Workstands - do I need one?

My local Lidl has a load of these workstands in for £30 which the general consensus is that it's a bit of a bargain:

http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/lidl_uk/hs.xsl/index_32414.htm

I'm a sucker for a bargain but have lived my life so far quite happily without a workstand. Are they really useful and you wonder how you got by without them or just something else to clutter the house up?

I've always just turned the bike upside down for maintenance and leaned against an outside wall (with a cloth over the shifters obviously) for cleaning. Am I missing out?

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Permalink Reply by Johnny Edwards on July 10, 2012 at 17:13

I bought one thinking Id use it all the time.

The reality is that I only ever use it when camping in the middle of a field for 12/24 MTB team races (where it becomes very useful indeed).

The other option is to use a simple loop of cord/rope to suspend the bike by the saddle from a beam in the garage/shed.

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Permalink Reply by michael farla club captain on July 10, 2012 at 21:40

yep. agree with John E, don't waste your dirhams

The one I bought was used just the once and is now under stuff in garage

rope from beam works fine !

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Permalink Reply by Adie Road Race Manager on July 11, 2012 at 14:05

I do most of my own maintenance and don't have a garage so I find the stand really handy. Good for cleaning as well

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Permalink Reply by Hamish Brown on July 11, 2012 at 15:07

Mine suffered the similar fate to getting buried in the shed behind the foldaway clothes line, never gets used. Agree with keeping the cash in the pocket. I'm also wondering why Adie is trying to create an illusion that he cleans his bike on this forum ?

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Permalink Reply by Simon Clarke on July 11, 2012 at 20:24

My two penn'orth:

I think it depends on how much bike washing and maintenance you do. I look after my road, mountain and cross bikes and Claire's road bikes. They get ridden a fair bit and in the muck too. So they have a hard life, need a lot of washing and I do all the maintenance. I have even built a couple of bikes from scratch and am always replacing cables and headsets and the like. When I wash bikes I do so with them in a stand with the wheels removed and that makes life easier. You can get at more of the bike, it is secure and I'm not bending down all the time. So, a work stand makes sense for me and after having one for a few years I would not want to be without it.

Managed comfortably up until now and get a shop to do your maintenance? Save your pennies.

Got lots of bike work to do and want to be as efficient as possible at it? Worth investing.

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Permalink Reply by Jonathan Harris on July 11, 2012 at 20:59

Absolutely agree. I do all my own maintenance - wouldn't be without mine and it gets used loads. Makes life so much easier spending an hour or so working on the bike standing up rather than crawling around on your knees. You can do all your maintenance with both hands available (rather than balancing or lifting the bike) and you can do all your drivetrain or brake work with the bike in the stand rather than perched upside down.

If you spend any time looking after your bike, a workstand is an indispensible bit of kit, in my opinion. I find it amazing that others never use theirs...

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Permalink Reply by Steve Gale on July 11, 2012 at 21:07

Thanks guys.

Still in two minds. I do all my own maintenance (hence the shonky gear shifts and wobbly headsets) and wash my bikes more than our baby but with the house already cluttered with a turbo trainer, 3 bikes, and a huge bike box (soon to be dropped off by my parents) I have to be sure before risking divorce.

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Permalink Reply by Jonathan Harris on July 11, 2012 at 22:09

I've got a spare one if you want to borrow one for a bit and see how you get on. It's a Tacx T3050 Team Spider model: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/tacx-spider-team-workstand/

Good for road bikes. Not so good for FS mountain bikes (hence why it's spare), but I haven't got round to selling it...

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Permalink Reply by Steve Gale on July 14, 2012 at 19:15

Many thanks for the kind offer but as the wife's away this weekend I've snuck out and bought one. Hopefully she won't notice the 20kg lump of metal that's appeared in the corner of the hall....