bicyclequeen

I have a bad back, and I would like to have a contraption to hoist my bikes up so I can work on them.

Have been looking on google and ebay, and all I have seen are motorcycle lifts.

I don't even know if there is such a thing as a bicycle lift.

Soliciting ideas----thanks!

Kopsis

The typical solution is a work stand, but they require you to lift the bicycle to about shoulder height yourself to clamp it in the stand. If that kind of lifting is problematic, you might look into something like this: Bicycle Lift

I have one of those for storage purposes, but I could see it being used to lift the bike for basic maintenance. Could also be used in conjunction with a work stand to hoist the bike up to the height needed to clamp it in the stand.

dedhed

look at lift tables

jyl

Do you know how to lift with your legs, not with your back? A bike only weighs 25 lb or so. Your physical therapist should show you how to lift correctly.

There are ways to avoid manually (with your body) lifting the bike. You could use an overhead hoist like the one linked above, hook to the bike then to lift it high enough to clamp into the work stand. You could work on the bike while it was hanging in the hoist, but it would be swinging around which is not ideal.

Or you could bolt the work stand to a hydraulic lift table, and adjust the stand as low as it will go. You'd still need to manually lift the bike a few inches to roll it onto the lowered lift table, then raise it a few inches to clamp it to the stand, then raise the lift table. Cheap lift tables cost about $200.

fietsbob

Efficient Velo Tools , a US manufacturer of professional equipment, EVT | E-Z Lift Repair Stand with Clamp


Not all bikes are stripped down Lightweights ..

GravelMN

Bicycle hoists are commonly available at big box stores and home improvement centers. If you can't find one, it would be easy to make from parts available at any hardware store. You could make the lift easier by improving the lift ratio, block and tackle style, or adding a light hand winch mounted to the wall.



Once the bike is off the floor, you could mount it on a regular work stand if more stability is required.

Another option would be to create a ramp out of a triangle of light wood or other material to get the bike off the ground and to the height required to mount it in a workstand.

Reynolds 

Park has a power lift work stand, but it looks expensive:

https://www.parktool.com/product/powe...p-stand-prs-33

elessar007

Word of caution about the overhead hoists. They are good for storing but not at all well suited to working on your bike. The bike still swings both forward and back as well as side to side. There is no stability.
You could certainly use the hoist to lift it to clamping height for a regular stand but this might still be too much strain on your back if you needed to hold the bike aloft in order to clamp it in the stand.
If you have access to a stand, say a friend has one or something, you might consider trying to see if taking the wheels off the bike first make it light enough for you to handle. I would try and use your legs as much as possible. Squat and grab the seat tube by the front derailleur and the other hand up near the head tube should work but check with a physical therapist first.

The Park stand with a lift is not really designed for home use. It's a shop stand and costs quite a pretty penny.

CliffordK

What kind of bicycle are you working on? One bike, or several?

Rather than spending a couple grand on an expensive lift, you could buy a 17 pound dream bike There are even some pretty lightweight MTBs.

One might be able to design and build a boat winch operated bike stand pretty easily, but it would seem like it might be a pain to always be cranking the stand up and down. Electric/Hydraulic?

J708

You can consider one of the repair stands by Topeak.

TopeakŪ Cycling Accessories ? Products - PrepStand? Elite

They use it at my bike shop and it looks pretty sturdy. Going for a bit over 200 bucks on amazon.

Topeak PrepStand Elite Bicycle Repair Stand | Amazon.com: Outdoor Recreation

bicyclequeen

Thank you for all of the suggestions. I do have 2 park tool's stands. I sort of ruled out the lifts that are bolted to the ceiling. No space in house. But I do have a Cargo Dump Trailer where I could do something with maybe pulleys and a winch. I have 2 bikes. One is a Surly Long Haul Trucker with 5 gallon buckets on the back, and panniers on the front. I would like to be able to mount it without taking the buckets off of the back. The other bike is a Giant Transport SX. It is a heavy duty bike for carrying stuff, with factory front/rear racks and I have plastic crates mounted on the front and back. I would like to be able get this on a rack without having to take the crates off of it.
I have tried uploading a picture, but it says the file is too big. I don't even know if I have picture privileges with my account yet.

Thanks for tips; I am going to check all of them out.

CliffordK

Can you work at ground level?

What about one of these stands? They are a bit of a pain to use, but you don't have to get the bike too far off of the ground (assuming the balance point is in front of the bottom bracket).

fietsbob

Pay someone to build a wheelchair ramp in a room , inside your house? so you can sit in a chair & work on your bike,
which you already know how to service and own the tools

Or no tools and dont know the DIY? might be just better to use the services of a bike shop

if you cannot lift anything and cannot buy an expensive powerlifted repair stand, and all the tools, as you need them.

bicyclequeen

Thanks for the suggestions. I am leaning toward the park tool stand; it is pricey but will do the job. I like to have my bikes up where I can see them. Now i have to figure out whether I am going to bolt it to garage floor, or buy the base for it. Thanks everybody!!!!

CliffordK

After working on my bikes on the floor for years, I snagged a used Park Professional PRS-6 stand.
Got new pads for it, and tried it out today. Whew, it was NICE. It should be a bit taller if I want to snag the seatpost, but I think I can snag the main tubes with most of my bikes without worrying about damage.

Anyway, in my browsing, the Park clamps are a relatively low portion of the cost of the whole stand.
Amazon.com : Park Tool 100-9C Adjustable Clamp, Fits PRS-6, PRS-7, PRS-8 : Bike Workstands : Sports & Outdoors
Amazon.com : Park Tool Professional Micro-Adjust Repair Stand Clamp (PRS-2, PRS-3, PRS-4, PRS-2 OS, PRS-3 OS, PRS-4 OS, and PRS-4W) : Bike Workstands : Sports & Outdoors

It wouldn't take much to build a custom stand to that lifted up and down using a boat hoist, and connecting to one of the Park arms.

bicyclequeen

I will look into that---thank you and everybody else for taking the time to respond.

sickz

a bit off on a tangent.. but someone else might benefit from this quick n dirty method.

SlowJoeCrow

Efficient Velo Tools does make a lifting bike stand EVT | E-Z Lift Repair Stand with Clamp but it's over $2000 which means your 2 best options are either rig something to lit the bike to the point where you can clamp it into a standard repair stand of find some sort of sturdy lifting post you can attach a Park work stand clamp to.

Jeff Neese

+1 on that Topeak stand. I love mine. I was leaning toward the Park Tool PCS10 which gets a lot of good reviews too, but was able to compare them "hands-on" before buying. I liked the Topeak much better and I couldn't be happier.

henrydavid

I think the bicycle lift/hoist already mentioned is the best option for your purpose. But I am using a Pentalift hydraulic lift table for working with my motorcycle as well as bicycle and they do good. I think if you own a motorcycle or is planning to have one in the future, lift table will be a better choice.