Mike asks:
“Harv, was wondering if you care to make a suggestions as to which bike stand to get? Maybe used would be good… while I’m at it, where can I get tools for great prices? especailly bike tools, new or used? thanks.”
My recommendations here will be for a home workshop. A pro setup would lean toward more expensive, heavier duty and productivity-related tools and equipment. Entire books have been written about setting up a bicycle workshop, but only these two issues will be discussed here.
First, the workstand. A very basic work stand need only be something to get the bike off the floor and up to a reasonable height for easy access without you having to bend over or sit on the floor. There is a type of stand that supports the bike from the bottom bracket and down tube. This is an inexpensive stand and has the limitation of non-adjustable height and no rotation of the bike is provided.
Basic get-it-off-the-floor stand, Spin Doctor, about $40 on sale
I prefer a more elaborate stand, one that does not have these limitations. Park PCS-9 is the one I selected. Mainly, the difference between this stand and other similar stands is the clamp. Quick-release clamps have a spring to overcome to open the jaw and they remain at one clamping pressure setting until altered. My choice of stand has a clamping force that must be set each time by cranking the clamp closed, and it has no spring. Since I use a different clamping force for different bikes and clamp locations, I would rather customize the setup each time. These occasionally go on sale or are available used. Try Craig’s List.
Detail of Park PCS-9 Clamp
For bike-specific tools, I prefer Park. Unless a house brand tool, like Nashbar (usually made by Lifu) seems adequate for the job. They are sometimes on sale for half price. Park tools are pretty much uniform in price, but sometimes on sale at Nashbar.
A beginner might be interested in a complete set of either Park or Nashbar tools. If you have nothing at all, this might look good if the set is on sale. If you have some tools and don’t need any duplicates or inapplicable tools, you are better off building a collection one at a time. I don’t recommend used tools, as tools can be abused and rendered less than serviceable. Also, finding good used bike tools can be tedious and non-productive.
Another source is Bike Tools Etc. They have the cheaper Lifu tools as well as Park and other brands. Not everything is available from Park, like Maillard freewheel extractors for older Peugeots and Schwinns. But Bike Tools Etc does have these from other manufacturers. Park tends to discontinue tools for the older bikes. Cotter presses are no longer available from Park or any other tool manufacturer. I had to make my own cotter press. If you plan to work on old French, English, or UJBBTS (Universal Japanese Bike Boom Ten Speed) bikes, you will need a cotter press, or a lot of hammering and other destructive methods will have to be employed to remove them.
Non-bike-specific hand tools such as adjustable, combination, socket, and hex wrenches, screw drivers, pliers, punches, saws, hammers, etc can be obtained from a variety of places. I prefer Snap-On or Sears Craftsman for most of these, although some less expensive items can be obtained from Harbor Freight Tools. HF tools come with a caveat; not all are of sufficient quality for more than occasional use. When buying wrench sets, be sure the set contains the sizes most used for bicycle work. That would be 8, 9, and 10 mm sockets, 4, 5, and 6 mm hex keys, and 8 thru 16 mm combination wrenches. Not all sets contain all these sizes. You may have to buy individual wrenches to make up for these required sizes.
T-Handle Hex Keys from HF, not as long-lasting as Park due to not being hardened. About $4.00 on sale.
Newer bikes use socket head screws almost everywhere, so a set of t-handle hex keys would be quite useful. Older bikes use hex head screws, so a quarter-inch drive socket set and a set of nut drivers are essential. Don’t get the HF nut drivers, as there is no 9mm, one of the most common sizes required. Get Craftsman or Husky. Also available cheaper on ebay.
Come on in to the Bike Oven for an idea of what is needed to get started. Bring a camera or be ready to take notes. Actually, we haven’t reached the level of sophistication of the Bicycle Kitchen yet, but we are getting there as fast as we can.
Harv is definitely the man when it comes to DIY bike-stuff. I wish I had known Harv before I’d invested in a set of bike-specific tools. Not that I’m dissappointed in the set, it’s just that investing in Harv’s alternatives would have saved me a lot of money, while producing the same results. Thanks Harv for sharing all of your DIY knowledge and work-arounds!!!
Harv, thanks for the loads of information… I will try to stop by the Bike Oven around 7pm and take some photos… hope to see you there, thanks again.
I meant 7 pm Wednesday, but you probably know that…
It is really tempting to look at a bike-specific tool from Park (or another manufacturer) and think “Oh man, that’s all I need”. I’ve gone down that path too many times to remember. Thanks to Harv’s advice, I have made some really high quality repairs without having to buy every bike spcific tool out there.
One thing that I cannot rave about enough is the custom vise Harv installed in the Bike Oven. It has aluminium plates that he installed to prevent marring of lightweight bike parts and tools while being clamped down for repair. If you’re going to start really overhauling old bikes for money (or fo fun) a good bench vise is crucial. The aluminium plates … you’ll have to talk to Harv to find out about those.
RE: The custom vice…. you can always consult Harv’s Nuts and Bolts: Get a Grip for a step by step on how to put together your own aluminum plated vise.
Thanks for the advice on bench vise guys…. I will talk to Harv and also check out the Nuts and Bolts link.
I totally agree with Harv — the Park PCS-9 repair stand is worth every penny. I went for years without a stand — and tried everything else (rope hanging from the rafters, propping the bike up on the saddle and handlebars, etc.). Once I got the stand, it took my guerilla mechanic-ing to a whole new level!
The PCS-9 is readily available on Ebay for about $50.00 plus shipping, NIB.
There are two ways to improve the stand once you get it, too. Replace the upper extension tube clamp bolt with a quick-release seatpost bolt (you may have to enlarge the hole through the plastic clamping piece) to make height adjustments tool-free and quick, and you can replace the two leg bolts with 1/4″ x 2″ ringed hitch pins to make the legs ” tool-free quick-detach” for storage purposes. The hitch pins are available at any well-stocked hardware store, and only cost a couple bucks apiece. You may have to enlarge the holes in the legs and base a bit so the hitch pins go in and out smoothly… If anyone is interested, I have photos of these mods available for sharing.
Happy wrenching!
Excellent suggestions, Ghost. I had to modify the upper clamp as well. In my case, the tube section slipped down and I was afraid to tighten the plastic clamp too much. So I placed an automotive hose clamp above the plastic clamp with a piece of rubber (old bike inner tube) under it to prevent chewing the paint off. Now I can bear down hard with the metal hose clamp.
I never thought of the quick-removeable lower leg pins though. I have the luxury of a dedicated space for my bike shop, separate from bike storage and garage. So I can leave my PCS-9 set up permanently.
Good tip on the ebay price of $50 plus $30 shipping for a NIB stand. I have gotten other new Park tools on ebay for a pretty good discount. You have to get several tools from the same seller to make it a good deal.
Oh, how I wish I had a permanent place to keep everything!!! I have bike junk scattered all over the house, in the kitchen and a full shed in the backyard, plus bikes under tarps all over the yard. I long for a garage!!!
HA!!! I can relate. A friend of mine just built a dedicated bike shed — I think one may be in order on this end of town too.
Thanks for the great tips regarding repair of older (like me) bikes. I always have a few bikes of relatives, friends and friends of friends in my garage for repair, tune up and some times just cleaning/lube/adjustment after many years of setting in the garage collecting dust and rust. I really enjoy tinkering with the bikes to get them back on the road/dirt. Of course I also have a number of my own bikes of various types and vintages that always seem to need some TLC.
Usually the bikes I work on are 5 to 20 years old and they are usually not Pro level rides but also not department store or kiddie bikes either.
A source of frustration regarding working on the bikes is getting parts without having to use a mail order house or ordering through a LBS and waiting for the parts to arrive! I would like to be able to walk into a store (bikeshop) and get a part across the counter just like I do with my car (sorry, yea I have one of those) parts. I know that the wholesale bike component distributers supply LBS’s with just about everything I ever need but it takes several days for me to get the parts and the cost is about 20% higher than a mail order house.
So after all of that here is the question I have for you. Do you know of any bike shops in the West San Gabriel valley that stock a good selection of bike parts for everyday and older bikes. I am sure there are others out there that have the same problem and would like any information you might have.
Thanks for any suggestions you may have.