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I did an enormous amount of research when evaluating bike repair stands and learned a number of good pointers. When choosing a bicycle repair stand for a mountain bike, you need to keep in mind a few tips, which are not necessarily different than if you own a road cycle but are more prominent and important.

I’ve listed them below in order of importance:

#1 Stability is King

When buying a bike repair stand for any bicycle, you want it to hold your bike stable. Mountain bikes tend to weight more than the urban road cycles and as such you really need to watch that your stand will hold your bike well. Your stand should not tip over, it should not wobble and it should hold your bike solid no matter how much your bike weights. You may need to pay a little more for this quality, but you will be far happier than buying something cheap and having to upgrade later on.

#2 It is All About the Clamp

The second most important feature on a good stand is a good clamp. The clamp is the part of your stand that holds you bike at an elevated level and if you have a bad clamp on a good stand, then you have a bad stand. The clamp needs to be as solid as the stand and be functional enough so you can position your bike any which way you need it. If stability is King, your clamp is queen. For a heavier mountain bike, you again want to pay extra attention to getting a good one as a good stand will make you happy.

#3 Look For a Good Brand

Brand is important when it comes to bike repair stands because you will have so much more support and confidence with a good brand than if you buy a stand from a lesser known brand. A good brand has a reputation to protect, and their reputation depends entirely on you being happy with their product. With a mountain bike this is important because we tend to beat up our bikes on the trails more than our tamer urban brothers and sisters. This means you will use your stand more often, and it will suffer more wear and tear in the long run. If something on the stand breaks somewhere down the road, the company behind the brand will likely fix your stand or replace it for free. Good brands come with warranties. Stands from lesser brands often do not. In most cases, you do get what you pay for.

For anyone who wants to do any work on their bicycle, a bicycle repair stand becomes an absolute necessity in one form or another. You do not want to simply turn your bike upside down as this can cause damage, is not steady and not easy on your body either for that matter. It is extremely useful and helpful to have a stand that holds your bike at an elevated level and that allows you to rotate it to the required working position. You also need it steady.

So what to use? Well there’s the question asked by many. Here are your options:

A Make Do Stand

By a make do stand I mean using something that is not designed to be a work stand but is able to somewhat do the job. One idea is to use a bike rack that is attached to the trunk of your car, the kind that is designed to transport your bike places. It will support your bike at an elevated level. You won’t be happy with that option if you do much bicycle repair, but for the odd emergency it will serve the purpose.

Hooks & Ropes

A somewhat simple and economical solution. You can use ropes or strong wires threaded to hooks in your basement or garage ceiling. To do this, you would fasten your hooks into a joist under the drywall or plaster. Once the wires or ropes are attached, you would place your bike up and over so it is suspended by the wires as best as possible. Make sure the ropes hold the bike in such a way that it won’t fall off. Some bike shops will even have large hooks that are specifically designed for this purpose.

DIY Bike Repair Stands

There are many people creating their own bike repair stand by cutting and welding metal pipes, clamps and sometimes wood to make a home made creation. I’ve seen some wild works of art out there, and I’ve seen some that are pretty impressive. It takes a certain skill to be able to pull this off. You need to be the real handy man, because although anyone can make a stand, it is not easy to make a really strong and sturdy one that will allow you to rotate your bike like a commercial stand. You will probably have to sacrifice the ability to rotate your bike, but you will save on money and have the satisfaction of your own creation. It is something to start with, but if you get serious into home repairs or are not this handy, this may not be for you.

Mountain biking, like many sports, has a variety of equipment to choose from. The question is, “How do you know what kind of bike you should buy?”

In order to make the right choice, you need to know what the different types of mountain bikes are, what they are designed for, and how these match your own needs.

1. Cross Country.

When most people think of mountain bikes, this is usually the model they are thinking of. This bike is the most well-rounded and versatile type of bike. They usually have a wide range of gears, and are therefore very adept at going uphill as well as downhill.

They generally come in all three different types of suspension: rigid (no suspension at all), hardtail (front, but no rear, suspension) and full suspension (suspension on front and back).

For the average mountain biker, who wants to be able to go off-road without too many trade-offs, this is generally the bike to choose.

2. Freeride.

These bikes are for hardcore bikers. Built with full suspension, they are designed to handle virtually anything, including plummeting downhill at speeds that would terrify most people, and landing jumps that would damage the frames of inferior bikes.

This ruggedness does not come without a price. The bikes are mainly designed for going downhill. Therefore, these bikes usually have a fairly limited gear set, and are ill suited for going uphill.

3. All Mountain.

If you are looking for a cross between Cross Country and Freeride, this is the bike for you. Like the Freeride bike, the All Mountain variety comes with a sturdier frame and more suspension than the Cross Country, allowing it to traverse more rugged terrain than the Cross Country.

However, like the Cross Country, the All Mountain can be ridden both uphill and downhill. If you are looking to do a little more off-road than a Cross Country, but without giving up the ability to go uphill, this may be the bike for you. Bear in mind that different manufacturers may refer to this design by different names. In each case though, it is a cross between the two other types of mountain bikes.