DIY Portable Bike Repair Stand

Intro.
I've been using my ceiling mounted bike lift to hold my bike when doing minor repairs or adjustments. I just lower the bike close to ground, it kinda works, but it's not portable and it's a little wobbly and not stable when you are cranking the wheels. After reading several post from a bike forum on how to built your own bike stand, I decided to make my own. I wanted it to be portable and able to adjust the angle of the clamp to accommodate different bike geometry and able to tilt the bike at a certain angle.

To make it portable, I decided to use a PA tripod speaker stand as a base. I found a good deal from Craiglist. New ones from Amazon will cost you around $20 to over hundred dollars for the fancy ones. My goal is to keep it all under $50....and Craiglist is a life saver. The tripod is the key part for this built; if your getting one make sure that the tripod top tube can accommodate a 1" diameter pipe. Also, the pipe wall thickness is crucial for the design to work, the 3/4" diameter pipe should be able to fit inside the 1" diameter pipe (if you look at the pictures below you'll see what I mean). I got black pipes from Home Depot and it is a perfect fit.

Materials and Tools you need:
PA tripod speaker stand
3/4" Pony clamp
2= 1" diameter , 6" long black pipe. (threaded each end)
1= 3/4" diameter, 21 inch long black pipe (threaded on one end)
1=1" diameter Galvanized Tee fitting
Red permanent loctite
34.9 mm QR seatpost clamp
Paint (optional)
2x4 block of wood, 12 inches long
Old mouse pad with rubber padding
Contact Cement

Tools you need:
Chop saw or hacksaw
Drill with drill bits
Pipe wrench and a table mounted vise comes handy
Rivet setter/revits or metal screws.

Pictured below is the finished bike repair stand:

1. Using a pipe wrench, thread one of the 1"diameter pipe to the 1" Galvanized Tee as pictured below, use red loctite to permanently secure it.

2. Using a chop saw or a hacksaw, saw-off the just threaded 1" pipe to make it flush with the Tee fitting (pictured below). Save the extra pipe, you'll need this later.

3. Use the pipe you saved from previous step to make the "tailpiece" (pictured below). This will be used to hold the pony clamp 3/4" pipe in place. Make 3 horizontal cuts along the 1" pipe shaft using a chop saw (these would be hard to replicate using a hacksaw). If you are stuck with a hacksaw, make 4 cuts instead (+ pattern) . Now, drill a small hole at the end of each cut to give it more flexibility.

4. Thread the above piece to the opposite end of the 1" Tee, use red loctite to permanently secure it.

5. Using two= 2"x4" wood blocks (each measures 6 inches long). Drill-through a clearance hole on the wood blocks to allow them to pass along the 3/4" pipe. I used a 1" bore for that. I then clamp the two 2"x4" sections together and bored through vertically to create the concave channels in each half of the wood block clamp pads.

6. I threaded another 1" diameter pipe about 6 inches long to the bottom of the 1" Galvanized Tee. I painted it black for aesthetic, then used 3 rivets to secure the clamp head assembly to the tripod (pictured below).

7. Now for the wood block clamp pads, I bolted it to the pony clamp and painted it blue (counter sink the head of the bolts). Once the paint dried, I glued (using contact cement) an old rubber mouse pad into the concave sections to act as a rubber padding.

8. Attach the 3/4" Pony Clamp to the 3/4" x 21" pipe.

9. Slide the Pony clamp 3/4" pipe to the Tee-piece, then use a 34.9mm QR seat post clamp to adjust the angle for clamping. Instead of QR seatpost clamp, I opted for a salvaged clamp from a razor kick scooter and a hand knob i was saving from an old office chair. I just replaced the original bolt to a smaller one to accommodate the clamp threads.

A small wing nut at the end of the 3/4" pipe is used for safety, this prevents the pony clamp assembly from accidentally sliding out.

(Optional)

10. (Optional) I painted the tripod legs blue...now it can be mistaken for a Park Tool Stand :).

Pitures of Bike Stand in Action:

Here it is in action. Even with the tripod legs in mid-extended position, it is very stable and not tippy at all.

Thank you all for viewing. Peace.