PVC Bike Repair Stand

A simple to build, easy to use, inexpensive, sturdy bike stand. Can be made with a few tools you probably already own. Parts can be purchased at any home supply or hardware store. My parts at Home Depot cost under $35, including NY sales tax.

This is a European style stand with no adjustability & no rotation of the bike. But it also requires no clamp & has no moving parts. It can be used to do mechanical work, wash your bike, or for storage & display.

This stand suites my style in two very important ways. First of all, I enjoy mountain biking & doing my own wrench work. Second of all, I hate to spend a lot of money on something that should perform a very simple function.

Step 1: Materials & Tools

I chose 1 1/2 inch PVC pipe for the main frame because it was sturdy & had the broadest selection of fittings. There are a couple pieces of 2" pipe that I use for the bike frame rests, and some optional foam weather stripping to use for padding. There is also some shaping of some of the pipe & fittings, so some carving & shaping tools are required.

Tools:
- hack saw (or alternately a PVC tubing cutter)
- tape measure
- wood chisel (or alternately a dremel tool with a carbide bit)
- pencil & dry-erase marker
- file
- sand paper

PVC parts:
(4) 15" lengths of 1 1/2" diameter pipe for the base supports
(2) 34" lengths of 1 1/2" diameter pipe for the legs
(1) 16" length of 1 1/2" diameter pipe for the down-tube support
(1) 51" length of 1 1/2" diameter pipe for the base outrigger
(1) 3" length of 2" diameter pipe for the bike rests
(3) 1 1/2" T-fittings
(2) 1 1/2" 90 degree elbow fittings
(2) 1 1/2" coupling or end-cap fittings
(1) 1 1/2" cross fitting (AKA 4-way fitting)


Other materials:
- PVC cement (get the cheapest kind, since it doesn't need to hold water)
- 1 1/4" rubber foam weather stripping (optional)

The 1 1/2" pipe pieces total just over 16 feet. I bought (2) 10 foot pieces & used most of the excess 4 feet on design mistakes so that you don't have to. You could make the legs & base parts a bit shorter, but then you'll be doing a bit of bending while working on your bike. At these lengths, you can do most of your work fairly upright, but the stand is still sturdy & you can fit it through most doorways if you want to move it from room to room or outdoors.

If you're not too concerned about asthetics, the printing on the pipe should not be a problem. If they bother you, you can buy PVC pipe without printing on some internet sites. But it will be more expensive - especially with shipping. You can even get PVC in designer colors. But if I wanted to pay that much I'd probably be buying a stand instead of making one.

Comments

[whitenhiemer]

Ok, so I went to build this, and while it looks fairly sturdy...but it was going to cost me almost $70. Most of that cost was in the tools, since i don't own any.

[almillermtz]

Very interesting tutorial. I would like to share bike repair videos visiting my blog: http://bikerepairshops.net

Thanks

Alberto

[Ridgedale]

Just finished, worked great.......used a 1.5 " holesaw on a drill press to cut out the the cross piece and the T fitting. The half pipes then fit perfectly. Also used "JB Weld" (two part epoxy) to secure the half pipes. It is thick so it fills any gaps and is strong as steel. Left one end of each elbow and an angle brace un glued so I can store it easier.
Thanks

[jbalch]

Of course, with a little playground sand poured into the base you can correct the tippiness with ease. Granted, it makes it a little less portable but if that isn't a problem it would be an easy fix.

[dodland]

I am thinking of going with this one because even though I'll have to buy a hacksaw and wood chisel (unlike the other one with the metal pipes), it looks more compact and of course lighter.

[ApolloMTB]

let me first say i like this design over some of the other ones i've seen but to make it more stable have you tried to use the clamp like this one I found to hold the frame?
http://www.yourmtb.com/story/build_your_own_bike_repair_stand_for_under_20
it might be safer to

and if you make the bottom bracket support more of a circle eg higher sides so its tighter around the bottom bracket you could then maybe use something to tie it down

just some suggestions

but i really like it good job i can see lots of potential in it
thankyou
matthew

[amdivoff]

your link is bad

[outsidedude2]

for more stability run a peice of pvc to the top tube and make a clamp

[stoomcdoo]

I had problems with stability because the derailleur cable routing goes under my bottom bracket, and the plastic guide is attached with a hex head metal screw. I drilled a 1/2" hole to accept the head of the screw, and glued 1/8" strips of the 2" diameter pipe to the inside edges of the bottom bracket support. I padded these with weather stripping foam. I also padded the down tube support with pieces of inner tube so that it fits the down tube snugly. It works well now. Thanks!

[leahcim69]

i love your bike stand ,so i built one,i did make 1 inprovment, i put a 8" 1 1/2" pipe the top "t" the forks rest on the end of the pipe, it keeps the front wheel straight. i hope you like my idea.mike

[GoCubs252]

You just saved me about $50. Me and my Cannondale that I have named Rhodes thank you.

[schcaubly]

oh yeah, Nice bike! Long live rock shox!

[Matty.Catchpole]

Sorry, but that bike is rubbish! Really good idea though.

[holycrikey]

Not all of us have several thousand dollars to drop on a proper mountain bike. Iron Horse makes some great entry-level bikes. What matters is getting out there on trail, regardless of what quality bike you have. Cheers.

[ponkan]

Where you talk about whittling the T to fit the half-pipe, there's practically no better way to fine-tune the fit than by wrapping the half-pipe in sandpaper and rubbing. Start with something rough, like 80 grit wet-dry (wet it to ease the process), to really remove material, and switch to finer grades to refine edge. A plausible progression might be 80, 160, 320, and if you're really serious about a smooth edge before cementing, 600 grit.

[luigix]

I have a question. How heavy a bike can this stand take? I am very interested to build one, but i have a Kona Stinky, which is..pretty heavy, like 19kg or so, just roughly weighed it on my bathroom scale. I don't really know how strong PVC pipes are, but i am really afraid the structure will give way once i load it up. Any ideas? Thanks!

[burtronix]

My bike weighs about 35 lbs (about 16 kg) plus I've had an under-seat bag with about 1 kg of tools mounted on it. The 2 inch PVC pipe is pretty sturdy & most of the weight is held right at the tip of the triangle - the strongest point. I think it should have no problem holding 19 kg, but you might not want to apply a lot of force while working on the bike. If you do build it, make sure you put both out-riggers on the base. You could also permanently glue the outriggers on; that would make it sturdier but less transportable.

[schcaubly]

I really like your idea. its very simple and seems quick to build. I was going to buy one for 100$ before i saw this! thanks for posting it!

[CeciliaCase]

I just built this, and it went together very easily. Thanks! I just left the joint in the lower right of the cross fitting a dry fit, and the outrigger a dry fit so that I can stow it under the bed, or in a closet. I also did a rough fit of the half-pipes, and they are very sturdy, albeit very ugly.

[chuckr44]

Great instructable. I'd like a stand so I can ride my bike indoors for physical therapy (I have a bad knee). Anyone have a design for this? Anyone?

[Protostar]

Check out the wooden indoor stand. Seems to me that it would work, especially if you used more sticks for the frame support riser or maybe a larger piece of wood like a 2x4. Also for indoor riding, you might want to put a piece of inner tube or something on riser so that the bike frame wouldn't sit on the wood. Remember to put something under the front wheel to raise it so that the bike is level. But all this still leaves you with no drag on the rear wheel, so I dunno what good it is...maybe others have a suggestion...

[LuminousObject]

If you happen to have a treadmill, the bottom could sit on the edges and the back wheel could push the treadmill belt.

[mike_d214]

I really like your design. I think I'm going to put some sand in the base to keep the stuff from hopping around as I'm cranking.

[manmade_monster]

Awesome.

[Ruettiger]

this is pretty cool. I think i would build mine out of steel but that's cuz I have a welder, but I still might use this design.

[byronsalty]

I just built this and it was indeed pretty simple and only cost $20. However now that it's built I want to do it all over again because I have an idea for a massive improvement. The problem with this stand is that it's so large. Here's my idea to solve to make the whole thing collapsible but not less sturdy. Use 2" diameter joints and then cement 6 inches of the 2" pipe in all joints (except for the unused joint in the cross joint). Next use all the same length 1.5" pipes but they'd now only dry fit into the 6 inch overlap with the 2" joints. This should be just as sturdy and when you're done you can pull it all apart. Setup would probably only take a minute or two.

[Combat_tourer]

I like this and the idea of putting it all away too. However, you really only need to do one thing. Drill holes straight through, on either side of the "T"s where the big "U" foot and two smaller feet extent. Then use a pin, or 16p nail to hold them connected temporarily. When done, remove pin and feet and tuck everything away.

[blah]

Having just completed building this project, I have a few comments: 1. A velcro strap won't help stabilize the bike at all. The full weight of the bike is bearing down on the two half-pipes, it won't fall off even with some substantial cranking. 2. On my bike, getting the balance on this type of stand is tough because (A) the front wheel turns to one side (racing bike), and (B) the dérailleur cables both go under the bottom bracket. 3. The author mentions needing to carefully carve out space for the two half pipes, using a Dremel, then a file, then sandpaper. No such precision is necessary. I hacked mine out with a Dremel for a few minutes, applied the glue, and let it set for a few hours. Even without a larger contact patch for the glue it holds just fine.

[KWHCoaster]

Terrific idea. I second the idea of using velcro straps to lash the bike to the stand to keep it nice and secure when wrenching on the bike.

[Merlmabase]

Excellent instructable, especially since it fills a definite need. I always pondered why there wasn't some cheap alternative to those professional steel rigs for performing basic home maintenance. I'll withhold full judgement until I can see for myself how well it compares functionally, but from your pictures it looks solid. One concern for us apartment-dwellers is always space, especially when you've got a bike as a third roommate. I wonder if you left the rectangular base unglued, that in between maintenance jobs it could simply be removed and the whole thing tucked up against the wall? A couple of ideas for extra stability: first, a velcro strap around the downtube cup to lock the bike in while working; you could even line the inside of the strap with tire-tube rubber to make it extra-grippy. Second, maybe have two bungee cords running from the downtube support to both fork dropouts - might keep your front wheel from flopping around. Keep up the good work!

[rdy4trvl]

Creative idea. I like it. Nice mods to the down tube and BB support. Two possible ideas to improve stability: Use a bungee cord connected to either wheel and the PVC base support (directly under the wheel). Obviously, this would have to be on the wheel a user was not working on. Add piece of PVC from the base support with a quick release on the end. Remove the front wheel and insert into the quick release like some on-top-of-the-car bike carriers. Well done!