Pulleys allow you to hang your bikes to gain floor space in a recreation room, garage or covered patio. A bicycle hook attached to one end of a nylon cord fits onto the front rim of your bicycle. The other end of the cord passes through an overhead pulley. Pulling the end of the cord hoists the bike by the front wheel. The bicycle remains hanging by securing the end of the cord to a wall stay. This type of block-and-tackle system makes hanging bikes by the front wheel easier than lifting them onto hooks.
Overhead Pulley
Step 1
Stand a stepladder at the area where you want the bicycle to hang. Set up an electric drill with a 1/8-inch drill bit to make a pilot hole for an eyebolt lag screw that stays the overhead pulley.
Step 2
Drill the pilot hole in the bottom edge of an exposed overhead wood member. Use a stud finder to locate the bottom of a wood member above a closed drywall, plaster or paneled ceiling. Drill the pilot through the ceiling finish and into the wood member.
Step 3
Thread a 2-inch eyebolt that has 3/16-inch diameter lag threads into the pilot hole by hand. Insert the stem of a screwdriver into the eye of the bolt. Hold the handle of the screwdriver and rotate the eye of the bolt clockwise using the screwdriver as a lever. Tighten the bolt securely.
Step 4
Hook a 2-inch single-roller pulley onto the eye of the bolt. Feed one end of a 16-foot length of 3/8-inch nylon cord over the pulley roller. Pull enough cord through the pulley so you can attach the bicycle hook to the end of the cord while standing on the floor. Move the stepladder out of the way.
Bicycle Hook
Step 1
Attach the end of the cord to a 1-inch eyebolt that has 3/16-inch diameter machine threads using a basic bowline knot.
Step 2
Attach one end of a 3/16-inch I.D. female coupler onto the threads of the eyebolt and tighten the connection by hand. Screw the stem of a bicycle hook that has 3/16-inch machine threads into the other end of the coupler and tighten the connection by hand.
Step 3
Wheel the bicycle into position with the front wheel below the overhead pulley. Park the bike on its kickstand or ask an assistant to hold the bike upright.
Step 4
Fit the bicycle hook onto the upper section of the front wheel rim. Pull the other end of the cord to take up the slack.
Wall Stay
Step 1
Establish the best place to install a hook as a wall stay for the cord. Use the stud finder to locate a wood member in a covered wall. Mark this location on the wall.
Step 2
Drill a pilot hole that's one-half the outside diameter of the threads on a 2-inch wall hook with lag threads. Use a hook with a longer stem on covered walls. Screw the hook into the pilot hole and tighten it with the screwdriver as before.
Step 3
Pull the end of the cord and hoist the bicycle to the height you want it to hang. Attach the end of the cord to the hook using several half hitches or a bowline that you loop onto the hook. Repeat the steps using similar tools and parts to hang additional bikes.
Tips and Warnings
- Fashion a bicycle hook with machine threads using a threaded rod that you bend in a vice. Wrap the hook with duct tape to prevent scratching the wheel rim. Talk to a knowledgeable cyclist or bicycle shop mechanic about other types of hardware or bicycle hooks used to hang bikes with pulleys.
Things You'll Need
- Stepladder
- Stud finder, optional
- Electric drill
- 1/8-inch drill bit
- 2-inch eyebolt with 3/16-inch diameter lag threads
- Screwdriver
- 2-inch single roller pulley
- 16-foot long 3/8-inch nylon cord
- 1-inch eyebolt with 3/16-inch diameter machine threads
- 3/16-inch I.D. threaded female coupler
- Bicycle hook with 3/16-inch machine threads
- 2-inch wall hook with lag threads
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