Swisstrax lookalike workshop flooring

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Mr Moofo
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Swisstrax lookalike workshop flooring

Post by Mr Moofo »

I put down some Halfords rubber tiles in my garage - it is great at making the floor warmer to stand on and work in.
But the motorbike tyres sink into it (as is is a foam material) making them hard to move. And the flooring weeps black shit over any clothing that you might be wearing.
I am trying to find something like Swisstrax which seems to be love by Americans on Obsessed Garage. But i want something more cost effective.
Any suggestions ?
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Re: Swisstrax lookalike workshop flooring

Post by Felix »

A friend just got this for his garage/workshop. Dont know what its like with bikes rolling in and out its it only used as a workshop,

https://www.therange.co.uk/diy/hardware ... ll#7657691
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Re: Swisstrax lookalike workshop flooring

Post by Druid »

I used to have the Halfords stuff but binned it because the bikes sank into it. Never had any problems with black shit though. I replaced with carpet tiles which work fine, also easy to replace individual tiles if you spill oil or something
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Re: Swisstrax lookalike workshop flooring

Post by Mr Moofo »

Felix wrote: Sat Jan 03, 2026 11:57 am A friend just got this for his garage/workshop. Dont know what its like with bikes rolling in and out its it only used as a workshop,

https://www.therange.co.uk/diy/hardware ... ll#7657691
That could work …
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Re: Swisstrax lookalike workshop flooring

Post by MrLongbeard »

Carpet tiles here, plan was to glue them down and cover the whole garage floor, but instead I just use 3 or 4 as needed where I'm working and chuck them out when they get too soiled / sodden in oil, coolant etc.
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Re: Swisstrax lookalike workshop flooring

Post by Skub »

None of those cool cushion floor jobbies would work for me,because two bikes are on trolleys and one on an Abba Skylift. Those little wheels require a smooth hard floor.
I would like to seal and paint the floor this year,concrete is very dirty and dusty.
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Re: Swisstrax lookalike workshop flooring

Post by Mr Moofo »

Skub wrote: Sat Jan 03, 2026 4:00 pm None of those cool cushion floor jobbies would work for me,because two bikes are on trolleys and one on an Abba Skylift. Those little wheels require a smooth hard floor.
I would like to seal and paint the floor this year,concrete is very dirty and dusty.
But concrete is very cold !
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Re: Swisstrax lookalike workshop flooring

Post by Druid »

Or you could just put a couple of the Halfords mats down where you are working
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Re: Swisstrax lookalike workshop flooring

Post by Dodgy69 »

Those little wheel dollies plus on the carpet tiles OK.
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Re: Swisstrax lookalike workshop flooring

Post by Mr Moofo »

Looks like the foam tiles come up tomorrow
And are laid along the walkway
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Re: Swisstrax lookalike workshop flooring

Post by weeksy »

Skub wrote: Sat Jan 03, 2026 4:00 pm None of those cool cushion floor jobbies would work for me,because two bikes are on trolleys and one on an Abba Skylift. Those little wheels require a smooth hard floor.
I would like to seal and paint the floor this year,concrete is very dirty and dusty.
Office carpet tiles all day every day.
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Re: Swisstrax lookalike workshop flooring

Post by Skub »

weeksy wrote: Sat Jan 03, 2026 9:26 pm Office carpet tiles all day every day.
I'm not sure they would work for me. Currently,with a bike on the Skylift,if I need to,I can roll it out of the garage and back in again. I don't think it would roll back in again over the carpet tiles. I reckon with the weight of the bike it would just push the tiles.
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Re: Swisstrax lookalike workshop flooring

Post by Rockburner »

Skub wrote: Sun Jan 04, 2026 9:30 am
weeksy wrote: Sat Jan 03, 2026 9:26 pm Office carpet tiles all day every day.
I'm not sure they would work for me. Currently,with a bike on the Skylift,if I need to,I can roll it out of the garage and back in again. I don't think it would roll back in again over the carpet tiles. I reckon with the weight of the bike it would just push the tiles.
Yup.

Office tiles are great for most of the time, but they're no good if you've got a lot of weight on small castors.

I've abandoned my little roller cart and just live with awkwardly rolling the bikes back and forth to get them into their park positions (dictated by the locations of the security fittings).

Ideal scenario would be a workshop/garage large enough to have separate areas for parking bikes (left as painted, polished concrete), and working on bikes (matted/tiled) and so have the bestest of both worlds.
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Re: Swisstrax lookalike workshop flooring

Post by Mr Moofo »

Ok - Halford foam mats up - bikes roll in and out far easier. It's a tarmac floor - not concrete
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Re: Swisstrax lookalike workshop flooring

Post by maccecht »

Google roof protection tiles. Hard wearing used on balconies and walkways. You might even find a few cheap from a local roofer if he overstocked
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Re: Swisstrax lookalike workshop flooring

Post by Count Steer »

I've used these tiles (or other manufacturers versions) a few times in different houses and it's brilliant. Takes all the hard wear you can throw at it and comes up gleaming. (They used it on the walkways between platforms at Clapham Junction Station, so it can cope with quite a lot of traffic).

However, cheap it ain't.

https://floormart.co.uk/saarfloor-noppe ... ber-tiles/

(The price is per tile :shock: ).
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Re: Swisstrax lookalike workshop flooring

Post by weeksy »

Skub wrote: Sun Jan 04, 2026 9:30 am
weeksy wrote: Sat Jan 03, 2026 9:26 pm Office carpet tiles all day every day.
I'm not sure they would work for me. Currently,with a bike on the Skylift,if I need to,I can roll it out of the garage and back in again. I don't think it would roll back in again over the carpet tiles. I reckon with the weight of the bike it would just push the tiles.
Yeah it'd be fine... honestly... Done it many times with bikes on paddock stands, can't imagine any reason a Skylift would be any different.
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Re: Swisstrax lookalike workshop flooring

Post by mangocrazy »

weeksy wrote: Wed Jan 07, 2026 8:57 am
Skub wrote: Sun Jan 04, 2026 9:30 am
weeksy wrote: Sat Jan 03, 2026 9:26 pm Office carpet tiles all day every day.
I'm not sure they would work for me. Currently,with a bike on the Skylift,if I need to,I can roll it out of the garage and back in again. I don't think it would roll back in again over the carpet tiles. I reckon with the weight of the bike it would just push the tiles.
Yeah it'd be fine... honestly... Done it many times with bikes on paddock stands, can't imagine any reason a Skylift would be any different.
A skylift would be handling twice the weight (i.e.the whole bike, not spread over two stands), plus smaller castors. It might be OK, but it would need testing before committing to any purchase.
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Re: Swisstrax lookalike workshop flooring

Post by Mr Moofo »

maccecht wrote: Tue Jan 06, 2026 9:37 pm Google roof protection tiles. Hard wearing used on balconies and walkways. You might even find a few cheap from a local roofer if he overstocked
:thumbup:

It looks like I can get 4mm rubber matting for the area I need to cover (2.7 m x 4 m) from Amazon for around 110 GBP - so may go that route.
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Re: Swisstrax lookalike workshop flooring

Post by weeksy »

mangocrazy wrote: Wed Jan 07, 2026 9:40 am
weeksy wrote: Wed Jan 07, 2026 8:57 am
Skub wrote: Sun Jan 04, 2026 9:30 am

I'm not sure they would work for me. Currently,with a bike on the Skylift,if I need to,I can roll it out of the garage and back in again. I don't think it would roll back in again over the carpet tiles. I reckon with the weight of the bike it would just push the tiles.
Yeah it'd be fine... honestly... Done it many times with bikes on paddock stands, can't imagine any reason a Skylift would be any different.
A skylift would be handling twice the weight (i.e.the whole bike, not spread over two stands), plus smaller castors. It might be OK, but it would need testing before committing to any purchase.
You can buy 10 carpet tiles for £10-12.... it's not a massive risk :)

I'm not sure how much clearer than "it'll be fine" i can be though.
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