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 gaffer tape and taped two together. Bingo.



I have used it for about a year now, and it has been great. You can see that it rests under the seat, and sits like a normal tent pole. I thought that it might sink into the ground, but not so.

This is what it looks like folded up:


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