Kickstand Plate Replacement

[Drew Freeman]

Hi All, 

I have this 2009 Waterford Atlantis but the kickstand plate is corroded and cracked in two places:

I would like to have it fixed, if possible. I chatted with a local frame builder who recommended I find a replacement piece entirely but noted it would be difficult. I was expecting someone to be able to fabricate such a part. Two questions: 

1) is this safe to ride? Can't think of a reason it would not be, but I don't think that much...

2) Is this something that could be repaired as is? Maybe contacting Rivendell directly would be helpful?

This is my first time dealing with such an issue, so I appreciate any insight!

Tailwinds, 

DF

[Drew Freeman]

edit: I believe this got solved on Reddit. Thanks!

[J J]

Hi Drew. The kickstand plate is not really providing any structural support to the frame — many Rivendell models didn’t even have them — so the bike is completely safe to ride.

It’s actually fairly common for these plates to crack, peel away from, or shear off the chainstays on Rivendells. It happened on one of mine as well. Will at Riv told me it was nothing to worry about structurally. Riv later reinforced the design of these plates, which made them less prone to cracking or separating.

That said, it is unsightly, and you don’t want corrosion to deepen over time. I would either:

1. Treat the rust with a rust converter to stabilize it and create a protective surface that could then be painted, or
2. Carefully cut the plate off as close to the stays as possible using a Dremel or similar cutting tool and then treat the cut surface with paint, clear nail polish, or some clear coat. Hire the frame builder to do this if you're not comfortable.

Both of these options are much easier and less expensive than fabricating and affixing a new plate.

If you normally run a kickstand, I’d recommend using one of the chainstay “sandwich” style mounting sets that Riv sells instead. If you leave the existing plate in place after treating it with rust converter, the mounting bolt would simply pass through the hole, bypassing the plate itself as the kickstand support.

Jim

 

[Patrick Moore]

Agree that the plate is not structurally significant.

Perhaps an alternative: I’ve read more than a few threads on this list about kickstand plates breaking, or kickstand clamps denting stays. 

I’ve never used a kickstand when touring (because I’ve never bike toured) but I’ve used central 2-leg, central 1-leg, and left dropout mount stands extensively for carrying heavy rear grocery loads, and after trying 2 or 3 hot-choice 2-leg stands — expensive ones; I forget who made them, but one had particularly wide legs when extended) I ended up with a cheap Greenfield left rear dropout stand that actually worked better with heavy (20+ lb per side) rear loads, especially if the load was assymetric. (And, with a fixed gear errand runner, you could wheel the bike thru the store with the stand down, ready to prop it up as you reached for things on the top shelves.)

Centrally mounted 1-leg stands are useless, IME, unless the ground is perfectly flat and paved over.

I personally don’t use kickstands andy more, but if I were to add one I’d use a chainstay mount stand.

I’m curious what others think of chainstay mount stands …?

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[CMR]

I like rear mounted stands a lot. They are heavier from my experience but being able to move around without worrying about the crankset hitting the kickstand is a nice touch for the bike parking at work.

[Andrew Letton]

The plate on my 2009 Bombadil is (not surprisingly) thin metal like yours, and I ended up removing the kickstand, because I didn't like how much it flexed the plate.

Some years later, I bought a couple of kickstand plates from Rivendell to have put on other frames, and the newer ones were made from material roughly twice as thick and much more confidence inspiring.

If you go the route of replacing it, a new one from Riv will likely solve the problem...and outlast the frame.

cheers,

Andrew in Sydney

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[Jay K]

Ahh, that stinks, but is probably not the end of the world. Usually rust just occurs at the surface, and can only over time eat through metal as the iron oxide layers progressively flake off.

1) I don't see any obvious cracking from when I looked at the photo. I think it would be worth taking some sandpaper to the rust and see if it extends into the metal or if there is actual cracks. If the rust is only at the surface, I think the cheap and easy solution would be to remove the rust with some sandpaper, and spray that area with some rust-converting primer to protect the bare metal.

2) It's probably fine to ride. The kickstand braze isn't a structural support. The majority of the strength will come from the the lugged bottom bracket and the triangulation between the seat tube/seat stay. If anything, the kickstand plate will add some bracing.

Note on the local frame builder's response: Also, I don't understand why this would be a difficult repair, you'd just need to strip the paint in that area, angle grind or braze/melt off the existing kickstand plate, and braze on a new kickstand plate. A replacement stand plate braze on is all of $2.20 from framebuilder's supply.

On Monday, May 25, 2026 at 11:37:46 AM UTC-4 frewd...@gmail.com wrote:

[Ron Mc]

As long as we're talking about rust, I'm  metallurist, licensed P.E., and corrosion engineer.  

If road salt is involved in the rust, residual ferric chloride in the rust is 100 timex more corrosive than the salt that caused it. 

I would grind out the K/S plate to bright metal and paint the bright metal, or the chainstays will be at risk.