Maintenance stand quandary...

ramrezz425

Member
Region
USA
City
Rancho Cucamonga California
I have been contemplating getting a bike maintenance stand for my ebike , besides the cost how do you actually raise up an 85 pound bike so you can do maintenance? Well I went to Harbor freight tools and bought me a ratcheting tiedown 500 pound weight limit, then I got out some jackstands that I already had and fashioned a lift of my own. It works perfectly. I use a jack stand on the folded up kickstand so it sits far enough away from the wheel and I use the tiedown hooked onto the frame underneath my seat And lifted up high enough and it is very sturdy so I can work on my gear and derailer adjustments. I also taken an old Vespa scooter tire and place it flat underneath the front wheel to help it remain steady. Interestingly I used to fix Vespa scooters that tire belonged to Owen Wilson's scooter ,I used to work on in Malibu. Now that I'm disabled I need all the help I can get and I just don't think a maintenance stand will allow me to lift the bike up.
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I have been contemplating getting a bike maintenance stand for my ebike , besides the cost how do you actually raise up an 85 pound bike so you can do maintenance? Well I went to Harbor freight tools and bought me a ratcheting tiedown 500 pound weight limit, then I got out some jackstands that I already had and fashioned a lift of my own. It works perfectly. I use a jack stand on the folded up kickstand so it sits far enough away from the wheel and I use the tiedown hooked onto the frame underneath my seat And lifted up high enough and it is very sturdy so I can work on my gear and derailer adjustments. I also taken an old Vespa scooter tire and place it flat underneath the front wheel to help it remain steady. Interestingly I used to fix Vespa scooters that tire belonged to Owen Wilson's scooter ,I used to work on in Malibu. Now that I'm disabled I need all the help I can get and I just don't think a maintenance stand will allow me to lift the bike up. View attachment 185585View attachment 185586View attachment 185587View attachment 185588
Brilliant low-cost solution — and one I plan to adapt to my cramped garage for chain maintenance.

Love how you stabilized the front wheel by nestling it in that old scooter tire while lifting the back wheel off the ground! Now I just have to find a substitute for the scooter tire that I actually have room to store.
 
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Brilliant low-cost solution — and one I plan to adapt to my cramped garage for chain maintenance.

Love how you stabilized the front wheel by nestling it in that old scooter tire while lifting the back wheel off the ground! Now I just have to find a substitute for the scooter tire that I actually have room to store.
Looks like you're down towards Carlsbad if you ever get down to San Diego there's a place called motorsports scooters they're right off the five. I bet you they would have a pile of old scooter tires back there they work perfectly for 26 inch fat tire Bikes.
 
Looks like you're down towards Carlsbad if you ever get down to San Diego there's a place called motorsports scooters they're right off the five. I bet you they would have a pile of old scooter tires back there they work perfectly for 26 inch fat tire Bikes.
Thanks! We had to downsize so much to afford a Carlsbad home near the water that I literally have no room for a tire that big in the garage! So I'll have to find a less bulky way to stabilize the front wheel when the rear is off the ground. I also don't have fat tires.

I'm sure I'll come up with something. A folding bike floor stand comes to mind.
 
Thanks! We had to downsize so much to afford a Carlsbad home near the water that I literally have no room for a tire that big in the garage! So I'll have to find a less bulky way to stabilize the front wheel when the rear is off the ground. I also don't have fat tires.

I'm sure I'll come up with something. A folding bike floor stand comes to mind.
get a "park" bike stand,I put a fair amount of money in a highly rated stand that was useless for an ebike,now I have none,gave the blue one away to get it out of my sight.
 
Thanks! We had to downsize so much to afford a Carlsbad home near the water that I literally have no room for a tire that big in the garage! So I'll have to find a less bulky way to stabilize the front wheel when the rear is off the ground. I also don't have fat tires.

I'm sure I'll come up with something. A folding bike floor stand comes to mind.
A Vespa scooter tire is about 14 inches across with maybe a 10 inch or 12 inch rim size. All you need is the tire I know property in Carlsbad is small. I sold property in that town and recently in La Jolla there's not much room for anything in California property, a Vespa scooter tire can easily sit inside the back of your car or inside a hall closet.
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A Vespa scooter tire is about 14 inches across with maybe a 10 inch or 12 inch rim size. All you need is the tire I know property in Carlsbad is small.
The form factor is the problem. I really, truly don't have the room. But I'll figure something out.

Lots of huge zillion-dollar view homes in Carlsad, too, but mine's not one of them. It is, however, 5 minutes from the ocean by bike.
 
The form factor is the problem. I really, truly don't have the room. But I'll figure something out.

Lots of huge zillion-dollar view homes in Carlsad, too, but mine's not one of them. It is, however, 5 minutes from the ocean by bike.
I'm jealous, Carlsbad is the bomb, beautiful town. My brother lives up the road in San Clemente. I'm stuck here in the inland Empire so wherever you live, it's way better near the ocean. Have some fun on your eBike!
 
,.. how do you actually raise up an 85 pound bike so you can do maintenance? Well I went to Harbor freight tools and bought me a ratcheting tiedown 500 pound weight limit,

I do the same thing as you do, but I use three non-ratcheting tie-down straps.

One around the seatpost and one on each handlebar end to get the whole ebike off the ground.

I lift the rear end of my ebike and pull on the strap to get the rear off the ground, then lift the front end and pull both straps at the same time to get the front end off the ground.

The ebike hangs quite stable with a three point connection to the ceiling and it only sways around a bit when I start pounding the snot out of something, which I shouldn't be doing anyway.
The trick was picking the attachment points on the ceiling so that the straps were all at a bit of an angle so the ebike doesn't sway around too much.

Ratcheting tie-down straps would keep me from having to lift either end, and would only be a bit slower than my non-ratcheting tie-downs.

I've thought about strapping it down to the floor as well to prevent any wobble, but I don't need go that far. 😂
 
get a "park" bike stand,I put a fair amount of money in a highly rated stand that was useless for an ebike,now I have none,gave the blue one away to get it out of my sight.

I couldn't really find anything that would hold an 80 pound ebike.

I liked the wall mounted stands but they too weren't quite up to holding an 80-100 pound ebike, and I'd be inclined to want to mount it like it's gotta hold a ton or two. 😂

Even the eye hooks in my ceiling don't just screw into the studs for fear of pulling out.
I have them fastened "around" the stud for better support.

I made a loop in my tie-down strap to put my foot through, then hooked the strap through the eye hook and jumped on the strap to test it.
 
I'm sure I'll come up with something. A folding bike floor stand comes to mind.

IIRC, I remember seeing an adjustable floor stand than had some kind of hydraulic cylinder to lift and lower the stand?

I think it folded up almost flat and you pumped the stand up with a foot pedal like on a barbers chair?

I thought it was pretty damn cool and pretty damn expensive too?
 
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Maintenance stand quandary update...
I've switched out the ratchet tie down in place of a Harbor freight gambrel and pulley hoist used by hunters. Works great as the nylon tie down was getting frayed. $17
 

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