Racor Pro ABL-1R Aluminum Ceiling Mounted Bike Lift

by Racor

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Nothing eats up garage floor space faster than bikes and ladders. This bike and ladder lift hoists those bulky items up to the ceiling and out of the way. A unique rail design means easy mounting either parallel or perpendicular to garage ceiling joists. A smart cam lock locks the pull rope with every pull so you don't have to hold down the whole load between lifts. Designed for ceilings up to 12 foot, the lift has a 75-pound capacity for stable storage of most bikes and ladders. Made from heavy gauge aluminum, the lift won't rust for years of reliable bike and ladder storage. --Brian D. Olson

Product Description

Inspired by Nascar Formula One 1 and racing pit crew garages the world over comes RacorPro+ Aluminum.Made from indestructible aluminum for a lifetime of use RacorPro+ Aluminum products are a fabulous compliment to your garage storage and work surface efforts. Sleek designs are so versatile that they can be used for many purposes not just in the garage including gardening projects laundry rooms kitchens and even fold up desks in the home.Made from indestructible aluminum for a lifetime of use the RacorPro+ bike and ladder lift is a fabulous compliment to your garage storage needs. With it's unique rail design and single point attachment the ABL-1R is easy to install with provided hardware. It can be mounted directly to the joist or perpendicular to the joist without having to be mounted to a board first. Its unique cam lock secures the rope with every pull. 54' rope included. Dimensions Varies x 2.5 x 38 Assembled 4.75 x 38.5 x 2.75 Packaged

See all Product Description

Product Details

Manual [PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 2.8 x 38.5 x 4.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B000M38JC6
• Item model number: ABL-1R
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,796 in Home Improvement (See Top 100 in Home Improvement)
  • #34 in Home Improvement > Storage & Home Organization > Garage Storage > Bike Racks & Stands

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Several QC Problems, and Design Flaws, October 30, 2008

By 

Jason B. "Jason B." (Oklahoma, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Racor Pro ABL-1R Aluminum Ceiling Mounted Bike Lift (Tools & Home Improvement)

I'm not sure if these have just gotten worse lately, or what, but the latest reviews are telling of what the current product is like. I bought two of these units for my garage.

These arrived in a huge box from Amazon, and were packaged very well, with no visible signs of damage.

I opened the first box, and started going through the instructions (mostly decent, could use some extra steps), and checking the fit of everything, after noting some of the reviews. Everything seemed to fit inside the track during inspection, and the parts seemed of decent quality.

When I started assembly of the first unit, I installed the track. Once this was done, I tried to slide the metal stops with the allen bolts in them, into the track, only to find that they no longer fit when the track is installed (the track must be slightly bowed, and then after assembly, it slightly closes the track). I e-mailed the company to ask if they had modified metal stops, and was told that this was the first time they had heard of the problem, and that they did not have a solution. Instead of prying the track open, I decided to use a sander to sand down the metal stops, because prying on the track only left tool marks on it. I was then able to install everything correctly, and it looked like it was going to be a decent product, until I fished the ~40 foot rope (...does it really need to be that long?) through the pulleys.

I got my bike (~25lb XC mountain bike) setup below the lift, and it took nearly 5 minutes just to get the hooks lined up and holding just the right pressure on the rope, to keep the other from coming off, once I had done the first. I hoisted my bike up in the air, and got it to where I wanted it, and started to release on the rope, to find that the bike was coming back down at full speed. These have a ratcheting system, that is supposed to keep that from happening, even when not using the rope coil bar. I tried it several more times, and just decided to leave my bike on the floor, and give up for the evening.

I had opened both boxes in order to get the metal plates out of both units, so I could do all the sanding at once. I realized that the second unit was missing the eyelet and metal stop. I e-mailed the company, and let them know, and they said that they were currently out of stock, but would ship me one when it came in...okay

The next day, I decided to look at the other unit, to check it over. Upon looking at the ratchet system on this one, I thought, something looks different about this one. I took it out to the one already installed, and sure enough, the two pieces (which are RIVETED together) were installed backwards, which explains why it did not work. There is no way to reverse them, unless you happen to have a rivet the correct size, and a tool to install it.

On top of this, the previous reviews are correct, the two pulleys that have the hooks on them need to be redesigned, because the rope falls off all the time.

From a usage standpoint, I couldn't see how someone that rides their bike 2-3 times a week would like the hassle of using one of these. Someone that rides their bike maybe once a month or something, may find it more useful, but I think I'll just go back to using stud mounted hooks for the wheels, or a floor standing bike rack.

I was pretty ticked at this point, and just got on Amazon and decided to return both of them for a refund. This is one of the worse quality control issues I have seen. One unit with missing parts, another with parts not correctly assembled, poor response from the company on replacement parts...I'll let you decide.

Two stars...I will give them that, because if they fixed the quality issues, and redesigned the lower pulleys, I think this would be a really nice product. But instead of that, I'm left with 5 holes in my ceiling.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best thing about this product? Safety, August 15, 2007

By 

My friends call me "Mr Jones" (Mr Jones) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Racor Pro ABL-1R Aluminum Ceiling Mounted Bike Lift (Tools & Home Improvement)

If you've got high ceilings, this is a great way to store you bikes in your garage. I've got a double car garage with two single car garage doors. My bikes fit great in between the doors and high enough I don't have to duck underneath them to walk under.

Like I said in the title of this review, my biggest praise for this product is that it is safe. I chose the more expensive than the one for half the price because of the cam lock feature. Once I get a bike hoisted all the way up to the ceiling, I can let go of the rope and the bike stys right where it is, it will not come down on its own. This is a HUGE feature if you've got kids. The last thing you want is a bike falling on some kids head because they were screwing around with the rope (which is natural for a kid to do).

The only thing that I found somewhat difficult was initially hitting the studs in the ceiling when screwing in the board. My ceiling is textured, so my stud finder wasn't very effective. I finally hit the stud after the first couple of trys. But once you hit the first stud, measure out with your tabe and you're good to go.

Quick note- I suggest screwing in a 2x6 to the ceiling, making sure that is very secure, then screw the bike lift into the 2x6. I think its more secure this way and gives you more room for error when screwing into the studs (four screws per stud vs one)

Installation of the device is a snap. A third grader with a ladder could figure it out. The rope (they give you more than you need) is very strong & doesn't feel like it'll fray any time in the future.

I'd recommend this lift for bikes any time.

On a side note, I can't see using one of these for a ladder. A ladder fits so nice and flush on a wall that a hook would work so much better than this.

But for a bike, there's no question- Go with this!


This is the Michael Jackson of bike storage (the "BAD" album Michael Jackson, not the sleep over Michael Jackson)!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good design, Q/C off, December 13, 2007

By 

Home Handy Person (Rockland County, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Racor Pro ABL-1R Aluminum Ceiling Mounted Bike Lift (Tools & Home Improvement)

Once finally installed it works great.

My problem was that the rail opening on one side was undersized. This meant that the metal stops, which hold the pulleys in place, would not "slide", as the instructions say, in place. I tried to wedge them in on an angle and hoped upon tightening that they would push their way into place, but they only got stuck.

I ended up yanking out the stuck squares and used a longer ratchet extension to open up the first 6 inches of one side by prying it in a few places. Since it's made of aluminum, it left a few marks, but that did the trick.

There were no signs of damage to the piece or the box, so it was apparently a manufacturing issue.