Bicycle Hoisting System – Weatherly

It is starting to get cold here in North Carolina!  Growing up in Mobile, Alabama I saw snow only twice in 18 years…I have already seen it twice this year in Franklinton!  We have been biking less, as a consequence, and have been wanting to stow our bikes somewhere, out of the way.  Now that we are in our own house, there is no excuse for not storing our mountain bikes in style.  I wanted the bikes in the garage, but our vehicles fit rather snugly into the garage, as it was. Having room to walk between vehicles is a “must” for a comfortable garage!

I went through several designs, in my mind, after searching the internet for a few days on the topic.   I tossed out the idea of a wall mounted set-up because the bikes would protrude from the wall too far.  The ceiling seemed the ideal place so, I measured the bicycles thoroughly and found that they would fit nicely behind my truck.

I designed a simple system which utilized Campbell® pulleys and other parts which I ordered at my local hardware store.   To add strength to the installation, I decided to mount the pulleys and eye-screw to a painted 2X4.  I cleaned up the appearance by mounting the pulleys with 4½ lag screws, which penetrated the ceiling joists and cinched the 2X4 to the ceiling.  I started by taking careful measurements to center the bicycles over my truck and then marked the 2X4s.  I then pre-drilled, sanded, primed, and painted the 2X4s.  (I painted them black to tie in with the shelving which I will add soon)…

After the third coat of paint, I used the finished 2X4s to mark and pre-drill the ceiling joists.  Using an impact driver, I drove the lag screws through the 2X4 and into the ceiling joist (which also mounted the pulleys).  Where the rope terminated, at the end of the pulley system, I used a rope-clamp and thimble to create a loop. This allowed me to easily attach the rope to the eye-screw on the end of the 2X4.  Once the rope was threaded through the pulleys it started looking like a proper hoist!

Now to attach the bicycles to the hoist… For this, I used 1/8 braided steel cable coated with plastic.  The plastic casing helps prevent scratching the bike frame, but had to be stripped away where any ferrules were added.  I assembled two wire rigs using wire ferrules, thimbles, and a swagging tool and then attached them to the lower pulleys using a stainless steel quick-link.

An added feature of the location, is the ease of lowering the bikes into my truck for trail riding! I mounted two rope-cleats on the wall below each bicycle to store the excess rope.  I love having the bikes out of the house and they look right at home above my truck bed.