Top positive review
861 people found this helpful
Here are some helpful suggestions as you mount this great product...
By Vanilla Bean on Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2008
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!
Top critical review
40 people found this helpful
Good, but latest version not as well made as previous
By Fletch on Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2021
We have a tall one car garage. We also have 4 bicycles with nowhere to go. In 2008, I bought a set of four of these Rad Sportz bike lifts and they worked well for over a decade. Unfortunately age and likely the fact that there are gas fumes in the garage from cars, lawn mowers, etc., meant the plastic wheels used for the pulleys started to disintegrate.Without hesitation, I ordered a new set of four. Not surprisingly, 13 years later on, the design has been tweaked. Unfortunately, the tweaks, to my mind are not improvements.Before going into details about the changes, I need to say that I still think these work well and I have no reservations in recommending them. Functionality is the same and after using these for 13 years I think I can say that they are reliable. Probably the one negative that applied to both my originals and definitely the new ones is that when you have the bikes in their ceiling storage position, you have about 30 feet of rope to deal with. Otherwise, these are simple and effective.The rest of this review is for those who, like me, are replacing an existing set of these lifts. I've included some pics to illustrate the differences between the ones I had originally and the new set.What's the same between old and new: mounting brackets and the metal parts of the pulleys. No visible changes.What's different:1. Hooks. The old hooks have a longer rubber boot and the hook is slightly more curved than the new. The new hooks seem like they would not hold the handlebars/seat quite as well. It's not a big difference, but it is different. Also, the old hooks used screws/nuts for the pivoting parts of the hook. The new ones use rivets. With the screws/nuts, I could adjust and tighten the pivoting part where the rivets can't be tightened. Again, not a big change, but still not as good. For the record, I used the old hooks.2. Rollers. The new pulley rollers are noticeably narrower than the old. There is less of a "slot" for the rope in the new ones and I've already had the rope jump the off the roller.3. Rope and cleats. The new rope is much thicker than the old. However, in this case, thicker does not mean better/stronger. The new weave is much looser and takes up more space when wrapped around the cleat. Also, the new cleats are a little smaller and therefore won't hold as much rope. As mentioned in the beginning of the review, you are going to have as much as 30 feet off rope to wrap around the cleat when the lifts are at the fully up position. The thicker rope and smaller cleat make this more difficult. I used the old rope and old cleats (pic shows just how much rope it is). And, for the record, you do need all of that rope if you have a tall ceiling in your garage.4. Mounting hardware. The screws used to mount the brackets to your garage ceiling are quite a bit smaller. I am not necessarily worried they are too small, but they were definitely not as thick or as long. Old screws were about a #10 and the old screws are about a #8 (don't hold me to the exact size) and are quite a bit shorter, too. I ended up using #12 screws because I wanted to reuse the existing holes.Overall, if you were not replacing an existing setup, you would not think twice about the design. It's only because I was comparing them as I replaced my original set that I noticed. The new ones do work well. About the only reall pain would be the thick rope/smaller cleats.
Sort by:
Filter by:
Here are some helpful suggestions as you mount this great product...
By Vanilla Bean - Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2008
Verified Amazon Purchase
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!
Going Strong even after 11 Years in Toolbox Exile
By TBLong - Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2025
Verified Amazon Purchase
I bought these bike hanging pulleys way back in 2014, probably during a burst of "I'm gonna organize the garage this weekend!" optimism. Naturally, they sat untouched in a toolbox drawer for almost 11 years, nestled between some old paintbrushes and my dreams of entering the Tour de France.Fast forward to 2025. I finally decided to give my garage the makeover it so desperately deserved. I dug these pulleys out like an archaeologist uncovering ancient treasure. The instructions? Long gone—probably reincarnated as paper mache by now. But honestly, who needs instructions when installation is this simple?Despite the decade-long nap, these bad boys worked flawlessly. I mounted them to my ceiling joists using just a ladder, a drill, and a couple of choice words. The rubber-coated hooks cradled my bikes like a newborn baby, and the safety lock gave me peace of mind that it wouldn’t come crashing down during a midnight snack run.The best part? With my bike now floating majestically near the ceiling, I suddenly have floor space I forgot existed. I almost threw a dance party under it. These pulleys survived a decade in garage exile and still installed without a hitch. They're strong, safe, and make me feel like a garage MacGyver. Worth every penny—even 11 years later.
Good product, but some adjustment required
By Rick - Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2025
Verified Amazon Purchase
The hoist system was good, but expect to make some adjustments.Many had problems with the hooks and I agree. I adjusted the bike hooks by bending them up a little. I guess that they were giving about 25 degrees of bend.The screws that come with the kit were not very good also. The head broke on one of them, so I used better screws.Other than that, the system worked well. It pulled both bikes up with no problem and they went up with no problem.
Well designed
By Amazon Customer - Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2022
Verified Amazon Purchase
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.
Good, but latest version not as well made as previous
By Fletch - Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2021
Verified Amazon Purchase
We have a tall one car garage. We also have 4 bicycles with nowhere to go. In 2008, I bought a set of four of these Rad Sportz bike lifts and they worked well for over a decade. Unfortunately age and likely the fact that there are gas fumes in the garage from cars, lawn mowers, etc., meant the plastic wheels used for the pulleys started to disintegrate.Without hesitation, I ordered a new set of four. Not surprisingly, 13 years later on, the design has been tweaked. Unfortunately, the tweaks, to my mind are not improvements.Before going into details about the changes, I need to say that I still think these work well and I have no reservations in recommending them. Functionality is the same and after using these for 13 years I think I can say that they are reliable. Probably the one negative that applied to both my originals and definitely the new ones is that when you have the bikes in their ceiling storage position, you have about 30 feet of rope to deal with. Otherwise, these are simple and effective.The rest of this review is for those who, like me, are replacing an existing set of these lifts. I've included some pics to illustrate the differences between the ones I had originally and the new set.What's the same between old and new: mounting brackets and the metal parts of the pulleys. No visible changes.What's different:1. Hooks. The old hooks have a longer rubber boot and the hook is slightly more curved than the new. The new hooks seem like they would not hold the handlebars/seat quite as well. It's not a big difference, but it is different. Also, the old hooks used screws/nuts for the pivoting parts of the hook. The new ones use rivets. With the screws/nuts, I could adjust and tighten the pivoting part where the rivets can't be tightened. Again, not a big change, but still not as good. For the record, I used the old hooks.2. Rollers. The new pulley rollers are noticeably narrower than the old. There is less of a "slot" for the rope in the new ones and I've already had the rope jump the off the roller.3. Rope and cleats. The new rope is much thicker than the old. However, in this case, thicker does not mean better/stronger. The new weave is much looser and takes up more space when wrapped around the cleat. Also, the new cleats are a little smaller and therefore won't hold as much rope. As mentioned in the beginning of the review, you are going to have as much as 30 feet off rope to wrap around the cleat when the lifts are at the fully up position. The thicker rope and smaller cleat make this more difficult. I used the old rope and old cleats (pic shows just how much rope it is). And, for the record, you do need all of that rope if you have a tall ceiling in your garage.4. Mounting hardware. The screws used to mount the brackets to your garage ceiling are quite a bit smaller. I am not necessarily worried they are too small, but they were definitely not as thick or as long. Old screws were about a #10 and the old screws are about a #8 (don't hold me to the exact size) and are quite a bit shorter, too. I ended up using #12 screws because I wanted to reuse the existing holes.Overall, if you were not replacing an existing setup, you would not think twice about the design. It's only because I was comparing them as I replaced my original set that I noticed. The new ones do work well. About the only reall pain would be the thick rope/smaller cleats.
Sturdy and easy
By Tyler Welsh - Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2025
Verified Amazon Purchase
Great set to hang bikes. It holds our two mountain-style bikes without issue. The installation process seemed harder than it really is. Since I hung them in our 20' pole barn, I had to get a longer rope, but that is no fault of the manufacturer. The hooks had holes that I ran small bungee cords through to secure the bikes even more. Overall very happy.
Simple Functionality
By Aprilpie22 - Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2025
Verified Amazon Purchase
The quality was built great! It was slip resistant, easy to install and can hold my city bike weight. I love the simple functionality of the pulling, however, I could not keep this product due to my leasing contract with my apartment complex. You have to drill multiple holes to keep this device in place
If you buy, here is what you need to know!
By erkmon - Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2022
Verified Amazon Purchase
First, read all the negative reviews - there are some valid points against this system. However, all of the negatives can be mitigated by discarding some of the supplied components and buying better quality items. I'll address these items below.There are 3 ways this system can fail and cause your bike to fall.1) The pulley bracket can break free from the ceiling2) The bike can slip off the lifting hooks3) The rope can fray and breakEach of these items can be mitigated as follows:1) ABSOLUTELY discard the supplied screws and buy stronger screws. I bought some longer and beefier lag screws. I had to drill the holes from the bracket to make the new screws fit but it doesn't take that long to do and its well worth the effort. The supplied screws are thin and it you are attaching through dry wall they are not long enough! The bracket is curved on the sides so when you insert the screw on the bottom it basically eats 1/2in of your screw before attaching to your ceiling. In addition (and this is where I made my mistake which caused my pulley bracket to fail) if you are going through dry wall before attaching to the stud then you have to account for the depth of the dry wall (which in my case was 3/4in). So basically 1.25 of my supplied screw (which are only 1.5in) was eaten up before hitting the stud leaving less than 1/4 inch to screw into the stud. After this failure I bought lag screws which were 5/16x2.5 in. and re-mounted my pulley brackets.2) As many people mentioned, the hooks to attach your bike are pretty flat. I have not had a problem with the bike falling off the hooks but several people have mentioned that they have this problem. To mitigate I bought a long (48in) bungee cord and attached one end to the pulley bracket (conveniently there is already a small hole in the bracket), wrapped it a couple times around the cross-bar of the bike and then attached it to the other bracket. I tested having the hooks come off the seat and the bungee cord saved the bike from crashing. Again, I never had a problem with hooks slipping off - they always seemed to be under so much tension that I don't know how they could slip off unless you really bumped extremely hard into the bike.3. As some people mentioned, the rope has a tendency to fray as mine did. The supplied rope is probably not very high quality. I bought a strong Dacron rope and replaced the one supplied in the kit.The additional cost I incurred by buying some alternated materials was slightly less than the $34 price for the 2 hoist kit but I believe it was well worth it and makes it much safer. (rope was $20 for 100ft so it was enough for both hoists), screws were $3.69 (enough for both hoists), and 2 bungee cords (one for each hoist) was $8. The extra cost is why I gave this hoist 4 stars instead of 5.The instructions supplied are just ok but there are several youtube videos which show how to install the system.If you buy this please consider doing all of the above but for sure get better screws!! Hope this helps someone.
Works great after some modifications
By J. M. K. - Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2025
Verified Amazon Purchase
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.
This product is unsafe.
By Andy K. - Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2025
Verified Amazon Purchase
If you don't read any more of this review, please know, that this product is poorly designed, and truly unsafe.First off, let me start by saying that I am not the type of person who gives reviews. I think this is the second review I have provided in 6 or 7 years of buying products through Amazon. Normally if something is bad, shrug and write it off, or contact the seller and see if they're willing to give a refund.However, this product is extremely unsafe, and should be taken off the service. I felt it necessary to put this review out there before a bike falls on a kid somewhere.I am a fairly accomplished home do-it-yourselfer, and I didn't throw this up willy nilly. I followed the instructions exactly, down to the point where they have you measure portions of the bike's dimensions, and set up the pulleys to match those dimensions per bike (My wife and my bikes are significantly different sizes, as she is 5'7" and I am 6'5".). So both of these sets of pulleys were set to the specific specifications from the manufacturer. I was also very careful to lift the bikes slowly, taking almost a full minute to lift the bikes to the ceiling of my garage.Despite those precautions, and despite the fact that my wife's bike and my own have very different handles and saddles, (I have a more low profile saddle, along with a set of forward bars, whereas my wife's bike is somewhat of an upright seating position), BOTH bikes fell off of the hooks within a few minutes of having been hoisted, without wind or being touched.My first thought was that I had been careless about the seating of the hooks, so I attempted it again with my wife's (lighter of the two) bike. This time the front pulley refused to turn on one pull of the rope, causing the seat end of the bike to raise about 6" higher than the handlebar end, with the result of it falling off again.Thinking that this was still potentially user error (I have not had a rack of this type previously), I tried again, being very careful to pull the bike up slowly, and pay close attention to the pulleys to ensure they stayed level, thinking that once the bike had been lifted, and was no longer in motion, it would be secure. I succeeded in getting the bike to the raised position again, but on leaving it there for about 3-4 minutes, once again the seat hook slipped, and the bike would have fallen again, except this time, the handlebar hook got caught in the gear selector, leaving the whole bike dangling by one prong of the front pulley "fork".There are 2 main design problems with this product, both of which the manufacturer MUST be aware of, if they did any testing at all:- The pulleys are incredibly cheaply made, and do not spin reliably. This leads to uneven lift of the bike, causing one or the other of the hooks to be pointed incorrectly.- The "hooks" rely entirely on friction, rather than any type of hooking on to ledges on the saddle or attaching to the bike. This would be fine, except they are extremely flat, and positioned in such a way that they only hold at a very narrow range of movement. Additionally, the friction is provided by rubber sleeves that are placed over the metal of the hooks. These sleeves have decent (not great, though, due to the rubber having a glossy, rather than rough texture) friction, but not enough to cover for the tilting issue caused by the pulleys. What is even worse, the "sleeves" do not have good friction on the hooks themselves, as I found the 2 times that the bikes fell off after having been hung for a period of time, these sleeves had simply slid off of the hooks, which is just as bad as them not holding on the bike.I will probably still be looking for a different manufacturer's version of this type of lift, as there are tons of ways that this could be done safely, and the idea is sound if you can rely on the bike being securely attached to the lift, but I cannot stress enough: THIS PRODUCT IS UNSAFE. If you want to give it a try, I wouldn't use it anywhere that there is or could be something important underneath of it at any time. This product is clearly produced by someone who does not care that it is unsafe, as the flaws are immediately evident on attempting to use it. I know Amazon isn't going to care, but I do.
Show more reviews