Home made workstand - MacGyver time

[Jean]

Hi,

For some time I've wanted a workstand to work on my bike with. The T7 ones and such seemed OK, but I wanted one that did not clamp on to the tubing, either top/down tubes or onto a seatpost. The one made by Llewellyn Bikes which cradled the BB and clamped at the front fork/rear drop out seemed like the go, but >$350 was more than I wanted to spend.



Tacx make a pretty good looking one which is not too expensive and it was a leading contender:



But my inner MacGyver wanted to try its hand. Thinking it over a folding saw horse seemed like a good starting point - or at least it did to me. By using its length I could hang the back wheel over the back so I could work on the running gear as I needed to. The first matter to sort out was a cradle for the bottom bracket. This was pretty easy actually. The idea came to me quickly and it was easy to make. All that was needed was some cheap 42x19 pine and a plastic cutting board from a $2 shop in town to make this:



The cradle worked a treat but putting it on the saw horse didn't - the horse was too wide for the cranks and they could not be spun. Rumaging around the house I found a length of 25mm steel box tubing and by using that as an extended support arm the cradle could be fastened to that, as per the picture.

Next was how to fasten the front forks? After some thinking I decided to use the remains of a Thule roof rack which my wife destroyed in a McDonalds' drive through (U had to mention that, didn't u!) (Sorry, my wife saw that as I typed it, follow the link to see why she wrote that), as related here. Using the fork clamp bit was easy enough, but I also wanted to be able to slide it backwards and forwards so I could accommodate different bikes. Then it occurred to me that I could also use the railing that was part of the rack:



So putting it all together and into action:





Ok, its got a tail heavy problem, but in the short term I'll either balance it out with some weight on the front end or maybe setup a tie down. I will trim down the box tube at the front and bolt on something as a tool/parts tray too (probably a SS pet bowl). Ultimately I think I'll have to come up with some other base besides the saw horse, but so far my total cost is less than $20 (unless you factor in a busted Thule rack of course, but that was written off, so not a true cost). I'm replacing my drive train in the next few weeks, so I'll be giving it a try soon.

[zozza]

Hmm? I'm after the Tacx workstand also....But now you have me thinking Jean?

Going to see if I can scratch something together at work

Ahh...Gotta love foreign orders

[sharktamin]

Congratulations Mrs Jean!
You didn't break a roof rack, you initialised a traiof thought than produced a new invention!
You are a genious Jean and now an honoury member of the tight @rse club (I'm President).
Hooray for MacGuyver (I wondered where he went when the show ended).


P.S. Answer to over balance.
Do away with box steel, it is now unnecessary. Cut down top of saw horse to dimensions of pine block and move all toward centre of horse. If necessary move "front" leg of horse toward bike to improve balance. Add all tool racks accessories radio, battery powered work light etc to front leg to further improve balance.

Option add castor wheels for mobility.

Now if only it was height adjustable, accepted old bikes without quick release, and tricycles.... mmmmm

For others who don't have a roof rack, and old axle and any metal slidy bit would probably do.

[Jean]

You are a genious Jean

Finally, someone noticed!

P.S. Answer to over balance.
Do away with box steel, it is now unnecessary. Cut down top of saw horse to dimensions of pine block and move all toward centre of horse. If necessary move "front" leg of horse toward bike to improve balance. Add all tool racks accessories radio, battery powered work light etc to front leg to further improve balance.

I don't think shaving off the sides of the horse would work by itself as I think the cranks would still strike the shoulders of the horse legs. But yes, cutting down the wood on the horse to get the cradle as far forward as possible is the next step.

For others who don't have a roof rack, and old axle and any metal slidy bit would probably do.

My optimum would have been to use some old axles togther with a section of slightly larger box tubing which could have slided over the existing tube. But as far as I could figure out it would require a welder and some knowledge of how to use it, neither of which are at my disposal. Going that way would also allow you to set up two axles, one for the forks and another for the rear drop outs so the bike could be flipped around (as per the Tacx one). My set up is good for just about everything except working on the headset, but I hardly ever do that and can live with the inconvenience.

Cheers

[Kalgrm]

Nice work Jean (and Mrs Jean). I love a good "MacGuyver", and this is one of those, for sure.

Cheers,
Graeme

[}SkOrPn--7]

Awesome work there Jean nothing like the MacGuyver touch I say.............

[im_no_pro]

Awesome work there Jean nothing like the MacGuyver touch I say.............

+1... wish I had more time to MacGuyver things. Have you got a link to the tacx one jean??

[Jean]

www.tacx.com . Google Tacx and you'll find their site at the top of the list. I also noticed last week that Bike24 sells their stands, apparently without export restrictions (which I have seen them with on PBK in the past) - AUD/Euro exchange rates are pretty good ATM

[im_no_pro]

http://www.tacx.com. Google Tacx and you'll find their site at the top of the list. I also noticed last week that Bike24 sells their stands, apparently without export restrictions (which I have seen them with on PBK in the past) - AUD/Euro exchange rates are pretty good ATM

My bad. assumed you had seen it through a store website. Thanks

[beanspropulsion]

Nice one, bit like mine.

I used an old computer PSU with gravel in it to counterbalance the weight of the bike.

Very nice job mate.

[Mulger bill]

Well done Jean, nice thinking with the chopping board. Maybe a castored stool to save you bending over next?

Shaun

[cavebear2]

assumed you had seen it through a store website.

Here's the CRC link for the TACX stand
Currently $5 less than I paid for it. At only $202 a great buy (but you'll have to buy $320 of other stuff to get free postage)
I've used mine a bit now and it's a good quality tool, much cheaper than the Park Tools equivalent.

Regards

Perry

[Aushiker]

G'day

Bike24 have the Tacx Spider Team T3050 Repair Stand landed in Australia for $197.00 which is a better price than Chain Reaction Cycles.

Regards
Andrew

[tallywhacker]

Well done Jean, nice thinking with the chopping board. Maybe a castored stool to save you bending over next?

Shaun

but only if you McGyver one like this

[Jean]

Just to follow up, here's the stand after some modifications. By putting a couple of wooden risers under the metal bar I've been able to move the whole lot forward on the horse. The rise means the q-factor of the cranks is now sufficient to get clear of the wood of the horse. The metal bar cannot really be moved any further forward now, but I might look at moving the horse legs at the back towards the end of the horse. But that's a job for the future as I think it's pretty stable now; certainly able to do most jobs. Here's a pic:



Just need to add a bowl to the front for bike bits etc.

Cheers

[foo on patrol]

Why not weld a bar across the front legs with a plate on top of it, and just place brick or similar on ti?

[Pushy]

Keep your eyes open during verge pickup for old ironingboard to serve as an adjustable height base. While you're at it make you own wax lube, 200ml white spirits and 50g candle/parafin wax. Grate wax and add to white spirits in small jar, shake until dissolved, dunking jar in hot water will help the process. Use different coloured candles for different formulations, eg graphite, silicone oil, etc.

[bigs]

After wrangling with my bicycle upside down the other day I've decided to get my MacGyver on and make one of these. I have one of these Triton adjustable sawhorses:


What I was planning on doing is putting a bicycle length bit of wood in there and like the OP, use a chopped up chopping board to cradle the BB. What I can't work out is how I am going to make an adjustable place to attach my fork. I want to attach something similar to an axle and can be moved back forth or rather I want something I can attach an axle to that can move back and forth.

Does anyone have any ideas?

[ve safari]

Tube within a tube, allowing the inner tube to trombone out to the length you need. A couple of offcuts and zaps with a welder to fabricate the fork mount and you're away.

[}SkOrPn--7]

After wrangling with my bicycle upside down the other day I've decided to get my MacGyver on and make one of these. I have one of these Triton adjustable sawhorses:


What I was planning on doing is putting a bicycle length bit of wood in there and like the OP, use a chopped up chopping board to cradle the BB. What I can't work out is how I am going to make an adjustable place to attach my fork. I want to attach something similar to an axle and can be moved back forth or rather I want something I can attach an axle to that can move back and forth.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Same product I used to make mine

[bigs]

How much did that cost? sexy option.

[}SkOrPn--7]

How much did that cost? sexy option.

I already had the Triton stand and metal pole all I brought was the high pressure white coupling fitting ($15.00) you see and the bike clamping thingy-majig which was from memory I think $69.00 delivered.