Stop a Loaded Bike from Falling Over

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Video: Stop a Loaded Bike from Falling Over

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Hello and welcome to VisiHow. Today I'm going to show you a method of keeping your touring bike standing while it's fully loaded with bags or equipment. As any cyclist knows, when you're on a long cycle tour and you're carrying a lot of equipment and bags, it can be very frustrating finding a place to leave your bike when you want to stop and get off. With touring bikes, because of the weight and all of the bags, they seldom come with a kickstand. Normally a stand is attached to the bike that you can open up to leave the bike standing.

That's for a normal bike. With a touring bike, the weight on the bike from the bags is too heavy, and having a stand can cause the frame or stand to break because the weight is too much. Often when you're cycling in places such as desserts or you're cycling in places where there's no where to leave your bike, in fields or wherever you may be, and you need to stop and get off, you often don't want to leave your bike laying on the side. If you leave your bike on the side with all the equipment, things can get broken or spill and it's just generally a bad idea. So, with this simple method, we can solve all of those problems.

1. 1
   The first thing you will need is a stick

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   You can find sticks in any good forest or any area with trees. You'll need to find one that's the right height for your bike, and one that has two branches coming out, and you can chop those branches off to form a nice V shape. This V shape will be the point with which we will attach the bike.

   

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2. 2
   What we're going to do is find a point where we can put this V

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   We want to do it somewhere around this area, because this is where the biggest bags are, on the back.

   

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3. 3
   I can lodge the stick here

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   Some people might do it in another area where the frame is very strong.

   

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4. 4
   We need a good firm spot to plant the base

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   Then, I will put the stick on the bike and rest the bike onto the stick.

   

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5. 5
   Now the bike is standing and stationary thanks to the stick

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   Even if the bags are heavy, it's not a problem. If the surface is very flat, such as concrete, it can be difficult for the stick to find enough traction to secure it to the ground but as long as there's something, it will hold.

   

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6. 6
   We also need to put the brake on

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   If the handlebars move, and the wheel rolls, then the bike will fall over. As you can see here, I've attached a a cord around the brake so I can pull the cord and activate the brake. You need something like this cord or strap which can be tightened. If I try to move my bike, it won't move.

   

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7. 7
   This is a method I only discovered about 4 or 5 months after cycling and it's made my life a lot easier

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   I was introduced to it by a Chinese cyclist, who I met on the road somewhere in Germany. I am now using it and I find it a lot easier. This is how to make your bike stand up on its own and not have to leave it against anything. If you have any other good ideas related to bicycles or cycle touring, or you have any other comments or suggestions please leave them in the section below. This is VisiHow. Goodbye.

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If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.

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