How to Make a Cheap Homemade Bicycle Repair Stand

Proper bike maintenance is key to having worry-free enjoyable rides. Essential to any cyclist's toolkit is a good repair stand. Repair stands hold the bicycle at a comfortable working level, and the mechanic can understand exactly how her maintenance performs in real time (good repair stands allow the bike to be pedaled while secured). However, repair stands can be expensive. Luckily, a cheap, repair stand can be built out of PVC piping in as little as an afternoon.

Things You'll Need

  • PVC four-way fittings
  • Foam pipe insulation
  • PVC cement
  • Hacksaw
  • PVC tubing
  • PVC T-fittings
  • 90-degree PVC elbows
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Instructions

    • 1

      Cut four 15-inch-long pieces of tubing and two 30-inch-long pieces. Connect two of the 15-inch pieces with a T-fitting. Do the same for the other 15-inch pieces. Connect the the ends of the 15-inch sets to the 30-inch tubes with 90-degree elbows to form a box.

    • 2

      Cut two 34-inch pieces of PVC tubing, then connect them to the T-fittings on the box you just built. Connect the top of the 34-inch pieces with a four-way fitting. Now cement all of the connections together with the PVC cement.

    • 3

      Cut a 15-inch section of PVC, and cement it into the end of the four-way fitting extending straight away from one of the upward support tubes. Glue another four-way fitting at the top of this 15-inch tube. Cut a vertical notch in the four-way T-fitting with the hacksaw to allow your bike's bottom bracket to slide into it. Glue foam pipe insulation in areas that your bike will rest.

    • 4

      Allow the cement to dry for 24 hours, then place your bike in the stand by sitting the bottom bracket on the bottom four-way fitting support. Get wrenching!