Review: Feedback Sports Sprint Workstand

For an enthusiast cyclist a work stand is unquestionably a good investment. Even if you don't do a lot of your bike maintenance yourself, a workstand provides a safe and stable platform to place your steed in for tinkering, washing and fitting new parts. If you haven't got one, put it on your Christmas list!

Many workstands clamp around the seatpost of the bike, suspending it above ground so that you can easily work on it and rotate the drivetrain and wheels freely. However, with an increasing trend in bike manufacture for firms to create aero seatposts and carbon seatposts that are more vulnerable to damage when subjected to clamping stresses, many mechanics both professional and at home, have decided to opt for bottom bracket supporting stands instead.

These stands work by you removing the front wheel and locking the bike in place on the front fork. Your bike then sits on the bottom bracket, without any unusual clamping or straining of the frame. Bottom bracket supporting stands provide a far more stable platform as well, which can be raised up to a higher height to avoid stooping to reach the bike when you are working. They also make it far easier to spin the bike round in situ, to avoid walking round the stand to reach the other side of the bike.

The Sprint work stand from Feedback Sports is easily the best work stand I have used, and a superb example of a bottom bracket supporting stand that is also highly portable.

Pull the stand out of the box and you will first be taken with the flash red anodized aluminium tubes, second by the light weight, and third by how small it packs up - easily small enough to stash in the boot of your car.

The stand opens up with a telescopic sliding mechanism; with the three feet making a stable tripod base, and then the top section sliding out to your desired height. Once you have set it at the desired height you can clamp a secondary collar onto the slider to allow you to release the main clamp and spin the bike platform around freely.

The fork clamp at the front will take any width of fork and holds the front end of the bike firmly and securely when you close the quick release skewer. The bottom bracket then sits on a rubberised plate at the rear of the stand, making a very solid platform to work on.

I haven't used a bottom bracket supporting stand before, but I can certainly see the benefit now. The bike can be easily swung around when you are washing, so you don't have to keep moving around. By removing the front wheel you can properly clean the hard-to-reach places on the front fork, and by choosing the height that is best for you, you avoid the back pains that inevitably result from stooping over when doing prolonged periods of maintenance. The light weight design also means that the stand is very easy to pick up and carry indoors to continue maintenance after you have washed off the bike. Finally, when you have finished with the stand you can collapse it all back up and stash it away without taking up too much room.

I'm impressed. As I said above, this easily the best workstand I have used. Although the RRP of £249.99 is a serious price to pay for what is essentially a maintenance tool, the superb build quality, design details and benefits of this workstand are worth paying out for. It is an investment and if it makes it easier to keep your bike running smooth and clean for longer, then it's one well worth making.

Feedback Sports Workstands are distributed in the UK by 2Pure (Link)

Feedback Sports Workstands are available at Wiggle (Link)