Best 2018 Subaru Forester Bike Racks

The bike rack is perfect for what I need. It was really easy to assemble and has the functionality I need - being able to tilt and still access my trunk, for example. I've used it regularly over the last year and I haven't had a single problem with it. I'd highly recommend this product for anyone looking for something easy to assemble, durable, and functional.

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I like the Swagman XTC-2 TILT as it's well designed and sturdily built. Good value for the money. Have it on my 2018 Forester and it's a swell fit with no jiggling about. The tilt works well and is so convenient. Made a good purchase and thanks for the excellent website with its questions, answers, tips and speedy service.

Out of the box impression of material and workmanship was pretty average. Was surprised to see that the carrier has specific disclaimers for use with carbon frames. This should be up front in the description given the prevalence of this material in bikes today. Assembly was simple. Conversion between hitch types is likely to be a pain though - long Allen bolt to remove for 1 1/4" hitch receiver. My wife will "love" that part I'm sure. We'll see how it carries and handles bikes soon.

Excellent service, received product earlier than stated. product works great

I’ve had the Thule bike rack for about three weeks now and have the following comments: 1. Order and delivery from etrailer was extremely great as I received the item within a few days of ordering. 2. Assembly of the bike rack was very easy and took a very short period of time. The instructions provided with the item were easy to follow. The online video on assembling and mounting the rack is also very good should you want to also follow that to ensure you did everything correctly. 3. The bike rack was mounted on a 2010 Subaru Forester and fit very well. It is secure and you can easily open and close the hatchback with the bike rack installed without the rack becoming loose. I’ve had the rack mounted the whole time and have had no issues with it becoming loose. 4. With a bike mounted on the rack, the bike is held very secure by the three straps and does not move around too much with the key being to secure the front tire to the bike frame using the enclosed strap. I’ve only traveled on city streets with bumps and turns so far with the bike mounted, but don’t anticipate any issues with high speed travel on the interstate due to the solid build of the rack and the way it secures a bike in place. Overall I am very satisfied with the product and would recommend it to others.

Order this bike rack for use on a 2014 Subaru Forester with a factory 1 1/4" trailer hitch. The rack appears to be solid and capable of holding two front suspension mountain bikes. One bike is a 15" men's bike and the other is a 19" men's bike. The rack went together easily and fit into the hitch with no problems. We ordered an anti-rattle locking hitch pin with a cable to lock the bikes and the rack to the car, but the locking hitch pin was too big to thread through the rack. etrailer sent another locking hitch pin in a very easy return process. The new one worked perfectly. We did find that when putting the bikes on the rack, we had to take off the ratchet arms and then slide them back down the center post. We used old socks on the pedals of the bikes to avoid any damage to the car or bikes, and old washcloths between the ratchet arms and the bikes as well since other people reported damage to their bikes' finishes. We also used velcro straps to secure the wheels to the wheel hoops for extra security. All in all the rack seems to be a great product.

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For now I'm giving this 4 stars, though it could well deserve a 5. Ordering, delivery of the bike rack was smooth and easy. It took me 45 minutes to assemble and install the rack by myself (I am only semi-handy, good at following directions and using basic tools, but not capable of major modifications on my own). I found the instructions clear and the process straight forward. All the parts fit smoothly and didn't require extra greasing or adjusting. The metal is treated and high quality, so with reasonable care (i.e., not leaving out in the rain continuously), it seems it will last a long time. I love the clean, simple, minimalistic design. No need for additional bungees or straps to keep bike parts from wandering or spinning. The rack seems adaptable to a variety of bike sizes and combinations with minimal effort, though it likely will take a little testing to find the best positions for your particular bike combos. It is relatively easy to get on and off, and very easy to move the center post for access to the back hatch. Further bonus - it works fine with my canoe strapped to the roof. Possible cons (too soon to know for sure): Unfortunately, it's been raining nonstop, so I have only briefly road tested the rack. It does bounce and move around in the receiver a bit more than I'd like, so I may have an additional set screw hole drilled into my receiver to help stabilize it, but I'm going to wait and see. The bike travels very smoothly on the highway in the test runs I've made and doesn't affect the handling of the car (Subaru Forester). I do live down a gravel road with a gravel driveway, and the bike wobbles noticeably at slow speeds and on the gravel road. Also, security. I'm not usually in a situation where I need to worry about securing my bike or rack with a lock, but I can see that this could be a concern. For short trips, you can easily fold up the rack and place it inside the vehicle. I think you could lock the bike to the rack. But if you need to leave the rack with or without bikes attached outside the vehicle, then yes it could be a security issue, as the pin isn't made for locking.

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Excellent service, received product earlier than stated. product works great

Easy to assemble and attach to my 2015 Subaru Forester. I have been very pleased with the purchase. The bikes are fairly easy to load, although I have only had two bikes on at once (adult and teen-sized mountain bikes). Rack is secure when attached to car, as are the bikes to the rack. Longest car trip has been 3.5 hrs...no problems.

Things I wanted in a platform bike rack: -Rack that could accommodate at least a 49" wheel base -At least 35 lbs per bike capacity, but preferably 45 lbs -A Rack that could fold up and out of the way without hitting the bumper or interfering with the rear hatch opening. -A rack that would have enough clearance to still open the hatch with the bikes mounted and tilted away. -My bike (that I was concerned about fitting): 2017 Trek Fuel EX 7 29er, size XXL. This rack hit all of those requirements! I was a bit hesitant because there was no confirmed fitment for the 2014+ Forester (beyond some measurements), but I ordered it anyway. I'm happy to report that the rack fits perfectly. I attached pictures that show that there is plenty of clearance when the bike is mounted, bike is mounted and tilted away (to open the hatch), and when the rack is folded up (to clear bumper and open the rear hatch). Rack itself: -Assembly and installation was fairly easy. The directions could be somewhat confusing, but read carefully and pay attention and it will be easy. -The cam locks that are used to tilt/fold the rack and to release the vertical arm are much more convenient than having to remove and re-insert a pin. --there is some up and down play from the tilt/fold cam lock, but it actually does not cause excess movement when the bikes are mounted and the car is moving, hitting bumps, turning, etc. -Very minimal movement from the rack while in motion. -The padding on the hooks is fairly hard, so I did buy some pipe insulation to protect the top tube on my bikes. -The rack hooks lock and there is a lock for the hitch pin. No cables necessary! -The wheel trays are very sturdy and easy to adjust. -The price was very reasonable, especially considering that locks are included. Regarding etrailer.com -awesome database of information AND the best prices that I could find. -the support team is also very responsive and helpful. I'm very happy with my hitch rack so far, and I'm very happy to have ditched my roof bike carriers!

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I purchased this rack for my 2014 Subaru Forester. I originally bought a used Thule rack that hung the bikes from the top tube (or the top tube adapter, in the case of my mountain bikes), but my bike hung too low. After much research into various racks, I selected this Swagman Chinook. The ratings were good, the price was right, and it had all the features of a much more expensive rack. The rack was very easy to put together upon arrival, and it took me just a few minutes to adjust it to my mountain bike's size. I really like the fact that the rack locks to the car and also locks the bikes down to the rack. The rack tilts in easily to the vehicle when not in use. It's easy to put the rack on and take off of my car as well. I found the easiest way to load my bike (Niner RIP 9) is to raise the top hook to the tallest height and then lower the top tube hook rack. After I put the bike wheels in the tray and ratchet them down with the padded straps, I swing the top tube rack up and lock it down. If I attempted to load the bike with the top tube rack up, I had to really maneuver the bike around it while trying to get the wheels seated, and worried I'd scratch my car. I took it on a trip up north on a very windy day, and there was no sway. So many great features at a price that can't be beat.

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Product is pretty easy to mount with the included hardware. I haven't had a chance to use it yet so I will update my review at that time...

Great customer service. Fast shipping. Quality products.

Showed up fast and was easy to assemble. Rock solid product. No wiggle or chatter once installed. 27.5+ MTB fits perfect.

Rack arrived today. I will not lie, it is heavy and therefore cumbersome to assemble. Despite that, I was able to assemble and install it in just under one hour. I did this on my own, another person would have cut this time in half. The rack checks all the boxes of wants and needs. That same weight noted before makes it rock solid. The anti-rattle feature to tighten the hitch is wonderful. Handle/pedal to change from upright position to bike holding rack to tilt away from my Subaru 2010 Forester was incredibly simple and smooth. I was all set to buy the Thule T2 Pro XT 2 and a friend told me about this Kuat NV 2.0. I am so happy. I knew it was more expensive, but free shipping and price was discounted at checkout when I purchased it from etrailer.com. Great surprise. This rack is well thought out, has superb quality features, and I am convinced that I made the best choice. All things aside, it also really looks nice.

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Installs easily to the Saris Bones 2 trunk mounted rack and fits well under hatch door of 2016 Subaru Forester. Two concealed steel cables under durable fabric sleeve. Another good recommendation on ertrailer site when purchasing the bike rack.

I like this rack. It's solid, and with a little practice it's reasonably easy to take bikes on and off the rack (and the rack on and off the car). It fits comfortably on my 2012 Subaru Forester.

Everything was delivered and worked as advertised. Good job

etrailer has the best pre- and post-sales customer service I've ever seen! I started out not knowing anything about hitch-mounted racks. So I wrote to etrailer telling them about my car and type of hitch I was about to have installed. Samuel wrote back with lots of great information tailored specifically to my car. He even included a photo that looked just like my 2017 white VW GTI with a hitch and rack installed. Okay something of a coincidence. But the rest of the assistance I got from the crew at etrailer was just as prophetic. I went into this a novice and came out knowing lots more about hitches and racks and finding the rack best suited to my situation. I have a small car, a class 1 hitch and a heavy mountain bike. I got exactly what I needed. As to the Swagman rack itself, it works fine. If I had a different situation I would probably buy a platform rack as they are easier to load. There's no reason to buy a bike rack anywhere else.

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Put this together in about 30 min and looooooooove how easy it is to load 4 bikes!! Two adult bikes(one road) two kids! Incredibly sturdy while driving along the winding mountain roads! If the $1000 racks are easier/better I'd like to know just how much to justify the price!! Super happy with this purchase and the staff at etrailer!

Good rack. Although, it was much heavier then I thought. I was looking for something to put on my wife's car 2-3 times a week, so I can ride home. It's a bit much for daily use, but is very sturdy and great for the long haul.

High quality product - very satisfied!! Customer service was excellent. Can't wait to use it.

Perfect for my 2019 RAV-4. I like this product because it allows me to drive and park without having to worry about height clearances in the city and parking was still navigable. Definitely worth the money!

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Good product for the $. Easy set up..works well and as advertised.

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.

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