So, on a snowy Sunday morning, after being inspired by the article and picking up track and hooks during the week, I put my cheapskate system into action. As I mentioned previously, I found "strut channel" at an industrial supplier, at $20 and change for 10 feet, and on the same outing I picked up hooks at Princess Auto: $3.99 for packages of 2 smaller ones, $5.99 for the larger "bike hooks". For sliders, I cut blocks from scraps of high density polyethylene "puck board" aka "arena board", that I had leftover after a riding arena project, from back before I retired from construction. Once the track was up and one prototype slider made, I tested the large size by hanging my 200 lbs of it. Good to go! Weighted with bikes, the hooks move easily enough, and while the plastic sliders might wear in the long term, it's not like the collection of bikes, both ours and those of the grandkids, will be moved on a daily basis. A note on mounting: in my case, this went on a drywalled drop ceiling, where 2x4's on flat that could not necessarily be relied on for weight bearing had been suspended below the structural floor joists. This required using 6" x \#12 screws along with washers, to go right though and into the floor joists. It works great, AND, I avoided a bathroom painting project for another day!
Feb. 5, 2024, 7:57 a.m. - SteveR
So, on a snowy Sunday morning, after being inspired by the article and picking up track and hooks during the week, I put my cheapskate system into action. As I mentioned previously, I found "strut channel" at an industrial supplier, at $20 and change for 10 feet, and on the same outing I picked up hooks at Princess Auto: $3.99 for packages of 2 smaller ones, $5.99 for the larger "bike hooks". For sliders, I cut blocks from scraps of high density polyethylene "puck board" aka "arena board", that I had leftover after a riding arena project, from back before I retired from construction. Once the track was up and one prototype slider made, I tested the large size by hanging my 200 lbs of it. Good to go! Weighted with bikes, the hooks move easily enough, and while the plastic sliders might wear in the long term, it's not like the collection of bikes, both ours and those of the grandkids, will be moved on a daily basis. A note on mounting: in my case, this went on a drywalled drop ceiling, where 2x4's on flat that could not necessarily be relied on for weight bearing had been suspended below the structural floor joists. This required using 6" x \#12 screws along with washers, to go right though and into the floor joists. It works great, AND, I avoided a bathroom painting project for another day!  