I gave some information on this last year, and thought it needed mentioning again. I've had a bike stand for a very long time now, and before that I relied on leaning my machine against an outside wall, or even tipping it upside down on the grass to do periodical maintenance. If this sounds familiar to some of you and I know it does, it's time to "pony up" and buy a stand.

Believe me once you have one you too will wonder why you didn't make this purchase long ago. Park Tool I believe has two or three different models. I suggest getting one that clamps onto your seat post rather than the top tube. The season is that now that a lot of bikes that are titanium and carbon fiber, you could damage your machine easily buy clamping on to these materials. If you do use one of these, be careful and use some wax paper between the clamp and the tube. One of these stands with your bike clamped on it, can be rotated 360 degrees, and locked in any position. If you go to ParkTool.com you can view the different ones. Does it seem like every time I give you a tip it involves $$$$$$?