Racor PBH-1R Ceiling-Mounted Bike Lift
by Racor
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List Price: Our Price: $16.31 You Save: $23.69 (59%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $10.91 (click here) Category: Tools See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Racor PBH-1R Ceiling-Mounted Bike Lift
Customer Review: Great product, easy to use, easy to install
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a great bike hoist and now my garage looks so neat and tidy. I bought two of these and now I'm online to buy a third. The installation was simple and went quickly once you understand where you want it and after you understand how the pulley system works. Solid construction of the pulleys and the bike hooks.
My only negative about the product, which cost one star, was that the directions weren't that great. I used the picture on the box to understand how to install it more than I did the actual printed directions. The one picture that really needed to be clear, the picture that shows where the rope goes through the stopping/control mechanism, was grainy and not easy to see. Use a higher resolution printer and all would be fine. Plus they don't explain that you need to put the pulleys at the same distance that you measured between the handle bar and back of seat. I did feel like the screws were a little short and I put an extra screw in each bracket just for safety sake. When you install the brackets parallel/inline with the joist the screws stand off from the ceiling about 1/2", then there is 3/8" of drywall (in my case), so the screw only gets in about 1/2" into the joist. People without drywall will probably not have any issue with the screw length. Screw quality was good and I had no issues like other did with stripping of screws. Use the larger phillips bit head.
After I figured out the mechanism, the install and subsequent installs were a snap. My wife was able to easily raise and lower the bikes and they got her stamp of approval, which is what I needed in order to claim the project a complete success.
Customer Review: Supremely Better Product over Others
Summary: 5 Stars
This is my first Amazon review even though I have probably bought up to 200+ items from Amazon in the last 2 years, which I am ashamed of being that I rely a fair amount of my purchase on consumer reviews. So let this be the beginning...I have this RACOR model bicycle hoist and I also have the RAD version (RAD Cycle Products Ceiling Mount Bike Hoist - Bicycle Hoists). This RACOR product is far superior IF you are attaching this directly parallel to the 2x4's of your UNfinished garage. The screws are larger and stronger then the RAD (3 of the 6 RAD screws stripped even with the correct Philips bit, a LOT of pressure and pre-drilling). The rope while not being the highest of standard is far superior to the RAD supplied item. The bracket sizes are perfect to attach parallel to your 2x4's while the RAD is typically too large for this job. It took me exactly 12 minutes to put up the RACOR, while it has been 35 minutes and counting with the RAD (due to stripped screws, and over-sized brackets for my particular setup). Overall I am happy with this RACOR hoist and trust it to carry my not so expensive bicycle over my rather more expensive car. But seriously get this RACOR over the RAD, the price difference for me was ~$1 cheaper for the RAD (I do Amazon Prime so don't know which is cheaper for shipping). But for the sake of $1 I really wish I went for another RACOR as opposed to the RAD. I am considering returning the RAD but don't really want the hassle. My 2 cents.Customer Review: Easy to install and easy to use
Summary: 5 Stars
I received two of these bike lifts as gifts. I installed them to replace my old "hooks-in-the-ceiling" method of hanging bicycles over my car. I had to take care to measure the height of the bicycle (adding a few inches for the pulleys) to ensure they cleared the car. I also measured the length of the bicycle to ensure it wouldn't be in the way of people walking around the car. Finally, I measured between the handlebars and seat so the pulleys were properly spaced. But once that was done, installation was a simple matter of drilling three pilot holes per pulley in a joist and screwing them in.
Although the instructions say to tie a stop knot in the rope and thread it through the pulleys and hooks before installation, it's easier not to do that until after you've installed the pulleys. (I did tie a knot in the rope and run it through the hole before I installed the first pulley, but that that turned out not to be necessary because there's enough clearance to push the rope through afterwards.)
Finally, I installed the cleats low enough to reach but high enough so people don't have to duck under the rope.
Like some of the other reviewers, one of my ropes was frayed. (The other one was fine.) I wrote an e-mail to Racor and a vice-president responded almost immediately. I received a replacement rope two days later. Awesome!
Conclusion: These lifts work very well, are easy to install, are reasonably priced, and are backed by excellent customer service.
Customer Review: Overall Impressions of the Racor PBH-1R
Summary: 4 Stars
Space is at a premium in my place, so there was definitely a need for two of these Racor PBH-1Rs. These handy little lifts were installed in our storage shed, and they have proven to be a good investment. So here are my impressions:
Good:
1) Low price.
2) Easy to install. All you need are some basic tools (screwdriver, drill, tape measure, ladder).
3) My wife loves it. When the wife is happy everyone else can be happy too.
4) Makes use of otherwise unused space.
Bad:
1) Made in China, and it's rather obvious. It feels very cheap and flimsy, but it is servicable when installed properly and when weight limits are observed.
2) It's been said before, and I'll concur: the screws that are packaged with this device SUCK. Plan on getting six to ten 2-inch lag screws from your local hardware store.
3) Lots of other reviewers complained about the rope being frayed or poorly made. Mine was cheaply made too, and I am concerned about durability. Definitely purchase a better rope.
Overall, you can get around the bad points of this product inexpensively. It's a solid 3.5 star product. It could be a five-star product if they saved me a couple of trips to the hardware store by including decent quality screws and a good rope. I would also like to see it made better to support more weight. But, hey it's made in China which explains why some corners were cut.
Customer Review: Good Product, Works Well, Installation Time Consuming
Summary: 4 Stars
I have 2 of these bike lifts, and they actually work pretty well after you get them up.
As others have noted, the ropes look like they're fraying. We haven't replaced ours yet, but I expect to do that in the future. We also needed to buy some alternate/additional screws for mounting. (These two issues are the reason for 4 stars instead of 5.)
They need to be mounted into wood, which may be a bit difficult if the ceiling joists run in the wrong direction for you (like mine did). You can't just put them anywhere unless you have a -really- high ceiling - they'll hang down about a 12-18 inches PLUS the height of the bike. Given that, our garage isn't high enough to mount them just anywhere, so we had to put ours parallel to a wall. This required me to add support boards on the ceiling with some heavy duty lag bolts. This was more work than hanging the Racors themselves.
However, after you get them up, they work just fine. Raising and lowering the bikes is reasonably easy, and they stay solidly in place without fear of them falling.
One final note - the hooks are probably going to go under the seat and under the handlebars. Make sure you don't have any brake cables or other things in those areas that would prevent you from using the hooks.