Racor - PBH-1R, Bike Storage, Garage Pulley Lift

I originally bought one since I was skeptical if this would be strong enough for my 29er. This fits my road bike, 29er and hybrid.

I cant compare this to other similar bike lifts since Ive never tried any others. But this does seem to be fairly well made and does the job well. Im so happy to get the bike out of the way in the garage. Some reviewers complained about the quality of the rope but I think its fine. I also really like the safety mechanism which automatically grabs the rope to stop the bike from falling on its own. The bike can only be lowered if the rope is held and pulled in a specific way, which is a great safety feature. A couple of notes about installing: (1) The pilot hole size recommended in the instructions is too small. Instructions call for a 1/8 pilot hole into the wood stud. When I drilled the holes this size, I could not screw the screws in. In fact I twisted the head right off one of the screws trying. So I had to go up a couple of drill bit sizes to get a pilot hole that was snug but in which the screw would actually fit. (2) You cannot install this in a sheetrocked garage unless you have a proper stud finder. You absolutely need to screw into studs or this will not be safe. Installation took me about an hour including carefully planning the location of the lift, finding the studs, drilling new holes after I twisted the head off a screw, etc.

This is how they would look, hanging down from the ceiling of your garage. The double pulley system gives you enough mechanical advantage - a child could pull it up. The child, however, cannot install the pulley itself. For that, you need a step ladder and a screwdriver. The most time I took was in divining the joist structure of my builder grade monstrosity. The actual installation was completely painless.

This helped us get the garage organized. It is so easy to get the bike on and off the device.

I purchased 3 of these based on reviews I read on-line for my mountain bike, road bike, and wifes bike w/ infant seat. I have 14 ceilings in the garage so clearance wasnt an issue, and the rope is more than long enough. The hardest part was finding where to mount on the joists (mine alternate between steel and wood, so make sure youre stud finder detects metal!). It took about 30 minutes to install each system, and its so simple to use. Im really pleased.

As expected. Works well.

I was worried I would hate this. Ceiling mounted? I have a three car garage and with my parents moving in, we have three cars: mine, wife, parents...(and my dads motorcycle). Add in the bikes, the lawnmower, garbage, recycling, tools, tablesaw, blah blah blah - sheesh! a three car garage that is built to be extra wide and deep is full! The bikes were always in the way, it was a problem. I started looking at a solution to get the bikes off the ground and out of the aisle. In winter we dont ride them, lets say 4 months of use in the upper Midwest. So when I discovered the ceiling mount I thought, well, for less than $20 a pop, I can hang four bikes and its less than most bike racks that go on a wall. I admit I got them from a different box store so I can do it asap. Finding the rafters was a problem until I sent my wife to the store for a 9v for my studfinder. Then it got easy. Aside from a tangled ball of string, once you do one, the rest are easy. The most time was finding all the tools needed and setting up the ladders. My ceiling here is 14 feet tall. So it was mounted at the top. I measured from the wall and the peak to get them approximately even. I used a set 30 inch distance between hangers for all the bikes even though one is a child bike. The installation did not include anything difficult unless you are scared of heights or dont have the tools or a ladder. If you have all that its fine. I set up two tall ladders and just stayed up there while my father put the hooks together and handed me each of the mounts. I measured, predrilled and lag-screwed them in. I tied them off to the existing 2x shelving I built earlier. I asked my wife to come over and lift/lower her bike - which she was able to do relatively easily. The cord will auto-catch if one lets go. I used the butterfly anchors provided and everything worked as advertised. I mounted them off to an angle so there are two that secure to the left and two to the right, of a 8 foot wide shelf with supports to either side. The angled position of the cord does not affect the security of the bikes. Now I have them up and out of the way. Its great. I do need to back my parents car out of the third bay to get the bikes down, but thats not a big deal at all. I can just pull the car out of the garage and leave it outside for an hour until we return. Overall Im glad I did this instead of a wall mounted rack. It was more time-consuming to install - requiring more tools and two tall ladders (for me since my 3rd bay is 14 feet tall) but I like it a lot better.

Id seen this advertised in other places, but Amazon had the best price by far. It was pretty easy to install, though the instructions were not great. The only problem I had was with figuring out how to thread the cord through the latching mechanism, but I finally got it right. Others have complained about the cord being frayed, but I did not have that problem. The cord I received was in excellent condition. It does a very nice job of providing smooth access to my bike without taking up floor space in my garage.

Great system. I have two of these hiding bikes in my condo. I made plywood plaques because where I wanted them fell between joists. They function perfectly.

Highly recommend for anyone with limited space. I installed it easily despite not being a handyman. It holds bike securely and frees up space on my floor.