Softride Access Dura Bike Rack offers the ultimate combination of features in a hitch mounted rack. The rack lowers for easy access to the rear of your vehicle without removing your bicycles. Simply pull the pull pin on the side of the rack to lower for cargo access or to load the bike. more
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Posted: 10/5/2009 4:06:39 PM
Today we are going to show you the Alpha bicycle rack from Kuat. As shown here we have it in an 1-1/4 inch version in the chrome black. It is constructed completely out of aluminum, it is very light weight and you can practically toss this anywhere you want. Also available is in the white color as shown here in the 2 inch version bicycle rack. more
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Posted: 8/28/2009 4:56:20 PM
Today we are going to review part number TH971 from Thule. This is Thules Helium, aluminum, 3-bike, hitch-mounted bicycle rack. This rack will fit 1-1/4 inch Class II hitches only, and 2-inch receiver hitches. First off, what makes this bicycle rack called the Helium is because of its ultra-light, aluminum construction. It is basically half the weight of a traditional carrier, yet the part that goes into your hitch is still the steel product, so you have durability there but you also have the benefit of lightweight construction on the rest of the carrier. It does come standard with sliding, anti-sway cradles. The cradle arms are made a little bit more narrow than on traditional bicycle racks. And it also comes standard with the quick-release lever, which allows the bicycle rack to tilt away from the vehicle so you can get in the back of your SUV or car. It also comes with an integrated locking cable and receiver lock for security. So you have two locks, one for the bicycles and you also have one for the hitch itself. And with the lock on the hitch, it also comes with a built-in anti-rattle device, also. more
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Posted: 8/10/2009 1:06:48 PM
Today we are going to be showing you part number S64650, the XC2 Bike Rack from Swagman. It has easy loading, with up to two bikes carrying capacity. It has a new, push-button ratchet arm that easily adjusts to secure your bikes. The ratchet arms have a soft, frame-friendly coating to protect the bikes finish. And it easily adjusts to different bike frame sizes with a simple movement of the wheel holders. The XC carries a wide variety of bike frames without the hassle of removing wheels. And the rack folds up for easy storage or when not in use on the vehicle. This can be used for both 1-1/4 inch and 2 inch applications. Right now, you see it on the 1-1/4 inch version. Now, to make it a 2-inch, you have to put these pieces on. They fit on like so, and then you just simply put this bolt through. Now, it does not come with this, so you are going to have to have the right Allen key to tighten this down. Now it is ready for 2-inch applications. more
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Posted: 4/20/2009 3:47:02 PM
This is the HoldUp, part number Y02419, from Yakima. This is their hitch-mounted bicycle rack that holds two bicycles by the wheels. We will cover some of the main features about this bicycle rack. First off, this does fit only a 2-inch receiver hitch. This also has a tilt feature so you can fold it up while it is on the vehicle while you are riding your bike. And it also has a nice, compact design. You do not have to worry about bars sliding in or out because the wheel mounts are stationary, but they do tilt from left to right to accommodate a variety of different bicycle lengths. And also it comes with the built-in security feature of a cable that wraps around the bicycles rack itself and around your frames, and it has an attachment point to the actual bicycle rack itself. This will actually fit virtually any bike out there because it does not grab the bikes by their top tube, or anything like that. Basically, it just has one clamp that goes over the top tube. You do not have to worry about the bike being level, or anything like that, because it holds the bicycles by the wheels. All right, let us go ahead and install this on a typical 2-inch receiver hitch and give you an idea of how it works. more
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Posted: 2/13/2009 2:11:10 PM
Today we are going to review part number Y02425 from Yakima. This is their DoubleDown Hitch Mount Bicycle Carrier. This bicycle carrier does carry five bikes. It will work on a 1-1/4 inch and a 2-inch receiver. Next, we will show you the main points about this bicycle rack. First off, it does come with a standard anti-rattle hitch bolt. This rack will fit 1-1/4 inch and 2-inch receivers. This does have a tilt feature that will help you get on the back of your vehicle while the rack is installed. The arms will fold down for clearance in storage. And also, the cradles themselves come standard with anti-sway. And the arms do carry anti-sway cradles, standard. All right, we will go ahead and install this on a typical 2-inch receiver and show you how it looks and how it works. more
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Posted: 2/13/2009 2:06:23 PM
Today we are going to review part number Y02429 from Yakima. This is their HoldUp Plus 2. This is a bicycle rack extension. What this does is, it actually gets stacked up onto the end of Yakimas HoldUp Bicycle Rack. The HoldUp is originally a two-bike rack but with this extension, you can hold up to four bikes. We will go ahead and cover some of the features of this extension and install it on the HoldUp to give you a better idea of how it works and how it looks. All right, we will go ahead and install the HoldUp Plus 2 onto the HoldUp here. Basically, what you have got to do is take off the original bottle opener here, but do not worry, it does come with one on the HoldUp Plus 2. Take a little screwdriver and pop off the bottom tab here and push it in, and you take it right off. Then you simply slide the HoldUp Plus 2 inside. more
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Posted: 2/11/2009 4:07:29 PM
All right, today we are going to show you part number Y02420 from Yakima. This is their StickUp Bicycle Carrier. This is a bicycle carrier that is a wheel-mount design that carries up to two bikes. Some quick points about this bicycle rack are that the rear wheel wells themselves are adjustable on the rear wheel. It also has a one single arm that will actually hold both bikes. The handles that lock themselves are independent of each other. And also the whole bicycle rack tilts up out of the way when you are not using it. And of course it does fit 1-1/4 and 2-inch receivers. Right now, this is set up for a 2-inch receiver hitch. To convert it down to a 1-1/4 inch, all we have to do is take off this bolt right here. It is an Allen key bolt, and the bicycle rack does come with the tools to take it apart with an Allen key wrench. One bolt and it is ready for use in a Class II receiver hitch. And in this instance, we are actually going to use it on a Class III receiver so we will go ahead and reinstall the bushing. more
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Posted: 2/10/2009 3:44:08 PM
Today we are going to show you part number Y02404 from Yakima. This is their BigHorn Hitch Mounted 4-Bike Carrier for a 2-inch receiver hitch. This is one of their more basic carriers, but it will do anything you need to. It will carry up to four bikes and transport your bikes securely and safely. All right, we will go ahead and install this on our 2-inch receiver using the anti-rattle bolt. more
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Posted: 2/10/2009 3:24:34 PM
Today we are going to cover part number Y02422 from Yakima. This is Yakimas SwingDaddy Hitch Mount Bicycle Carrier. This rack is designed to work in 2-inch receiver hitches only, and it can carry up to four bikes. The first feature we will show you is the anti-rattle hitch bolt. This goes into where the hitch pin goes, and it threads into place. All right, and then once you have it in place, you can tighten it down with the supplied tool. Next, you can install the safety pin clip or add the supplied lock, which covers up the hitch pin, too. Next, we will show you the best feature about this bicycle rack, and that is the swing-out feature. First off, you want to take out your safety pin, here, and then undo this bolt. Then pull up on this pin, and you can swing it out. You can take this upright, here, and rotate it, and then you can move the whole assembly away from your vehicle, allowing you access to the back of your vehicle. Put your safety pin back in so it cannot come back around, and you can get in the back of your vehicle. more
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Posted: 2/9/2009 3:33:43 PM
Today we are going to show you part number Y02423 from Yakima. This is their DoubleDown 2 Bicycle Rack. This is a bicycle rack that will fit both 2-inch receivers, as shown here, and also 1-1/4 inch receiver hitches. A couple of nice features about this rack: it has all steel construction, it does tilt down, and the arms also tilt up and down for storage and for carrying bikes. These are tools that help you assemble the bicycle rack and install it on your trailer hitch. It also has a little Allen key, here. What this Allen key does is, it allows you undo the bolts so you can convert it from a 1-1/4 inch to a 2-inch receiver hitch. We will go ahead and show you how to do that next. It goes right here. Undo this bolt, take off the bushing, and there you have it - it is ready to go for 1-1/4 inch receiver hitch. We will go ahead and show you the details of this bicycle rack a little closer now. more
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Posted: 2/9/2009 3:29:25 PM
Today we are going to show you part number Y02426 from Yakima. This is their FlipSide Bicycle Carrier. And this bicycle carrier does fit 2-inch and 1-1/4 inch receiver hitches and holds up to four bicycles. One of the main features of the bicycle rack is this anti-rattle hitch bolt. The next feature would be the flip feature: instead of tilting down out of the way, this bicycle rack will actually flip over to the side instead. The next feature would be the hitch security lock, which is integrated into the body of the bicycle rack. The next feature is the arms themselves. They actually have a fold-down feature that allows you to store the bicycle rack. And also, the cradles themselves, they do come standard with the anti-sway cradles. And also, they can be moved up and down with the arms of the hitch, as necessary. Next, we will show you how this bicycle rack can be converted to work on a 1-1/4 inch receiver hitch and a 2-inch receiver hitch. more
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Posted: 2/6/2009 3:46:50 PM
Today we are going to cover part number Y02424 from Yakima. This is their hitch-mounted bicycle carrier. This is their DoubleDown 4 Bike Carrier. We will cover some of the features of this bicycle rack. First off, this is a four-bike bicycle rack, and it does come standard with anti-sway cradles, and it does tilt down out of the way to get in the back of your SUV. And also, is is convertible between the 2-inch receiver and the 1-1/4 inch receiver. And we will show you how you do that, next. more
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Posted: 2/6/2009 3:40:30 PM
Today we are going to be showing you part number S64152 from Swagman. This is the 3-Bike Single-Arm Bike Rack. It attaches to the hitch with a simple pin and clip. It has the same solid design and construction as all of the Swagman Original series. The new Swedge design facilitates quick and easy assembly, and disassembly for storage, and it fits all standard 2-inch receivers. We will go ahead and throw a bike on here and show you how it works. more
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Posted: 11/17/2008 3:10:57 PM
Today we are going to show you part number 51953 from OSI. This is their four-bike bicycle rack. This bicycle rack features heavy-duty steel construction with a locking top plate that secures up to four bikes. What also is nice about this unit is that it actually swings out of the way so you have rear access to your vehicle. This rack does fit 2-inch receivers only, and the actual rack swings out up to 42 inches out to the side. And the cradles themselves will handle a bike frame up to 1-1/2 inches in diameter. We will go ahead and demonstrate and show you how it works. more
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Posted: 11/10/2008 4:03:49 PM
Today we are going to show you part number 5801200 from Highland. This is their Sportwing two-bike rack. This will fit 1-1/4 and 2- inch receiver hitches. We will go ahead and install this in a 2-inch receiver hitch and show you how it works. It is pretty simple. It does use two pieces of metal as a bushing to install in 2-inch receiver hitches. If you use 1-1/4 inch, you do not need the bushings. Again, we will show you how it goes together. We will use these two pieces here, that is going to be like a bushing, for a 2-inch receiver hitch. Basically, you just line them up together, like so. And you can orient these either way, depending on the depth of your hitch. So it is not a hard and fast rule to have them a certain orientation. And basically, you just line them up as best you can. Kind of grab them by the edge here, and then you can just go ahead and install it in the hitch. Put our pieces together, grab the ends, and install it in your hitch. And it is going to be loose for now. Install your anti-sway bolt. Take your flat washer and your lock nut - and it is a nylon lock nut - and just go ahead and tighten it down. The bicycle rack does come with the tool for the Allen head but you do need a separate wrench for the nut itself. And we use a 16-mm wrench on this nut. All right, and essentially what this does is that the bolt pulls the whole assembly to one side of the hitch and locks it into place so it cannot move. more
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Posted: 11/10/2008 3:59:26 PM
This is part number TH918 from Thule. This is the T2 Bike Add-on Bike Carrier. It is an add-on for a T2 Bicycle Rack which allows you to convert it from a two-bicycle rack up to a four-bike rack. It requires minimal assembly, just like the original rack does, the T2. Just tighten down the clamps that hold the crossbar and install the wheel mounts, and that is all it takes. The carrier does bolt onto the end of your existing T2 Bicycle Rack, and we will go ahead and do that and show you how it looks. more
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Posted: 10/7/2008 3:48:24 PM
Today we are going to show you part number 63120. This is the two-bike, hitch-mounted, folding rack with frame-mount cradles for 1-1/4 inch hitch. This is from Tow-Ready. This rack carries up to two bikes and works with many alternative and larger tube-frame bikes. However, womens bikes may require an adapter. It has heavy-duty, Velcro, straps which secure the bikes to the carrier, and a powder coated finish to resist corrosion and rust. It has rubberized pads to protect the finish on the bikes as you load them on. And the bike rack tilts forward to allow access to the rear of the vehicle. And also, the shank rises for better ground clearance. It fits 1-1/4 inch hitches only, and the maximum weight on the rack cannot exceed 66 pounds. more
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Posted: 11/12/2008 6:27:14 PM
Today we are going to show you part number S64925 from Swagman. This is their three-bike XP rack. We have it shown here on a 1-1/4 inch receiver hitch and it is a Class I. On Class I receiver hitches, this bike rack is rated for only two bicycles, but if you have a Class II receiver hitch, you can put three bicycles on it. Also, if you need more capacity, this bicycle rack is also available in a two-inch variety, too, and that part number is S64950. We will start from the bottom and work our way up. As you can see here, we have installed a Class I receiver and use a conventional hitch pin and clip assembly. And also what is nice about it is that the shank here actually comes up about another 1-1/4 inches so that gives you a little bit of additional clearance from the bottom to the ground. Every little bit helps in a low-riding vehicle. more
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Posted: 10/6/2008 3:17:12 AM
Today we are going to show you part number S64970 from Swagman, the folding five-bike rack for 2-inch trailer hitches. This is a really nice bicycle rack that has all padded cradles. What is really good about that is it grips the bike securely and also without any risk of rubbing the cables against the frame. This is a really nice setup. It only has one arm so it can grab relatively narrow frames. This bicycle rack also tilts back to allow easy access to the back of your SUV or pickup. It features solid steel construction with a powder coated finish, and this bicycle rack is intended for 2-inch receiver hitches only. And the shank on this bicycle rack also is adjustable with two different points, depending on the bumper and hitch combination. more
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Posted: 9/2/2009 4:35:20 PM
Today we are going to show you part number A30704FB from Sportrack and this is their Hitch and Drive Deluxe model. This is a bicycle rack that can work for 1-1/4 and 2-inch hitch receivers and it carries four bikes. First we are going to show you a couple of features of this bicycle rack. First off you can see it is in stored position. What you can do is pull this pin out and then flip it over and it is ready for service. If you want to use this 1-1/4 inch receiver hitch, all you have to do is just take off this bushing. This just presses on, so you just need a simple screwdriver and you just pry it right off. And then you can go ahead and use a 1-1/4 inch receiver from there. more
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Posted: 9/26/2008 4:16:25 PM
Today we are going to be showing you part number 59400. This is the folding, 2-bike bike carrier for 2-inch trailer hitches, the Rola TX-102. This bike rack carries up to two bikes. The rack tilts down to access the back of the vehicle, and the arms fold down when not in use to allow for compact storage. Cradles include the anti-sway device to prevent bikes from rocking back and forth during transit. And the cradles also accept bikes with frames up to 2-1/2 inches in diameter. This fits 2-inch trailer hitches only and has a maximum weight capacity of 66 lbs. more
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Posted: 9/20/2008 11:01:54 AM
Today we are going to show you part number S64095 from Swagman. This is a 2-bicycle carrier for 1-1/4 and 2-inch trailer hitch receivers. How this bicycle carrier works is that it actually mounts into the ball hole of either/or receiver. It requires a ball with a 3/4-inch shank or you can bolt it to your bumper, also, using a 3/4-inch nut-and-bolt assembly. As you can see here, we have this bicycle rack here actually mounted to the bumper using a 3/4-inch bolt-and-nut assembly to hold it in place. Pretty simple. Again, you can do it like this on your bumper, or you can install this on your ball mount on a 2-inch or 1-1/4 inch receiver hitch. more
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Posted: 9/17/2008 5:20:44 PM
Today we are going to show you part number A30404 from SportRack. What we have here is a folding 4-bike carrier for 1-1/4 inch and 2-inch receiver hitches. And this model is the SportRack Escape 4. And we will go ahead and install this on a typical 2-inch receiver hitch and show you how it works. To show you how to convert this to a 1-1/4 inch receiver, it is pretty easy. This bushing is basically a press-on fit. So you can just take a screwdriver and just kind of pry it away a little bit and it comes apart. And there you have it, it is ready for a 1-1/4 inch receiver hitch. Next we will go ahead and install it on a typical 2-inch receiver hitch. more
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Posted: 9/11/2008 4:09:13 PM
Today we are going to show you part number 59403 from Rola, the TX 103 bike carrier. This three-bike hitch mounted bike carrier will work on a 1-1/4 or 2-inch receiver. We will go ahead and install it on a typical 2-inch receiver and show you how it works. When you are first assembling your bike rack, you have a choice of setting it up for a 2-inch or 1-1/4 inch receiver hitch. If you are going to use it for 1-1/4, it is just a simple task of taking the shank and installing it in here and putting the bolts through. Now if you need to use it for a 2-inch receiver hitch, you will be assembling it this way. You would take these two pieces of steel, which would basically be like a bushing, and you would put those on each side of the 1-1/4 inch shank, and that would fit up on the inside of here. Then there is just the simple step of tightening the bolts, and the bicycle rack will be ready for a 2-inch receiver hitch. more
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Posted: 9/2/2008 6:03:41 PM
Today we are going to show you A30404TW200 from SportRack. What we have here is a 4 bike folding and towing rack for 2 inch hitches. A few nice details about this bicycle rack are first off this bike rack does fit only 2 inch receiver hitches. But you have an option of having only 2 pin holes on the shank itself. So you can bring it in even closer to the vehicle or further away depending on your bumper and hitch combination. Also on the shank here is the pivot mechanism basically allows you to pull this pin back and allows you to tilt the rack backwards to allow you access to the back of your vehicle. We will go ahead and show you just how that works. You pull out the clip and then you pull out the pin. Then it folds back and out of the way so you can get to the back of your vehicle. more
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Posted: 9/1/2008 11:04:10 PM
Today we are going to show you part number TH916. This is the Thule T2 bike rack for 2 inch trailer hitches only. This is a wheel mount and it is also expandable. Some of the features of this bike includes that it accommodates most bikes regardless of frame designs, suspension or even wheel size. The bike rack folds up next to the vehicle when not in use and the support arms of the mounting system pull down for easier storage. It has a built in anti sway device that stabilizes the bike rack and hitch receiver. The bike carrier tilts down for more convenient access to the rear cargo area of the vehicle. The mounting system is designed for quick and easy loading of bikes into the carrier. There is no wheel removal necessary. The cushion bar on the front of the mounting mechanism secures the bike at the fork and adjusts to the wheel height. Then the rear wheel mount slides to adjust to the bike length. The rubber straps secure bike wheels at the front and the back of the carrier. more
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Posted: 9/2/2008 3:47:40 PM
Today we are going to show you part number V91150 from Valley. This is their 3 bike towing 2 armed rack for 2 inch trailer hitch receivers. It is a real nice and easy to use bicycle rack. You can attach it to your ball mount that goes directly to your hitch receiver. Also, you can use the provided stinger, which is the part that replaces the ball mount and goes into the hitch, and you can use your bicycle straight from there. What is also really nice about this bicycle rack is that it actually folds flat, almost completely flat, when you are not using it. You simply take these arms and just fold them over on top of themselves. Then fold this flat so you have a nice narrow form which you can easily store in the corner of a garage some where. We will go ahead and install our bicycle rack. It is actually pretty easy. As we have shown right here this is the actual stinger that comes with this bicycle rack in case you are not using a ball mount. This could easily be a ball mount if you already have one existing. What you do to install this is take this cap off and go ahead and slide this onto the stinger. Then push down on this handle right here, you have to use a pretty good amount of force and it locks into place. Then you put your safety pin in and re install your cap. more
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Posted: 8/26/2008 4:34:06 PM
Today we are going to show you part number S64910 from Swagman. What we have here is their three bike bicycle rack that is designed exclusively for a two inch receiver hitch. We will show you the features of this bicycle rack starting from the bottom and we will work our way up. The first of is where it inserts into the hitch. It is kind of nice that it has actually two positions to choose from and we will show you how that works. As you can see here, we have it pretty close to the bumper and we can actually take out the pin and pull it out an additional three inches to give a little bit of extra clearance if you need it. And going on to here, this particular joint is a non-tilting unit which is nice because you can actually use this unit on the back of fifth wheel trailers or RVs. With most other bicycle racks you really are not supposed to do that, especially with the tilting models. But with the three bike rack you can do that, four and five you can not do, but the three bike you can. You also want to maintain a minimum ground clearance on the bicycle rack from the ground a minimum of 15 inches. more
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Posted: 8/30/2008 1:21:40 PM
Today we are going to show you part number S64665 from Swagman, their four bike wheel mount carrier that is also folding. We will cover some of the nice points about this bicycle rack. First we will cover the wheel mounts themselves. They are pretty neat. What is nice about these is that they are fully adjustable on the rack itself. You just loosen this knob and you can adjust up to any size bike. Also the wheel mounts have these Velcro straps that go around and keeps the wheel tide to the rack just in case something comes loose. The next feature is, what is nice about this post here, it actually can be folded down and out of the way when you are storing it. It is pretty simple. You just pull this pin, lay it down and go ahead and re-install the pin. That way when it is in its fold up position it will not rattle around. We will go on and move on to the top of this post here to the hooks. This is really nice. First off they are ratcheting style, so you do not have to worry about tightening or loosening them every time, you can just push them into place and they will stay locked. The hooks themselves have heavy padding on them so they will not scratch your bike frames or anything like that. We will go ahead and install the bike rack. It slides into a two inch receiver only. more
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Posted: 8/29/2008 5:00:24 PM
Today we are going to be showing you part number A30703FB this is the folding 3 bike carrier for 1 and a 1/4 and 2 inch trailer hitches from SportRack. SportRack has constructed a very solid, yet very versatile bike carrier. The rubber knob cradles protect your equipment from scratches and, when not in use on your vehicle, it folds completely out of the way. When you get home it totally collapses, taking up the least mount of storage space then any other bike rack we sell. The weight capacity is 132 pounds and accepts bikes with frames up to 2 and a 1/4 inches in diameter. This bike also includes a locking knob on the very last arm, which ensures security for bikes when you travel on down the road. It also comes with a set of keys to lock it. Before we show you how to convert the shank we are going to show you how this folds up for the maximum amount of storage capabilities in your garage. You loosen this pin here and it just folds up to a very convenient folding position like so. Then you just replace the pin. more
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Posted: 8/28/2008 10:57:57 AM
Today we are going to be showing you part number A30403 the folding 3 bike carrier for 1 inch and 1/4 and 2 inch trailer hitches. This is called the Sport Rack Escape 3. The features of this includes that it carriers up to 3 bikes, it works with many alternative and larger tubed frame bikes and it has a dual arm design which offers great bike support and 3 attachment points for each bike. Also it has a anti sway cradle which attaches to the upright or angled bar of the bike frame to help keep bikes from swaying front to back as you are driving down the road. The soft cradles slide front to back and rotate to help accommodate many types of bikes. The carrier is also powder coated to resist corrosion. The bike rack tilts down to allow access to the rear of your vehicle. The top support arms also collapse for travel without bikes or for storage. The bike rack includes a threaded anti rattle hitch pin that prevents the bike rack from swaying back and forth. more
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Posted: 8/26/2008 1:06:44 AM
Today we are going to show you part number TH914. This is the folding 4 bike carrier for inch and a 1/4 and 2 inch trailer hitches, the Thule Roadway. It is easy to use and it carries up to 4 bikes, as mentioned before. The roadway by Thule has a dual arm design that accommodates a wider variety of bikes. It has soft cradles that keep the bikes tightly secured to the carrier. There is also an anti sway strap to keep bikes from rocking back and forth while you travel. You may conveniently use this bike rack with either a 1 inch and a 1/4 or a 2 inch receiver. It has 2 quick release levers which allow it to tilt towards you to gain better access to the rear of the vehicle. It also has a quick release lever at the top of the bike rack so that the arms fold down for better storage capabilities. It has a built in anti rattle device that reduces the vibration and noise of the rack and hitch while you are traveling down the road. more
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Posted: 8/21/2008 5:58:49 AM
Today we are going to show you part number TH912 this is the folding tube bike carrier for 1 inch and 1/4 and 2 inch trailer hitches. This is the Thule Roadway. The Thule Roadway carrier, for up to 2 bikes, has the quick and easy hitch switch that allows you to just flip the switch to fold the bike carrier down and away from the rear of the vehicle. The switch also makes it super convenient to fold the arms down when not in use. The dual arm construction with rotating cradles lets you carry a wider variety of bikes without the use of an adapter. An anti sway strap and built in anti rattle device keeps movement to a minimum while traveling. Also keep in mind that this can be upgraded with a no sway cage accessory which is part number TH955 which works exclusively with T3 cradles and prevents bikes from rocking back and forth on the carrier. more
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Posted: 8/20/2008 8:06:19 AM
Today we are going to be showing you part number TH958. This is the folding 2 bike carrier for 2 inch trailer hitches, the Thule Parkway. This carrier has a dual arm design for extra stability during your trip. The soft rubber cradles that are made to protect your bike frame while keeping it secure. This is perfect for weekly trips to the park or annual family vacations. The Thule Parkway is an excellent addition to your vehicle for more travel with your bikes. We will go ahead and show off these features starting off with putting the bike rack into the hitch and showing you how the anti rattle device works. Lift the bike rack into the hitch and line up the holes on the side. The anti rattle device simply screws in. That is going nowhere. Next we will show you the tilt feature. You simply pull the pin towards the bottom near the shank and you let the bike rack fall towards you which gives you more clearance to the rear of your vehicle. Next we will be going ahead and putting the bike onto the bike rack. We will get a standard frame bike to keep things simple. Then we will show you how the cradles work. more
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Posted: 8/13/2008 12:24:33 PM
Today we are going to show you part number 63123 from Tow Ready. What we have here is a folding 3 bike bicycle rack that will fit either an 1 inch and 1/4 class 2 receiver hitch or a 2 inch receiver hitch. This does carry up to 3 bikes. This bike rack does come with heavy duty Velcro straps to secure the bike to the carrier which will not allow it to be removed or be scratched. Also the cradles themselves have a rubber padding which will not allow the bikes to get scratched up and grips them nice and tight. Also this bicycle rack will tilt forward to allow access to the rear of the vehicle. Once again this will fit an inch and a 1/4 class 2 receiver hitch or a class 3 2x2 receiver hitch. It is really easy to convert it into an incha and a 1/4 since we have it in the 2 inch position right now. Pull this pin and all you have to do is spin it around and it is ready to go into a class 2 receiver hitch. more
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Posted: 8/19/2008 4:12:23 PM
Today we are going to show you part number TH956. This is the folding 4 bike carrier for 2 inch trailer hitches, also known as the Thule Parkway. It is perfect for a weekly trip to the park or an annual family vacation. The convenient tilting mechanism allows for easy access to the rear cargo area of your vehicle, while an anti rattle device secures the bike carrier to the hitch. It also comes with a safety strap to give your bikes just a little more security with you are driving down the road. Okay we are going to go ahead and put the bike rack into the hitch now and install the anti rattle device. Simply screw it in like so and Thule has a tightening tool you can use to tighten it down the rest of the way. Nice and tight and it will not be going anywhere. We will show you the tilting feature next. Undo the pin and let it fall forward and then you can get to the rear of your vehicle with ease and comfort. Next we are going to install a bike for you here. more
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Posted: 11/12/2008 3:25:17 PM
Today we are going to show you part number TH915 from Thule. What we have here is a folding 5 bike carrier for 2 inch trailer hitches. This is their Roadway model. We will go ahead and install it on our 2 inch receiver hitch and show you the features of this. We will go ahead and show you how this works. Line up the hole. And instead of a hitch pin, it does come with this bolt that you just thread it into the bike rack. Once you tighten the bolt down it acts as an anti sway device also. It makes a permanent connection to the hitch. Alright, this lower latch that you saw before lets you tilt the bike rack, so if it is on the back of your SUV, you can get back to the inside of your vehicle. To get the bicycle rack ready to accept the bikes, you need to pull on this latch up here, and pull the arms up into position, and it is ready to haul your bikes. Alright we will go ahead and throw on our bike now and show you how it works. It is pretty simple, just lay it on the cradles and then take your straps and pull them tight over your bike. Same thing with your one in the back, you can pull it over and there you have it. Your bike is secured and you can do that with 4 more bikes. more
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Posted: 8/18/2008 8:56:22 AM
Today we are going to show you part number TH954 from Thule. This is the Ridgeline 4 bike hitch carrier. It carries up to 4 bikes comes with anti sway knob as well as anti sway for the bikes after they are installed. It comes with 2 locks, one for the actual hitch itself and one for the bikes after they are installed as well. This is a tilting bike rack as well as a folding bike rack which provides better storage for you when you are not using it. It can be converted into 1 inch and 1/4 by removing covering on the shank. All that requires is an alan key to unscrew it. Before we install this into our 2 inch hitch we are going to show you how convert it into 1 inch and a quarter. You go to this screw here and take this alan key and simply loosen it off, unscrew it, and this sheath slides off and it is ready for your inch and a quarter application. more
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Posted: 8/12/2008 4:12:00 PM
Today we are going to show you part number S64960. This is the Swagman 4 bike single arm bike rack for 2 inch receiver hitches. We are going to go ahead and show you the features of this bike rack starting from the bottom up and throw on some bikes. As you can see this has a standard hitch pin and clip. It also has another hole here which means you can push this in further if you wish or further out. It has 2 points of entry to actually clip it into the trailer hitch, which can give you anywhere from 3 to 4 inches of extra clearance on the back of your vehicle. Starting with the front cradle, you can actually see that it has a locking mechanism on it. You simply turn it like so and it locks down, so it can not open or close and it is pretty much locked into position. Now to operate these you just lift up on this handle here and you can see that there are these nice grooves here that actually keep the bikes cables from getting mashed up against the frame. It is a very good thing to have. It also has this very nice padding here that keeps the bike frames nice and scratch free when you are driving down the road. If you look underneath here you can actually see 2 bolts, or 2 nuts actually. If you loosen or tighten these up you can move these from side to side or back and forth. This one here we have already tilted to the side to accommodate an alternative style bike frame. more
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Posted: 7/22/2008 8:13:22 AM
Getting Started with your Rola Bike Rack: Once you unpack your bike rack, theres a couple of things you wanna check before you start your assembly. One would be to check the locks and make sure they work. Simply look down the barrel and make sure the locking mechanisms work. Try it on the cable too. The other key to try is on the latch. The final thing to check would be the measurements on the outside edge of the cradles and compare them to your bikes. This way you dont have to go through the trouble of taking the rack apart when the bikes dont fit. more
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Posted: 8/6/2008 3:29:30 PM
Well cover the features of this rack starting from the bottom up. Well start with its anti-rattle device. As you can see the hitch pin is actually a bolt that goes in to the side of the bicycle rack and helps keep it in place, keeps it from rattling and is an added security feature as well. The next feature is the tilting action of this bicycle rack. This allows you to tilt the rack back to be able to get to the back of your SUV, van or whatever so you dont have to take off the rack completely. As you can see its just a simple pin with its own built in clip to help keep everything in place. Working our way to the top, well show you the cradles here. The cradles have a nice cushion of rubber which will definitely last for years of service. Also the Velcro tie-downs offers infinite adjust ability for different frames of bicycles. Theres a lot of different variety of thicknesses of the top tubes of the bikes, and this will handle virtually every one of them. Now well show you how a bike actually gets installed on the rack. As you see this bicycle rack can handle an alternative frame bike as well. Next well provide you with a measurement of the cradles themselves so you can compare this to smaller frame bikes such as kids bikes. It looks like the measurement is 8 1/2 inches wide overall and about 3 3/4 inches deep. There you have it, this is the Tow Ready bicycle rack, part # 63124. more
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Posted: 8/6/2008 3:33:47 PM
This is a swing away bicycle rack that only fits a two inch receiver hitch and is good for four bikes. We will demonstrate this rack to you and we will do that by installing the rack onto the vehicle and showing you how it works. As you can see, we have our completed assembly now, what we will do is show you how a couple of bikes will mount on to the rack. We will start off with a standard frame bicycle. We will now show you how an alternative frame sits on the rack. Our final touch will be to install the top clamp. As you can see the top plate is installed and basically the bikes are ready to go down the road. more
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Posted: 7/20/2008 11:08:11 PM
This is a bike rack is made for two bikes and only fits a 2 inch receiver hitch. The first step involves taking the straps off the cradles so we can put the bike on. We have done that so lets grab a bike and put it on there and see how it looks. As you can see here, this bicycle rack here will accept a standard bicycle frame, in this case a road bike. Now we will show it to you with an alternative frame bike. As you can see this is how the bicycle rack handles with an alternative frame bike. There is a little bit of an angle but still steady and will not go anywhere. While we have the bike on here we will show you some of the features that make this bike rack a pretty good deal. First off we will show you the straps in the cradles themselves. As you can see those are easy to use rubber straps that hold the bike in place. It is all rubber to metal contact, you will not scratch it and it is easy to use. more
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Posted: 8/6/2008 3:52:02 PM
These are the parts that will consist of the bicycle rack, well show you how they come together. One stipulation is that this is made only for a two inch receiver hitch. Well start by ing our shank into our hitch. Well use the bottom half here and then use our hitch pin/anti-sway bolt to hold it in place. Next well install the swing out arm portion of the bike rack. The swing arm assembly consists of the bolt, two washers and a nut. Now well install the main body of the bicycle rack. Again this will install with the same bolt, two washers and a nut. The next step is to go ahead and assemble the lock assembly for the hitch pin. Step one we have to take off the protective covers off the locks themselves, step two well install the lock cylinders, and three well test its operation. Now well test the lock on the hitch pin to verify that it works. With the first lock done well move on the second lock which has the same procedure for installing it. This will be for the cable lock for the bicycles. Lets go ahead and test our lock. Lets get the rack ready to accept the bikes, what we have to do first is rotate the cradles facing the right side up. Then well get the straps out of our way and test fit the bike. Now we have the bike attached with the cradles, now well one up it by adding one of the anti-sway brackets. This will keep the bike from moving around on the rack. more
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Posted: 8/6/2008 3:37:41 PM
We will cover some of the features of this rack, starting at the base. We will talk about the hitch pin or lack there of, instead of a hitch pin this assembly has a bolt that locks it into place. You screw it in, tighten it down, and essentially it makes the bike rack one piece for your hitch so it does not rattle around, move or make noise. Another nice feature about this rack is that the rack itself tilts in case you need to get into the back of your truck, SUV or whatnot. You simply unclip the pin and let the rack down so you can get in the back without having to take the whole assembly off. Next we will talk about the cradles themselves. They are real nice in the fact that they can be adjusted front to rear or left to right. Also the cradles themselves have grooves in them to keep room for your cables on your bike so they do not mash up against the frame. As an additional note, we will take an outside measurement of the cradles to see if it is compatible with your bicycle frame. It looks like overall it will be 12-1/4 inches. Now we will show you how a couple of different bike frames will fit on the rack. We will start off with the standard frame bicycle. As you can see if you look down the line of the cables, they go right into the grooves already made into the cradles so they will not get pinched against the frame. Now we will go ahead and install an alternative frame bicycle on the rack to show you how it mounts up. As you can see an alternative frame bicycle fits just nicely on this rack too. There you have it, part # TH957 from Thule, their Parkway model. more
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Posted: 8/6/2008 3:40:16 PM
Today we are going to show you part number A30901 from SportRack. This is their 2 bicycle rack designed for 1-1/4 and 2 inch receiver hitches. Now for the 1-1/4 inch receiver it does have to be a class 2 receiver hitch. We will go ahead and show you the features and what is really nice about this bicycle rack. We will go ahead and start by installing it in our 2 inch receiver hitch. It is pretty easy. Instead of a hitch pin, it comes with a bolt. You pull this safety clip out and it just unscrews like a normal bolt. Then you just slide it in aligning the holes before you reinstall the bolt. You go ahead and tighten it down with a 3/4 inch wrench. This bolt acts like a anti rattle device that makes the entire thing one solid assembly now. OK, once we have our bolt installed, we will install our safety pin just to make sure if it comes loose it will not come all the way out. more
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Posted: 7/22/2008 10:10:46 AM
Today we are going to show you part number A30902 from SportRack. This is the SportRack 4 bike carrier of the wheel mounted variety. We will go ahead and install it on our vehicle here and show you how it works. It is a real nice set up that holds all your bikes nice and secure. We will go ahead and install our wheel mount bicycle rack and see how it works. Now we will go ahead and install our anti sway bolt. It simply threads in then we tighten it in so we can install our safety pin on the other side. Now we will go ahead and unfold the rack so we can install our bikes. It is pretty simple. We have a few pins to pull out and we will reinsert them to keep our arms in the working position. Do the same thing on the front half. We will cover a couple of quick points about this. The wheel mounts themselves are pretty easy to adjust. Just loosen this knob and you can adjust them as needed. As a back up, this rack comes with some safety straps as well. more
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Posted: 7/22/2008 11:13:06 AM
Today we are going to show you part number TH964 from Thule. This is their swinging 4 bike carrier for 2 inch trailer hitches. The Thule Eevolver. What we have here is a hitch mounted bicycle rack that is designed for 2 inch trailers hitches. It can hold up to 4 bikes and it has the unique ability to swing in and out from the vehicle so you have complete access to the rear of your vehicle when you need too. We will go ahead and start to show you all the features of this rack starting at the bottom and working our way up. One of the more important features of this bike rack is that it has a built in anti sway device. Basically it has this bolt that goes through and is threaded to the bicycle rack. Which essentially bolts the bike rack to the hitch. It comes packaged with a tool that you can use to tighten it up. So that it becomes one with your vehicle. more
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Posted: 7/23/2008 8:32:32 AM
Today we are going to show you part number TH990 the Double Track from Thule. What we have here is a wheel mount bicycle rack that will carry 2 bikes. It is also good for an 1 1/4 and 2 inch receivers. First thing we will show you is how it is converted from an 1 1/4 inch to a 2 inch receiver. To remove the sleeve here there is a simple allen headed bolt you take apart. The allen head here comes with the bike rack in this case. You just slide the sleeve right off. Now it is ready for a 1 1/4 receiver. We will go ahead and install the rack on our 2 inch receiver here. Once we have that installed we can go ahead and install our anti-rattle bolt. It does come with a tool to tighten it down. To cover a few more features about this bike rack it does have these nice padded hooks that hold the bike into place. more
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Posted: 7/22/2008 5:02:52 PM
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