# The $6.50 Bench Repair Stand (and it's pretty darn good)



## torreyaz (Jul 17, 2011)

I built this stand tonight after getting the idea today from another post in the MTBR forums. The build time was about 30 minutes including cleanup. It works better than expected in that in it supports the bike in a sturdy fashion and allows me to get around to the opposing side pretty well. The parts are from Home Depot comprised of:

1. *An Everbilt Heavy Duty Storage Hanger* (Home Depot SKU 470777) found in-store: 50 lb. Flip-Up Storage Hanger-01195 at The Home Depot

$5.95

2. A* $0.51 scrap piece of douglas fir 2X4 lumber*. Most of the 2X4 scrap was ponderosa pine but I was luck enough to find douglas fir. It's a strong, dense, heavy wood that works well. Not sure if ponerosa pine will work but look for the best wood you can get.

3. Unused 0.25" nut/bolt/washer hardware laying around. Probably $2.00 if you had to buy it. I have no washers in the front and a flat and locking washer in the back.

The clamps in the pictures serve no purpose. Just a place to put them.

*The Dimensions:*
*Workbench height: 36"
2X4 length: 27"
Floor to hooks: 60"*

I'm 6'2" so I chose a taller mount height. The vise, which the wood stand is secured by, is sitting on the corner of my workbench and turned 45 degrees so it points toward the corner of the workbench It's a plain, Pony-brand vise. I measured and cut the wood to fit around the screw and guide in order to reach down to the bench surface. This is sturdier in that the cutout form will prevent the bike from tipping the wood support in the vise. It's a narrow "U" shaped cut that fits around the screw and guide of the vise.

I've included pictures in this post featuring my 'Bessie", a 38lb, steel 2001 Giant MTB. She's my first MTB so I can't bear to part with her (yet) although a replacement is on its way. I was looking for an inexpensive way to work on my bikes (mostly b/c I blew all my budget on my incoming bike) and this looks like it will work well. I'm gonna leave Bessie hanging overnight on the rack to test it, but I don't think I'll wake to any issues.

If you have any suggestions for improvement or a similar stand you would like to show, I'd love to see it.


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## torreyaz (Jul 17, 2011)

Another pic from behind and there is enough pedal clearance to spin the cranks.


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## IRONMAN1518 (Jul 19, 2008)

Awsome great idea! I love simple and cheap ideas, good for you!


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## umarth (Dec 5, 2007)

I was thinking the clamps could be placed across the frame where it intersects with the hooks to make the bike a bit more stable when you are having to lay down the hammer.

Nice work. I wanted to do something, but I move often, so I just went with a park stand.


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## bardynt (Oct 11, 2011)

cool nice one

make me think might see what i can do

i see alot of bike stands wanna charge alot of money for basically

a couple bit of metals and a clamp

so will take a trip to bunnings and see what they have in clamps and get my mate to weld up a basic frame that will hold the bike


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## JAC3AZ (Oct 12, 2011)

*Simplicity meets function*

Nice work TorreyAZ. As a friend I can say that it will look even better with the replacement bike hanging on it!


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## torreyaz (Jul 17, 2011)

JAC3AZ said:


> Nice work TorreyAZ. As a friend I can say that it will look even better with the replacement bike hanging on it!


You're not kidding bro!


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## Moonshine (Aug 12, 2008)

Good stuff! Thanks for the post!


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## Alkoholger (Nov 2, 2011)

How smart. I like it


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## bing! (Jul 8, 2010)

What if I don't own a vise? 

Just kidding  Great idea. Could be improved with a free standing version, but brilliant nonetheless.


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## crclawn (Sep 26, 2010)

"necessity is the mother of invention" and "the price is right!". Hell, if you'd have painted the 2 x 4 you could have convinced me that you bought it on line from a company. Nice job.:thumbsup:


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## NEPMTBA (Apr 7, 2007)

bing! said:


> What if I don't own a vise?
> 
> Just kidding  Great idea. Could be improved with a free standing version, but brilliant nonetheless.


 Just what I was thinking...

... but use a longer 2x6 and a piece of plywood to make it more permanent, or use (2)2x4s for the base with hinges to make a pocket for the 2x6 to sit in like a tripod, throw it in the back of the car and walla instant bike stand at the trail head! Couple more bucks but no where near the price of a real repair stand.

Thanks for the pics and the story
Great stuff


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## torreyaz (Jul 17, 2011)

NEPMTBA said:


> Just what I was thinking...
> 
> ... but use a longer 2x6 and a piece of plywood to make it more permanent, or use (2)2x4s for the base with hinges to make a pocket for the 2x6 to sit in like a tripod, throw it in the back of the car and walla instant bike stand at the trail head! Couple more bucks but no where near the price of a real repair stand.
> 
> ...


Good idea! I was trying to think of a way to incorporate the design into something portable but keep it cheap.


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## Dad Man Walking (Sep 7, 2004)

torreyaz said:


> Good idea! I was trying to think of a way to incorporate the design into something portable but keep it cheap.


I'm thinking not-so-good idea. Your design is perfect in a form-follows-function way. If you tried to make something freestanding/folding/adjustable out of wood, you might end up with one of those hillbilly rigs that we sometimes see here. Hit it with a coat of paint, slap some stickers on it, and call it done!

If I were looking for improvements (not sayin' I am...just sayin') I'l look at the location of the vice. It looks like you've mounted it set back from the table top. This does give you a base for the stand to rest on but compromises the use of the vice for other stuff. Ideally you'd want the fixed jaw of the vice aligned with or extended out from the table top. This lets you hold on to long pieces--they can hang in front of the bench. So your next engineering assignment might be to figure out how to relocate the vice (flush/parallel with the benchtop when doing other duties, rotated for bike stand use) and still provide a stable platform for the post.

Nice work on the stand, and also on your bench/work area.


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## cw50must (Feb 27, 2011)

I like it.


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## torreyaz (Jul 17, 2011)

Dad Man Walking said:


> I'm thinking not-so-good idea. Your design is perfect in a form-follows-function way. If you tried to make something freestanding/folding/adjustable out of wood, you might end up with one of those hillbilly rigs that we sometimes see here. Hit it with a coat of paint, slap some stickers on it, and call it done!
> 
> If I were looking for improvements (not sayin' I am...just sayin') I'l look at the location of the vice. It looks like you've mounted it set back from the table top. This does give you a base for the stand to rest on but compromises the use of the vice for other stuff. Ideally you'd want the fixed jaw of the vice aligned with or extended out from the table top. This lets you hold on to long pieces--they can hang in front of the bench. So your next engineering assignment might be to figure out how to relocate the vice (flush/parallel with the benchtop when doing other duties, rotated for bike stand use) and still provide a stable platform for the post.
> 
> Nice work on the stand, and also on your bench/work area.


I know you can't tell by the pics but the vise is mounted as outboard as it can be. The bench lip is not extended enough to mount the bolts outboard, and the base walls under the bench are 1.25" thick. Ideally, a bigger vise would probably be better.


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## reptilezs (Aug 20, 2007)

i saw one of those bolted to the back of an RV


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## Odii (Jun 19, 2011)

I have this holding my bike in my garage. It works fine for that, but be wary about working on your bike on it.

The way it supports under the frame will make your cables rub against your frame when you brake or test shifting.

I have a Giant Revel 1 that now has some missing paint due to where it sits on that very rack.


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## Odii (Jun 19, 2011)

Sorry for the poor quality of the picture.


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## Dad Man Walking (Sep 7, 2004)

torreyaz said:


> I know you can't tell by the pics but the vise is mounted as outboard as it can be. The bench lip is not extended enough to mount the bolts outboard, and the base walls under the bench are 1.25" thick. Ideally, a bigger vise would probably be better.


The solution to that problem is to mount the vice on a thick piece of plywood (mine is 1" thick, but it might have been made from two pieces of 1/2" laminated together.) The vice is bolted to the wooden base (with the bolts countersunk on the bottom) and the base is fastened to the workbench wherever the hardware will fit. Bolt it all together with some sturdy fasteners (1/4" or larger bolts, not screws) and you're good to go.

There a pic of it somewhere around here...uhmmm..... here


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## kdc1956 (Feb 5, 2010)

torreyaz said:


> I built this stand tonight after getting the idea today from another post in the MTBR forums. The build time was about 30 minutes including cleanup. It works better than expected in that in it supports the bike in a sturdy fashion and allows me to get around to the opposing side pretty well. The parts are from Home Depot comprised of:
> 
> 1. *An Everbilt Heavy Duty Storage Hanger* (Home Depot SKU 470777) found in-store: 50 lb. Flip-Up Storage Hanger-01195 at The Home Depot
> 
> ...


Thanks for the Info on this bicycle stand now I am going to home depot today to get all the parts cheap I am cheap too lol.Love this idea you came up with.


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## Nickolas (Nov 9, 2011)

Yeah, that's pretty cool. I don't have a stand yet and this just might be the path I take. Thanks!


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## torreyaz (Jul 17, 2011)

Odii said:


> I have this holding my bike in my garage. It works fine for that, but be wary about working on your bike on it.
> 
> The way it supports under the frame will make your cables rub against your frame when you brake or test shifting.
> 
> I have a Giant Revel 1 that now has some missing paint due to where it sits on that very rack.


I place some fluffy rags (doubled over) in between the frame and the hanger so I can accuate the cables. It just so happens that the hanger positions fall over the cable sheathing on my new bike (not pictured), so that helps too. The bike in the pic is my POS old 26er.


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## torreyaz (Jul 17, 2011)

kdc1956 said:


> Thanks for the Info on this bicycle stand now I am going to home depot today to get all the parts cheap I am cheap too lol.Love this idea you came up with.


Let's see some pics when it's all done.


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## Hardtail 355 (Oct 19, 2011)

Cheap is cool....................I like it. I just need to bolt down my vise first and I will be in business!

Thanks for sharing


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## mikearif (Sep 7, 2011)

I made this same exact bike stand and i think it works really well specially for the price i just need to figure a way to make the bike a little more stable till Santa brings me my PARK stand.


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## Sh4wn (Dec 3, 2011)

Maybe add something like this if you have top tube cable interference:
Amazon.com: Delta Cycle Substitute Cross Bar: Sports & Outdoors

Also, possibly notch a longer 2x6 so the you can move the mount up an down (after properly mounting the vice of course) ?


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## sharp21 (Jul 25, 2014)

I just built that same stand! Looks like I even got the same bracket.

Only difference is that I got my neighbor to pick it up for me so it only cost me two beers!















Turned out great and keeps the bikes at perfect working height.


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## dundundata (May 15, 2009)

Motorcycle parking only pal


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## Cleared2land (Aug 31, 2012)

Jan 2012

A good resurrection.


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## sharp21 (Jul 25, 2014)

dundundata said:


> Motorcycle parking only pal


My motorcycle riding days were over when I had my second kid. Maybe when they are out of the house...

I know this was an old thread but it seemed the best place to post. I built mine then did a search to see if anyone had done something similar and found this!


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## davez26 (Dec 2, 2004)

A variant on this idea. 2 pieces of scrap, and 2 hooks. Height is adjustable depending on angle you clamp it in the vice, and all sorts of angles if you rotate the vice. 
You will need an adapter for the bikes with the new-fangled sloped top tubes.


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