Here are a few key things we'd like you to know:
1. It takes a serious amounts of get this RAD Cycle Products Ceiling Mount Bike Hoist mounted right, so just anticipate it... you have to string the rope through the 4 pieces and pulleys so, mount them on joists just so, and make certain the distance between the two pieces is merely befitting your bike. We recommend no less than two people, chips and salsa, and maybe a coors light ;)
2. You are able to mount several bikes fairly close together if you counterbalance the handlebars a little forward and back among the mounts in order that the handlebars never "share the identical space." We bought 5 of the bike hoists and mounted these phones run parallel to the joists spaced at 24" for mounting 5 bikes, one bike on all of five different joists mounted side-by-side. We bought long screws from your hardware store to change those contained in the package therefore we could securely screw through the drywall and additional into the wood joists. We'd recommend including this home improvement store errand inside your time estimates for installation.
3. It's important the BACK tire go toward the wall where the rope taken from the brake will probably be cleated. The entire rope and braking mechanism works so well this way ... if you put the handlebars around the wall side like the picture with this product, then a handlebars block you moving the rope to operate the brake (trust, trust, believe me with this). In the event you put the back tire to the wall, the rope moves freely :) By the way, the braking mechanism inside the pulley seems so sturdy you may not mount/use the cleat, nevertheless it does feel best to us to use it.
4. The length between your ceiling and also the bike won't be related to what lengths in the handlebars or the seat stick up ... it will likely be the size of the hardware above where it hooks on -- this can be vital that you you if you are mounting over a car and top-to-bottom distance matters. We mounted three of our own bikes over a mini-van roof (another two in front) also it was vital that you pick the lower profile bikes as not all of the bikes would have fit directly across the van. The "first bike" in line (at the front from the van) can be raised and lowered as the van is parked inside the garage so this is a great area for whichever bike you will be riding most frequently *or* for your bike of your kid not of sufficient age to maneuver the vehicle to acquire his/her own bike down ;)
5. On arrival, the instructions said the mounts would hold 100 pounds (that is greater than there were read here online). Our tandem bike fully equipped is simply under 50 pounds and seems very secure and happy.
6. They're created for the top rounded portion of the lower hook assembly to match in to the rounded-out section of the ceiling mounted pulleys. The hook assembly will only fit into the ceiling assembly if the two pieces installed on the ceiling are spaced EXACTLY to suit the specific bike in which the hooks will grab the seat and handlebars. You will end up much more pleased for time to get this spacing right (you are able to tell by letting the hooks hang while you are deciding on the mounting position ~ gravity allows the ropes to operate as a plumb line :)
7. Our thoughts relative to the complaints you might find out about this system ... A. The rope may be fine, no fraying or another problems. B. The "hook" ends might be hook-ier without a doubt, although we've not encountered any problems with them (perhaps because unfortunately we cannot are now living in earthquake zones and that we don't move with great haste :) C. Sometimes the front or back from the bike will raise or lower faster than the opposite end -- when this happens we just grab the lowest tire and present it a boost as much as level it which happens quickly and then it stays level throughout the up or down operation therefore it is never been a big concern. D. We mounted each bike straight into one joist (i.e., parallel/directly below one joist rather than perpendicular between two joists) thus there is no need / good thing about mounting the brackets to some 2x4 first and then mounting the 2x4 to the ceiling -- we just mounted straight into the ceiling.
8. If you are intending to cut the rope shorter, only do this if the bike is incorporated in the down position ... once the bike is lowered, this cool contraption runs on the lot of rope!
9. The whole family can operate these RAD Cycle Products Ceiling Mount Bike Hoist easily -- they are so much safer and usable compared to the stationary hooks we had that involved lifting heavy bikes on and off. Also, in the event you leave the kickstand down when you put your bike up, then when you lower the bike around the pulley later, it will land all set :)
10. An unexpected benefit (beyond the extra garage space which we had been hoping for) continues to be that all people ride our bikes far more often than we used to. Putting the bikes up and getting them down is really easy which it has taken back a lot of frequency and joy to your riding a bike experience.
Happy cycling with this RAD Cycle Products Ceiling Mount Bike Hoist!