park repair stand: pcs-1 vs. pcs-4

Before you blow your money on the Park.... the Ultimate CONSUMER, not
the pro, has a great clamp. I too was considering the PCS-4 and the
Ultimate Pro. Then I checked out the Ultimate Consumer and actually
preferred it to the pro. It's definitely stable and has great controls.

d^2 said:

i'm about to buy a park repair stand (sorry ultimate fans -- the
ultimate pro didn't feel quite as stable to me and i didn't like the
knobs/controls) but i am sort of torn between the park pcs-1 ($130)

and

Quoted message said:

the park pcs-4 ($200). the pcs-4 seemed a little more stable, and

has

Quoted message said:

a little better of a clamp, but the differences were pretty slight.

(i

Quoted message said:

put bikes in both racks and monkeyed around with them both) i would
like to just buy the pcs-4, but i'm not convinced the better clamp

and

Quoted message said:

slightly better stability are worth 70 extra dollars. (that's 70

bucks

Quoted message said:

that could also buy me new handlebars!) any opinions? i have two
bikes that i will be using it on: a 19 pound road bike and a 27ish
pound mtb.

I have the Park PCS-5 stand. The former folding stand. About $225 or
so. Now Park has a new folding race stand with the same clamp. I
think your PCS-4 has the same nice clamp. I advise going for the nicer
clmap. The clamp is the main/only part of the stand you touch. I have
several bikes with different size top tubes so I frequently change the
clamp opening. If your two bikes have the same size top tube then you
may not have to adjust the clamp much. Unless you get a different bike
with a different top tube size.

On 25 Mar 2005 13:05:29 -0800, [email hidden] scribbled:

Quoted message said:

I have the Park PCS-5 stand. The former folding stand. About $225 or
so. Now Park has a new folding race stand with the same clamp. I
think your PCS-4 has the same nice clamp. I advise going for the nicer
clmap. The clamp is the main/only part of the stand you touch. I have
several bikes with different size top tubes so I frequently change the
clamp opening. If your two bikes have the same size top tube then you
may not have to adjust the clamp much. Unless you get a different bike
with a different top tube size.

I was under the impression that clamping a frame tube in a repair
stand was a general no-no - is that true, or does it depend on the
type of frame being clamped?

-Slash
--
"Ebert Victorious"
-The Onion

"I was under the impression that clamping a frame tube in a repair
stand was a general no-no - is that true, or does it depend on the
type of frame being clamped? "

It's not necessarily a no-no. The preferred method is to clamp to
the seat post, then next is the seat tube, and last would be the top
tube. I have one bike that the seat tube does not "show" enough to
accomodate the length of the clamp on my PCS-4, so, I just take a few
seconds and extend the seat post to expose it enough. If you are in
any doubt, you should contact the frame manufacturer. Older steel
frames should be no problem (clamping on the seat, or top tubes).
If you clamp on the frame, stick a rag in the clamp to protect your
paint job.

As far as "PCS-1" vs. "PCS-4" goes, the "4" has much nicer clamp (very
easily adjustable for different tube sizes) and has less of a tendency
to slide around on the floor. It's got four rubber feet that can
rotate and are cam shaped, so as to compensate for an uneven floor.
It's a great idea and works nicely to give you an extremely stable work
platform. I checked them out side by side at the LBS and the "1"
would slide if you got the weight back on the curve in the legs.
The "4" seems to be much better about staying in place. FWIW, this
thing is built like a tank and will likely be around long after I am
gone.

Slash said:

On 25 Mar 2005 13:05:29 -0800, [email hidden] scribbled:

Quoted message said:

I have the Park PCS-5 stand. The former folding stand. About $225 or
so. Now Park has a new folding race stand with the same clamp. I
think your PCS-4 has the same nice clamp. I advise going for the nicer
clmap. The clamp is the main/only part of the stand you touch. I have
several bikes with different size top tubes so I frequently change the
clamp opening. If your two bikes have the same size top tube then you
may not have to adjust the clamp much. Unless you get a different bike
with a different top tube size.

I was under the impression that clamping a frame tube in a repair
stand was a general no-no - is that true, or does it depend on the
type of frame being clamped?

Depends.

Standard weight tube (heavy by rbt standards) in a Park #1
for flats is reasonable and very fast.

The dangerous aspect to which you refer, is the Park model
with the adjustable cam. With little effort you can crush a
normal round tube bike into a Colnago-like diamond section.
Generally not acceptable for any modern seat tube and
probably also a poor idea on a carbon post.

We use the Ultimate design at our #1 station which is also
very kind to frames- even thin oval carbon. If they weren't
so impossibly hard to deal with we'd probably sell their
stands. The product is great.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

well, i decided to pull the trigger and got the pcs-4. the final
reasoning was that i read that the pcs-4 was more durable, and when i
played with it myself, it did feel a lot tougher. i figure i'd pay the
extra 70 now in hopes that i won't have to buy another stand. also, i
won't be second guessing myself everytime i use the clamp whether i
should have gotten the nicer one. hearing that the rubber feet are
more stable than the pcs-1 is just icing at this point!

Slash said:

On 25 Mar 2005 13:05:29 -0800, [email hidden] scribbled:

Quoted message said:

I have the Park PCS-5 stand. The former folding stand. About $225

or

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

so. Now Park has a new folding race stand with the same clamp. I
think your PCS-4 has the same nice clamp. I advise going for the

nicer

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

clmap. The clamp is the main/only part of the stand you touch. I

have

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

several bikes with different size top tubes so I frequently change

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

clamp opening. If your two bikes have the same size top tube then

you

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

may not have to adjust the clamp much. Unless you get a different

bike

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

with a different top tube size.

I was under the impression that clamping a frame tube in a repair
stand was a general no-no - is that true, or does it depend on the
type of frame being clamped?

-Slash
--
"Ebert Victorious"
-The Onion

It depends entirely on the intelligence and judgment of the person
doing the clamping. Most operations you don't even need to clamp the
frame. Just sit the top tube on the clamp and leave it open. Others
require very gentle clamping force on the tube. And if its a job that
requires heavy force, I just lean the bike against the stand and put
the force on the part. I don't want a bike in a stand if I have to use
heavy force. When the heavy force pivots against whatever is clamped
in the stand, something is likely to break.

Are you going to use it just once, for a year, or for 20 years? Spread
that $70 over 20 years, and it's pretty insignificant...

d^2 said:

i'm about to buy a park repair stand (sorry ultimate fans -- the
ultimate pro didn't feel quite as stable to me and i didn't like the
knobs/controls) but i am sort of torn between the park pcs-1 ($130) and
the park pcs-4 ($200). the pcs-4 seemed a little more stable, and has
a little better of a clamp, but the differences were pretty slight. (i
put bikes in both racks and monkeyed around with them both) i would
like to just buy the pcs-4, but i'm not convinced the better clamp and
slightly better stability are worth 70 extra dollars.

richard said:

Are you going to use it just once, for a year, or for 20 years? Spread
that $70 over 20 years, and it's pretty insignificant...

d^2 said:

i'm about to buy a park repair stand (sorry ultimate fans -- the
ultimate pro didn't feel quite as stable to me and i didn't like the
knobs/controls) but i am sort of torn between the park pcs-1 ($130) and
the park pcs-4 ($200). the pcs-4 seemed a little more stable, and has
a little better of a clamp, but the differences were pretty slight. (i
put bikes in both racks and monkeyed around with them both) i would
like to just buy the pcs-4, but i'm not convinced the better clamp and
slightly better stability are worth 70 extra dollars.

Believe me, if the pcd-4 is more stable, it's worth it. I made the
mistake of buying a pcs-1, and regret it. The clamp is OK, once you learn
what not to try to do with it. The stand itself tends to tip over, which
is a RPITA, and the height being non-adjustable is another.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | A mathematician is a machine for turning coffee into theorems.
_`\(,_ | -- Paul Erdos
(_)/ (_) |