Pletscher Two-Legged Kickstand
While the need for a two-legged kickstand on a large tandem is fairly obvious, it’s not as clear why you’d need one for smaller bikes -- until you start riding with children aboard. Whether you’re using a front-mounted Kangaroo WeeRide or a traditional rear-mounted child seat, preventing the bike from falling over when a child is strapped into the seat is a serious safety concern.
I first saw this Pletscher kickstand about seven years ago, when it came on our Bike Friday Family Triple. It’s an aluminum kickstand with two legs; the second pivots via a cam mechanism, so that it stows alongside the first leg. Made in Switzerland, it’s a cool piece of hardware for the folding design alone. Stowed, it looks like a standard Greenfield kickstand, with an extra leg.
The double-legged stand makes a big or heavily loaded bike far more stable when you dismount, and it can also double as a makeshift workstand for back-end fixes, as it lifts the rear wheel off the ground. We now have two bikes outfitted with this kickstand, and with our youngest still 17 months old, we’re considering a third.
[Cycling photographer Russ Roca illustrates the utility of a Pletscher Two-Legged Kickstand for loaded touring. -es]
Available from Amazon
Favorite (15)
AC
I have one of these, and it works splendidly.
Note, however, that unless you really need the stability, it is a little more cumbersome to use:
- one must lift the bike slightly to engage and disengage the stand.
- you may have to cut the legs down if your bike has ~26" wheels. it's a big see-saw if you don't trim to fit.
- any time you want to move the bike a short distance, you either have to lift it and roll it on one wheel, or disengage the stand completely before rolling the bike. with a single side stand, you just tip the bike up and roll it.
RYan Young
The other thing about this is that the frame attachment needs to be pretty sturdy. I had one of these on a utilitarian bike I'd built up from a rather pedestrian frame, and a few years of use with heavy loads ripped the bracket off the chain stays.
Graham Hopper
I only wish I had seen this before. I managed to break my daughters arm by carelessly propping my bike, with her strapped in a seat on the back. The bike fell over, she put her arm out to break her fall and broke her arm instead. If we had had one of these we may have avoided an operation, a night in hospital and several uncomfortable months with an arm in plaster.
Andrew
outstanding kickstand! i used it on my cross country ride last summer; so much better than leaning the bike up against things all day long. also makes loading panniers a snap as well as fixing flats. call ThorUSA and ask about the european top plate. it's a much better mount - you don't have to get the kickstand as tight which can dent the frame and scratch the paint.
Fred
I've had one of these on my Infinity LWB recumbent for years and it works great. AC's comments are spot-on but it's worth it to me to keep the bike from dumping over, which it often did with the stock kickstand.