When it comes to servicing your bike, it’s easy to just take it down to the local bike shop and get someone else to do it for you. But over time it becomes an expensive habit for jobs that are actually quite easy especially once you’ve done them once or twice.
Should you Buy a Bike Repair Stand?
This really depends on a few things:
- Do you like tinkering around and like learning new things?
- Are you sick of trying to make adjustments or clean your bike while leaning it against the fence?
- Do you have time available to service your bike yourself or are you time poor?
- Are you sick of the ongoing cost of paying for a new chain or other accessories?
If the answer was mostly yes to the above then buying a bike repair stand is a great idea.
If you’re someone who is quite time poor or not really interested in tinkering around with your bike then we’d recommend sticking to having the local bike shop service your bike. There’s nothing wrong with that.
What to Look for When Buying a Bike Repair Stand
How the Bike Mounts to the Stand
From our experience, there are generally two ways that bikes can be mounted to a bike repair stand. These include:
- Mounted using a clamp around the seat post or frame tube to securely hold the bike
- Mounted using the quick release fork and bottom bracket cradle to securely hold your bike in position
Which option is best? Mounting by quick release provides a mor stable fit on your bike and is more commonly seen with professional bike racing teams.
Clamp Style
One of the most important things when buying a bike stand is the clamp to secure your bike. You want something that’s easy to use and doesn’t require lots of adjusting to dial in the right amount of pressure to hold your bike. We also found in more premium clamps that they won’t mark your bike and use grippy covered jaws to securely hold your bike.
Material of the Bike Stand
Portability of Unit (Folding or Dedicated)
Most people will be familiar with the bike stands their local bike shop has which are beefy stands that are bolted to the floor which are suitable for your garage where you make tweaks and repairs to your bike. Alternatively there’s folding stands which are a great option for anyone that’s looking for a more secure way to hold their bike while being able to fold it away and store it when not in use.
Angle Adjustment
Most bike stands come with the ability of being able to adjust the bike’s position 360 degrees when locked into position. What becomes important is how easy it is to adjust the bike’s position. Most units rely on a quick adjustment knob on the rear of the unit where you simply need to tighten or loosen the knob to begin freely moving the bike.
Ease of Setup
If something is difficult to use your drive to pull it out and set it up will be increased. For this reason, we recommend looking at how complex the unit is to assemble and dissemble if you’re buying a folding unit that will need to be stored away after each use.
Height Adjustment
From our experience, most bike stands we reviewed allow a maximum height extension of around 55-70”. The higher the better as it will allow you to comfortably get hard to reach areas.
Best Budget Bike Stand
Flexion Bike Repair Stand
Looking for a cost efficient bike stand to have around the house for washing your bike and light repair work? The Flexion Bike Repair stand is the answer.
The Flexion is a folding bike repair stand that is easy to set up and capable of holding bikes up to 30 kg (66 lbs) and extending to a height of 75” (190 cm).
The Flexion bike stand’s mounting clamp is capable of attaching to all standard frames from 1” to 2.5”. The clamp has been designed to avoid unnecessary rubbing or scratching on your frame. Once your bike is attached, you have the luxury of being able to move your bike 360 degrees.
Two things we really liked about the Flexion bike repair stand was the inclusion of a magnetic tool tray which works great for placing any tools or lubricant on and also holding any stray screws. While we also thought the front handlebar mount was a great touch where it will keep your front wheel firmly in position which works great for when you’re working on the front wheel like bleeding the brakes.
One of the downsides of the Flexion bike repair stand is the long-term durability of the unit thanks to it being constructed with mostly plastic. We noticed that a lot of reviews had issues with the stand showing signs of stress after 3-6 months which can lead to parts breaking without warning. You may find this to be less of an issue if you are attaching a lightweight carbon bike vs a heavy mountain bike.
Is this a good unit? Yes but unfortunately you do get what you pay for with the long-term durability of the unit being questionable thanks to the plastic materials.
Best Foldable Bike Repair Stand
Bikehand Bike Repair Stand
The Bikehand Bike Repair Stand is another foldable and portable stand that’s capable of holding bikes up to 25 kg and designed to hold bike tube thickness from 1” to 2.4”. While the stand is built using a mix of aluminium and heavy duty plastic allows the Bikehand to be both lightweight and sturdy.
Once your bike is mounted to the Bikehand, the stand is capable of extending to 59” in height and can be rotated 360 degrees as needed.
Similar to the Flexion bike stand we previously reviewed, the Bikehand also comes with a magnetic tool plate for holding your tools and catching the odd screw while you’re working. A great touch.
One downside of this unit is the use of plastic in parts which would be better suited with metal for greater durability. An example of this is the plastic in the clamp particularly the teeth crowns which act to lock the rotating clamp arm at the desired angle. When your bike is attached to the clamp, they begin to show signs of weakness which could be avoided by using more durable materials such as metal to more securely hold your bike in position.
Is this a good bike repair stand? Yes. We’d recommend the Bikehand repair stand for anyone who works on their bike from home. We’d be reluctant to recommend it in a commercial environment where you’re likely working on bikes that may test the weight limit of the stand. In this case, we’d recommend a permanently fixed unit like the Park Tools we recommend later.
MaxxHaul Bike Repair Stand
The MaxxHaul Bike Repair Stand is another foldable stand capable of holding bikes up to 30 kg and extending to 74” in height. In terms of bike compatibility, the MaxxHaul is compatible with bike frames of 1”-1.6”.
Liike other folding bike repair stands we reviewed, the Maxxhaul also can be rotated 360 degrees.
The MaxxHaul’s ability to hold 30 kg is thanks to its almost all metal construction which helps ensure your bike is stable while attached. The stand does have some plastic which is used in the plastic and is designed to avoid any rubbing or scratching appearing on your bike.
One thing that was quite different with the MaxxHaul Bike Repair Stand to other folding stands we reviewed was the inclusion of a balance bar which is used create greater balance of the bike and to help support the clamp.
One thing we really liked about the MaxxHaul was the inclusion of mounting holes in the feet of the stand. This allows you to mount the stand to your floor if you so desire.
Like other folding bike repair stands we’ve reviewed, the MaxxHaul also comes with a little tool tray to keep your tools and screws nice and close.
Best Mountable Repair Stand
Conquer Bench Mount Repair Stand
The Conquer Bench Mount Repair Stand is what the name suggests and a bike repair stand that mounts to your bench top. Perfect for those of us with a workshop and somewhere to work on their bike and permanently leave a bike stand out.
Capable of mounting tubes of 1.1” to 2.7” and holding a weight of 22 kg, the Conquer Bench Mount is a good option for people who commutes with either a road bike or hybrid bike. For those that commute with more heavier mountain bikes, we’d suggesting looking at the Park Tools bench mounted repair stand which is capable of holding more weight.
The Conquer Bench Repair Stand is made from metal and includes some plastic around the mounting system to securely grip on to your bike.
Similar to other bike repair stands we reviewed, the Conquer Bench Mount Repair Stand is capable of rotating 360 degrees.
Best Mountable Repair Stand Runner Up
Vendor Bench Repair Stand
The Vendor Bench Repair Stand is a great option for anyone looking for a dedicated bike repair stand that mounts to a bench top. Capable of holding a maximum bike weight of 20 kg and extending to a height of 71” makes this a great option for any commuter with a road or hybrid bike.
The Vendor Bench Repair Stand is made to last thanks to being constructed of full metal with a rubber coating. The unit does however include some plastic in the clamp/jaw which is used to securely grip your bike and avoid any marks or scratches from appearing like you may get if it was metal.
Similar to other bike repair stands we reviewed, the Vendor Bench Repair Stand is capable of being rotated 360 degrees to get that right angle.
We think this is a great option for anyone that wants a durable bike stand and doesn’t have to worry about their bike toppling over like you might get with a folding bike repair stand.
Best Wall Mounted Bike Repair Stand
Park Tools Bike Repair Stand
The Park Tools Bike Repair Stand is a bit different to the other units we reviewed where it mounts to a wall or pole. This is a great option for anyone that doesn’t have much space but is looking for a more durable and strong repair stand. The best thing about a wall based clamp vs a mounted or folding clamp is how little space it takes up with the Park Tools Repair Stand sits 13” from the wall.
In terms of capability, we think the Park Tools Bike Repair Stand is the best for anyone seeking a durable and strong option. This is thanks to the stand being able to hold bikes up to 40 kg and grip any tube from 7/8” to 3”. The mount itself is made from heavy gauge steel tubing which is powder coated for extra longitivity.
Like other bike repair stands we reviewed, the Park Tools Repair Stand is capable of being rotated 360 degrees. But one downside compared to other repair stands was the extended height with the unit only capable of extending to 16.5” high.
The biggest downside we could see with this unit (other than the height being limited) is that it isn’t particularly useful if you are using it for washing your bike. Unless of course you can mount it somewhere outside but you’re probably better off buying a cheap folding unit if you need something to wash your bike.
This is a great option for anyone who has a dedicated workshop for tinkering with their bike and is looking for something that will last the distance.
I’m Ben! I used to catch a bus to work until one day I decided the time would be better spent commuting by bike to save time and keep fit. Ever since then, I’ve loved commuting to work with this blog sharing some of my favourite tips and equipment for fellow commuters.