revtothelimit - motorbike forum

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 ?

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

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

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 …

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.

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.

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 !

Or you could just put a couple of the Halfords mats down where you are working

Those little wheel dollies plus on the carpet tiles OK.

Looks like the foam tiles come up tomorrow
And are laid along the walkway

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.

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.

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.

Ok - Halford foam mats up - bikes roll in and out far easier. It's a tarmac floor - not concrete

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

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 ).

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.

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.

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

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.

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.