Topeak Flashstand eUp
(six-month test) 989g £64.99

The Topeak Flashstand eUp is a folding tune up stand for quick tweaks and storage. As the name suggests, it’s built with E-bikes in mind and enjoys a reassuring 30 kilo payload. This also lends itself nicely to larger frames, tandems and other specialist builds. Traditional work stands are the way forward for more intensive fettling. However, the Flashstand eUp’s stability is palpably superior to budget fare, making little jobs like taming a wayward mech, or squealy brake that bit easier.

Pros: Sturdy, convenient to use and store, nice detailing.

Cons: Good value but cheaper options if you’ve strictly feathery road bikes.

topeak flashstand eup bicycle satnd review test

Materials/Specification

Tipping the scales at a reassuring 989g build quality and design are solid. Most of us won’t be surprised to learn the tubes are 6061 T6 aluminium alloy, finished in a sleek and seemingly durable gloss black powder coat. Stabilising feet protect the tubes while ensuring solid, er footing, although some common sense comes in handy.

Park bikes on level, ideally concrete surfaces- grass is discouraged but in practice, lawns and other level hosts aren’t going to be problematic. A broad, solid base continues this steady, load displacing narrative.

test review bicycle bike maintenance tune up stand cycling

Quick releases feature at the chain and seat stay hooks for easy height adjustment The legs open and close courtesy of quick releases and folded, it measures 70 x 15 x 13 cm, so easily stashed in a cupboard, beneath the work bench, car boot, or corner of the room/garage as needed.

Its practical enough for parking in a bike trailer if you were feeling particularly self-sufficient on a tour and weren’t counting every gram. The chain and seat stay hooks feature rubberised, paint friendly inserts and will accommodate tubing up to 32mm. These are also quick release for easy height adjustment.

The top cap’s integrated keyring divided opinions, some saying it was a useful refinement, others gimmick. I’ve generally welcomed he fact it makes effective use of otherwise dead space and found it useful for hanging the flashstand up, out of the way when not in use.

Test Bikes/Contexts

I’ve defaulted to the Flashstand for the fleet’s day to day maintenance- jobs where I’ve not needed to hoist them high for comfort and leverage e.g. bottom bracket, or headset replacement I’ve (mercifully) not got a solo tipping 30 kilos, but tested Topeak’s claims by commandeering someone’s e-bike and on another occasion, tethering Ursula and loaded Bob Yak homage to see if weight and length had any impact. Spoiler alert, the Flashstand didn’t let us down.

Performance 3.75/5

roadicycle maintenace stand tune up test topeak

The Flashstand eUP is very well designed in the user-friendly sense. The instructions detail what not to do and that really boils down to not opening the base legs fully (which will damage/break the unit). Otherwise, it’s just a matter of familiarising yourself where the quick releases are.

Assuming I’ve not had to tweak the hook’s height, it’s been a thirty second job. Adjusting the height is simply a matter of flicking the grey quick release and sliding them along the track, close the quick release. Check the rear wheel is still off the ground and you’re ready to store, or perform basic tuning jobs- inflating tyres, adjusting gears/brakes etc.

First up, the Flashstand e-up has managed 30 kilos without protest (although I was careful to ensure the concrete was level and solid). You could always fill the legs with sand if you wanted some added, temporary bracing.

Either way, lateral stiffness was vastly superior to the budget tune up stands I’ve used and owned in the past- and they were made from basic “gas pipe” steel tubes, bolted or MIG welded together. This meant I could concentrate on tackling the job(s) at hand, rather than being conscious of the stand wobbling, or wandering. Surfaces don’t have to be pancake flat- I've used ours on the lawn and calling the stands’ bluff, even along a dirt road. However, as level as possible - or you’re asking for trouble.

test review bike stand tune up topeak ebike

The broader quick release hooks and rubberised inserts continued this narrative, offering a more secure and paint friendly hold, compared with the basic riveted nylon variety. This was particularly obvious when turning cranks with a passion- checking a rear mech won’t over-shift, pulling a new inner cable through and snugging tight.

Secure enough that I’ve felt comfortable performing jobs like replacing bar tape or adjusting saddle height. Taks where a bit of tension/applied force is needed. However, that’s the upper limit. Sure, so long as you held the bike steady, you could loosen an arthritic seat post-giving judicious taps with an engineers’ mallet. However, that’s the upper limit and more than the flash stand’s intended for.

That said, I have packed the hooks out a little, using scraps of pipe lagging when tending to bikes with pencil thin frame tubing to prevent any bounce, or sway. The Teenage Dream, with its skinny 531C being a prime example, so a minor consideration if you have a varied fleet.

It’ll hold the bike still for jobs like chain replacement and adjusting bearing tension on Hollow Tech II crank sets and I’ve also employed ours while giving bikes a good sudsy bucket clean with no issues. Mind you, the emphasis is upon quick/routine jobs, I wouldn’t want to be squatting low for too long-that's what traditional workshop stands are for.

Durability/Care 3.75/5

I’ve given the quick release components a quick, periodic shot of Joker 440 or Muc Off MO94 to displace any water following post mucky ride deep clean. I might pop the end caps off and squirt some around the inside but again, says more about me than the Flashstand’s quality.

Value 3.25/5

Let’s start by saying you get what you pay for and in this instance, a very solid, user-friendly stand. That out the way, basic store branded, full size work stands AND tune up stand can be had for similar money as the Topeak Flashstand eUP. However, most of the budget workshop models I’ve seen have a maximum 20 kilo payload.

This might not be an issue, if you’re starting out and working on traditional road biased and/or cross-country mountain and touring bikes around the 10-14 kilo mark.

Minoura DS-520 Folding is a more generic model available for around £23. Its DS-540-CS stablemate is another folding design made from aluminium alloy, weighs in at 1.2 kilos (manufacturer cited) and will entertain more traditional mtbs with up to 29-inch wheels. However, I’ve never used one, so can’t comment on its real-world similarities, or indeed, shortcomings.

At the lower end of the market, Decathlon Bike Original Rear Bike Stand is £15.99 reckoned to have a 30-kilo maximum payload and two-year warranty. However, as might be expected, it lacks the Topeak’s convenient adjustability and refinement.

Summary

The Topeak Flashstand eUp certainly isn’t cheap but, in my experience, is well-engineered and vastly superior to the basic bolt together portable stands (which I have also used, on an off for many years). The payload also means it’s a good, future proof choice, if you’re thinking of adding an e-bike to your fleet. E Bikes aside, it will repay its investment many times, saving prized bikes from dings and scratches, while being worked on, or just parked up in their corner of the garage or other chosen corner of the home.

Verdict: 3.75/5 Pricey, but very solid portable stand that will repay its investment many times over.

Michael Stenning

PUBLISHED MAY2024