A question came up on Adelaide Cyclists about stands for bicycles at home, not so much for storage but for parking. This reminded me that I had looked into this recently as I was after a second stand as I have two bikes on the go regularly, my commuter and my Look 555. I have tried three stands and thought it was worth sharing the experience.
Willworx Superstand
The first stand I purchased and which is still in use is a Willworx Superstand a which I brought from TBE in Osborne Park for $70.00. This is the same stand as they use in the store. It is a solid stand for sure but really does not work that great in my view. The issues from my perspective are:
- The gap for the wheel is pretty wide, no doubt suitable for mountain bikes and hybrids but really too wide to secure firmly a road bike wheel. This means that the bike has a tendency to lean to the right or left;
- I found particularly with the commuter that if I reverse the bike into the stand, the bars on it then interfere with the tail lights which I have on my rack. Maybe a problem particular to me but still annoying issue meaning that I could only park the bike front wheel first which exacerbates the lean issue.
- So in conclusion whilst I use this stand it is not my first choice.
PRO Bicycle Stand
The PRO Bicycle Stand (Shimano’s other brand) is my second stand. I purchased mine from Chain Reaction Cycles for approximately $27.00 but I have seen them in bike shops for around the the $50.00 mark. This stand supports the bike via the rear wheel axle. To use it one simply lifts the bike on to the stand and then wheel then rests on the base. The upright provides the guidance if you like to keep the bike upright with the bike providing the weight on the base. Surprisingly this stand works really well. It provides firm support and is very simple to use. I really have no issues with this stand and would be happy to replace the with one.
Joinable Bike Stand – WS 415
The the third stand I have tried is a WS 415 Joinable Bike Stand from Velogear.com.au. This stand was an abject failure. Once again with the road bikes the wheel gap is two wide to secure the bike upright and hence the bike leans over. This in turn causes the stand to lift and bingo your bike is on the ground. This was a total waste of money and has now been recycled.
If you have other stand suggestions please do share them via the comments box.
