Review: Park Super Lite Team Race stand

We Liked

Recently Park Tool sent Cross Bike Review, their Super Lite Team Race Stand, Model PRS 21 for us to review. This work stand is designed with the traveling mechanic in mind: The stand is lightweight 13.5 lbs., breaks down to 33”, the quick release mounts allows attachment for front fork or rear dropout. Since receiving the stand I have used it nearly every day, I have used the stand to clean and re–grease my BB30 bottom bearing, my headset bearing, seat post, grease and tighten most of my hex bolts on my cross bike, as well as wash my bike quite a few times. The features that I like are the solid platform that attaches the front fork to the stand, the vertical adjust of stand, and the 360 degree rotation of the stand.

The first aspect that I like about the Park Tool portable stand is since the fork is secured to the stand it is much easier to precisely align the fork and stem when servicing the headset. I figure I cut the normal amount of time it takes for me to align my fork and stem by half, when compared with my old Park Tool Home Mechanic Stand that I have used the past sixteen years. The second aspect of the Super Lite Team Race Stand that I really like is the ability to raise and lower the bottom bracket height from 28” to 38”. Personally with my home stand, I tended to play catcher (squatting) a lot working on the bottom bracket, derailleur’s and cranks. With Super Lite Team Race Stand, I can raise the stand up so my bike is about 4” to 6” higher than my old home stand. I have found the raised stand is significantly easier on the old connective tissue than the lower home stand.

The feature that I probably like the most about the Park Tool Super Lite Stand is the 360 degree horizontal rotation. With my old Park Tool home stand, it sometime drove me mad with how often I would have to take my bike out of the stand, rotate the bike, and then a minute later rotate it back. It would also drive me nuts that I would have to either clean my seat post and saddle, before or after the rest of the bike was washed; because obviously it was blocked by my stand’s clamp. Well I do not have any of those annoyances when washing the bike now! Recently I installed a new SRAM crankset on my Crux, when using my old stand it was difficult to connect each crank together, because one side was always sliding outward. With the Super Lite Stand rotation, it was much easier to maneuver myself, to prevent the non-drive crank from sliding, because I had access to both sides of the bottom bracket. Honestly having my bike on a solid rotating platform is easily my favorite feature of Park Tool Super Lite Stand!

We Didn't Like

I do have to say I do have a little bit of gripe about two things with this Park Tool bike stand. The first is I have had the Park Tool Home Deluxe Mechanic Repair Stand for about 16 years, after all this time the powder coating is nearly flawless. In contrast I have had this Super Lite Team Race Stand for a few weeks; I have already had significant blemishes in the powder coating. It looks like the thickness of yesteryear is a bit thicker than the current powder coating process. My second issue is a little more discerning to me, each time I’ve use a lot of pressure to scrub my rear wheel, the front leg has inched up and begun to collapse. At this point I am well aware of when it might happen, so I am trying to use a little less pressure to prevent it. I can easily see someone, who is cleaning their bike and is not fully paying attention, might tip over and damage their bike. Honestly the legs move too freely, I think Park Tool should have used a locking hinge design to ensure the legs are locked in place.

The Final Say

Overall the Park Tool Super Lite Team Race Stand is very good stand, for the traveling team mechanic or for the local cyclocross team who want quick repairs in the team tent. Really the stand goes beyond just a traveling mechanic’s stand; sure the stand weighs just 13.5 lbs. and breaks down to 33 inches so it is packable. Personally I could easily see a home mechanic make this portable stand their main repair stand, with secure platform, vertical adjustment and 360 degree rotation, it is more ergonomic than most static home repair stands. Note: I easily see this Park Tool Super Lite Team Race Stand receiving 5 cowbells, only if Park Tool added locking hinges to secure the legs.

Tip: We all know that during cyclocross season weather significantly effects a race location. If your racing in stormy conditions with gusty winds and you brought your portable work stand, remember to place it where the winds are blocked. Over the past couple years; I have witnessed two instances where the work station was in the wind, with a bike on it, and then the stand and bike blew over…

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