Workstand / Tool Recommendations

soundz

The Hat
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Hi,

I'm looking to buy a workstand and set of tools for un-building/re-building some bikes. Any recommendations you can give me? I want to spend as little money as possible, but don't mind spending the dough if the answer is something like, "cheap workstands/tools will break in a year, you should get something nice".

Thanks,

Jimmy
 

BiknBen

Well-Known Member
Park Tools is the cream of the crop. Their work stands and tools are professional quality that you will find at the local bike shops.

They sell various types of stands to accommodate various budgets. They also have tool kits to equip you with the tools you need right away.

Performance Bike and Nashbar offer similar stands and tool kits. There is a noticeable drop in quality but the stuff still works. If on a budget, I'd recommend you start with a stand and basic tool kit from one of those two.

As you master your home wrenching skills, upgrade the tools as required and go with the higher quality stuff down the road. At that point, you will have a better idea of the tools you really need and use regularly.

Regardless of what you buy, keep the Park Tools website in your favorites list. www.parktool.com There are tons of great how-to tips and recommendations.
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
i got a park "super light" repair stand from my wife last year and it's been fantastic. the clamp was bad and they send me a new one no charge. fan-freakin'-tastic customer service!

as for tools, you can probably get away with a lot of what you already have. there are some you'll have to buy but a lot you won't.
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
I have a stand and basic tool set I bought from price point a few years back. Working witha stand is great but you are still looking at at least 75 for 100 to get one that is usable. The tools aren't the best quuality but I have upgraded with park as need, just like Ben said above. Unless you are taking your bike apart alot, you can do a bunch of stuff with a good set of allen keys.
 

joeschaar

New Member
Nashbar stand

Mixed review...

About 4 years ago, I bought a cheap nashbar stand. It works great for some bike designs. It holds the bikes by bottom braket and downtube.

I recently upgraded my bike to stumpjumper that does not work with the nashbar stand due to the cable routing under the down tube.

In the past, bikes with just two cables along the edges of the underside of the down tube, it worked fine.

It is REAL inexpensive ($70) but great for bikes it can accomadate. Since the bike is held by the botton braket, you can really crank on parts, when needed.

your call....
:hmmm:
 

743power

Shop: Bicycle Pro
Shop Keep
park makes a "roll up" tool kit that has a lot of good stuff in it. A good set of t handle, ball end hex wrenches is key for working on mtbs. For the stand, you have to decide on head quality, stability, and portability/packability. At home I use a performance stand that folds up so I can put it in the corner when I'm not using it. I don't skimp on tools though. All park and pedros.
 

soundz

The Hat
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Thanks all for you opinions. I think I'm gonna go with a low end Park stand like the PCS-9. I don't need it to be too portable since I've got a big garage.

Jimmy
 

ItsWin

Member
For any bike-specific tools, Park is by far the best bang for buck, especially when compared with more expensive but not always better quality tools from VAR or Campy. Lifu's "IceToolz" are even cheaper and I hear some of them are actually pretty good quality also, especially for home use, but I haven't tried any of them myself.

Unless they've lowered their pricing recently, don't go with Park for regular hand tools - hex wrenches, torx wrenches, hammer, hacksaw, screwdrivers, etc. If you do, you're just paying more for the Park logo. Most of this stuff you can get cheaper and better at your local hardware store or at any online hardware store.

Bike Tools Etc. (I'll refer to them as "BTE" for short) is a great online source for bike tools. You can get just about any bike-specific tool from them, including shop tools. They also carry every general purpose tool imaginable that is even remotely related to bike repair.

Here's some recommendations for a few specific tools I really like:

The Bondhus hex wrench kit is a good one - the wrenches are tough and reasonably priced (BTE price: $13), with chamfered short ends and balldriver long ends.

Park is coming out with a new 3/8" socket kit (SBS-1) that has just about everything you need. BTE will have it for $30, which isn't bad.

For pedal wrenches, Hozan's C-200 is simple, durable, and inexpensive (BTE price $20) but it's skinny and bites into your hand when you're really torqueing it. Park's PW-4 is the "Cadillac" of pedal wrenches. If you find yourself switching pedals alot, it's worth the extra $13. It has a long comfortable vinyl-coated handle and though the working angles look funny, it works better than anything else out there.

I recommend Stein's HyperHandle or Pedro's cog wrench instead of a chain whip as they are safer and easier to use. Also, I like Stein's lockring tool the best because it's the only one I know of that fits a 3/8" socket.

For tire removal, don't waste money on metal tire levers, which are expensive and can damage your rims. IMHO, the venerable QuickStik is still best.

If you want to get a quality "click-type" torque wrench, I recommend SK Tools' 74021. There are some good Internet deals out there.

Finally, I've used Park's CN-10 cable cutter and Shimano's TL-CT10 and even though the Park tool looks more formidable, the Shimano tool actually works better, especially when cutting cable (both cut housing well enough). I think Shimano just came out with a new incarnation of the tool, the TL-CT11, which I'm assuming is even better.

Hope this info is helpful,


Win
 

BicyclePhD

Jamis Bicycles
Shop Keep
just do what aaron did make friends with the guys at the shop, bring beer and you get to use a pro stand and shop level tools. the only rules are come in the evening when the days work is done and don't touch the campy faceing/cutting tools.
 

axcxnj

Hipster Keys
^ hes right, beer and pizza cost less than a workstand

though im still looking to get a workstand eventually
 

Ian F

Well-Known Member
I have a Park PRS-5 (unfortunately, NLA). It uses the same clamp the stationary stands at bike shops have. It was not cheap (about $350 ten years ago), but I've built and wrenched on more bikes than I can remember with that stand. The big advantage is I can knock it down, put it into its bag and it takes up very little space when stored and naturally, it transports well. If I'm ever able to have a 100% dedicated "bike room", I'll buy a stationary shop stand with the 90 lb base, although I have this cool idea of a periscope-style stand that hangs from the ceiling... :p.

money-no-object-stupid-expensive-but-has-cool-features-stand: http://www.foesracing.com/assets/pdf/PowerClamp.pdf

For tools, just get one of the basic starter kits and go from there. If you need a tool, buy it... and your collection will grow. Many of the bike-specific tools in my collection I've had for 25 years.

Personally, I try to keep my bike tools separate from my automotive tools and as such, I've ended up with a few duplicate tools.

My current bike tool box is a slightly modified 3-drawer Craftsman intermediate chest. The non-opening top allowed me to stack parts bins and what-not on top when the box was in the back of my van at races and still be able to open the drawers. The down-side being that when fully loaded, it's not light.

Lastly, good tools may not be cheap, but they'll last a lifetime... whereas a cheap tool can cost you your life (although rare when bike-wrenching).
 
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743power

Shop: Bicycle Pro
Shop Keep
I have a Park PRS-5 (unfortunately, NLA). It uses the same clamp the stationary stands at bike shops have. It was not cheap (about $350 ten years ago), but I've built and wrenched on more bikes than I can remember with that stand. The big advantage is I can knock it down, put it into its bag and it takes up very little space when stored and naturally, it transports well. If I'm ever able to have a 100% dedicated "bike room", I'll buy a stationary shop stand with the 90 lb base, although I have this cool idea of a periscope-style stand that hangs from the ceiling... :p.

For tools, just get one of the basic starter kits and go from there. If you need a tool, buy it... and your collection will grow. Many of the bike-specific tools in my collection I've had for 25 years.

Personally, I try to keep my bike tools separate from my automotive tools and as such, I've ended up with a few duplicate tools.

My current bike tool box is a slightly modified 3-drawer Craftsman intermediate chest. The non-opening top allowed me to stack parts bins and what-not on top when the box was in the back of my van at races and still be able to open the drawers.

Lastly, good tools may not be cheap, but they'll last a lifetime... whereas a cheap tool can cost you your life (although rare when bike-wrenching).


Everything you and itswin said I agree with.

Read both of these posts and you will be set for working on bikes.
 
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