Feedback Sports has been producing some of the best repair stands and tools in the industry for quite a few years now. The brand’s portable work stands in particular stand out for their quality construction, thoughtful designs, and user-friendliness. One of Feedback’s latest models is the Pro Air Lift, a unique, heavy-duty stand designed to lift heavy bikes to working height with its pneumatic lift chamber.
Unlike many of the heavy workshop stands or electric-lift models, the Pro Air Lift weighs less than 20 pounds, folds up small for storage or transport, and doesn’t require electricity. At the same time, it can still handle bikes up to 100 pounds and pick them up for you. Of course, it also works with lightweight bikes, too, and could be a great solution not only for heavyweight e-bikes, but for anyone who owns and works on a spectrum of different bike types.
I happen to have many different bikes in my garage at all times, from 70+ pound electric commuters to featherweight XC bikes and everything in between. And while I can lift that 70+ pound bike into the repair stand, holding it up while clamping it in the jaws is an awkward process. Which is why I was excited to get my hands on the Pro Air Lift to see if it worked as advertised and could potentially improve my bike maintenance and repair experience — and help save my aging joints.
-
MSRP:
$725 -
Type:
Tube clamp -
Weight Capacity:
100 lbs. (45 kg.) -
Height Adjustability:
42.5" to 66.5" (108 cm to 169 cm) -
Stand Weight:
19.3 lbs. -
Folded Dimensions:
8.6" x 6.9" x 45.4"
Pros
-
100-pound bike weight limit
-
Uses air chamber to lift heavy bikes for you
-
User-friendly ratcheting quick-release clamp
-
Robust design – very stable
-
Easily to transport and store
Cons
-
Expensive
-
Need to be conscious of weight distribution for stability
Feedback Sports Pro Air Lift Details
To create the Pro Air Lift, it appears that Feedback Sports simply took the heavy-duty Pro Mechanic HD work stand and added the pneumatic air-lift chamber. Like the Pro HD, the Air Lift has a tripod base with beefed-up aluminum legs, a slightly wider stance (56.25” diameter), and wide rubber feet for added stability when supporting heavy bikes. Likewise, it uses oversized upper and lower tubes, durable metal hardware, and features a very sturdy clamp arm to handle bikes up to 100 pounds (45 kg).
The clamp arm folds flat for storage or transport and extends for use with a large metal tri-knob. The clamp arm can be rotated 360 degrees and has an oversized clutch body for secure rotational positioning. The clamp has a maximum jaw opening of 2.6” and features Feedback’s Speed Ratchet + Spinner Knob with a Quick Release button. The clamp arm has a minimum height of 42.5” and can be extended to 66.5” or anywhere in between.
With lighter bikes, you can simply adjust the clamp arm height manually and use it as a regular repair stand. Of course, you can also use the Air Lift feature and attach a floor pump, electric pump, or air compressor to the Schrader valve on the tripod leg to pressurize the air chamber and have it lift heavy bikes for you. The pressure relief valve on the tripod leg releases air from the chamber and lowers the bike. Additionally, Feedback built in a safety pressure relief to make sure the chamber can’t be overpressurized.
As with other Feedback repair stands, the Pro Air Lift has an anodized clamp head, aluminum main tubes, and tripod legs. It does not require batteries or electricity to operate and is safe for use in wet environments. It has folded dimensions of 8.6” x 6.9” x 45.4” (21.8cm x 17.5cm x 115.4cm) and weighs 19.2 pounds. It ships fully assembled and comes with a 3-year warranty.
Using the Pro Air Lift
Since the Pro Air Lift ships fully assembled, all you’ve got to do is unbox it, and you’re ready to go. Setting it up is straightforward, especially if you’ve ever used any other Feedback Sports repair stand. The tripod base is secured with a large quick-release lever, and the legs slide up and down easily. The upper tube is secured with a smaller knob that’s easy to grasp and turn when raising or lowering. I appreciate that it can be used as both a regular stand and an air-lift, since I’d rather not fuss around with a pump when wrenching on lighter bikes that are easy to lift.
The tri-knob that controls the clamp arm is large and very easy to spin when extending it for use or folding it down for storage. I’ve already been a huge fan of Feedback’s user-friendly clamp designs for years, and that continues with the Pro Air-Lift. The Speed Ratchet and Spinner Knob make it super quick and easy to secure the bike in the jaws, and the Quick Release feature is very…quick. This clamp and its features are great when loading and unloading any bike, but I’ve found it to be especially beneficial with heavier bikes that are a struggle to hold in position while clamping.
As a traditional repair stand, the Pro Air Lift is uncomplicated and functions just like Feedback’s other models. When using the air-lift feature, it’s still pretty straightforward, but I quickly learned that there is an order of operations to follow. The learning curve is quite steep, however, and after a few tries, it becomes second nature.
When loading heavy bikes in the stand, I find it best to keep the clamp arm at its minimum height and just slightly loose so I can adjust its rotation if needed. Next, I lift the rear end of the bike just enough to position the seatpost in the clamp jaws before pushing the Speed Ratchet closed and tightening it with the Spinner Knob. Yes, you still need to lift the rear of most bikes a little to get them up to clamp height, but not very far, and only part of the bike’s weight.
Pump Up the Jam
With a pump attached, you simply pressurize the air chamber until the bike raises to the desired height. Once there, it’s important to rotate the upper tube to ensure the bike’s weight is centered over one of the tripod legs for stability before securing the upper tube in position with the metal knob. As with any stand with a tripod base, the importance of proper weight distribution increases along with the bike’s weight — and height.
I’ve used numerous bike pumps with the Pro Air Lift, and they all work fine to add pressure one pump at a time. Depending on the weight of the bike and the type of pump (high volume vs high pressure), it takes between 10 and 20 pumps to fully lift a bike. After trying a few different options, I’ve settled on Feedback’s Pneuma CC as my favorite pump to use with this stand. The Pneuma CC’s mid-sized booster chamber is quick to fill, and it lifts most bikes in one shot (and sometimes a couple of supplemental pumps).
I’ve used the Pro Air Lift with all kinds of bikes, including a 54-pound Turbo Levo 4 EVO eMTB, my 76-pound Rad Power RadRunner Max, and my wife’s 70+ pound Radster Road e-commuter. It’s not that I can’t lift any of these bikes up into the clamp jaws of a repair stand, but it’s so much easier with this stand. Holding a 54- or 70- pound bike in one hand while clamping it in a stand with the other is quite challenging, after all.
In fact, until now, I’ve generally avoided maintaining either of my Rad Power bikes because it’s such a pain in the butt (back, wrist, etc.). Now, it’s super easy to get them in the stand, and when adjusted properly, it’s super stable in use, even when working on the aforementioned 76-pound bike. This thing is rock solid.
Lowering the bike is as simple as loosening the knob securing the upper tube and pressing the pressure relief valve/pedal on the tripod leg. In my experience, it lowers in a relatively controlled manner until it reaches the minimum height again. It’s also worth noting that even when adjusting the clamp arm height manually, you still need to press the pressure relief valve to fully compress the upper tube.
Portability and Storage
Similar to the Pro HD stand, the Pro Air Lift is a bit larger and heavier than the rest of the Feedback lineup. That said, it still folds down to a reasonable size that’s frankly not all that much bigger than the Sport Mechanic 2.0 or Pro Mechanic models. In its folded position, it takes up very little room in your home workshop, and it’s easy to stick in the trunk of your car or fit in the camper van for a weekend outing. And at 19.2 pounds, I can pick it up with one hand and move it around quite easily.
While its ability to not only handle heavyweight bikes but lift them up for you is arguably this stand’s best feature, I’m honestly really impressed that Feedback was able to make it so portable. This way, it’s not just a permanent fixture in your home workshop; you can take it with you on the road, too. That’s definitely not something you can do with most (any?) other stands with a lift feature.
My Takeaway
Feedback Sports’ Pro Air Lift repair stand occupies a unique space in the market. Its ability to work with any bike up to 100 pounds and raise them to working height with its pneumatic lift chamber is impressive on its own. The fact that it weighs less than 20 pounds and folds into a compact size for storage and transport means that it’s useful in the home workshop and on the road. If you work on heavy bikes, this repair stand can potentially save your back and do the heavy lifting for you wherever you are.
Like every other Feeback repair stand I’ve used, the Pro Air Lift has a thoughtful design and user-friendly features that make it intuitive and easy to use. It’s well built, impressively sturdy and stable, even with 70+ pound bikes clamped in the jaws. And it works just as well as a regular work stand for my ever-changing rotation of non-electric gravel and mountain bikes, too. That said, if you don’t have or work on heavy bikes, it will probably be overkill.
At $725, the Pro Air Lift is certainly an investment, but it’s very competitively priced among lift-assist stands, the majority of which aren’t portable and require electricity to operate, too. It’s a repair stand quiver-of-one that can truly handle any bike in your fleet at home or when traveling. After a couple of months of frequent use, I can confidently say that it feels bombproof, and I imagine it will be serving me well for many years to come. I’m a huge fan. Check it out at: feedbacksports.com