Color me impressed. I have very little space, the garage is tiny, converted from a carport with a not quite 9' ceiling. Wife wanted geezer bikes, but I didn't want to put them in the crawl space. No fancy 11' garage ceilings like the rich folks have. As you can see, I hung them over the bed of my tiny old pickup. Perfect fit.
There are what, maybe four or five knockoff bke hoists on Amazon. This was the only one offering a package of a pair, and at a fair amount less than the other brands. On the Amazon postings they looked virtually identical except for the ceiling plate.
Came very nicely packaged. Some reviews whined, but I very much liked the fit and finish of the pieces. The pulley material ought hold up for a long time even in the heat of summer. The ONLY thing I noticed was that the pulleys needed to be aligned a bit and their nuts tightened a bit, and I ended up noticing a strand on one of the cords torn. Wrapped the spot (toward the pulling end so it doesn't go through a pulley). I think I'll follow another reviewer's choice and replace the cords with paracord.
The directions suggest going through the trouble to mount the ceiling plates to another board, but for the life of me I don't see the need as long as you have a stud finder and can center your bolts (purchased separately) into the ceiling joists. I used only 3/8" x 2" hex head lag bolts and small fender washers through the three available center holes in each plate rather than bothering with the (useless without another board) perimeter holes and smaller screws. The lag bolts should suffice just fine for 30 or so pound bikes unless you plan on letting your kid sit on one while you're hoisting it. If you're going to hoist your kid move up to 1/4" x 2.5" - those should fit through the holes. DO use some proper size fender washers to spread the load across the ceiling plate. Snug them but don't crush the ceiling plate out of square. I did use four of he included screws to hold the two cleats to the wall.
One reviewer replaced the hooks with paracord and caribeners, which I found unnecessary AS LONG AS you mount the ceiling plates so that the hooks hang exactly as instructed. I tried to knock a bike off the hooks pretty energetically with no success. Another reviewer mounted the plates to hook to the wheels rather than the bars and seat - If you've got even more limited space than I did, that looked like a great idea so you can pull the bikes all the way to the ceiling.
All in all, I'm really pleased with the design and quality of the hoists, especially for the price. Raising and lowering the bikes is a breeze. The cord lock (to keep a bike from falling on your head) works flawlessly during both going up and down.
Addendum - I know hardly anybody will read this, but I just noticed another review by a guy who actually had somebody else put it up, and was worried about the durability of the pulley axles (!!!!!!!) so he wasn't going to use it. Wow. Okay, the physics is REALLY simple. The company advertises a hundred pound capacity. Even a fat old beach bike can't weigh much over, say, 40 pounds. So that's 10 pounds each on the four fulcra (anchors and pulleys) on the ceiling plate, and 20 each on the two hooks. Would I hang a motorcycle on it? No. But this thing is WAY more than strong enough to hold a standard issue 25-30 pound bycycle, Mine are cheap bikes, but I'd hang a $3000 racer up there without a second thought.
| Material | Alloy Steel, Polypropylene |
|---|---|
| Color | Black |
| Special Feature | Holder |
| Product Dimensions | 6"D x 12"W x 9"H |
| Shelf Type | Floating Shelf |
| Number of Shelves | 1 |
| Room Type | Garage |
| Finish Type | Polished |
| Assembly Required | Yes |
| Mounting Type | Ceiling Mount |
| Recommended Uses For Product | Sporting Goods |
| Included Components | Mounting Hardware |
| Brand | RAD Cycle Products |
| Style | 1-pack |
| Shelf Weight Capacity | 100 Pounds |
| Item Package Dimensions L x W x H | 10.31 x 5.16 x 4.61 inches |
| Package Weight | 1.79 Kilograms |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 6 x 12 x 9 inches |
| Brand Name | RAD Cycle Products |
| Country of Origin | United States |
| Model Name | Bike Hoist – Overhead Pulley System with 100 lb Capacity for Bicycle or Ladder – Secure Garage Ceiling Storage by Rad Cycle |
| Suggested Users | unisex-adult |
| Number of Items | 1 |
| Manufacturer | TRAUV |
| Part Number | 2005 RAD Bike Hoist |
| Size | 2005 |
