When I found myself doing more repairs and upgrades to my bike, that’s when I knew it was time to get a repair stand. As with most things that I purchase, I was on a mission for the best budget bike repair stand and bang-for-the-buck. When I found it, I didn’t see why anyone would buy the more expensive competition for home use.
What I found was that Park Tool definitely makes the best bike repair… well, anything! However, in terms of my budget I wasn’t willing to go the Park Tool option since they’re more than double the price of what I decided to get: Bikehand Repair Stand.
Here’s the price difference I’m talking about, check it out for yourself, the numbers on Amazon don’t lie:
- Park Tool PCS-10 Home Mechanic Repair Stand – See Price
- Bikehand Pro Mechanic Bicycle/Bike Repair Rack Stand – See Price
I have a Bikehand repair stand pictured in my garage above. It’s less than HALF the price of the Park Tool repair stand! I think that’s mind-blowing to be honest – and it doesn’t even have the same number of features. I understand Park Tool makes really good quality stuff, but their price is out of line. And I would almost say the Bikehand does just as good a job if not better for the price.
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The Best Budget Bike Repair Stand For Home Use
I have a strong feeling most people reading this are the DIY type who need a bike repair stand for home use. I being one of them for sure. I have no problem wrenching on my own bike, or learning how to do it.. having a bike stand makes it all much easier.
Before I got a bike stand, I would usually have to flip the bike upside down to work on it. One thing I always had to remember though is that everything is backwards and upside down.. it gets confusing real quick. Try indexing the rear cassette and making adjustments to a derailleur.. it’s a challenge for sure.
So, I made my choice based on reviews and features. See other real user reviews and the manufacturer’s product description here: Bikehand Pro Mechanic Bicycle/Bike Repair Rack Stand
It was an easy decision based on price alone as I mentioned above.
But what really sold me were the features which I’ll go over in the next section.
5 Characteristics of a Bike Repair Stand I Needed
When I was on the search for a repair stand, it needed some characteristics that I could NOT give up. I was adamant about these traits, and I was SO fortunate the Bikehand had everything I wanted.
Here’s the 5 things that I looked for:
- Portable/Foldable
- Adjustable height
- 360 degree clamp to hold the bike by the seat post or top tube
- Tool tray / plate / holder
- Able to rotate the bike WHILE it’s held on the stand
The Bikehand did all of that and more. Believe it or not, very few bike stands have all of these features. And if they did they were expensive. See that expensive Park Tool PCS-10 bike stand? It doesn’t come included with a tool tray! Of course Park Tool sells the tray as an added accessory which would make the price EVEN HIGHER. I just can’t wrap my head around their pricing – it’s such a shame.
To be honest, I would probably have bought their stand if it was $30 – $50 more. But double? No thanks.
Anyways…
I wanted (1) portability and fold-ability, very important, because I want to be able to take the stand with me should I go on a trip or easily stick it in a car.
(2) Having adjustable height is handy because maybe I want to work on the bike’s chainring so I raise it up, or lower it because I want to work on the seat post – I want that flexibility.
(3) 360 clamp. So maybe I’m working on the seat post so I need to have the bike held up by the top tube. If the clamp didn’t rotate I wouldn’t be able to do this.
(4) Tool tray. This was also really important because I hate setting tools or parts down on the ground or on a table with all my other stuff. It gets lost or it just disappears.. where does it always go?! Not a problem if I had a tray.
(5) Rotate bike while held on stand. This feature I might have been able to overlook, but wow is it nice to have if I want to level out the bike, or raise up the front, or rear. Very handy.
Reliability and Use of My Bike Repair Stand
This stand helped out SO much when I was replacing my front fork. Doing that at ground level like I did everything before would have really been frustrating. Glad I sucked it up and go this repair stand.
One thing I can’t do well on this repair stand is putting the quick release wheels back on. It just doesn’t seat fully into the front and rear dropouts without holding the wheel and frame and stand awkwardly. So I just usually leave the wheels off until I get the bike back on the ground. The best way to do it is to flip the frame upside down anyway. If my bike was more modernized and had a thru-axle… this would have not been an issue. I’m saving y’all!.. no worries.
If I had a carbon frame / bike, I would have absolutely NO problem using the Bikehand stand to make adjustments and repairs. The clamp that holds the seat post or top tube has very good padding, and the whole thing is very stable as you can see from the picture above.
If anything, this repair stand has been put to the test holding up my heavy budget hardtail mountain bike – a Giant Talon 27.5″… which I know for sure is heavier than most any carbon bike I’ll put onto this stand. It’s held up really well for all the work I’ve done on it – holding up the bike by both the top tube and seat post tube with no issues.
It’s also around 13lbs like the competition. It might be slightly bulkier… but to me that seems to make it even better because it feels more substantial yet weighs about the same. Incredible if you ask me.
WHAT I DON’T LIKE
I’m not 100% confident in how the bike’s ability to rotate while still being held up. I’m essentially talking about #5 on my list up there. Reason: The teeth is made of plastic and it has some play room. I haven’t had any problems with it, but it does make me feel a little concerned about it’s longevity. However, so far so good so I have no complaints!
Also, the cuff tighteners that allow the adjustable height and folding legs: they’re made of plastic. It’s just another longevity concern. Some have said it doesn’t clamp with enough force so it collapses, however… I haven’t had any problems myself.
In reality, there’s a lot of plastic parts on this stand that justifies some of the concerns. Only time will tell how it holds up, but for the most part the majority of people are happy with it.
See what other reviewers are saying here: https://amzn.to/2Qi5JQg
CONCLUSION
I’ve had this stand for over a year now and it continues to make me feel good about my decision to purchase.
One thing I wouldn’t mind is if the height of the tool tray was height adjustable…but that’s asking a lot. It still works fine where it is.
As I mentioned, Park Tool makes good quality stuff I wouldn’t mind using but their pricing is just whack. That goes for their tools and other parts too. In fact, I didn’t go for their toolkit either. I bought a matching Bikehand toolkit and have no complaints about it’s durability or quality, they’re definitely a much more affordable brand and that’s where my money’s been going.
I’m not sponsored by Bikehand so don’t worry, I’m just recommending their stuff because they really do give the competition a run for their money. It’s for the budget-conscious buyers for sure. But in the meantime, I’m going with Bikehand until it makes sense to pay for anything with Park Tool’s branding on it.
Happy fixing/repairing/upgrading. RIDER UP