droppers and workstands

[rockshins]

How do y'all clamp your bikes on the workstand?  I am scared of clamping on the post stanchions or anywhere else on the dropper.  I have heard it's fine to do this and others saying to never do this.  What's your thoughts on this? I use a scorpion stand but it's not convenient when I need both wheels off.

[TheX]

I clamp to the frame.

[Anita Handle]

the protective rubber has come off of the clamps of my stand so I just hang it from the tip of the seat. Once in a while, if I only have a partial bike (lighter), I'll pad the clamp with rubber or thick cloth and clamp the dropper post. I see people clamp the dropper post stanchion/shaft on YouTubez all the time.

[JRA]

I usually wrap a clean cotton rag around them and make sure the clamp on the stand is loose and I've never had a problem. The bike more or less dangles by the seat.

[rockshins]

Okay it seems like it's fine as long as you mind the stanchions, don't tighten down on them too hard and use a clean rag.  I think it's the rockshox reverb that failed so many times that's got me so worried.

[AustinBike]

I typically use the frame, but have been known to be lazy and just hang the seat off the stand. It really comes down to what I am working on and how much movement I can withstand during the work.  For anything complicated I will clip to the frame, but for simple derailleur adjustments just hanging by the seat is about what I would normally do out on the trail from a tree branch. I am adverse to clamping onto the stanchion simply because I am a crappy mechanic and that is something I do not want to mess up.

[CrossPlane]

Make sure you clean the post and the rubber on the clamp and you should be fine, Fox even specifies in their documentation for the Transfer that it is okay to clamp it in a stand. You should only have problems if the contact areas are dirty, then you could get scratches/scuffs.

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[Ridenfool]

I do it like CrossPlane describes, keeping it clean and clamping to the dropper post, or just hanging the bike by the seat like AB for quick work. Clamping to the frame always seems rather awkward with a higher risk of marring the paint.

[gotdurt]

I clamp to the top tube, much better balanced and easier to rotate that way, and the clamp is out of the way for all but one of my bikes (cables). It also allows me to remove the post if needed. I have some pieces of heavy duty motorcycle tubes for when I'm concerned about grip or marring.

[Teamsloan]

It's much easier to over clamp the frame than it is the seat post. The thin walls of our hydro formed AL frames and Carbon tubes were not designed for clamping loads. I'd rather risk scuffing a replaceable seat post than crushing my frame.

[gotdurt]

4 minutes ago, Teamsloan said:

It's much easier to over clamp the frame than it is the seat post. The thin walls of our hydro formed AL frames and Carbon tubes were not designed for clamping loads. I'd rather risk scuffing a replaceable seat post than crushing my frame.

Another advantage of clamping to the top tube is that it doesn't take much force like clamping to a near-vertical seatpost; the tube rests on the clamp, so there's no need to clamp down to prevent sliding, even at angles up to about 30*, just enough to keep it from flopping around inside the clamp.  Sometimes I don't even clamp it. In 30 years of using stands with clamps, I've never personally seen damage to an aluminum frame tube from stand clamps, but that doesn't mean it can't happen and I certainly would not recommend cranking down on the lever. I've sworn away carbon though, so that's moot to me.

[Teamsloan]

Yeah, not saying people shouldn't do it. Just a warning to people who may not have thought about it. Good points about clamping to the top tube though.

[ATXZJ]

I wrap the post with a microfiber towel and clamp just tight enough that it doesn't slip. The odds are most all droppers will fail from 99 reasons other than clamping it in a bike stand.

[Ridenfool]

I just figure if it can support the mass of a rider on the saddle on bumpy trails, hanging thirty pounds of bike on it in the stand should be a cake walk. (taking care to avoid scratching the surface that the seal slides on)

[Cafeend]

Guess this is just one more reason I dont use a dropper.
anyone wanna buy the one I took off since I didnt use it?

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[Teamsloan]

3 hours ago, Cafeend said:

Guess this is just one more reason I dont use a dropper.
anyone wanna buy the one I took off since I didnt use it?

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$6.50 and a sixer of the Oktoberfest of your choice, you deliver.

[CrossPlane]

It's much easier to over clamp the frame than it is the seat post. The thin walls of our hydro formed AL frames and Carbon tubes were not designed for clamping loads. I'd rather risk scuffing a replaceable seat post than crushing my frame.

This is my thought as well, mess up a dropper or a frame... Haha

I also don't usually clamp it vertically I let it hang front end down some, like it would naturally if just hanging from the seat, this takes some of the stress off the post.

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[TheX]

11 hours ago, Teamsloan said:

$6.50 and a sixer of the Oktoberfest of your choice, you deliver.

Sounds legit!

[Chongo Loco]

Also remember, top tube’s tend to be tapered, so thinner in the middle where most people clamp them. Even if clamped loosely it’s easy to deform them. When you shove down while torquing something usually one side of the clamp will be digging on the top, the other side on the bottom of thin wall Al or carbon. Seat posts are thicker walled and non-tapered.

 

Also, the seat tube will be beefed up with a sleeve to better withstand any torsion unlike a top tube.

 

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[Chongo Loco]

Calvin & Truman debunking the dropper in a workstand myths. Gotta love these guys!

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/tech-talks-dropper-seat-posts-to-clamp-or-not-to-clamp.html


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[Seths Pool]

On 10/5/2018 at 11:38 AM, gotdurt said:

Another advantage of clamping to the top tube is that it doesn't take much force like clamping to a near-vertical seatpost; the tube rests on the clamp, so there's no need to clamp down to prevent sliding, even at angles up to about 30*, just enough to keep it from flopping around inside the clamp.  Sometimes I don't even clamp it. In 30 years of using stands with clamps, I've never personally seen damage to an aluminum frame tube from stand clamps, but that doesn't mean it can't happen and I certainly would not recommend cranking down on the lever. I've sworn away carbon though, so that's moot to me.

a lot of carbon frames especially now have non-round, oddly and varying shaped frame tubing designs. IMO this leads to weird clamping forces and uneven clamp/weight/stress distribution on the frame wherever you are clamping the stand. im just gonna say its probably a less than stellar idea to do that. the structural carbon whatever wasn't designed for that. 

I personally just clamp the stand on the fat part of the dropper shell sticking out of the seat tube. since im tall, my dropper has a considerable amount sticking out of the frame, or just hang the bike by the saddle over the stand

Edited December 27, 2018 by Seths Pool

[Chongo Loco]

Watch the video. They use load measuring instruments that basically show your ass on the saddle puts more force on a dropper than a clamp.

 

Edit: also the greatest force is from the seat tube collar

 

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[Chief]

Just the act of sitting on a dropper while riding even moderately rough terrain causes more force than just about anything else.

[crazyt]

On 10/4/2018 at 3:42 PM, rockshins said:

How do y'all clamp your bikes on the workstand?  I am scared of clamping on the post stanchions or anywhere else on the dropper.  I have heard it's fine to do this and others saying to never do this.  What's your thoughts on this? I use a scorpion stand but it's not convenient when I need both wheels off.

Very lightly clamp to the top tube (carbon). It is mainly resting on the bottom jaw. I then screw down the clamp rather than actually clamping. alternately I clamp to the collar of the dropper.

Edited December 28, 2018 by crazyt

[rockshins]

This is all good info!  I am gonna get a proper workstand now that I have the piece of mind.  Video was helpful.  Have a steel frame with skinnier tubes so kind of a pain to clamp, but going to take their/your advice and clean the clamps and then just freaking clamp on the dropper stanchions.  I have an external dropper so no other choice.