Cheap Aldi bike stand converted to a mechanics work stand

gerardvok
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Cheap Aldi bike stand converted to a mechanics work stand

Postby gerardvok » Sat Nov 01, 2014 11:23 pm

Hi there.

I just wanted to offer some images of a bike work stand conversion resulting in the functionality of an expensive stand at a fraction of the cost.

I was given a $40 Aldi bike stand for a gift but found it didn't work well with any of my bikes for different reasons. I saw the stands that the pro team mechanics used at the Tour Down Under and decided to convert this stand to something with the functionality of theirs. I'd love one of the Tacx brand stands but they are really expensive and thought I'd have a bit of fun in the process. With an additional $40 worth of parts and the use of a hobbiest level welder and grinder I got to work. The resulting stand is very stable, rotates and allows me to remove the wheels when working on the bike. Its not as quick to disassemble and its not as nice as the real deal but for $80 it might interest others who are looking for a similar setup.

Enjoy.
Gerard.

(Update: I deleted the original images a while ago but I added them back tonight with a document describing (badly) the process.. Hopefully the images will be mostly explanatory.)

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... dHzMIWCwIP
Last edited by gerardvok on Tue Oct 16, 2018 11:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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bychosis
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Re: Cheap Aldi bike stand converted to a mechanics work stan

Postby bychosis » Sun Nov 02, 2014 6:22 am

Nice work!
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yugyug
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Re: Cheap Aldi bike stand converted to a mechanics work stan

Postby yugyug » Sun Nov 02, 2014 9:37 am

That's cool. Not sure I understand how you can work on the front wheel though?

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MattyK
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Re: Cheap Aldi bike stand converted to a mechanics work stan

Postby MattyK » Sun Nov 02, 2014 1:43 pm

Nice work. Not as cheap as mine but a bit more functional.

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Re: Cheap Aldi bike stand converted to a mechanics work stan

Postby warthog1 » Sun Nov 02, 2014 3:41 pm

That is fantastic :) Love your work.
Those bike stands that hold the bike by the seatpost or top tube are absolute rubbish IMO. Nice conversion to something usable 8)
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Re: Cheap Aldi bike stand converted to a mechanics work stan

Postby mitzikatzi » Sun Nov 02, 2014 4:31 pm

If you don't have a welder.
I think two small bolts and some Araldite would hold the hub clamp to the steel tube.

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Re: Cheap Aldi bike stand converted to a mechanics work stan

Postby find_bruce » Sun Nov 02, 2014 7:38 pm

mitzikatzi wrote:If you don't have a welder.
I think two small bolts and some Araldite would hold the hub clamp to the steel tube.
Or a u-bolt

gerardvok
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Re: Cheap Aldi bike stand converted to a mechanics work stan

Postby gerardvok » Mon Nov 03, 2014 8:59 am

The UBolt is a great idea, or even two long bolts and another strip of metal under the pipe (mirroring the upper plate). I use any excuse to pull out the welder though. It's a lot of fun.
The Aldi bike stand is now even cheaper. Saw it yesterday for $30 with some improvements.

gerardvok
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Re: Cheap Aldi bike stand converted to a mechanics work stan

Postby gerardvok » Mon Nov 03, 2014 9:05 am

yugyug wrote:That's cool. Not sure I understand how you can work on the front wheel though?
It's a stand to allow the bike to remain very stable for cleaning down , and for being able to work on the drive train and gears without the back wheel in play. The other benefit is that the steerer stays put, and the whole thing is at standing height so the back doesn't get sore. Truing the front wheel is best done on a jig, I suspect.

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m@
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Re: Cheap Aldi bike stand converted to a mechanics work stand

Postby m@ » Sun Jul 01, 2018 9:19 am

G'day Gerard, appreciate this is quite a grave-dig and perhaps a long shot - but do you have a copy of the photo handy (or do you still have the workstand)? Google+ sleeps with the MySpace fishes :wink:

Cheers,
Matt
gerardvok wrote:Hi there.

I just wanted to offer some images of a bike work stand conversion resulting in the functionality of an expensive stand at a fraction of the cost.

I was given a $40 Aldi bike stand for a gift but found it didn't work well with any of my bikes for different reasons. I saw the stands that the pro team mechanics used at the Tour Down Under and decided to convert this stand to something with the functionality of theirs. I'd love one of the Tacx brand stands but they are really expensive and thought I'd have a bit of fun in the process. With an additional $40 worth of parts and the use of a hobbiest level welder and grinder I got to work. The resulting stand is very stable, rotates and allows me to remove the wheels when working on the bike. Its not as quick to disassemble and its not as nice as the real deal but for $80 it might interest others who are looking for a similar setup.

Enjoy.
Gerard.

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RonK
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Re: Cheap Aldi bike stand converted to a mechanics work stand

Postby RonK » Sun Jul 01, 2018 10:30 am

If Gerard is not around, you could try this stand.

https://www.cyclingdeal.com.au/buy/bicy ... /CB-RS-003
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Tamiya
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Re: Cheap Aldi bike stand converted to a mechanics work stand

Postby Tamiya » Wed Jul 11, 2018 2:33 am

CyclingDeal offers a big range of work stands... but that CaptHook one would be last on my list :)

Thought Aldi usually has a bike specials week around this TdF time of the year, haven't seen anything. Their Bikemate workstand is decent in use & price. Although these days it's not hard to find a similar stand for around $50.

gerardvok
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Re: Cheap Aldi bike stand converted to a mechanics work stand

Postby gerardvok » Tue Oct 16, 2018 11:21 pm

hi guys Sorry I haven't been on the forum for AGES..

I had deleted the original images but added them again here with a badly written document with a half effort description of the project. All I have time for at the moment but maybe it will help:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... dHzMIWCwIP

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m@
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Re: Cheap Aldi bike stand converted to a mechanics work stand

Postby m@ » Tue Oct 30, 2018 9:25 am

Thanks all - I picked up another Aldi stand a couple of months back; I may get around to modifying it to attach to the dropouts sometime.

Only differences to my old c-2014 Aldi stand are cam/lever rather than rotary knob for the main clamp (handy, but the angle adjuster is the one that needs better clamp force - won't hold my ~12kg bike level if clamped via seatpost) and it now has five rather than four legs (no real improvement - old one was already perfectly stable IME)
gerardvok wrote:hi guys Sorry I haven't been on the forum for AGES..

I had deleted the original images but added them again here with a badly written document with a half effort description of the project. All I have time for at the moment but maybe it will help:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... dHzMIWCwIP
I've seen things you people wouldn't believe

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