Best 2008 Subaru Outback Wagon Bike Racks

Mounted on a DrawTite Class III hitch for a 2008 Outback. Assembly was VERY easy, and it seems pretty sturdy overall. I feel a little iffy on the sleeve that converts/fits it to a 2" hitch from a materials perspective - I wasn't expecting it to be plastic/nylon (not 100% sure what it is exactly so correct me if I'm wrong!) but I imagine it'll probably be fine. The small plastic bars that mount the anti-sway cages also seem like they could be subject to wear from the twisting motion to install them, so that's something I'll have to watch out for. Concerns aside, the test drives I did on suburban streets and a few miles of ~75 MPH interstate seemed to go pretty well with two 30-lb bikes on it. I will say that my wife's Salsa Marrakesh has a slightly compact enough geometry that it was a little bit of a challenge getting the top tube over the cradles, so I'd imagine anything smaller than that is going to be difficult to put on there as well, but my Cross Check fit on it just fine.

Click to Enlarge

Hitch pin broke before I got it. Looks like a poor design for the locking pin, they might want to consider a different design. I got a 3/8 shear pin from Home Depot to replace and it works great. Bike rack is great!

Click to Enlarge

Easy to assemble, and easy to mount and dismount from the hitch. Not too heavy for me (56+ petite female) to life up. The only improvement needed is it wobbles quite obviously but is safe enough. Complement to the seller who provides good customer services.

Solid and easy to adjust, compact enough when folded up for storage. I am very pleased with it so far, the bikes are well secured, no wobble.

I recently ordered from Etrailer a two bicycle hitch rack for our 2017 Subaru Outback. The bike rack arrived promptly. The quality of the mount and ease of assembly exceeded my expectations and can also be easily adapted to our 2007 Yukon. I would like to also thank David the Customer Service Representative who answered my question about the unit during the ordering process. Great job Etrailer!

Click to Enlarge

Just completed my installation of the Swagman bike rack, took my daughter’s and my bike to the park and had a great time. Very easy to use.

Click to Enlarge

Great product. Worked great for taking the boys bike down to the beach. Also great around town going to the bike trail.

Click to Enlarge

I purchaced two of the swagman upright roof mounted racks the day before I left for a camping trip. They were easy to install on the existing cross bars of my 2009 Subaru Outback. The factory bars are slightly curved so I plan to shim one side of each rack to level them out. I mounted two full suspension mountain bikes on these racks. The jaws have trouble opening up wide enough to fit the beefy downtubes of these bikes but after a bit of force and unscrewing the jaws all the way, they fit in. (Bikes were a Specialized Stumpjumper FSR and a Trek Remedy) Once tightened, the racks held the bikes well and we had no issues with anything comming loose or shaking during the 6+ hour round trip. The tightening wheel locks with a key but it would have been nice if both racks (ordered at the same time) were keyed with the same lock. Not a big deal, just have to remember which key goes to which rack each time. There are better racks out there but this one does the job even for larger mountain bikes if you dont mind fighting the jaws a little. Great rack for the price.

Great product, high quality, fits our Outback perfectly. Bike fits the rack great. Painless ordering with etrailer and prompt delivery. Only concern was that the shipper banged up the box pretty hard, but the bike rack was not damaged.

It's very good overall, but if you take it on a longer trip or on bumpier roads, expect to make some stops to tighten the straps. It fits mine and my wife's bikes fine, but we have yet to find a way to fit my daughter's 20" bike on here, even using the adapter bar (sold separately). We're using it on an Outback wagon because we don't have a trailer hitch. When we trade this in for a newer model we will be getting a trailer hitch and springing for one of the bike racks that will fit with it.

Great product! Exactly what I hoped the rack would be, but be sure your order locks! They are not included by Yakama.

Great rack! Many improvement over the current yakima product. Easy to install, easy to mount bike, everything quick to turn by hand-no tools necessary. May have to get another one.

Used our Swagman Chinook 2 bike platform for the first time today. My wife and I really like it. Drove about 60 miles to a rail trail at a state park. Easy to load and unload, travels well on the highway and secondary roads. Love the ability to tilt the rack with the bikes on for easy access to the rear door of our Subaru Outback. It appears to be a very well made carrier. It does weigh almost 50 lbs, and that is our only complaint.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Fast shipping and just right fit

I've had this bike roof rack for 1 year and I'm happy to say that it was the right product to purchase. I've had no problems at all with the racks. I bought a pair for my Subaru Outback and had my bicycle repair guy install it for me. I feel secure in that it locks the bikes in place and keeps them sturdy on the roof. I'm glad I got the one where you remove the front tire of the bike. The other style would make it much to hard to remove the bikes from the roof. I usually put the bikes up and remove them with my wife and the aid of a small step stool. It's been really great riding with our bikes to our favorite bike trails. Would highly recommend Rhino for making such a great product.

I mounted this on my 2011 Subaru Outback in about one hour. The instructions were in error as in Step 1 it has you put on the end-cap first. But then you have to take the end-cap off in order to thread on the Wheel Strap. I mounted the bike (29 inch hard-tail) and it seems sturdy and secure. So far so good. Will it keep the bike on in Wyoming cross winds? This remains to be seen.

So far I’ve just assembled it and took a quick test drive around the block. My initial thought is this thing is perfect. It’s super sturdy and easy to use. My only gripe and it’s not fault of the rack, but it’s heavy…

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

If you've done any research or read any of the other comments on either this rack, or this seller...rest assured they really are as good as everyone says! I ordered my rack on around 4pm est on a Friday afternoon and within an hour I received an email that said they have shipped my product AND upgraded to priority shipping. Can't say enough positive things about the customer service! When the rack arrived, it took me a little over half an hour to get it set up. Probably would e been faster if I were even slightly mechanically inclined (or if didn't I didn't have to borrow a socket wrench from my neighbor). We finally had an opportunity to load up the bikes and head out for a ride today. As others have said, the first time you load up your bikes, it's kind of like a puzzle to get them situated. Took about 15 minutes. This rack is awesome! Very sturdy and the bikes were very secure. Only racks I have had in the past were rooftop fork mount racks. This is so much easier! On e we got to the trail (over an hour drive) getting the bikes off was a piece of cake. Afterwards, it was time to load them back up and it was less than 5 minutes to get them all on and ready to hit the road. There were other 4-bike racks on the website, but this one had enough great reviews that I felt comfortable making the purchase. After the fact, I'm very glad I did! I can't imagine the $800 rack can be that much better than this, and I highly recommend this for anyone looking for a 4-bike platform rack. I will definitely recommend this rack and etrailer.com to everyone I know.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Once I figured out that my factory crossbars *could be moved* everything worked (2009 Subaru Outback). If you happen to have fixed position crossbars, and your bike's wheelbase just happens to place the rear wheel exactly in the middle of the rear clamp, then it won't work (even if you get the free fix). The rear tire ratcheting tie down (wheel tray) can't be placed suitably close to the rear wheel for buckling. Also, the clamps don't *exactly* match the shape of my crossbars, so the gripping force is not spread out. I need a notch between the upper and middle notches, or a rubbery, compressible surface.

The clamps fit factory oval cross bars. No adapters necessary. Setup on my 04 Outback took 20 minutes.

Solid craftsmanship. Bikes are secure, easy placement in holders. Nice option of pulling a pin, allowing carrier to tilt, to access hatchback of a Subaru Outback wagon. Slight "side to side" movement when driving down the road however; maintains solid attachment to trailer hitch.

Just installed the rack & took the bike on a little ride... all worked great! Installation instructions could have been a little bit clearer, but I've seen worse.

The Thule EasyFold XT Bike Rack for 2 Electric Bikes is outstanding! I am a sixty-something woman who loves to ride her e-bike. I am very happy that, by myself, I can attach the rack to the 1-1/4" hitch of my Subaru Outback, roll two bikes up the detachable ramp, secure the bike frames with the locking "jaws" and cinch straps, lean the loaded up rack backwards in order to access the "way back" of my Subaru. Best of all the rack itself locks to the hitch, so the whole apparatus, bikes and hitch, are safe and secure. And when storing it, simply wheel around it like a rolling suitcase on the attached pair of wheels. Best heavy duty bike rack ever! Adventures near and far await!

At age 70 our two new ebikes are bit too heavy for us to be lifting up onto our older Thule hitch rack. More importantly, the ebikes have fender, so the clamp-onto-the-tire holding style will not work. The EasyFold solves all those problems. A ramp to get the bikes up and down. A moveable clamping system that holds the frame solid. It lowers for access to the rear. It does not lift up when not holding bikes, but it does not stick out very far. And what is really cool, when off the vehicle it folds up like a little suitcase with wheels for easy storage and moving about. The tongue fits very snugly into my 1.25" receiver. Really well thought out, easy to use, solidly built. Great purchase.

The bike rack is awesome, well built and easy to assemble. The only issue that i have is that the product description says that these are suppose to have ratcheting straps to secure the tires and mine most definitely DOES NOT. Its not a big deal but still.

Rack is still going strong. The BackSwing attachment allows us to use this while camping, on road trips, etc. and we can access the back hatch on our Outback without removing the bikes. We use this for mountain bikes, as well as our heavy (65 lb) e-bikes. Very sturdy.

I have a great rack! (actually my wife does) I have 5 or 6 friends that use this rack and grew weary of throwing my bike on top of the Outback. Additionally my wife has become interested in venturing off on her own and cannot put a bike on top her outback. etrailer shipped promptly, and the product arrived in good shape, note: there were a few spots where the parts had jostled around in the box slightly and you could see some marring of the surface. This polished right out with a microfiber towel and mothers. There are a few minor nicks (I mean really minor) on the rack;but, they were there before being put in the factory packaging. Not enough to whine about just know the finish is great just not perfect. Speaking of the finish the color matches my Outback perfectly, it actually looks like an OEM Subaru thing. Fit is good using the Hidden/Drawtite hitch clearing the hatch while tilted back easily even with 800mm bars. The locking Hitch pin that comes with the rack is 1/2" diameter instead of the normal 5/8", fortunately the hitch mentioned above has a smaller 1/2" about 12mm aft of the 5/8" hole. The hole in the rack is 5/8" but do to the snugging system on the Küat the mismatch I'd of no consequence. Assembly is easy and someone with good mechanical aptitude should be able to do it in less than 10, an extra set of hands would be nice but aren't required. I built mine on an elevated bench and it was quick and super easy, admittedly I used power tools because I have them. I'm looking forward to the convenience of a tray.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

I received the rack very quickly from eTrailer.com, faster than expected, which is always nice. Of course UPS beat the tar out of the box, but the rack was packed well and survived the abuse without a scratch. Assembly was quick and easy, 4 main bolts and 1 for the tilt release lever, that was it. This rack is built like a tank, I'm impressed with the construction and finish. Test fit my road bike (Cannondale Synapse Carbon) and wife's MTB (Cannondale Foray) in just a few minutes. Bikes fit well and felt very solid. Overall I'm a very happy camper and would highly recommend the rack and eTrailer.com.

It’s relatively heavy but super easy to install and use. No rattles from hitch or bike areas. Red Yakima stickers on the vertical beam are low quality, not firmly attached, and I expect them to peal off. Otherwise, very happy with the rack.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

I bought a 2015 Subaru Outback and had a Subaru factory installed 1-1/4 hitch added to my purchase. I did not know at the time that Subaru designed the hitch to fit basically only their branded products. I went to several bike stores trying to find a 4 bike hitch supported by my Subaru. I even took some home and tried to get them to work and none did. I went on the internet and googled some solutions that were either completely wrong or was a solution by some engineer who customized the bike rack. Luckily I reached out to etrailer and spoke to their phone rep. He had heard about challenges with the Subaru hitch and recalled there were a couple of 4 bike hitches that would work. He said he would get back to me. In about a 1/2 hour I got an email about the Yakima RidgeBack. I was hesitant because so many had failed but with the free return policy I gave it a shot. I am not real mechanically inclined but in about an hour I figured out how to mount it on my Subaru (it takes less than 5 minutes now that I know how). I used the rack dozens of times, even hauling 4 bikes on it. This is the second product I have bought from etrailer and could not be happier. They are fast, responsive to questions, and get it right. I

Goes together quickly, appears that it will fit my needs in terms of being cross-compatible on a variety of vehicles. Fit on a Subaru Outback factory crossbar and transported bike locally with no issues when I got it out to set up and test (not quite warm enough to ride much yet where I live). Instructions are not super, but the assembly is pretty straightforward so that is not a problem. At the price point, if this rack indeed holds up to swapping onto multiple vehicles and lasts me a few years, I'll be thrilled with the purchase.

Click to Enlarge

The rack was pretty much as should be expected at this price point. It works, but not great quality. For one, the paint easily chips off. Another, the rails are a bit flimsy and twist when you tighten the rear wheel firmly. The directions don't explain a number of small items (which make for a better installation) such as make sure the lever is positioned on the outside for easier installation of the bike, why is there one different bolt, whether the bikes should be mounted forward, backward or it doesn't matter, the rails have a right (and less right) way of going together, the strap for the rear tire "will" fall off of the rack if you forget to reinsert it after taking the bike off of the car. Despite these shortcomings, the rack works well at an inexpensive price...I think a pretty good value

The rack came damaged and could not be assemble without first repairing the damage. The mounting bracket for one of the cross arms was bent (see photo) which prevented the cross arm from being installed. The bend had to be hammer out straight before the cross arm could be installed, which also cause the area of repair to need repainting. Otherwise, the rack appears to be functional and well built. The website specs for the rack list its weight as 38 pounds, but the actual weight is 45 pounds.

Click to Enlarge

I bought this rack for transporting my full suspension mountain bike and gravel bike on the back of my 2016 subaru outback. The rack itself so far is great - I spent a while researching different systems, and the Rocky Mounts MonoRail had the best value for features of all racks I looked at. The tilt feature is great, and the loading/offloading is easy. The integrated locks for the rack and your bikes are a great feature, although the cable would not stop a determined thief with tools. Bikes are relatively stable in the cradles on highways, minimal movement on gravel roads. One complaint is that the entire rack is not very snug in the 2" hitch installed on my vehicle. There is a noticeable bob and sway on the entire loaded unit on bumpy roads. Ideally, I would add shims. Finally, this unit does block ~60% of my backup camera, which just means you have to be careful and use the old school method of turning around to look before backing up.