Trike Stand and Repairs

My trike had been working and shifting flawlessly until a week ago. The right shifter jammed and would not go up 4 higher gears. I was hoping for a great ride, so instead of heading home I managed to repair on the road. It took about 1/2 hr. Don't know exactly what went wrong but it was working and I continued my 30 miler. Towards the end of the ride I noticed my lower gears missing at times and shifting up. Over the last yr I got tired of driving a 1/2 hr to my LBS and decided it was time to learn repairs. With the help of the Internet, BROL and Park tools, I managed to change my chain, cranks, BB, cassette and cables. I found things quite easy if you have the right tools. Unfortunately bikes have their own unique tools.

What I didn't have was a stand to work on the trike. I would put small pales under the rack to lift the rear wheel and then work on my hands and knees making adjustments. Too old for that. There has been a some talk on BROL about trike racks. UTAH Trikes and others have displayed various inexpensive PVC racks. Today I went to my local hardware store and for $19 made this PVC trike rack in a few hrs. I am still tweaking it as it has a tendency to sway a bit. It's light, the height is perfect and it makes working on the trike much easier . I have an old Workmate bench which my son has to return. I think I will use that to steady my stand better. I won't get into how I built this stand as it is obvious through the pics, and can be made in various configurations. It is great to use a bike stand for repairs and maintenance. When it comes to getting into those final adjustments, I find you have to add weight and torque to the bike. Another words ride the bike, stop, make adjustments and try again until all is right. For me learning repairs has more than saved me money, but, saved me time so I can continue to

Enjoy the ride