Bike Work Stands
Mon, January 16, 2023 My last post about removal and fitting of a bicycle head bearing, drew the following comment:
“Headset removal should be performed with a bike repair stand clamped to the bike’s seat post and definitely not to a frame tube, since you’ll be hitting the removal tool quite hard with a hammer.”
A valid point, one should never clamp a frame tube in a work-stand, and personally I would never do any kind of hammering on a frame even if it was held in the work-stand by the seat post.
I would simply place the removal tool in the headtube, hold the frame in one hand, while tapping out the bearing cup with a hammer or preferably a wooden mallet with the other hand. These cups are only a press fit in the frame, and only require a few light taps to knock them loose.
The reason it never occurred to me to mention this when I wrote the piece, not only do I not own a work stand, but I have also never owned one in my entire life.
Even when I had my frameshop, and occasionally had to build up bikes, I worked out of a vise, which was mounted on a steel pedestal and bolted to the floor. When working on frames I could move all around 360 degrees. With a vise mounted on a workbench, one can only work from one side.
Obviously, I did not hold a painted frame in a vise, but I had steel mandrel that was a solid steel bar, 1.5 incches (38 mm.) diameter, with two flats machined on either side, so it would clamp firmly in the vise. The rest of the bar had been turned down in a lathe, to 27.2 mm. diameter, the same size as a standard seat post.
This was in effect a heavy-duty seat post that I used when prepping finished frames prior to shipping them to the customer. It served as an immediate check that the seat tube had been reamed to the correct inside diameter. I could fit a seat bolt and clamp the frame safely to the mandrel, while I fitted dropout and water-bottle screws.
The bottom bracket was faced, and threads cut on a machine before it was painted, and head tube was reamed and faced in a similar fashion. After painting, the paint had to be cleared form the bottom-bracket and other treads. This was all done with the frame safely mounted on this special mandrel.
If I occasionally needed to build a complete bike, I could quite easily fit bottom-bracket and headset bearings and even a chain-wheel, cranks, and pedals, with the frame still held in this fashion. A rear wheel could be added, and the front and rear derailleur fitted, and the limits set.
Remember that this was back when bikes were friction shift, so a chain could be added, and the gears adjusted and set to work correctly. All that was left to do was to unclamp the frame from the mandrel, fit a seat post and saddle, stem and handlebars, brakes, and the job was complete.
A work stand is pretty standard equipment in any bike repair shop where people are assembling, and working on bikes all day, but used without care by an inexperienced mechanic, and a great deal of damage can be done.
I got my first lightweight bike at fourteen years old, and could work on it, even build it up from scratch without the aid of a stand. I would fit the head bearings, and fork to the frame, as described in my last post.
Next fit a pair of wheels complete with tires, also a seat post, saddle stem and handlebars. I could now lean the bike against a wall and kneel to work on it or sit on a low seat. Fit the bottom bracket bearings and spindle.
Derailleurs could be added, and the limits set. Even with modern gears, if the upper and lower limits are set, and the cable tensions are correct, the gears will shift up and down and may only need minor adjustment after a short test ride.
I believe there is more damage done to frames in bike shops by miss-use of bike stands, than any other piece of equipment. If you are a newbie mechanic, learn by doing a few simple tasks without a work stand.
Save yourself some money and learn a lot, with less risk of doing damage. A bike work stand should be the last piece of equipment you buy, not the first.
Reader Comments (9)
Ive been putting steel and aluminum frames in the work stand, clamped on the tubes, for 40 years with no problem. Every bike shop I've ever dealt with does the same. I wouldn't clamp carbon, but it seems over-cautious to avoid using a work stand.
But, I've worked on many of a bike leaning against a wall and that works fine as well. Work stands simply put the work closer to your hands, and save your back a bit of stress.
One of the very first things I learned about wrenching on bikes was to clamp the seatpost and not the frame. Not something everyone does and one reason why I do all my own mechanics.
When I left my first apartment, I was billed by the landlord
for tire skid marks in linoleum. When adjusting gears I'd spin
the cranks and adjust the rear mech. Then drop the bike
on the floor, stopping bike wheel. A bike stand was the first tool
I bought when I moved to a new apartment.
God forbid anyone should have an original thought, or even dare to suggest something outside the accepted line of thinking.
Dave
Back in the 1950s I didn't have a bike work stand either; nobody did, except maybe bike shops. Working on bikes crouched on the floor was awkward, sometimes we turned bikes upside down, but that was hard on the brake cables. I made my first "bike stand" by bolting a 2x4 to a ceiling joist in the basement at 45° some 30-odd years ago, but eventually bought a proper one on sale for about $150 when most were selling for twice that and more. It has rubber padded jaws that can't hurt the top tube. Then I added an accessory tray to hold tools and parts. It folds up out of the way when not needed.
I was part of this thread a few years ago concerning using a bike stand on the top tube.
https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/1208452-will-clamping-alum-alloy-frame-top-tube-damage.html
I was new to bicycle maintenance and since my seat post is to short I used the top tube. I also use a rear hitch rack on my vehicle and it uses the top tube. I like to keep my bicycle clean as I ride in messy conditions and having a bike stand so I can rotate the bicycle 90 degrees really helps to get all the gunk out of areas around the bottom bracket and chain areas. My top tube is tapered so I rotate the bicycle so that it wants to slide towards the larger part of the top tube and thus no slipping happens. I travel to ride many rail trails and my bike stand folds nicely, so I can take it and clean/work on the bicycle in the hotel room. Would not know what to do without a bike stand.
That's me you're quoting in the beginning of the article, sir, and I'm flattered.
I should also say that I've only removed a headset cup from a head tube once in my entire life, but there was absolutely no way that component was coming out of that Pinarello that it had been in from 1987 until I removed it in 2021, had I held the frame in my hand. I had to whack the hell out of it (and I didn't even end up using it in the newer frame--I could have sold the Pinnie with the headset installed)!
When I worked in a bike shop as a young man (1978 and 1980) we always clamped the seat tube, as close to the top as we could, so I guess the seat post reinforced the tube. I like to joke that Reynolds 531 and Columbus stickers come from the factory pre-wrinkled.
What I get from this is that you are basically saying 'you shouldn't use a work stand because I got around without one'. That's skewed logic.
I'm 52 years old, worked on bikes for all my life, and only bought a work stand last year. So yes, I know from experience that you can indeed work on bikes without one, but I now also know that there are jobs that are just a lot easier to do with a work stand, and more comfortable to.
Do you NEED a work stand to work on bikes? No.
Is there any reason not to buy one if you have the budget? No.
Also, that 'God forbid anyone should have an original thought, …' comment… is there anybody here saying you should not voice your opinion? Quite the opposite, I think, most readers are here BECAUSE OF your original opinions. So why is it a problem if people comment with their opinion on what you said?
And lastly, do people really 'clamp' their bikes in a work stand? I more or less hang it on the bottom half of the clamp, balanced on the right spot of the top tube, with an old rag around it for extra protection. Then I close the clamp but only very lightly, just enough so it stops the bike from wobbling off while working on it. The strain on the tube is negligible.
I workded as a bike mechanic for much of the 1970's/80's. While I used and use stands, I've been amazed at how careless people can be in clamping a bike in a stand. I have one bike which shows a water bottle boss on the seat tube crushed in by clamping over the bolt. And not ot mention the occasional ovaled seat tube or damaged decals.