# 1
Thule Hitching Post Pro Bike Rack for 4 Bikes - 1-1/4" and 2" Hitches
The good: I like the way the bikes are held in and the ability to add the upright adapters to the bike frame holders. The straps are quality too. For a jeep with a spare tire, this is the perfect length to clear it. This rack is 5 stars from the bike holders to the base of it. The bad: the 2"receiver adapter and bolt are insufficient. I wish they made this in a solid 2" hitch. The entire setup is held into the receiver by a very short bolt. It only goes about half way into the receiver tube. So your hitch is only "secured" on one side. A hitch pin or bolt should go through the receiver tube completely imo so it can be secured on the other end with a retaining clip or nut. Because this only goes in the one side, the entire weight of the rack plus bikes are held tight to one side of the receiver by the undersized bolt and washer. A few bumps down the road and that bolt loosens. Now instead of distibuting the weight of the rack and bikes on the receiver and post, it's completely up to the bolt to keep you from losing the rack. The bolt threads get damaged too. I took this down a dirt road and nearly lost everything. I had to buy my own bolt with hd fender washers and lock washers to correct this. Thule should've provided this from the start. The current short bolt design where only one side of the receiver secures the rack is unacceptable. This rack is 1 star at best for the connection to the receiver.
I bought this bike rack back in April but wanted to make sure I used it to give the best review. First I want to say I did a lot of research on bike racks and found this one to be the best one to fit my needs. The best price I found was on etrailer.com, at the time it was When I called the customer service to place my order, I spoke to Dan. He was very pleasant on the phone and took the time and listened to what I needed and understood my concerns. I ordered the bike rack and also ordered the Thule Snug Tite Hitch Lock and Anti-Rattle Device and the Thule Cable Lock w/ One Key System Lock. Dan suggested I also get the Thule Bike Adapter Bar, which I never even thought of getting. Delivery was in about two business days, which was really fast and at the time of order they were running a special free delivery over $99. When I went to put it together I noticed I was missing the flat cap screw M6 x 16mm, part number #853-5787-02. I emailed Dan and within 24 hours received an email that the part was sent out and also in the email their was a link to track the order. After I received the part I did notice that the flat cap screw was actually in the 2 inch adaptor sleeve. The instructions were very easy to read, and it took me about 20 minutes to put together. I did have an issue when I positioned the stinger into the cradle, with the 8mm locking nut, it was not staying tight and when I took it off I noticed the threads inside were gone, so I ended up going out to Lowes and buying a new one and its holds perfectly fine. I also had a question about that part because it is not a locking part and was worried someone would try to steal the rack. I contacted etrailer.com to find if they make a locking device for this and they said no but I can contact Thule to double check, I'm still waiting for an answer back from Thule. The weather finally broke and we installed the rack onto my hitch, tightened it and it doesn't rattle. When I finally used the rack and put my bike on, it did sway a little but at 50 mph I was very happy with it. The trailer comes out just enough away from my car that I do not have to fold completely out and I can open my trunk with no issues. I am very happy with my purchase and had a great customer experience with Dan. Would highly recommend ordering from them to anyone.
# 2
Swagman XTC2 Bike Rack for 2 Bikes - 1-1/4" and 2" Hitches - Frame Mount
First-time rack buyer / owner / installer. The rack arrived in a timely fashion, maybe a day or 2 ahead of schedule. It was well packaged. I’m LOVING this bike rack. It was easy to put together and to mount on my new Honda Passport. Thus far, no squeaks in my 2” receiver. Hardest part of initial set-up is figuring out the best way to position two bikes. Trial & error and some patience. The directions weren’t clear as to where the 2 left-over screws went. I found the answer in another review and have posted a pic in case others have the same problem (photo with pen pointing at screw). These screws go in the underneath side of both of the folding arms. They appear to keep the wheel wells from sliding off in case in you drive with an empty, un-folded rack, and forgot to tighten down the wheel wells. The folding arm push / pull pins can be difficult at times. I coated the tips with some lube. That and a little jiggling seems to solve that issue. I guess it’s better for the pins to be snug vs popping right out. I added a small Master lock to the hitch pin (in lieu of the provided cotter pin) as a theft deterrent. I read that a 3/16 shackle lock will fit into the bike clamp down arms to also act as a deterrent. I had an old 3/16 lock that did snugly fit and appeared to be locked. HOWEVER, I yanked on the lock and it came open as there isn’t quite enough clearance for the shackle to lock. I discovered that longer 3/16 shackle locks are hard to find. Have attached a photo of the lock that actually fits and works (Ace Hardware). One lock on the upper clamp down arm will secure both arms as the lower arm can’t be removed without removing the upper arm. The clamp down arms appear to be coated to prevent damage to your bike. I’ve tried a simple rag and ultimately settled on pool noodle pieces as a precautionary measure. I CAN NOT open my tailgate (regardless of whether or not the rack is fold up and in the bike carry position). If that’s a concern for you, then spring for the more costly titling version. My back-up camera still functions.
The Swagman XTC-2 platform bike carrier arrived very quickly from etrailer and in good shape, the actual carrier box is inside another shipper box, which I'm sure helped with its condition. Assembly was relatively quick and painless, even though the instructions could be a little more thorough. Installing the carrier on the back of our Jeep Patriot also was quick, it helps to have an extra ratchet & 3/4" socket laying around for just this purpose. Installing the bikes takes a little patience and trial and error the first time you try and put them on the carrier. It's easy enough to adjust the wheel holders to fit the wheelbase of your bikes, but for us at least, the challenge was trying to swing the vertical support bar up into position after putting on the first bike (closest to the Jeep). We couldn't angle the bike enough toward the Jeep to have the bar clear the bike. We learned that the easiest way to secure the first bike was to remove the ratcheting frame hooks altogether, put the bike in the carrier, swing up the vertical support bar, put in the pin, and then slide one of the frame hooks down on the bar. The outside bike is much easier because you can set the bike in the carrier at whatever angle you need, not being limited by the back of the vehicle. One thing we did to protect the bike frames was to use some foam pipe insulation as cushion between the frame hook and the frame (see pictures). Once you get a system for installing the bikes, it is very quick to load/unload them. The rack seems to be well made and doesn't wiggle excessively when traveling. All in all a good product for a good price, would definitely recommend it for anyone looking for a platform bike carrier.
# 3
SportRack Ridge Bike Rack for 4 Bikes - 2" Hitches - Swing Away
Unit doesn't fit a Jeep Rubicon with a spare tire. I tried 4 times and contacted etrailer.com that the unit doesn't work as sold and they offered to sell me a 7 3/4 extension and reduce the load capacity 50%. The length of the 2" hitch needs to be 3" longer for a standard Rubicon to get past the spare. You not going to want to take your spare tire off for the hitch to work. It defeats the purpose. Customer service was excellent, however the product is a flawed design. Can't recommend this hitch. Its also heavy.
Solid rack for half the price of the name brands. Don’t waste your money! Thanks to the extensive reviews on etrailer and a free shipping promotion I took a chance and ordered this along with the three of their crossbars, anti rattle hitch pin and cable lock. All for well less than the name brand rack alone. Shipping was painful. Etrailer said it was in stock but then due to a delay with the manufacturer it took 35 days from order to arrival. I wasn’t in a hurry so I waited patiently, and etrailer reps emailed often to lmk they hadn’t forgotten. I thought some kind of reward for my extreme patience was in order- discount, gift card, free bag of chips- but they politely declined. Oh well. In the end it arrived when they (eventually) said it would, all in one box, in great shape. The rack was super easy to assemble. You’ll need a ratchet or two and you’ll need to crank those bolts to assemble- they don’t just “insert.” But otherwise it’s only a few steps; I had mine hanging on my truck in probably 15 minutes. Swings away and locks smoothly and requires no effort to do so. Everything feels quite sturdy and well made. No rattle on initial test drive either. This will be a once in a while rack at best for our family of four. We have two SUVs so I needed a rack that could get out of the way of the rear hatch WITH bikes on it. This will do that. And now I don’t need to stuff four dirty bikes into the back of my truck, getting them all tangled and scratched!
# 4
Kuat Dirtbag Phat 9 Fat Bike Rack - Fork Mount - Bolt On - 9 mm Quick-Release Skewer
I bought this for my fat tire HIMIWAY ZEBRA E-BIKE to mount to the rails in my 2018 Toyota Tundra. The mount was sturdy. After looking all over the internet this was the best I could find. The issue I had with it is that the bike weighs 88lbs and it was difficult to get the front fork on the mount. But the bigger issue was the weight of the bike on the mount added allot of stress to the Tundra rail system to the point where it was flexing the front of the truck bed. I did not want to risk the potential damage to the truck through bumps and long hauls . I would definitely recommend this if you have a regular fat tire bike as it’s not as heavy and won’t stress the bed.
Product looks great. Fits our Fat Tire ebikes great. But your template is for the smaller mount. No big deal but you should caution customers before they drill into anything.
# 5
Saris Freedom Bike Rack for 2 Bikes - 1-1/4" and 2" Hitches - Frame Mount
I had to put my electric bikes into this rack, backwards, to make them fit. Not ideal, but it works.The receiving 'trays' that are intended to provide support for holding the bikes, by being placed under the bike tires, are forced to be moved to a location that is not directly under the bottom of the bike tires. While it works in this manner, it is not ideal.For the support that attaches to the diagonal bike frame, we had to remove it from the vertical rail of the rack. We reinstalled it, upside down, because that's the only way we could make it fit, or 'grab', the bike frame. Again, we made it work, but it's not ideal. We chose to keep the rack because it was so much less expensive than the Thule rack we considered buying. The bike shop owner didn't agree with us. He observed that we are putting $3000 worth of bikes on the rack and risking that investment. So far, no problems, other than the ill-fitting installation.
Loved our Saris rack that went on the trunk but love having the bike rack on a hitch even more! Now we can take the bikes AND put the top to the convertible up and down as we please :)
What our customers are saying:
"The new Rola bike rack is great, easy to install, easy to use and full of features that cost extra on other manufacturers racks. I've been telling everyone I ride with about your site. Thanks again, Matt"