Originally Posted by
Pompiere
I have 3 of these, which are similar to the Harbor Freight ones:
Racor PBH-1R Ceiling-Mounted Bike Lift - Amazon.com
One is for a 48 pound tandem, and the other two for 40 pound kayaks. The tandem is in the garage, over the center aisle, so I can get it out without moving the cars. The Kayaks are in the barn, so I had to add extra rope for the higher trusses. For the triplet, you could combine two sets of pulleys and hooks for extra load capacity and easier pulling. It just takes more rope. And I definitely agree with twocicle about screwing the lift to a board and attaching that to several ceiling joists, especially if they run perpendicular to the bike. Is your living room ceiling high enough to walk under the bikes? My garage ceiling is almost 11 feet and I wouldn't want it any lower for the bike hoist.
I used one of these for our Mocha, but had trouble with the hooks bending under that much weight. I modified it with some heavier pulley wheels and nylon rope to replace the hooks. Not pretty, but a lot safer. Having one of the hooks bending out and dropping the bike was a bit scary on many planes.