I've found that the fiddliest but most satisfying maintenance job to do is derailleur adjustment. You may have guessed this from the number of times it's figured in my posts here. I've found it to be an inexact science, and I've yet to get it right first time, but when you can change gear instantly and silently, with no clicking or grinding or chain rubbing, cycling becomes a thing of beauty.
It's also impossible to do it properly without a stand:
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| My bike in the stand, rather mucky after 40 miles in the rain this morning. |
Adjusting your derailleurs means constantly changing up and down gears, front and back, up and down, until everything is in sync and running smoothly. It's just impossible to do that with your back wheel on the ground.
I went for a folding bike workstand from Halfords, which cost me a quid short of £100, but it's been worth every penny. It's a fairly heavy piece of kit, with three folding legs which open out and take the weight of the bike. As you can see from the photo, an arm with a clamp grips the bike - generally I clamp the top tube, but if I'm working on the rear brakes I have to clamp it on the down tube or the seat post, to avoid trapping the brake cable.
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| The top tube clamped in the stand, with the quick release lever visible. |
It's a sturdy piece of equipment, ideal for the sort of frequency of use I get out of it. All the angle adjustments of the stand, and the clamping arm, use quick release levers. They're not the tightest when in the tight position, but they don't slide around too much. If I was working on bikes all day every day, I'd probably want something a bit higher-end, but it's ideal for me.
