Post by flipnidaho on Feb 9, 2008 9:02:24 GMT 8
I've probably had my Park PCS1 since the mid-90's. It's been across the country a few times and has seen work in more states than I can remember. However, this past season, the clamping area has given it up and it doesn't clamp the bike securely anymore. It was time to go shopping.
After reading reviews, I decided to get an Ultimate Pro (not the Pro-Elite). The reason for this and not another Park was that my main problems with the Park was it's instability on uneven ground and it's weak stance (it will fold if you're trying to install or remove a stubborn crank or bb cup). The rotational adjustment has also gotten a bit weak and it will no longer hold the bike evenly (any weight on the bike and the arm will rotate down). To Park's credit, they are honoring their tool's lifetime warranty and will send me a new clamp as soon as I return the old clamp (at least so they say)...
First up, the old reliable Park PCS1:
The height adjustment is fixed but rotating the bike is relatively easy. One lever on the top of the arm to loosen and tighten. However, since Day 1, the Park has always been weak when it comes to keeping the angle chosen when wrenching on the bike. Specially if the center of gravity is high as in this picture.
Note that if you clamp your bike by the seatpost, the bike's weight is very far forward so any heavy duty wrenching will topple the bike stand forward. Not so good...
You can also clamp by the top tube but this clamping method can also interfere with top tube routed cables and decals. Also not recommended for CF or thin AL tubes.
Clamping by the seat tube lowers the center of gravity and centers the bike over the stand but this clamping method will destroy any stickers on the seat tube, is not safe on CF or thin AL tubes and gets in the way of the FD cable if you have top tube routing.
To accomodate, different width tubes/seatposts, you have to unscrew this bolt and move the clamp linkage to a new hole (which changes how much the clamp opens/closes.
The Ultimate Pro Repair Stand is not cheap ($180 shipped in my case-fortunately, it's a tax deductible expense) but it is relatively light at 12lbs.
Height adjustment is excellent! No more sitting on the floor to work on pedals or cranks. You can adjust the clamp to anywhere from 42" to 70" in height.
The height adjustment quick release. Out of the box it was a little loose so it would slowly sink lower, but a quick twist of a flathead screwdriver fixed that...
The tripod provides outstanding clearance. When I first saw the stand, I thought that I'd be tripping all over the legs...
This is the leg quick release. It takes about 15 to 30 seconds to fold up the stand...
You can also rotate the post the clamp attaches to so you can move the bike around instead of walking around the bike.
Yes, it's stable. I tested it by lifting the bike up to the highest setting and doing pullups on the clamp arm. It didn't budge (I wonder if that voids the warranty somehow). The stand is rated for 85lbs so it can handle Adaptive Bikes and Tandems with ease...
Here are some videos of the Ultimate:
This shows how easy it is to clamp a bike onto the stand. You basically pull the jaws out, put the seatpost within the jaws, push the jaws shut and turn the knob to snug it up...
This shows how easy it is to rotate the clamp arm to work on the bike upside down. I used a frame since a bike with tires will hit my shop's ceiling if I tried doing this with it...
The only negative is that the Ultimate only has a 3 year warranty...
I think I'll like the Ultimate... The Park will be my "outside" stand while the Ultimate will be the shop stand.
After reading reviews, I decided to get an Ultimate Pro (not the Pro-Elite). The reason for this and not another Park was that my main problems with the Park was it's instability on uneven ground and it's weak stance (it will fold if you're trying to install or remove a stubborn crank or bb cup). The rotational adjustment has also gotten a bit weak and it will no longer hold the bike evenly (any weight on the bike and the arm will rotate down). To Park's credit, they are honoring their tool's lifetime warranty and will send me a new clamp as soon as I return the old clamp (at least so they say)...
First up, the old reliable Park PCS1:
The height adjustment is fixed but rotating the bike is relatively easy. One lever on the top of the arm to loosen and tighten. However, since Day 1, the Park has always been weak when it comes to keeping the angle chosen when wrenching on the bike. Specially if the center of gravity is high as in this picture.
Note that if you clamp your bike by the seatpost, the bike's weight is very far forward so any heavy duty wrenching will topple the bike stand forward. Not so good...
You can also clamp by the top tube but this clamping method can also interfere with top tube routed cables and decals. Also not recommended for CF or thin AL tubes.
Clamping by the seat tube lowers the center of gravity and centers the bike over the stand but this clamping method will destroy any stickers on the seat tube, is not safe on CF or thin AL tubes and gets in the way of the FD cable if you have top tube routing.
To accomodate, different width tubes/seatposts, you have to unscrew this bolt and move the clamp linkage to a new hole (which changes how much the clamp opens/closes.
The Ultimate Pro Repair Stand is not cheap ($180 shipped in my case-fortunately, it's a tax deductible expense) but it is relatively light at 12lbs.
Height adjustment is excellent! No more sitting on the floor to work on pedals or cranks. You can adjust the clamp to anywhere from 42" to 70" in height.
The height adjustment quick release. Out of the box it was a little loose so it would slowly sink lower, but a quick twist of a flathead screwdriver fixed that...
The tripod provides outstanding clearance. When I first saw the stand, I thought that I'd be tripping all over the legs...
This is the leg quick release. It takes about 15 to 30 seconds to fold up the stand...
You can also rotate the post the clamp attaches to so you can move the bike around instead of walking around the bike.
Yes, it's stable. I tested it by lifting the bike up to the highest setting and doing pullups on the clamp arm. It didn't budge (I wonder if that voids the warranty somehow). The stand is rated for 85lbs so it can handle Adaptive Bikes and Tandems with ease...
Here are some videos of the Ultimate:
This shows how easy it is to clamp a bike onto the stand. You basically pull the jaws out, put the seatpost within the jaws, push the jaws shut and turn the knob to snug it up...
This shows how easy it is to rotate the clamp arm to work on the bike upside down. I used a frame since a bike with tires will hit my shop's ceiling if I tried doing this with it...
The only negative is that the Ultimate only has a 3 year warranty...
I think I'll like the Ultimate... The Park will be my "outside" stand while the Ultimate will be the shop stand.