Topeak Prepstand Pro Review – Pro Level Work Stand For Home or on the Go.

While Topeak isn’t an official partner of Project OneBike, they definitely have become an unofficial part of it. I picked up a handful of their products over the last year that have become essential parts of my ride prep, ride, and maintenance routine. We’ll have a series of reviews coming out this week to cover the Prepstand Pro, Ratchet Rocket Lite NTX and Nano TorqBar, and the JoeBlow Booster. We also have complete Eurobike coverage for the them here and here.

Prepstand Pro

Having a work stand at home is really helpful. For years, I would lean my bike against a wall or my work bench, and wrench away. It was not ideal, but I made it work. I eventually went the cheap route and made my own stand, which I still use today when it comes to painting projects.  Since then, I picked up a Park Tool PRS-20 stand, but when it comes down to it, the Prepstand Pro is my go-to. Here’s why.

Getting Ready To Wrench

The Topeak Prepstand Pro is a telescoping design with a tripod base. It holds the bike using a soft, grippy rubber clamp that is non-marring and made to work at the seat post or on frame tubes. It is adjustable in all kinds of ways, so you can always find the right set up for you, the bike, and the location you are working in.

The work stand comes with a travel bag to keep things tidy on the road or when not in use. Once out of the bag, you flip the lever to unlock the legs, and push down to start to spread out the tripod base. For maximum stability, push the legs all the way down so they are completely extended. If your workspace is tight, you can raise them up a bit. I’ve found both to work well, depending on my workspace and what type of wrenching I’m doing.

The upper part of the stand can be raised or lowered by flipping another leaver and sliding the telescoping tube up and down. The clamp head folds out from the frame and uses a rotating collar to lock it into place. The angle of the clamp head can be adjusted 360 degrees with a large rotating knob on the opposite end of the clamp head that loosens things and allows the teeth to separate enough to rotate. The clamp itself also has a rotating knob, with a flip out lever to quickly open and close it.

One of the unique features is the built in digital scale. It is not something that I use all the time, but for those concerned with weight, it is helpful when swapping between parts. Instead of mounting the bike in the clamp, you rest the top tube on the scale’s pad (after you power it on and let it settle at 0.0). The digital display reads out in pounds or kilograms to a tenth of the unit. It might not be the most accurate  scale, but it does the trick.

Clamp Vs. Axle Mount

When it came time to build the Van Dessel Full Tilt Boogie, fit up the KS LEV SI, or even cleaning it after a ride, the Prepstand Pro comes in very handy. The clamp allowed me to be able to work on the bike with the wheels on, which is a big help with aligning brakes and tweaking discs.

When compared to the Park Tool stand, I was forced to remove a wheel to mount it to the stand. With thru-axles, it was never a great solution when it came to mounting it by the rear axle. You can get thru-axle adaptor to replace the quick release, but it only had tubes for 12×100 and 15×100 front axles. If you wanted to work on the front wheel, it wasn’t a solid mount using the rear axle.

This isn’t a problem with the Prepstand Pro, which is one of the reasons why I like the Topeak stand so much. I’ve built up and torn down a few different bikes with the Prepstand Pro, and the only time I worked on the bike off of the stand was when I was removing a crank arm and adjusting the headset. Other than that, the ability to adjust the height, direction, and rotation of the bike made working on the Prepstand Pro a dream.

Dimensions and Weights

Size and weight are considerations, and it’s a draw when compared to my old Park Tool stand. When folded up, the Prepstand Pro comes in at a total length of 46 inches. The Park Tool is only 33 inches. If you plan on taking the Prepstand Pro with you to an event, it might be a little too big for the trunk. For me though, I rarely travel with any more than two passengers in a Subaru Impreza, so folding down one of the seats and laying it in the trunk was never a problem.

The Prepstand Pro is 13.67 lbs, and can handle up to 55lbs. The Park Tool on the other hand, is 18 lbs, and can hold 60 lbs, but I doubt I’ll ever have a bike over 30 lbs mounted on the stand. The weight and included travel bag made carrying the Prepstand Pro from the car to my team tent convenient, which gives the edge to the Prepstand Pro.

Final Thoughts

At $299.95, the Topeak Prepstand Pro is an investment, but will be well used by the home mechanic or traveling wrench.  Its adjustability, solid design, and portability make it a useful tool for anyone looking to wrench at home or on the go.

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