By clamping the front hub and bottom bracket this unusual workstand provides an extremely stable and secure hold while you work on your bike. But it’s not light – or cheap.
Cyclus don’t do things by halves; this workstand weighs in at a whopping 22kg so it’s certainly a totally different beast to the tripod variety. And yes, the price isn’t a misprint – this is one of the most expensive stands out there.
What’s so special about it and why would you want one in preference to the more usual tripod variety? After extended use I’ve found some real benefits.
For a start it holds the bike more stably than the average tripod stand, allowing you to get plenty of leverage if undoing stubborn screws, nuts etc.
Even more of a plus is the fact that you can easily rotate both front and back wheels, unlike some tripod stands where the upright the can get in the way when you turn the pedals.
The front axle clamps solid in a couple of large cupped heads that screw in and out to accommodate any width, while the bottom bracket rests on a swinging arm which also has plenty of vertical adjustment.
There’s also a very handy, very large tool tray that will accommodate several cuppas at any one time.
The steel frame comes flatpacked and takes around 15 minutes to put together using suitably hefty steel bolts.
It’s unique as far as I’m aware – but is it worth paying more than twice the price of a typical workstand? To be fair, this isn’t a home workstand. Professional stands like the Park Tool PRS-3 are a fairer comparison.
If you do a lot a work on bikes around the bottom bracket / drivetrain area the Cyclus stand is certainly one of the best.
I also found it great for super quick and super accurate replacement of brake blocks as it’s dead easy to spin the wheels and get a close up view of just how close the pads are.
You also avoid the need to clamp seatposts or frames. The only real downside is that it you can’t really take it on the road with you.