Eclypse Repair Stand Review

Eclypse is a small cycling component and accessory brand that we knew little of before we got our hands on their work stand. With just a few budget-friendly items like pedals, bottle cages, and flat repair kits available from REI, it wasn't exactly the first brand that sprung to mind when we started our search for the best work stands. We decided to include this inexpensive model in our test to see how it stacks up against the heavy hitters, and we were pleasantly surprised with what we found. In most categories, the Eclypse holds its own against the much pricier competition. While stability and long-term durability were minor concerns, we found the design especially intuitive for everyday use.

Performance Comparison

Ease of Setup

The Eclypse doesn't come out of the box fully assembled, but it isn't too far off. With just three pieces that snap together and no tools required, it took us about thirty seconds to go from in the box to fully set up. Assembly is comprised of sliding the clamping arm into the top tube and pressing the plastic tool tray onto its fixture on the vertical tube. Beyond that, setup is as simple as releasing the lower quick release on the vertical tube and sliding it down to unfold the tripod legs. Some of the more involved stands in our test took twenty to thirty minutes to piece together out of the box, so we were pleasantly surprised with the Eclypse.

If you want to break the Eclypse down into it's smallest, most-storable form you'll have to complete the assembly process for every setup and tear down. Still, we found that the stand was relatively compact and easy to store without disassembly. We ran it through our setup time trial from both fully disassembled and just folded. With all components installed, it takes about ten seconds to set up, and installing the clamping arm and tray adds roughly fifteen seconds on average once you've done it a couple of times. We preferred to keep our stand stored as one piece in case we wanted to do some last-second pre-ride tinkering with our bikes, but we should note that the plastic tray could be susceptible to damage if you're not careful when storing it this way.

Stability

When compared with the pricier stands in our test, the Eclypse's stability is a definite weak point. Its tripod legs are a bit shorter than the most stable stands in our test, and we noticed a bit more wobble, especially with heavier bikes. This stand isn't recommended for bikes over 60 pounds, and we can see why. The heaviest bike we mounted on it was close to 40 pounds, and we had to take extra caution to avoid the whole thing toppling over during hard wrenching efforts. That said, we didn't have any issues with day-to-day maintenance tasks like cleaning and lubing, and stability wasn't an issue with lighter bikes.

Like all stands we tested, the higher we raised the Eclypse, the more unstable it felt. Likewise, the more extreme the angle of the bike, the more wobbly things got, and we found that the most stable position for the stand was with the bike's weight centered over one of the legs.

Clamp

The Eclypse's plastic clamping jaws are surprisingly sturdy and worked well for us in testing. With a similar jaw design and shape to some of the more expensive models in our test, we had no issues clamping a variety of tube shapes and sizes. The jaws range from just under one inch at their smallest diameter to just over three inches at their largest. We didn't find any tube that wouldn't fit in testing, and the diamond-shaped clamping jaws are capable of accommodating aero tubes as well as externally-routed cables and hoses without issue. The clamping surface is made up of non-marking rubber, so it won't leave any marks on your frame or seat post, and if you want to hang the bike for a quick adjustment or cleaning the clamping arm has a foam cushion behind the clamp to hang your saddle.

The clamping mechanism itself uses a cam lever on the end of a threaded rod that extends between the two jaws. This design is common across many of the models in our test, but we think that the Eclypse's is one of the best-functioning. The large rounded end of the cam lever means that it adjusts the jaw width considerably when flipped. This makes it easy to flip the lever and pop your bike out of the stand without hassle. With some of the smaller cam lever designs we tested, you might have to unthread the lever a couple turns even after flipping it to get the tube out of the jaws. The threaded rod also allows you to micro-adjust the clamping force once you've flipped the lever. We should note that with a cam lever system like this, it is possible to over clamp your bike and damage tubes, so you should take care when flipping the lever to avoid applying too much force. With the size of the lever itself on the Eclypse, we think it would be tough to apply enough force to damage a tube, but it's a good thing to keep in mind when installing a bike.

Our one real complaint with the Eclypse's clamping system is that the slight downward angle of the clamping arm makes fixing a bike in the stand by the seat post or seat tube awkward. The downward arm angle means that the bike doesn't hang vertically. Once we discovered this off-kilter issue, we mainly stuck to clamping the top tube with this stand and didn't have any problems with it.

Angle Adjustment

Angle adjustment is the one area where we had a slight durability concern with the Eclypse. This stand is capable of 360 degrees of indexed adjustment with small gaps between each position. The adjustment is controlled by a quick-release lever at the top of the vertical tube, and the top tube and clamping arm each have plastic grooves where they fit together that create the indexed positions. It is possible to set the quick release at a tension that allows you to conveniently rotate the bike between the indexed positions without having to use the lever. While the system worked well for us throughout testing, we're concerned that over time and with lots of adjustment, the plastic grooves may wear out and make it difficult to hold the bike at awkward angles.

Height Adjustment

We found that specs for the Eclypse are hard to come by online, but we measured our stand's height adjustment and found that it ranges from 41 to 58 inches. Compared with the lankiest stands we tested, this range of adjustment isn't massive, but throughout our test, we found that it didn't leave us wanting much. If you clamp the frame by the top tube, this range is plenty for most wrenching operations you can think of.

Beyond the height range, we found the adjustment itself super easy to make with or without a bike on the stand. Like every stand we tested, the height is controlled by a quick release collar on the main tube. Opening the quick-release allows you to slide the upper vertical tube out of the lower one to set your height. We encountered very little friction once the quick release was opened, and we liked that there was no need to ensure the quick-release is lined up properly before clamping it shut. When you're supporting the weight of a bike to adjust the stand's height, the last thing you want to do is fuss with a finicky quick-release lever. The height adjustment also has a mechanical stop when it reaches its max, so it's not possible to accidentally overextend the upper tube and pull it out of the stand.

Portability

All in, the Eclypse weighs just 10.6 pounds. It's among the lightest we tested and is a piece of cake to load into the car or pull out of storage in the garage. With folded dimensions of 45"x 14"x 4", it isn't the most compact stand, but it's super-wieldy and not awkward to carry around. This, combined with its quick setup makes the Eclypse a viable candidate for traveling mechanics. If you plan on driving to races every weekend or taking any bike-centric vacations, this stand wouldn't be too much of a hassle to bring along. We recommend pulling off the tool tray before throwing it in the car to save space and avoid potentially breaking the plastic.

Everyday Maintenance

A user-friendly design makes the Eclypse a solid option for everyday use. Even if you're setting up and tearing down the stand every time you use it, you'll only lose a few seconds, and throwing a bike in the clamp for a quick wrenching is as easy as any model we tested. Due to the slight stability issue, we think this stand is best suited for light-duty wrenching and cleaning rather than complete overhauls or high-torque operations.

For the most part, we're not concerned about the Eclypse's ability to stand the test of time. Despite a plastic-heavy construction and aluminum tubing, we didn't find anything that felt flimsy or susceptible to wear. Our only concern is the aforementioned angle adjustment system with indexed plastic grooves, but most day-to-day operations don't require any angle adjustment.

Value

As far as bike stands go, the Eclypse is affordable and performs admirably next to the far more expensive competition. Despite some stability issues with heavier bikes, we think this model provides great value for anyone looking for a quick daily maintenance solution or an easy-to-haul traveling stand. It likely isn't the most durable, but we didn't have any issues during testing that would keep us from recommending it.

Conclusion

On the whole, we had a very positive experience with the Eclypse. For an obscure stand with a budget-friendly price tag, it packs a whopping punch. We found its design as user-friendly and capable as most of its more expensive counterparts, and its low weight and quick setup make it a great option for traveling. It isn't the most stable stand on the market, but otherwise, it works well. Often when trying out products, we learn that price doesn't necessarily equate with performance, and the Eclypse is another reminder that price isn't everything.