The invisible helper: Shadowstand for perfect bike photos

3-2-1 click! This is the sound used to create a product picture of a bicycle, as was common practice at TOUR for decades. A helper fixes the bike with his hands on the handlebars, the photographer counts down, the helper briefly pulls his hands away, the photographer releases the shutter and the helper catches the tilting bike again. Quite a lot of manpower for such a simple photo. Especially if the picture is to be staged somewhere stylish on a country road.

Is there no stand for it?

Sure, there are all sorts of bike racks that make the helper superfluous - but then the bike rack has to be retouched out of the picture afterwards, more or less laboriously. Time and effort again!

Until a few days ago, the TOUR photo editor's rucksack contained a stick for this very purpose, until he came across a ...

Plexiglass photo bike stand

... has come across.

This simple yet ingenious solution is called the Shadowstand! A simple sheet of Plexiglas that is clamped under the bottom bracket or the pedal axle, depending on the version. The stand is a trapezoidal piece of Plexiglas, the ribbed, wide side of which stands on the ground.

The wide base provides stability and also slightly prevents the bike from rolling sideways. The opposite, shorter side is notched in a circular pattern and therefore moulds itself to the bottom bracket or pedal axle.

Depending on the lighting situation and aperture, the transparent stand may or may not be visible in the photo. Ingenious! And if you want, you can still count down in the good old fashioned way before releasing the shutter...

• Reference: https://shadowstand.com/
• Price: 25 EUR (bottom bracket version), 19 to 22.80 EUR (pedal axle version, depending on size)

Want more photos of fast bikes? Have a look in our liveblog from the Tour de France over. There are plenty of exclusive insights.