How to Easily Build a Bike Stand – 3 Simple Methods

If you do not have a bike stand, you are making your life harder. Trying to repair or clean your bike without a stand can be a nightmare.

The problem is that bike stands can be very expensive and you can feel overwhelmed when trying to choose one. If none of the stands on the market appeal to you, you can always make your own. This is easier than it might seem at first and there are a few DIY bike stands that you can try making. Let us teach you how to build a bike stand

Choosing the Material

The first step to building your bike stand is choosing the material you want to work with. The material you choose will depend on how comfortable you are working with it and DIY projects in general. If you have never built anything like a stand before, you should choose a material that does not require too many tools to work with.

PVC pipes are a good option for people who do not have a lot of tools on hand. If you are nervous about working with metal, this is also a good idea. You can also look at wood, but this may require some additional tools that you might not have.

There are some metal stand designs that do not require metalworking knowledge. You should consider these designs as well. These bike designs will use threaded pipes that you fit into each other making them very easy to work with.

Here’s a Youtube video from Singletracks Mountain Biking on how to build a very simple stand-in roughly 30 minutes that’s sturdy and stores away very easily.

Making a Bike Stand With Metal Pipes

If you want a metal bike stand, you should use threaded pipes. There are a few designs that you can try, but there is one that will be fast and inexpensive to complete.

The first step to make this stand is to place a 24” x 24” x ¾” square of plywood on a solid and flat surface. You should then position a ¾” floor mount flange near one of the corners. The flange should be an inch from the edges of the board and using a pencil you need to mark the holes.

With a ¼” drill bit, you need to create 2 of the holes for the flange. Two bolts and the flange should then be temporarily inserted on the board. You can now drill the other holes with greater accuracy.

When the holes have been created, you need to start assembling your pipes and fittings. This is what will hold your bike in the stand. You will need to have ¾” diameter metal pipes with threaded ends.

An 18” length should be attached to a 90° elbow which is then connected to a 60” length of pipe. Once you have this L-shape pipe, you can attach the end of the long pipe to the flange. When attaching the pipes, you need to get them as tight as possible.

To ensure your stand is stable, you will need to countersink the underside of the holes you made for the flange. To do this, you need a ⅞” spade bit. To ensure you drill deep enough, you can check with a bolt and flat washer. The bolt should not protrude from the hole at all.

You can now install four ¼” bolts with flat washers and install the pipe assembly over the bolts. When you install the pipes, you need to ensure the cross pipe points at the opposite corner of the plywood. You should then tighten all the pipe joints then fix everything in place. Using a wrench and socket, you can tighten hex nuts on the protruding bolts.

To fit your bike on the stand, you need to use a pony clamp. This should be installed at the end of the pipes per the instructions provided. When the clamp is in place, you should place two wooden blocks in the jaws and tighten the clamp.

You need to then drill 2 holes through the clamp and slightly into the block. To hold the blocks in place, #10 screws will need to be used. This provides the rest for your bike. The blocks should then be covered in gorilla tape and you will have a functioning bike stand.

Making A PVC Bike Stand

If you are uncomfortable working with drills, you can make a bike stand using PVC pipes. These pipes can be bought from any hardware store and the entire frame will cost very little. There are a few designs that you can use with this material including one for a freestanding bike stand.

To create this stand, you need to start with the bike frame rest. To make these rests, you need to split a 3” length of 2” diameter pipe lengthwise. The half-pipe pieces will then need to be fitted to a T-fitting and a cross fitting. This is done using PVC cement.

After the rests have been made, you will turn to the legs and base of the stand. For the legs, you need two 34” lengths of 1 ½” diameter pipe. These pipes will need to be placed in T-fittings. If the fit is correct, you can cement the pieces together.

Once the legs are set, you need to fit a piece of 15” pipe in the straight position. These pipes will fit into the T-fittings on the legs and form the base of the stand. They should be cemented and allowed to set for at least 8 hours.

Once the base and legs are set, you need to put end-caps on the ends of the base to stop it rocking. You can then assemble the support tubes and the rests for the bike. You will need a 16” length of 1 ½” diameter pipe that you attach to the cross fitting with the bike rest on it. This fitting also needs to be attached to the legs of the frame. The other rest will be placed on the other end of the 16” pipe.

You should check the rests hold your bike correctly before you cement them in place. This will ensure your bike stand works for your bike and is aligned correctly. Once this has been done, you can cement the parts in place and you will have a bike stand.

Buying a bike stand can be expensive and confusing. If you want to save money and have a stand made for your bike, you can build the stand yourself. There are different materials you can use and different stand designs.