Topeak Tune-Up Station

The Topeak Tune-Up Station is a convenient way to park, charge and perform basic servicing on your electric or acoustic bike. Featuring an adaptable stand, well-thought-out features and an upgrade kit to make working on your bike more convenient, it's a very good option to keep things running at full power.

Not sure what sort of stand you need? Check out our guide to the best bike repair stands.

If you own a mid-drive e-bike, you know the fundamental difference between it and an acoustic bike – backpedalling doesn't turn the chain. This means if you want to clean or lubricate the chain, you need to lift the rear wheel off the ground. Which means some sort of stand.

If you're lucky enough to own a workshop stand, this isn't an issue. If you don't, chain maintenance is a faff. And, as any fule kno, keeping your chain clean and lubed is the secret to a happy and low-cost e-bike life. But e-bikes are heavy, often have oddly shaped stays, and have other stuff associated – namely, chargers...

Global cycling accessory and tool giant Topeak put its mind to this challenge and came up with the Tune-Up Station. It's a pretty simple proposition: a stand, with a box at the bottom to hold stuff.

The idea of a stand that holds the rear triangle of your bike on hooks under the chainstays and seatstays is nothing new – these have been around for decades, and can be had for very little money indeed. What Topeak has added is the ability to store maintenance stuff and your e-bike's charger in a magnetically latched and internally divided box, with cable ports to exit the mains power and charging cables in the direction needed.

The vertical pole and frame of the Tune-up Station are pretty hefty powder-coated steel, weighing 3.5kg, and Topeak advises a maximum bike weight of 35kg. That should do the heftiest e-bike, even full-suspension monsters. The pole is held onto the frame with a large knurled knob, meaning if you want to pack down the stand and pop it in your vehicle for travel, no tools are needed. Racers and holidaymakers, take note – if you need to work on your bike away from home, this is a very nice solution short of a full-fat mobile workstand.

The plastic box is likewise pretty hefty – you can stand on it and not be overly scared of it cracking. Inside is a yellow divider that can be placed vertically or horizontally to divide your stuff. If you use smaller batteries for wireless charging, or maybe lights, this is a good place to be charging everything at once – especially if you purchase a charger with multiple USB outputs.

Each of the two stay hooks can be placed in one of five positions, giving you 25 possible configurations to fine-tune the fit with your bike. The top one that goes under your seatstay is longer, and comes with an angled rubber block to wedge the seatstay so your bike is vertical if needed. Most e-bikes have the wheel cadence sensor inside the chainstay, meaning you'll need to take care not to damage it or the cable. Best to place the hook to the rear of the sensor, where it can't snag.

Once you have the hooks set up just right, you lift your bike on, taking care to align the hooks. Once in place the Tune-up Station holds even a heavy bike upright with no movement. My e-mountain bike is 26kg and has ridiculously snaked chainstays and seatstays, aka suspension arms. Adding to the challenge is the placement of the speed sensor and cable. It took a bit of trial and error, but I was able to find a fit that held the bike vertical without a hint of movement.

> Six essential tools for cyclists who do their own bike maintenance

Once you have the rear wheel off the ground, chain maintenance and gear adjustment is a doddle – albeit a doddle requiring a pad to kneel on. No, this is not a bike wash stand, but in theory, if you remove the box, you could use it to wash a bike (the box simply lifts up and unclips). Topeak certainly doesn't advertise it as such, but it does in fact sell the stand itself without the box, as the Topeak Tune-Up Stand – oddly, with a weight limit of 25kg.

Accessories

The Tune-Up Station comes with a number of add-on accessories, available individually or as a £50 pack. There's a stabilizer foot, which improves the Station's stability if your bike is tipped rearward. Then there's an extension pole, which holds a tool tray – with lots of holes for screwdrivers and hex tools.

The tools are held up at a nice height for working on your bike, and if needed you can add two, one above the other. Once you have attached the tool tray mounts, the trays drop in using two locating pins, so they are easy to remove if needed.

Value

At £90 for the Tune-Up Station and another £50 for the Upgrade Set (stabiliser, pole and one tray), this is quite a bit of dosh to fork out to be able to fettle and charge your bike in a tidy manner. That said, a while back John gave the £60 base Tune-Up Stand X 4 stars – so for £30 more you're getting the box for all the bits and your charger. Not bad really, given how tidily it's done.

You can buy any one of a thousand alternative stands to hold your bike by the chainstays and seatstays, for anywhere from £5 up, but I have yet to come across one that holds a bike as solidly as the Topeak. I can't find anything with the charger and parts storage on offer here.

Conclusion

All in all, the Tune-Up Station – along with the Upgrade Set – gives you pretty much everything you need to efficiently fettle your bike or e-bike in a tidy manner. If you don't have a full workstand, or need to be able to do smaller jobs in, say, your garage, on a balcony, outside or on the go, it's a pretty good option.

Verdict

Great way to hold your bike or e-bike, to do basic maintenance as well as charge tidily