I'll concur with Dale on this one. If I ran a shop, I would institute a shop rule that no one is allowed to ever clamp a painted tube. The problem with the Park stands is that they are too low to clamp onto the seatpost and have the bike at a comfortable working height, even for a runt like me. That's where the attachment comes in handy, as it adds several inches in elevation. The double-arm Park shop stands have a vertical adjustment, but both mechanics have to agree on the working height.
Steve Barner, Bolton, Vermont
> In a message dated 6/12/2003 6:28:32 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
> steve@sburl.com writes:
>
> << Those Park shop repair stands have probably wrinkled more seat tubes
and
> mangled more decals than any others. They are especially brutal on
> repainted bikes that have not had special curing. When you find yours, be
> sure to invest in Park's attachment that expands inside the seat tube to
> hold the bike. It does not hold the bike as firmly, but it could save
you
> from unpleasant surprises. >>
>
> I dislike using that Park inside-the-seat-tube expander tool; it is kind
of
> floppy and imprecise, although once installed it works OK, it is often
awkward
> to remove. Then as Steve mentions, it is not very stable in use. It tends
to
> twist about, risking whacking the frame on the rest of the stand.
>
> It is a lot smarter to just absolutely once and for all, get in the habit
of
> NEVER clamping the seat tube or top tube but always clamp the seat post.
Even
> if you have to loosen it and extend it to the point where you have enough
seat
> post exposed to clamp. Then use a stand which extends up high enough to
work
> on the bike at chest level.
>
> To that end, I HIGHLY recommend the Ultimate stand ...over the Park. I
sell
> and work with both at CDO. Ultimate makes two models the Pro and the
Consumer
> and both are excellent. They can adjust high enough for even Mark Petry
and
> have an excellent clamping head. (Ultimate are famous for their sound,
lighting
> and stage craft fixtures.)
> http://ultimatesupport.com
>
> Dale Brown
> cycles de ORO, Inc.
> 1410 Mill Street
> Greensboro, North Carolina
> USA 27408
> 336-274-5959
> Fax 336-274-6360
> <A HREF="http://www.cyclesdeoro.com">cyclesdeORO.com</A>
> <A HREF="http://www.classicrendezvous.com/main.htm">Classic Rendezvous</A>