my very cheap touring bike stand
In the desert, there is nowhere to lean your bike. It's really difficult to stand holding it up, and unpack or pack it. That's how I came to think about stands. There are the type that attach to the bike, and the pole type. My bike has a fitting for a stand, but I was reluctant. The weight when fully loaded, pushing against the frame. It would probably be ok, but I searched for a pole type solution. I searched and found a commercial solution. They are really neat, and if you are looking for a good quality sturdy stand, then I suggest that you seriously look at them. In my case, I had just mended my tent with great help from bluemoon200510 on ebay ( http://www.ebay.com.au/usr/bluemoon200510 ). So I had some tent poles left over, and some of the elastic cord that goes down the middle. I wondered if I could use a tent pole as a stand. The first version was a failure. Bike too heavy, stand bends wildly. Then I had a brainwave. Maybe two stands would do it. I got the gaffe