Racor Pro PLB-2R Two-Bike Gravity Freestanding Bike Stand
by Racor
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List Price: Our Price: $44.34 You Save: $53.61 (55%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $42.48 (click here) Category: Tools See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Racor Pro PLB-2R Two-Bike Gravity Freestanding Bike Stand
Customer Review: A spaceTaker ... not a spacesaver
Summary: 1 Stars
The rack takes up more space (out and up) than the two bikes next to each other on the floor.
The stem/neck/tower doesn't lock into place. It could easily use use three pairs of holes with a locking pin or cotter pin to secure it in three places where the pieces of the neck join. I've seen coat racks and lamps use a screw-in design so that was a bad choice by the designers to not instruct the manufacturer to include such a simple joining technique.
I tried to place my two children's bikes (5 year olds) on it and the rack would not stay upright; it must be bolted to the wall behind it. If it needs to be secured to a wall behind it then maybe it's not really gravity that keeps it upright but the wall it's been bolted to instead.
Besides that, the tabs at the end of the arms (they are hands that the bikes are cradled in) are bendy/flimsy; I don't trust them to hold a bike in the vicinity of a car or little ones passing by. Gravity does allow the bikes to rest on the arms but then gravity would alow the bikes to rest securely on the floor/ground also.
Overall This seems like a no brainer design concept. That is to say ... If an adult of 200 lbs can hang from a 'power tower' and do pull ups and dips then it shouldn't be too hard to make a simple aluminum curved frame that can hold a couple of bikes that aren't moving on their own. Purchased at Target for half price $30.00. I tried to make it work but no joy.
Customer Review: You get what you pay for
Summary: 3 Stars
Arrived with box shredded, but items inside well-protected by ancillary packaging. For the price, it's a lot of metal. Went together easily. The problems started when I tried to put bikes on it. For a women's bike, with a sloping top bar, it is hard to balance on the stand. To make matters worse, this bike's balance point was at the seat. So, the stand's holders would slide forward on the bike (due to the sloping bar), then the bike would tip backward (due to the balance point now being well behind the support points). I had to put one of the bike rack's hooks into the frame of the bike basket to stop this sliding and tipping.
Then, the rack tilted, due to the torque on the rack from the upper bike. This, even though I had screwed the rack into the wall with the supplied #10 3inch screw (with a Pozidriv head--great if you have a Pozidriv bit (like I do), but problems otherwise).
The screw eventually tore out of the wall--It was barely long enough to go through the sheetrock into the stud. I replaced it with a lag screw 1/4" by 4". That is now holding it securely.
Even though it has caused me these problems, the rack still is a bargain. Now with this sturdy lag screw in place (a 37 cent investment), the rack looks like it will stand nice and straight.
I certainly would not consider using this as a free standing rack, and I would buy a long lag screw to replace the too-short screw supplied with the rack.
Customer Review: Decent, for the money
Summary: 3 Stars
I got this stand on sale and with Amazon's free shipping. Otherwise I couldn't justify my three-star rating.
The stand is set up in my apartment to store my size Large 29er mountain bikes. Because I'd rather not put anchors into the apartment walls the stand is currently free-standing. I've found two major deficiencies with the design that keep it from receiving a higher rating: the height is about six inches too short, and the fittings to assemble the main tube are too loose.
I'm using the tallest position holes for the bike hooks, yet the upper bike rests its tires on top of the lower bike. I even put my 56cm road bike on the top but it also interferes with the bike below. You may be ok with two medium size bikes, but keep in mind that large bikes will be a problem.
The second issue is the fitting of the tube sections. The fit is so loose such that with the bottom of the vertical tube pushed against the wall, the top of the stand extends a good five inches off the wall. The instructions recommend using the provided toggle anchor or screw to secure the top but I can't put a big hole in my apartment wall. Also, the stand is advertised as "Freestanding".
The bike hooks themselves seem to work well and fasten securely to the post. It's just a shame they didn't make the stand taller or with better fitting tubes.
Customer Review: Racor... more like Rapecore
Summary: 1 Stars
I received this item, put it together, and... well that's where the problems begin. The item didn't assemble very well, and it wouldn't even stand up on its own. Once I filled the base of it with gravel the stand actually stood up on its own. Yippie. As far as the post that holds the bikes is concerned, even if you are on a totally flat surface, the entire stand leans dangerously to the left. In addition to the significant lean, the center post is divided into two smaller posts that slide together during assembly. When it was completely finished, I had a dual bike stand that resembled the shape of a fishing pole. I haven't tried leaving the top bike on the stand while removing the bottom one, but a portion of me is pretty convinced it wouldn't be a great idea. Seriously. I WAS gonna return the stand, but when I tried to log on to Amazon, the item didn't show up in my history so I had no way of returning it. In the end I went to home depot, bought some metal plate to help shore up the crooked center post (which I forgot to mention) as best as possible so it wouldn't let the bike tumble. I would not recommend this to anyone. Its here now, I cant return it, so Ill make do, but if you want to have a real stand for you bike, DO NOT BUY THIS ONE. Amazon also gets a huge F for not allowing me to return this product. So score one for Ebay.Customer Review: Short, and doesn't last
Summary: 2 Stars
I'm in the process of replacing this rack after a few years. It mostly works ok. As some of the other reviewers have noted, it tends to sway a bit against the wall when you remove a bike, but I never felt like it was going to fall over.
My two complaints are this:
1) The arms that hold the bikes are steel. At the end of the arm, you insert a plastic cap with a metal hook screwed into it. Over time, the weight of your bike loosens and strips the screw out of the plastic. eventually, all four plastic caps had this happen. I suspect the more frequently you put your bike on the rack/take it off, the more quickly this would happen.
2) It's kind of short. I'm tall, and use a tall bike. Ditto for my wife. So we couldn't keep both of our bikes on the rack. Instead, we put either mine or my wife's on top, and our preteen son's below. But the kid's bike has to be set so that the tires are still on the ground. Not a big deal, but not exactly what I thought I was getting.
Luckily, none of my bikes fell, but this was more due to good luck than to the design of the rack. Once the screws strip out the plastic caps, there's no obvious fix or repair. So now I'm in the market for a new, more sturdy rack. And this one is on the curb, waiting for the trash men to retrieve it.