Advice sought for suitable workstand for step thro Woosh

[John F]

I've decided I'm getting to old to invert my heavy Woosh Santana for maintenance, so I fancy a workstand.

The problem is twofold

1) The frame tubing is larger than most and 2) it has no conventional cross bar. I suspect this limits my choice

Amazon have some cheapish ones, but it's not clear whether they would suit my bike

Any suggestions ?

John F

 

[Sacko]

I have just bought the Park Tools PCS 900 @ £75.

Very solid bit of kit and well worth the money.

 

[Blew it]

...The frame tubing is larger than most and 2) it has no conventional cross bar. I suspect this limits my choice

Any stand fitted with a rotatable clamping head can be used on a step-through, just clamp on to the seat-post. your Sant-Ana has a rear hub motor so it will be stable when mounted on the stand. Remove your battery first to make it easier to lift the machine.

Step-throughs with front hub motors need a great deal of care when mounting on a work-stand via the seat-post, they can easily tip the stand over.

On a more general note, work-stands are now becoming more important with the popularity of center-drives. Those who use chain-scrubbing machines will know that center-drives will not allow the chain to be turned backwards.

 

[103Alex1]

+1 for the Park Tool stands - I bought a PCS-10 for the Agattu which is a step-through. It's good for single action lever clamping of tubes up to 3". The clamp is really easy to use, top quality etc. and will be fine I am pretty certain. You can also easily rotate the angle of the clamp to balance the bike.

It's not the neatest thing around but it's very stable and the 2nd hand market is very strong. They'll last for donkeys' years.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/park-tool-home-mechanic-repair-stand-pcs10/rp-prod12702?_$ja=kwark+tool+pcs+10|cgnark+Tool-WO-121-XX+-+park+tool+pcs+10|cgid:4863374116|tsid:40896|cn:Chain+Reaction-UK-P-Exa-All-DT-SE|cid:207166756|lid:6817636041|mt:Exact|nw:search|crid:20828724796|dvc:c|adp:1t2&gclid=CMmvjO2murkCFcjKtAodekEAkA

I didn't pay that for mine tho' ... waited for an end of stock discount to come along on Amazon Marketplace in Winter and saved about £40-£50 on that.

On a more general note, work-stands are now becoming more important with the popularity of center-drives. Those who use chain-scrubbing machines will know that center-drives will not allow the chain to be turned backwards.

Indeed ... or ideally try to find someone to lift the back wheel of the bike up for 20 seconds so you can rotate them forwards when using the chain scrubbing tool instead - to save having to hoist the bike onto the stand. Trouble is there's usually no-one about when you get round to doing it

 

[Streethawk]

I have this one from the Edinburgh Bike Co-op and it's been great over the years, even holding the Wisper's very rear-heavy 26kgs without issue. Head rotates so it will hold anything and it all packs away quite small.

Revolution Tune Up Workstand

 

[peerjay56]

I've decided I'm getting to old to invert my heavy Woosh Santana for maintenance, so I fancy a workstand.

The problem is twofold

1) The frame tubing is larger than most and 2) it has no conventional cross bar. I suspect this limits my choice

Amazon have some cheapish ones, but it's not clear whether they would suit my bike

Any suggestions ?

John F

I got this one
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0080R1CBG/ref=oh_details_o09_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
So far it's been able to support both my bike, with crossbar, and my wife's urban mover, without. It also comes with a telescopic extendable wheel clamp to hold wheel steady.
Alternatively, just get a bike hoist, if you've got somewhere to hang one from
NEW BIKE LIFT BIKE RACK BIKE HANGER BIKE STORAGE BIKE STORE BIKE HOIST BICYCLE | eBay
It would just need a wooden bar with clamp hinged to the wall then to keep it still whilst you work on it. Pulleys help with the lifting too.

 

[trex]

pull up the rear carrier with a hanging rope or change the side propstand for one of those two legged ones:

 

[Geebee]

Buy one of these adapters and the step through will fit on any work stand that is stable enough to handle the weight, plus you can adjust the holding position for balance.

Clips on like this.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I've got the Aldi ones, which is perfect o a normal bike but not strong enough for an electric bike with battery. Th clamps can't stop it from rotating if it's tail heavy. I've also got one of the hoists, which are excellent value. They're great for most jobs as long as you have a ceiling to fix them to, but you can't turn the bike upside down to change the wheel. I was impressed by Alex's one. I might get one of those next time.

 

[Sacko]

If you can get the PCS10 discounted, the quick release is well worth having.

If not, i'm not sure I could justify £50 for the quick release mechanism.

 

[John F]

Some great tips thanks, and some further thoughts for comment.

For an ideal stand I guess 3 things are important

1) A clamp that fits as close as possible to the centre of gravity. The heavier the bike - the more important this becomes.
2) A clamp that opens wide enough to grip and has a widest possible contact area to the frame. In other words would it be adaptable enough to accomodate non circular frame sections?
3) and obviously - would it be robust and stable enough for a 25KG electric bike? (I haven't yet seen any weight recomendations in the adverts that would reasure me in this respect)

So taking my Woosh Santana with crank motor, holding the seat tube with battery fixed it is perfectly balanced and without the battery the CofG would move forward to about the crank position say.

Perhaps my frame is less than ideal for supporting in a stand?

Some dimensions:-

Front down tube: Curved and circular section - 60mm diam. To allow for curve say 65mm overall diam.
Seat tube: Circular 30mm diam. with squareish section at rear (for cables) = 50mm deep
Horizontal brace: Curved and circular section - 33mm diam.

John F

 

[Sacko]

The Park tool is rated for 45kgs.

The clamp is very wide, can take measurements later.

 

[Biker44]

I have just bought the Park Tools PCS 900 @ £75. Very solid bit of kit and well worth the money.

Same one I've got (though I'm sure it was more when I had it on my Xmas list?)

Makes a huge difference - and I often leave different cycles there purely in order I can admire them.

The professionals commonly cheat and simply hook the saddle of the bike over the arm - I often copy them when I only need a quick shufti.

It really needs a tool-tray, but the correct one is a bit steep and I'm still using a nearby shelf. Hmmm ... is it Xmas present time?

Anyone reading this and not yet convinced should consider an Amazon bike hoist. You can always use the hoist for storage later on when you've taken the plunge and got the real thing.