van Den Bosche and Jos Bruyere, but I don’t have my books to hand to confirm.
It’s an incredibly cool momento whoever earned it!
@DavyMuur
You know it mate. @Buck Rogers said the same last week.
@gilly
Probably Marino Basso – he wore it a few times – or Polidori from 1969.
@Herbie Sykes
Ahem, excuse me everyone, um Herbie Sykes is speaking…
@brett
I stand expertly corrected!
@Oli
The Herbie Sykes? Welcome onboard.