RAD Sportz Bicycle Hoist

We researched a lot of similar products via online reviews, settling on this one as having the greatest likelihood of highest quality / best price and WE ARE VERY PLEASED.Here are some key things we'd like you to know:1. It takes some time to get these things mounted right, so just plan on it... you need to string the rope through the 4 pieces and pulleys just so, mount them on joists just so, and ensure the distance between the two pieces is just right for your bike. We recommend at least two people, chips and salsa, and perhaps a coors light ;)2. You can mount several bikes fairly close together if you offset the handlebars a bit forward and back among the mounts so that the handlebars never "share the same space." We bought 5 of these bike hoists and mounted them to run parallel to the joists spaced at 24" for mounting 5 bikes, one bike on each of five different joists mounted side-by-side. We bought long screws from the hardware store to replace those included in the package so we could securely screw through the drywall and further into the wood joists. We'd recommend including this hardware store errand in your time estimates for installation.3. It is important that the BACK tire go toward the wall where the rope coming out of the brake will be cleated. The whole rope and braking mechanism works so well this way ... if you put the handlebars on the wall side like the picture for this product, then the handlebars block you moving the rope to operate the brake (trust, trust, trust me on this). If you put the back tire to the wall, the rope moves freely :) By the way, the braking mechanism in the pulley seems so sturdy you might choose not to mount/use the cleat, but it does feel safer to us to use it.4. The distance between the ceiling and the bike will not be related to how far up the handlebars or the seat stick up ... it will be the length of the hardware above where it hooks on -- this may be important to you if you are mounting above a car and top-to-bottom distance matters. We mounted three of our bikes above a mini-van roof (the other two in front) and it was important to choose the lower profile bikes as not all of the bikes would have fit directly above the van. The "first bike" in line (at the front of the van) can be raised and lowered while the van is parked in the garage so that's a great location for whichever bike you'll be riding most frequently *or* for the bike of a kid not old enough to move the car in order to get his/her own bike down ;)5. On arrival, the instructions said the mounts would hold 100 pounds (which is more than we had read here online). Our tandem bike fully equipped is just under 50 pounds and seems very secure and happy.6. These are designed for the top rounded section of the lower hook assembly to fit into the rounded-out section of the ceiling mounted pulleys. The hook assembly will only fit into the ceiling assembly if the two pieces mounted on the ceiling are spaced EXACTLY to fit the specific bike where the hooks will grab the seat and handlebars. You'll be much more pleased if you take the time to get this spacing right (you can tell by letting the hooks hang down while you are choosing the mounting position ~ gravity will allow the ropes to work as a plumb line :)7. Our thoughts relative to the complaints you might read about this product ... A. The rope has been fine, no fraying or other problems. B. The "hook" ends could be hook-ier without a doubt, although we've not encountered any problems with them (perhaps because we don't live in earthquake zones and we don't move with great haste :) C. Sometimes the front or back of the bike will raise or lower faster than the other end -- when this happens we simply grab the lowest tire and give it a boost up to level it which happens quickly and then it stays level for the rest of the up or down operation so it's never been a big concern. D. We mounted each bike directly into one joist (i.e., parallel/directly below one joist and not perpendicular between two joists) thus there was no need / benefit of mounting the brackets to a 2x4 first and then mounting the 2x4 to the ceiling -- we just mounted straight into the ceiling.8. If you are going to cut the rope shorter, only do so when the bike is in the down position ... once the bike is lowered, this cool contraption uses a lot of rope!9. Everyone in the family can operate these hoists easily -- they are so much safer and usable than the stationary hooks we used to have that involved lifting heavy bikes on and off. Also, if you leave the kickstand down as you put your bike up, then when you lower the bike on the pulley later, it will land ready to go :)10. An unexpected benefit (beyond the extra garage space which we were hoping for) has been that all of us ride our bikes much more often than we used to. Putting the bikes up and getting them down is so easy that it has brought back a lot of frequency and joy to our bike riding experience.July 2014 Continuing Update ~ Still using them and still loving them :)Bon Appetit!

As some other reviews have noted, the install can be a bit tricky. I decided to mount the pulleys to a 2x4 sitting on top the rafters in my garage because I wanted to get the bike as far above the floor as possible. This also made the installation easier because I was able to get the pulleys positioned and screwed to the 2x4 while I was standing on the floor instead of trying to do it while up on a ladder.First I measured the bike to gauge the approximate distance the pulleys should be from one another. Then, I taped the pulleys to the board using strong gorilla tape. Next I suspended the board at about eye level between a ladder and a shelf in my garage, threaded the rope through the pulleys, and attached the hooks to my bike and gave it a try at ground level more or less. (Had the tape not held the pulley brackets in place for the test I would have used some small screws as temporary holders but the tape actually held it fine so I didn't need to do that.) Once I confirmed that the bracket placement was correct, I attached the pulley brackets to the 2x4's using the screws provided. Others have noted the screw quality it not very good. I think that's correct, but by drilling the proper size pilot hole I didn't have any trouble with them. Next, with the brackets attached to the 2x4, before I got up on the ladder and finagled the two before into place above the rafters. Once in the position I wanted, I drilled a 1-in hole through the rafter in between the brackets so that the line could pass through without any friction. See picture of this as well. During the first two initial tests my bike fell. My seat doesn't have a lip on the back of it and the hooks just slid off, allowing the bike to fall. I used a vice and a heavy mallet to bend the metal on the ends of the hooks so they would not be as likely to slip off the handlebars or the seat. I ultimately decided to use the hooks grabbing the seat rotated 180° from what is recommended so that they grab the seat from the front. See the picture I posted. With those modifications it works fine and doesn't seem likely to slip off. Some have noted that it lifts the bike unevenly. That is true. I lift the bike most of the way up, then pull down on the end of the bike that is higher, and then finish raising it the rest of the way. The total install took me about 2 hours, but it was worth it. Space is at a premium in my garage, and I don't have any wall space left to mount a bike, so this product was the perfect solution and I'm glad I bought it. I would highly recommend it just be aware you need to allow time to adapt it to your specific situation.