Fabrication Help Needed: Ceiling Mounted Retractable Bike Workstand

[kppolich]

I've been searching for a solution to mount my bike work stand to the ceiling and have it swing up and lock into place when not in use.
Ideally it would have two locked positions. Up (in storage) and Down (in use).

Currently, I have the work stand mounted against the wall and ceiling and would rather have the stand in the center of the room so its easier to work on both sides of the bike and also get it away from my other bikes.

Requirements:
90 degree pivot at the ceiling
Locks in the up and down position
16 inch long from ceiling to bottom of mount

The Space:


This is the mount I will be using:


Basically I want something like this, but not made of 80/20


Does such a pivot exist?

 

[tncatadjuster]

Fabricate it out of high grade plywood, use proper hardware should work fine.

Think along these lines for smooth corners.

 

[Retroman]

I got the same mount. It is mounted to a unistrut on a wood column in the garage. I can slide it up and down on but ya can still really only get to one side with limited access on the other without turning the bike around. Coming down from the ceiling is a really good Idea.

 

[kppolich]

I'm going to go with this marine locking seat swivel and mount it to the vertical floor joist. I can lock it up in the ceiling, push the level and drop the whole thing down.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009TO6NE/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[Grant Gunderson]

I did this a few years ago using one of Parks pro series bike stands.

Mine telescopes vertically as I have enough height on my garage I can easily walk under it when it’s raised. I then release the clamp and it telescopes down to the correct work height. I’f I did it again I’d do something similar to a EVT bike stand, but use square tube.

 

[bugnut]

Was thinking 2" folding trailer hitch.... Nested tubing for adjustment

 

[ClintNZ]

Here's my take. I made the pivot & clamp carrier out of scrap with a little help from lathe & welder.



The more rigid the better. If doing it again I'd use bigger diameter aluminium pipe, but what I used was free & in the junk pile... Top pivot also needs to be really beefy & well mounted to avoid annoying flex.



The handwheel at the bottom connects to a rod that goes all the way up inside & screws in to engage a dimple in the hinge axle & lock it down.



Several trampoline style springs pull it up against a pad when stowed.



You need an unholy amount of spring tension to have it retract nicely.

Definitely one of those 'why didn't I build this years ago' type things, puts a smile on my face every time I use it. Being able to move right around the bike easily is nice.

Cheers
Clint

 

[mrpizza]

I need to do this. I hate my ground based work stand. I have to step on the legs anytime I need leverage like when pulling BB cups or aligning a derailleur hanger.

 

[mepstein]

I grabbed mine from a shop that was going out of business. It has a 100lb base. It will never fall over even if you hang from it. I used to run a shop with 4 double arm stands so this one suits me perfectly.

 

[acer66]

I grabbed mine from a shop that was going out of business. It has a 100lb base. It will never fall over even if you hang from it. I used to run a shop with 4 double arm stands so this one suits me perfectly.

Nice and that looks more like a show room than a shop at least compared to the mayhem and disarray on my end.

 

[mepstein]

Nice and that looks more like a show room than a shop at least compared to the mayhem and disarray on my end.

Most of my bikes are in the house but this holds the overflow. I’m still in the process of insulating, etc so this pic was just a moment in time where it wasn’t very crowded.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Nice and that looks more like a show room than a shop at least compared to the mayhem and disarray on my end.

I was thinking the same thing.....I don't know what it's like to work on bikes without tripping all over stuff in my garage! Need a tool, move 2 kids scooters......... Need to turn on the air compressor, move a car seat........

 

[mikegt4]

Can't help with a ceiling mount but Paul Brodie has an extensive library of YouTube videos on bicycle frame building. His "shop tour" video has a section on his work stand starting at about 5:30.

 

[acer66]

Most of my bikes are in the house but this holds the overflow. I’m still in the process of insulating, etc so this pic was just a moment in time where it wasn’t very crowded.

That is just your overflow on bikes?
Wow, you must be really into cycling.

 

[mepstein]

That is just your overflow on bikes?
Wow, you must be really into cycling.

For a long time now.
Inside the house -
Litespeed vortex
Pogliaghi track bike w campy c record
Bianchi track bike w superbe pro
GT dual suspension team w xtr
Specialized s works dual suspension w xtr
Racer x dual suspension w xtr
Cannondale with ultegra
Scapin w campy
Lot and lots of wheels.

And a very old graftech exxon.

 

[kppolich]

Update

Finally got this put together after some time looking for a flip down solution to work between our basement floor joists.

Pretty handy to have and swing up and out of the way when not using. A furniture leg hinge rated for 120 lbs, Foundation Bike Bench Workstand clamp/end, and some 1-1/2" pipe with flared collar welded together with a pinch bolt.

Needs 1 more coat of paint, but I'm happy.

Pics:

 

[mepstein]

Nice job!

 

[Grant Gunderson]

Update

Finally got this put together after some time looking for a flip down solution to work between our basement floor joists.

Pretty handy to have and swing up and out of the way when not using. A furniture leg hinge rated for 120 lbs, Foundation Bike Bench Workstand clamp/end, and some 1-1/2" pipe with flared collar welded together with a pinch bolt.

Needs 1 more coat of paint, but I'm happy.

Pics:

Well done. It looks like you have it positioned to hold the bike quite high to the ceiling. My one suggestion would be if possible, lengthen it a bit. I find that It's nice to be able to swing the bike around so its upside down with out unclamping when doing a fork service, so that you can add oil to the fork lowers.

 

[kppolich]

Thanks, but with only 1 MTB in the house that gets ridden 1x a week I think I'll just pay for the fork service when that time comes and keep everything eye level.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Yank the fork real quick; you can do a lower leg service in less time than it takes to drop it off at the bike shop. If you have a bench vise, you can just lightly clamp it in that.