Bike Stand Project

Peter and I have started biking a bit more extensively and as a result have had to look more into bike maintenance. With the recent heat we've been having, my tires haven't lasted all that long, and it's been quite a hassle to keep the gears and chains clean.

We decided to look into getting a bike stand so it would be easier to adjust derailleurs assess post repair functionality. Who would have guessed that a simple bike workstand could go for as much as $160? I decided to look into options that could be pursued on a med student budget. I saw a few designs online that involved the use of a lot of piping. My rig minimizes the amount of piping one needs to use and thus cuts the cost of building pretty significantly. (parts listed below in case you're interested in your own rig)

Parts:
Pipes: total cost: $36.20 (including 9.5% IL tax)
1/2" x 18" galvanized steel nipple (2)
1/2" galvanized steel TEE joint (3)
1/2" x 1/2" galvanized steel nipple (1)
1/2" x 48" black pipe (1)
1/2" x 8" galvanized steel nipple (1) - I did find this to be a bit too short (a 10" pipe does work here too), but unscrewing the left pedal allows me to work the gears just fine

Note: there's no difference, as far as I was concerned between black steel and galvanized steel. The black steel was actually slightly cheaper, but Home Depot didn't have all the right lengths of tubing for the black steel.

Clamp: $13.11 (including 9.5% IL tax)
1/2" pony steel pipe fixture

Rubber guard: $6.02 (including 9.5% IL tax)
1-1/4" Flex coupling
(Honestly, I probably could have done without this piece, it was more expensive than I think it's actually worth, but I could find any other of the right type of rubber. So I went with it. It comes as a tube, so I just cut a slit down the middle.

Total: $55.33

The other nice thing about this rig is that it stores nicely in a corner of the room, OR you can actually fold it so that it becomes 2-dimensional and then just store it under a couch or something.

(Above) For the base, it's very important that the stabilization pipe (ie pipe attached by the 2nd TEE connector) be pointed in the direction such that, if the stand were to rotate and fall, the act of falling would actually tighten the connection. Hence, the tightening of the connection is used to stabilize the stand.

(Above) A rag in between the rubber and the clamp helps to prevent scratches and ensure a tight grip. Also, the pipe clamp screws on nicely to the end of the 8" pipe.