GripSport Workshop/Race Stand

[Scott]

Since Jon Weaving at GripSport is such a nice guy, he decided that hooking us up with some brakes to test wasn’t enough; he wanted us to play with his top-of-line Workshop/Race stand and optional Tool Tray and review it as well.

Check it out here ('/page.php?p=1de44dbb11cd77bcd33e8e6231e8f698').

[Ty]

hehe

burn-a-nating

[Ride_Guy]

Puff the magic dragon.....
i think ill be getting 1 of those stands over the park 1's at work... :P

[DOM]

trogdooooooooor !!!!

Awesome review gentlemen,

Grip I got to use the stand a couple of times goes hard mate.

Im always a fan of products which simply "do the job"
solid stuff

thanks for hooking up farkin ;)

[oz-freerider]

i must say i the last race i had a play with sockets once i worked out whati was doing with it i was off and had myy bike hanging in it altho i did no work on my bike it looked cool and stop ppl ask for a ride of my bike :D :P it felt verry sturdy on un evan ground i was quite inpressed and when it comes time for me to get a work stand i will having a talk to grip for sure

[josh]

Great review, if it stands up to Ty and Ryan you know its doing bloody well!

[Cruz]

I have had mine now for about 2 months and find it very easy to use and very stable, even with a 45lb downhill bike on it.

Highly recommended for the price, even better at the discount price.

Very good review.

[Grip]

Once again you guys have provided an honest and forthright review. Thanks.

Re the two problems mentioned in the review... the paint scratching off was indeed because of the lever being pulled down from the front rather than just from the rear BUT it's a good point you've raised (no one else has ever mentioned it) and I'm already planning on extending the stainless steel wear plate to stop this.

As for the roller/wheels coming off. Yep, you're right again.... but only in a very few cases (just a piss-off that it had to happen with a "review" stand!!!!) The problem was in the supply of the fasteners used to hold the wheels on (a 2 cent part!!!). We use 1/4" posts/axles for the wheels and they are meant to be fitted with (obviously) 1/4" fasteners which we buy by the thousand. Unfortunately one box came with 6mm fasteners mixed in with the 1/4" ones which is only .4mm difference (and impossible to pick with the naked eye) but it's enough to stress the little fastener when it's being fitted and a few have then failed down the track causing the roller/wheel to fall off.

This has happened maybe 20 times all up out of all the stands sold over the last four years and when it has we've simply posted off new rollers and fasteners free of charge same day. They take about 30 seconds to fit.

[S.]

Yeah I was gonna say... my rollers have been rock solid.

[neko]

I'd buy one just because it looks like Trogdor.

Man, that guy's been popping up everywhere. Even in an eppisode of Buffy!

But I digress. Looks great Grip!

[wombat]

Hey hey! Finally a review that I can relate too!

I'd actually benn meaning to pm you about the paint scratching Jon, but never got around to it. Our one in the shop is pretty marked up, but it's been decided that we're going to keep that one anyway so it's not big issue; it still has SOME paint on it which is more than I can say for quite a few tools.

Our rollers are still there too, so that's no biggie. Um, what else did I want to say, oh that's right, the clamp issue: she won't clamp thin seat posts, was a bit of a pain until I just cut up an old tyre and used that for spacing.

While I'm rambling, how's the wheel jig add-on coming along chief? I could really do with one of those when they're available.

[Grip]

Hey hey! Finally a review that I can relate too!

I'd actually benn meaning to pm you about the paint scratching Jon, but never got around to it. Our one in the shop is pretty marked up, but it's been decided that we're going to keep that one anyway so it's not big issue; it still has SOME paint on it which is more than I can say for quite a few tools.

Our rollers are still there too, so that's no biggie. Um, what else did I want to say, oh that's right, the clamp issue: she won't clamp thin seat posts, was a bit of a pain until I just cut up an old tyre and used that for spacing.

While I'm rambling, how's the wheel jig add-on coming along chief? I could really do with one of those when they're available.

Got to be honest, Shayne... I'm starting to get a little concerned about the new black paint being used. It seems to be coming off a bit more than the Grey used to. Any chance of a decent pic of the remaining paintwork so I can wave it at our powder coaters? Admittedly this is a "tool" so I'm not THAT worried about appearances.... still....

Also, the clamp is only designed for 27-50mm tubes. We say that clearly when people ask AND it's on the web site. It was one of those unfortunate "compromises" that had to be designed in to get the best & most popular tube sizes working on the simplest & most robust clamp we could come up with.

Overall though it sounds like your shop is happy with the stand... and that's good... now you've just got to convince them to have one on the retail floor too.... maaaaate!

The wheel truing stand/attachment is still weeks away at least... I can't seem to move from the frame repair bench to the "lets see if this works bench"

I'll let you know though. In fact I'll send you one of the prototypes to put through it's paces in the shop if that's Ok?

Cheers

[wombat]

Proto test? That sounds tops too me! :) and I can't see the boss having any problems. I'll get some pics of the flaking paint on friday for you.

As for having a stand on the floor, well w've kind of killed two birds with one stone; the stand is on the floor, pride of place just opposite the counter with a price tag on it and all, it's just that if we're busy and need all three of us working at once (there's only two stands in the workshop) someone goes to use the one in the shop....and tries really hard not to do anything stupid in front of customers :P

[Grip]

someone goes to use the one in the shop....and tries really hard not to do anything stupid in front of customers :P

Haha... I can relate to that!

[j5ive]

Finallt talked the boss into your stand grip. And got my first play with it yesterday. I must say- I'm in love. This thing makes my job so much easier than it was with the old wrench force stand we had.

The most impresive thing is its stability. I tapped and installed a bb on it yesterday and it barely moves. I also many heavy huffys with no problems at all. This stand owns.

However I few quibbles on the quest for perfection. First I'd like to see rubber on the top and bottom of the jaws. As I like to clamp bikes via the seat tube rather than the post on some occasions (bb taping etc) to get the bike higher up. Without the rubber on the top the bike slides eventually (if not tight enough) and the clamp will scatch under the seatstays. Not a big thing but it would make it just that little bit better. Also if it was possble to have one more notch between 0 and 15 degrees I would have your babies- but I'm sure you hear that everyday ;).

Thanks grip. A great aussie product. Anyone who cares about their bike should hurry up and make the investment to get their bike off the lounge rom floor and up where you can see it.

[Grip]

J5ive... thanks for the kind words but STOP USING THAT STAND RIGHT NOW!!!!

It's supposed to have rubber on ALL 4 jaws and if one went out of here without rubber then I'm going to do some serious arse kicking!

Please email me straight away with your shop details and I'll get spare rubbers etc to you via express post. Sorry but you'll have to glue them on yourself.

[sxereturn]

Grip - can you email me at sxereturn@hotmail.com - I could quite possibly get your stand, and other products on display in a shop here in Brisbane...

[j5ive]

oh its got rubber on all 4 faces grip :) no need to kick any arse- yet. I mean on top of the faces where its a v shape, would be nice if their was rubber there too.

[j5ive]

http://www.farkin.net/forums/album_pic.php?pic_id=2318

[Grip]

Hmmm.... and now that I read the post again I see I got my arse-kicking foot all fired up for nothing.

Ok j5ive... like I said earlier in the thread the clamp is designed to hold 27-50mm tubes... and some seat tubes are right on the edge of it's capacity and might slip a bit.

Sooooo.... get yourself 2 pieces of rubber 100mm long x 20mm wide x 3-5mm thick and glue them onto BOTH jaws of either the top or bottom clamp. This will reduce the holding capacity to approx 22-45mm and now it will hold your seat tubes as firm as ever and NEVER slip.

Sorry, but this is just one of those design compromises (see post above)

Cheers

[j5ive]

its not that the tubes are too big or small for the clamp.

its just that one gets lazy and doesnt bother to adjust clamp tension on every bike one puts up as its usually only something small on each bike (ie- gears- tubes- brakes). By puttin the clamp on the seat tube of the bike rather than the seat pole you can use the top tube/seat stay as a stop. Thus there is no need for the clamp to be super tight. If there was rubber on the top their would be no problem, however with your stand using this method leaves the seatstays and top tube of the bike open to scratches. get me? :)

Maybe I just work too hard on too many bikes. hehe

[Grip]

Mate you are the mechanic from heaven obviously... and I now understand (only 27 posts later) what you mean.

But I don't think we're going to be able to EASILLY incorporate your idea, though I will certainly look at it. Just a thought, but have you tried having the clamp set up ALMOST tight enough (but still so you can throw the lever over), putting the bike in, throwing the lever over and THEN giving the lever a quick turn to tighten the clamp up that little bit more? Depending on the frame type and where you position the clamp on the seat tube you could probably get the lever to rotate fully (after it's clamped over) if needed. Worth a try?

Thanks for all the feedback... all of you.