I’m getting older and not as flexible as I once was. That makes it more of a challenge to work on my bike and keep it as clean as I’d like.
Over the years, I’ve hung my bike from the ceiling from ropes; I rigged a work stand from an old Swagman hitch-mounted bike rack u-bolted to a surplus aluminum hurricane panel weighted down with concrete blocks; I’ve hung it from my Yakima bike rack on the back of my van.
None of these solutions were great.
It was time to buy a real stand, like the PCS-10
I polled several of the usual suspects and then settled on the Park Tool PCS-10 Home Mechanic Repair Stand. I added the accessory work tray, but I’m not sure it was worth the money. I may change my mind when I spend more time with it.
More pictograph instructions
Park and Topeak are big on picture instruction sheets. I like words AND pictures, but that’s just me.
Parts list and installation instructions for the Park Tools PCS-10 Repair Stand
The gallery below shows all of the pieces / parts and how they fit together.
The PCS-10 feels solid
I didn’t have enough seat tube showing to clamp on it, so I clamped to the top tube. Even though my Surly Long Haul Trucker is a heavy bike, it didn’t move around and it wasn’t hard to find the point of balance.
I haven’t tried to fold it up yet and I’ve been too busy to play with the stand except for the one time, but my initial impression is that it was a good buy. I’ll post a longer review when I’ve used it more.
Hi Ken.
Nice report and photos. It is a pitty that the price of the Park Tool stands are so expensive in Australia and the exchange rate at the moment makes buying them from the US prohibitive as well.
Are well will have to continue with my cheap one for now.
Regards
Andrew
Andrew,
Is it the base price or the shipping that’s a problem?
I’d be willing to help out if there’s anything I could do for you.
Interestingly enough, you folks Down Under represent the site’s third largest group of readers after the U.S. and Canada. If I toss in New Zealanders, you move up to 2cd place.
Hi Ken – – I need to get a good bicycle repair stand too. I need to be able to take it apart and put away, because the only place I have to work on our bikes is in the driveway. Looks like the repair stand you have might be a good choice … What did you pay for your stand?
— Riding 4 Life
I paid $149 for the stand and $15.99 for the accessory tray.
On top of that, they were offering $20 back on purchases above $100.
My total, including shipping was $177.97.
If you decide to order it from Performance, click on the link in my review. I get a small percentage of whatever anyone buys if they link
through my site. Ditto on anything you buy from Amazon if you click on the Amazon logo on the left side of the page.
Hi Ken
Thanks for your kind offer. At the time it was combination of base price + shipping (US retailers seem to insist on UPS or the like at silly prices). Now the exchange rate is killing things.
Regards
Andrew
Andrew,
OK, if it ever comes down to you wanting someone in the States to purchase something and find a cheaper way to ship, let me know and we can try to work something out.
Thanks Ken. Appreciate your offer.
Andrew
Update: I finally needed to fold the workstand up to fit in a corner of my storage shed. It works quickly and easily.
I’ve used the stand about a dozen times now and have found that my back thanks me for buying it.
I’m less fond of the accessory work tray. It never seems to be where I want it to be and I spill stuff out of it. That might be pilot error, but it’s the only thing I haven’t been very satisfied with.
Hi, thanks for the review. Can you tell me how wide the clamp is? Thanks!
The clamping surface of the work stand is 3-1/2″ x 2-1/4″.
It’ll open wider than any bike frame I’ve ever seen.
Let me know if you need to know anything else.
It looks good. My dad has started riding his bike a lot more now that he’s lost a little weight so I’m thinking of getting something like this for him so he can look after his bike better, but I don’t want to spend too much money. He’s not a young man either so he needs something easy to put together and reach.