RAD Cycle Products Ceiling Mount Bike Hoist
by RAD Cycle Products
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List Price: Our Price: $12.94 You Save: $42.01 (76%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Category: Tools See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of RAD Cycle Products Ceiling Mount Bike Hoist
Customer Review: Works great, almost identical to the more expensive version!
Summary: 5 Stars
This bike lift is almost identical to the more expensive Racor list. We purchased a Racor first, then three of these. The only difference is slightly cheaper rope, and different pulleys. For the price, I'm happy that I went with this one.
Review from my Racor purchase (applies to all of them):
We purchased four lifts (three of this brand, one Racor) for our garage and are happy with them. We were able to position each bike about 16" apart and have no trouble getting any bike up or down.
I have several hints from our installation, and one complaints, but on the whole am very satisfied:
Positive:
* Works smoothly
* Clever, simple system
* Locking mechanism for rope is nice
* Installation is straightforward
Negative:
* Hooks need a safety strap, depending on where you attach them
Hints:
* I attached the hooks to a lower location on each bike to have the bike lifted all the way to the ceiling. This gives me enough room to stand beneath the bikes without bending my head.
* I used some of the extra rope, after cutting to an appropriate length, for safety straps for the hooks. Depending on where the hooks attach, they may not have enough bite to fully trust -- easy way to prevent potential injury (see an earlier post on earthquakes!!)
* I don't recommend using the supplied bracket for excess rope. I just coiled the rope and hung it from one of the quick-release levers on the bike. Works great, and keeps the ropes from getting tangled.
On the whole, I'm happy with our purchase. Almost identical to the Racor lift here Racor Ceiling Mounted Bike Lift #PBH-1R and a significant savings that adds up if you're buying several.
UPDATE: January 20, 2010
After living with these hoists for a while, I have mixed emotions:
* Hooks do not have a deep/aggressive enough curve, resulting in a less than optimal hold depending on what part of the bike you're trying to hold.
* Some sort of safety strap is necessary on each hook, partly due to the shape of the hook.. I dropped a bike several times due to the hook not holding reliably, a strap would have at least made this less painful.
* While the hoist makes the bikes easier to raise and lower (minus the hook issues), it is not able to get the bikes as high as simple bike hooks mounted in the same location
Given the lack of trust in the hold provided by the hooks plus the few inches of lost clearance that make a difference in our garage (though our mounting situation may be lower than yours) I've gone back to good old bike hooks to store our bikes.
Customer Review: Works well
Summary: 5 Stars
Bike hoist is quite simple to install and looks quite sturdy when used within the specs
Just a couple observations during installation.
The ceiling brackets are to be mounted on a 2 by 4 or a similar width board on the ceiling first.
This is because the standard width of a ceiling joist is not wide enough to accomodate the bracket width.
Measure multiple times and only then drill holes.
Do not take short cuts...if you think that the joists are always parallel to the wall edge, you are wrong ... I tried to use the wall as reference and boy was I wrong ... (you can tell why I did not make a video review here ...;)).
.... use the stud finder for each screw for the boards.
Make sure to account for clearance in the front and back of the bicycle as well - I mounted 3 of these mounts for 3 bikes and it could have been a disaster had I not accounted for the clearance !
All in all, it is a great product and frees up valuable floor space in your garage.
Good Luck
Customer Review: Great Deal
Summary: 5 Stars
The product worked as advertised. You may connect it in parallel directly to the joist, but will need a 2x4 piece of wood if you desire to connect it perpendicular to the beams. The brake works very well - if you suddenly let go of the rope, it immediately stops. I recommend threading the rope through each stage (there are 4 sections) before mounting to the ceiling.
One thing that you should know is that it is not really possible to get your bike all the way to the ceiling. I tried placing the clips in different places (i.e. wheels, bar, etc.), but then the balance of the system was lost and it became difficult to raise uniformly. So, be aware if your overhead is tight. You should add about 6-10 inches onto the height of your bike to determine how low it will hang.
There were a lot of higher priced alternatives, but this one worked fine. I started with 2, but will be purchasing more in the future. I highly recommend this product.
Customer Review: worth the money
Summary: 5 Stars
One thing that you should know is that it is not really possible to get your bike all the way to the ceiling. I tried placing the clips in different places (i.e. wheels, bar, etc.), but then the balance of the system was lost and it became difficult to raise uniformly. So, be aware if your overhead is tight. You should add about 6-10 inches onto the height of your bike to determine how low it will hang. There were a lot of higher priced alternatives, but this one worked fine. I started with 2, but will be purchasing more in the future. I highly recommend this product. The product worked as advertised. You may connect it in parallel directly to the joist, but will need a 2x4 piece of wood if you desire to connect it perpendicular to the beams. The brake works very well - if you suddenly let go of the rope, it immediately stops. I recommend threading the rope through each stage (there are 4 sections) before mounting to the ceiling.
Customer Review: Good product, good price, is exactly what I needed
Summary: 5 Stars
The product was exactly what I needed. Purchased three of the same to lift bikes out of the way. Better price then local stores. I have 12' ceilings in my garage and so these get the bike's completely out of the way. After measuring and finding stud's, I determined the best mounting would be to put a 1 x 4 against the ceiling sheet rock. This made it very easy to measure and attach the lift system to the board on the ground first, then I mounted the board the the ceiling. I'm guessing it took me about 30 minutes to do the first one and then about 15 minutes each for the others. The long cord worked out great for me, I didn't need to trim anything.
The pulley system isn't a fast lifting system. I take my time lifting it up and down but it requires little effort. It's clean, easy to use and the right price. Well worth it.