Anyone who has ridden a bike long enough and tried to do some of their own repair and maintenance work comes very quickly to find a need for a quality work stand. Along with quality tools, a quality work stand is indispensable in the effort to safely work on your expensive bike without fear of damaging it in the process. Luckily, now more than ever, there is no shortage of quality work stands available across a spectrum of price points.
I have used quite the variety of work stands over the years, from a very basic rickety old Blackburn to full on professional Park Tool shop stands. Without a doubt the stability of the heavy base of a shop stand is hard to beat, especially when torquing on a seized seat post or installing bottom bracket cups. However, a stand like that is a) not affordable for most home mechanics and b) really heavy and impossible to stow away if need be. I loved my Park shop stand that I bought second -or maybe third or fourth-hand, but when I moved my bikes and tools out of my parents' basement to my small apartment, I knew I wasn't taking that with me. I needed something foldable, stow-able, but hefty enough to live up to a standard of stability and functionality that I was used to.
Enter the Feedback Sports Sprint Repair Stand. I had some experience with Feedback Sports' products in the shop before, most notably their work stand clamp, and always came away impressed with its functionality and durability. However, when deciding on a work stand for my apartment, I was intrigued by the idea of a cradle-style stand. Previously, all of my work stands had been post/tube clamp-style. For stability and ease of mounting, the clamp-style stand is the gold standard, however, if you look at pro team mechanics, they are almost always using a cradle-style stand. These stands make easier work of spinning a bike around and getting to all sides of it, which when washing bikes day-in day-out as pro mechanics do, is a must. Mobility is another factor in their use of these stands. In a way, my "workshop" setup is not unlike that of a pro-mechanic. My tools live in a tool box instead of being hung on a wall, and my "workshop" varies between my porch and my kitchen, depending on the weather or the task at hand. While pro mechanics are probably not working in a kitchen, they are always adapting to a new space, and it seems the cradle-style stand is a big part of that adaptability.
So, how does it work? Rather than clamping the seat post or tube, the cradle-style stand has a quick release (yes there is an adapter for thru-axle too) that you mount the fork or dropouts to and a cradle that the bottom bracket shell sits on. I found mounting the fork to the stand quick and easy, just as quick and easy as it is to set up the Sprint stand. In all, I can get the stand set up, the wheel off, and a bike mounted in well under a minute. If you have a reason to mount to the rear, know that it will be a bit trickier and the bike will end up at a bit of strange angle. I have only done this once and decided that I probably wouldn't bother again. The only time I find myself wishing for a clamp-style stand is when I need to do something like front brake set-up, which at this point I just do out of the stand with the bike on the ground.
And, how well does it work? I'm quite happy. As I said, it's quick, it's easy, and besides having to work on the ground for some minor tasks like front brakes, I am really pleased with it. The only time I run into some issues is when I'm trying to work on something under the BB, like cable routing. Even still, I've adapted, often lifting the rear of the bike, placing the rear wheel on my shoulder, giving access to the cable guide or whatever I need while having both hands free. The nice thing is that the bike is not clamped in besides the fork, which is on a quick release, so it rotates up easily. The stand itself also rotates easily. Once you set your desired height, there is a second positive stop clamp that allows you to open the height clamp, keeping your height adjustment while allowing 360 degree rotation. Height is widely adjustable and very simple to adjust on the fly as well. As for stability, like I said, nothing is going to beat one of those 50lb shop stands, but the wide tripod is more than stable. I've used much heavier stands than this that weren't nearly as stable. Although quite a wide tripod, it's still easy to navigate, even in my tiny kitchen or on my even tinier porch.
Certainly the price of the Feedback Sports Sprint Repair Stand is what you'd expect of a professional level product. At $295, it is not cheap. But, when it comes to tools, I don't like to do cheap. Cheap often breaks or doesn't work well; and with tools, cheap often leads to you breaking or stripping something on your bike. It's likely your bike wasn't cheap, so I'd strongly encourage anyone looking for tools to look for reasonable quality that you can afford. Sure, I've heard of those Aldi bike repair stands, but I think it's best to leave Aldi to the knock-off cookies (which often are better than the originals, by the way) and put your money into good tools. Good tools last, and I have no reason to believe the same of this Feedback Sports product. Furthermore, the price of this stand is actually quite competitive. The Park Tools equivalent is more expensive and based on my most recent experience with Park Tools, I'd have a hard time believing it's any better. If you are looking for a quality work stand, look no further than Feedback Sports.
While on the subject quality tools, let's look at their T-Handle Wrench Set. I purchased the T-Handle Wrench Set around the same time as the Sprint Repair Stand. In my home shop set-up, I've always used either Y-wrenches or L-shaped hex keys. I've always wanted a set of T-Handles, but the price of some of the "sexier" sets on the market (read Silca) was prohibitive. I saw the Feedback Sports set when researching repair stands, found them at a good price, and clicked Add to Cart.
The set includes 2/2.5/3/4/5/6mm Hex and T25 Torx T-Handle wrenches encased in a water-resistant, grease and oil-resistant, abrasion-resistant travel case. The case is quite nice, has a velcro bit behind the wrench holder that props the tools up for easy access. As well, it includes a little netted area for extras, which for me houses a 5nm preset torque wrench and bits. The wrenches themselves are quite nice. In over a year of use, knock on wood, I've had no issues with stripping of bolts or wrenches, and although maybe not quite as nice as some Swiss-made offerings out there, the 5mm deep hex heads really provide a confidence-inspiring fit in all applications I've used them on thus far.
I only have two issues with them that knocks them down from 5/5 stars. First the black coating doesn't last long on the heads themselves. I'd be happier if it weren't there to begin with. Another issue is that the cross bar of the T, if you will, is held in place with a hex set screw. This is not a bad design, but it does come loose from time to time. Not a huge deal, but at some point, I'm going to have to take them apart, apply some thread locker and reassemble. That should have been done at the factory.
Overall, I'd give them 4.5 stars. I'd highly recommend them if you're looking for a quality set that has most of the common bike sizes, feels good in the hand, and works exactly as you'd expect. Again, from Feedback Sports, something I fully expect to last for a long time.
Not much to say here. It's a L-Handle wrench, in this case 8mm, for use with pedals. The tooling is accurate, feels solid, and the handle is comfortable. As long as you don't put your forearm into the chainring removing or installing the pedals -which would be no fault of the wrench- this is a great tool for the job. Very affordable and readily available, but still the quality I've come to expect from Feedback Sports.
The final item in this Feedback Sports Round-Up is their Velo Column free-standing bike storage/display stand. As mentioned, a little over a year ago, we moved to a new apartment and a bike-storage solution that we wouldn't trip over yet didn't require any giant holes in our land-lady's walls was required. The Feedback Sports Velo Column seemed perfect, but I will admit I was nervous to hang roughly $15,000 of carbon bikes on a stand held between the floor and the ceiling by friction and tension alone. I had confidence based on other experience with Feedback Sports product that it would work well, and I have to say I have not been disappointed. Knock on wood, the Velo Column has held our bikes for almost two years now and I haven't had to so much as adjust it once. It's withstood the earthquake that is our Euro-style washer/ drier combo, which is no surprise since I heard it withstood an actual earthquake somewhere in California. Even with carpet with a protective runner over it below the bikes, the Velo Column is secure, including in winter with my heavier fender-adorned 'cross bike up top. I am sure that when we move out, there will be an irreparable "dent" in the carpet where the Velo Column, but all furniture does that too, so it's no big deal. Otherwise, there will be no damage to the walls or ceiling.
Of course, a freestanding floor stand would also work, but in this case would be cumbersome to say the least. Seeing as how our road bikes are in the pathway between our bedroom and the bathroom, it is essential that the bikes are as close to the wall as possible, with no legs sticking out to trip over when you wake up in the middle of the night to pee. Add to that the fact that Kristen consistently walks into door jambs and other stationary objects, the Velo Column was the only solution for this application. That said, it has not been a compromise. The Velo Column has done everything we ask of it, and I even mounted a basket and USB charging port for our lights and Garmins. I'd love to see Feedback Sports make some sort of basket like that which could be integrated into track that holds the bike mount arms, but my guess is they don't want to encourage people hanging too many things on there. I'm not opposed to rigging something up myself as I did.
Summary
All in all, I have been very pleased with the Feedback Sports products I've used thus far. They, like pretty much any product I've used, are not without some shortcomings, but if any of their products pique your interest, I can confidently recommend them to you. High quality, not entirely unaffordable, stylish yet functional... I'll continue to purchase from Feedback Sports.
A note: I purchased all of the above products at a combination of wholesale and retail pricing. I was not given any of the products nor were these review solicited. I have been using the above products for over a year now.
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