Kickstands. Yes or no?

[KathiCville]

I have kickstands on both my road bike and my errand bike. (But not on my MTB.) Love 'em! My serious-cyclist boyfriend rolls his eyes, cringes and fusses at me, but I don't care. He's not the one who has to find places to prop up the bikes to inflate the tires or fill panniers so they balance. I also remind him that there are, oh, slightly more pressing issues these days than fretting over how fred my bikes look!

[OakLeaf]

I have one that came on my commuter and I may as well take it off, because the bike tips over whenever I put it on the stand. It can't have any load in the panniers and it can't be parked on a slope, or over it goes.

A kickstand would probably actually work better on a road bike (no panniers to throw the balance off, and drop bars with plenty of steering lock so the bars don't turn 180 degrees whenever you park on a slope). But (beyond being uncool) what's the point? You lean it up against something, your saddle and brake hood get a little dirty, you wash your bike. If you're in a position where you need to lock it to a signpost, well, usually a kickstand doesn't help with that anyhow; just carry a bit of scrap fabric to protect your frame.

[Tri Girl]

I have one on my touring/commuting/errand bike. My DH thinks I'm dorky, but I don't care. I also have a really expensive TT bike that I'm threatening putting a kickstand on because I'm tired of leaning it against things and scratching the paint (but I won't because I don't want to look even more dorky among my tri peers).
Put it on your bike. The weight won't make a difference, and the ease of having a way for it to stay up on it's own will be more than worth it. Bicycle dorks unite!

[fastdogs]

I have a kickstand on my hybrid; I had one put on when I bought it. That one broke, so I bought another one- this one is even adjustable!! My mountain bike does't have a place where one can go, so it doesn't have one. I still have the reflectors on all my wheels, and that plastic disk thing too. If I ride at night, I am considering duct taping a flashlight to my mtb handlebars to supplement the home depot headlight.
vickie

[Bluetree]

My commuter/errand bike: Yup, love it.

My road bikes: Never. Blasphemy!

[kfergos]

I'd say it's totally up to you. I don't have one and don't miss it, and it's true that some people look at it as being uncool. But who cares? If a kickstand on your bike will get you out there more often, or make you feel more comfortable about your bike, go for it.

[singletrackmind]

No kickstands on a mountain bike if you're riding it off road/curbs/etc. See Kjay's post.

Anything else it's up to you. I've no personal experience with them but what about one of those downtube dealies that flip down and hold the front wheel straight. You still have to lean it but it's less likely to walk off on its own. It's not a super obvious or made of metal thing, either.

As for myself, no kickstands on any of my bikes.

[Tuckervill]

I put a kickstand on my touring bike, and I love the stupid thing! It's as handy as a pocket! I do like to be able to stand my bike up anywhere. This bike lives on the front porch, so the kickstand is great for making it go wherever I want on the porch. My road and mtb, neither have kickstands, but if I were riding my road bike like I ride my tourer, I wouldn't hesitate. I wouldn't want one on the mtb because it might get caught in something on the trail. Plus, I just throw that thing down whenever I need to. After the first scratch from a fall, I didn't care that much for the paint to be scratched--it doesn't have time for looking pretty!

Get that dang kickstand if that's what you want. Don't discuss it with him, just do it.

Karen