Park Tool Bench Mount Stand: Customer Review

In this review, customer William Turano tells us about his Park Tool PRS 4.2-2 bench mount work stand. Being able to work on your bike in a sturdy, hard mounted stand makes cleaning, maintaining and repairing your bike much easier. With this bench mount style stand, you can turn your garage work bench into an efficient repair station.

Overview

Since I worked as a mechanic in a bicycle shop (over 25 years ago), I've always wanted a proper work stand. Until my wife and I bought a tandem, I was able to do everything I needed with cheap stands and faking it with parts on hand. It wasn't great, but it was possible. A tandem is just too big and too fussy to do that anymore, so I seized the opportunity to buy something I've always wanted.

I bought the Park Tool adjustable bench mount stand (PRS-4.2-2) so I could have the most flexibility in placement and stand height. I have limited workbench space and didn't want to keep it mounted 100% of the time, and figured I could rig up something I could put in the bench vice.

Set Up

Luckily, I didn't have to fabricate a stand for the vice, the mounting plate fit right into my bench vice's "pipe" notches! It's not quite as good as if I'd bolted to the bench like I'm supposed to, but it's well within "good enough", and leaves me with lots of options.

Performance

The grip is easy to adjust, with one hint: Don't use the quick release as a quick-grip, unless you've already adjusted the tension. You're better off adjusting the tension the first time for a particular tube by simply "closing" the grip and spinning the handle until you get the desired tension. The quick release is fantastic for letting go and works great once you have it adjusted properly. Trying to adjust the clamp is time-consuming and a little annoying. 

I bought the 100-3D clamp because I wanted the largest range of clamping sizes possible since I'll be using this for other tasks, including motorcycle shock rebuilding and other larger-scale items. Below is a motorcycle shock absorber, and it's easily held in place for maintenance.

Final Thoughts

The stand is strong enough (resists twisting in its mount) that the entire tandem can be held off the ground from the stoker's seat-post! I don't have a huge need for this, but it's a good indicator of how stout the construction is.