I have several of these in my garage (high ceiling). I'm very happy with them, but I would offer a few comments:
- While the mechanical advantage is theoretically 4:1, there is a fair amount of friction in the pulleys. In practice, the advantage is not quite as good as 4:1.
- As mentioned earlier, there is a built-in lock/release in the pull line mechanism. This will hold the bike's weight, but I don't trust it long term. The system comes with a metal cleat that you can mount on a nearby wall. A few figure 8s of the pull line around this cleat provides a much more secure hold than the lock/release mechanism alone.
- Pulley systems may vary, but with each of mine, one end of the bike raises more readily than the other. I have to help the bike once or twice on its way up by pushing up the low wheel (or pulling down the high wheel) to keep it reasonably level.