In the mountain biking world, 50% of riders would recommend kickstands and 50% of riders have bad thinking about having them installed in their bikes. the reason is that there is a large community of beginner riders and expert riders. Although the kickstands are not as bad as the riders think about them. if you want to capture photos of your bike standing in the middle of the forests like a classic bike it needs installation of the kickstands while on the other hand if you are a pro racer, you want speed from your bike and you don’t want anything from the trails and the other pros of the kickstand then its good to ride a bike without kickstands.
mountain bike kickstands are some kind of pleasure if you are with your family and kids and you have gone on the single trails for enjoying nature and you are stopping your bike on the trails after a few pedaling for:
- Snacks break
- When you become too much tired you want to stop your bike
- and the other advantages I have described in the pros
In such circumstances, the kickstands would give you extra confidence to stand your bike without leaning it on the ground or any tree near you.
I am not saying that the kickstands are as lovely as your favorite thing, I know these also include negativities more than the pros due to which these are not recommended for mountain bike ridings.
Pros and cons of mountain bike kickstands:
Pros:
Someone you meet on the trails you will stop your bike by sliding his kickstand and talking with him.
You want to buy anything from the store or shop, stand your bike on the kickstand.
when you want to hang anything on the handlebars of your bike kickstand works well.
You can visit any busy traffic place with a lot of people walking or gathering and you don’t want to give any scratch to the bike frame and you want to prevent it from damaging, in this case, you will miss your bike kickstand.
You can stand your mountain bike in your home by changing its position on a daily basis by using a kickstand.
The price of a kickstand is low as compared to the bike repair stand, you can repair or check your bike (lube, wash chain check)with the help of a kickstand and it will save your money from buying a repair stand.
You don’t need to lean your bike on the ground or tree support having a kickstand because it prevents the bike parts from bending and damaging and that’s the real reason most of the time you will tire totally from leaning and picking your bike from the ground and it will bother too much finally you will decide to install kickstand in your mountain bike.
It is cheap from other any kinds of bike stand.
the kickstand prevents your bike from rolling and moving a little bit forward like it happens when you lean it on the ground.
it is a flat long steel rod which doe not bother you when it is closed while you are riding on the single down trails.
The expensive kickstand is lighter in weight and does not affect the balance of your bike on the trails.
Don’t buy an old version or cheap kickstand because these are much heavier in weight and it will give a bad reputation on all the pros of the kickstand.
The aluminum metal kickstand is a better quality kickstand for mountain bikes.
Comfortable for the foot to lock and unlock your bike on the trails, house, grocery stores, and for other daily chores.
Kickstand provides some kind of easiness to all the parts of your bike and all weight of your bike would be taken by a single kickstand while in the standing position of the bike.
When you are riding on silent trails and you own accessories hanging on your bike and suddenly your bike got punctured or any other problem occurred if you have kickstand you will easily get rid of that moment if not then firstly you will unload the stuff from your bike and then lean it on the ground after that the problem would be solved. kickstands prevent all of these unpleasant moments that are occurring with you on the trails.
It also provides safety if you know the trick which is that if you are coming downhill at fast speed and you know that you will distract from the trail and may hit a tree or crash your bike, in such cases lean down your kickstand from feet taking backward to the kickstand and try to hit it hard on the ground it will reduce your bike speed and if you are lucky of course you will remain safe by dropping bike speed.
You want to commute on the trails by stopping at hundred different points on the trails, kickstand will save your energy from taking up and leaning down your bike a hundred times.
Kickstands are not necessary for a bike, the choice is yours if you need them then install them on your bike.
Cons:
Kickstand reduces speed if you are a pro racer of mountain biking.
If you have installed a kickstand from a year or two ago then that mounted place will start taking rust and the sign will remain until when you will take a step to remove rust from that place.
It is also counted as harmful for the frame because it will slowly scratch your bike frame if you are using it for a long time.
It affects the paint of your bike.
Kickstands are not used for long rides and for racing and fast-speed bikers. because they will cause damage to your bike including tires, frame, chain it will pinch in an inward direction if your bike had thrown away badly on the trails.
Most of the time the nut bolts of the kickstand start losing and shaking while you are riding on the trails in this case there are chances of falling off the kickstand and extra risk of crashing a bike.
The clamp of the kickstand bothers too much because of losing and tightening when you ride on the trails the tracks are bumpy which will cause shaking of the kickstand.
Most riders never bring it in use because they don’t need them most. they will lean their bikes on the ground or with any tree so it depends on your own suggestion whether you are going to bring it in use or leave it.
Kickstands for kids:
Kickstands are widely used by kids for their bikes because it is a safety measure. kids are not pro these are the beginners they have to stop at many points on the trails .their age and heights are small and mostly the bikes are large in size which brings a difference, this is the reason that most parents would buy kickstands to install them in bikes of their kids. As time passes the kids learn to bring the bike in their control and they will use kickstands a little bit and finally when they learn to drive their bikes they will uninstall kickstands from their bikes.
The spring-loaded kickstand is much better as compared to the without springs. these springs will not shake while on the trails and do not create an unpleasant sound from the back. these have a strong grip on standing purpose.
Where does kickstand go on a bike?
Kickstands are mostly mounted on two or three places on the bottom frame tube of the frame arising from the pedals of your bike towards the back wheel. the clamp of the kickstand would properly be mounted on the frame tube in the rear region near the wheel axle.it is the proper position for a kickstand through which the whole weight of the bike would be properly hit on the kickstand.
Center mount:
the kickstand is also mounted on the frame tube in the mid of the pedal and the back wheel area. it is also the best position for the kickstand to hold the bike in the straight position.
Pedal region:
The kickstands are also mounted from a distance of half an or a single inch from the pedals that’s the main region of the bike where almost all the kickstands are mounted on a bike.
All of these places are used for mounting a kickstand on a mountain and road bikes.
Double stand on a mountain bike:
If you are using your mountain bike for stuff and house accessories and for carrying bags while going anywhere then it is almost impossible for the bike to stand on a single leg kickstand. for that purpose double leg stands are used. their installation is easy also these are budget-friendly, but these are much heavier in weight as compared to the single-leg kickstands.
these have also another advantage of stopping your bike and reducing the bike speed on the downhill trails .you can push your kickstand with both of your legs and your bike hacks on that place.it prevents you from crashing or hitting a bike when you are in high-speed racings.
double-leg kickstands are not used by the mountain bikers because these are much heavier than the single-leg kickstand and it affects a lot in reducing the speed of the bike, also it creates a dumb sound of hitting on the frame when you are riding on the bumpy trails it hits on the frame regularly, which will damage the frame of bike in the downward.