# 1
Thule Hitching Post Pro Bike Rack for 4 Bikes - 1-1/4" and 2" Hitches
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!
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.
# 2
Swagman XTC2 Bike Rack for 2 Bikes - 1-1/4" and 2" Hitches - Frame Mount
The Swagman XTC 2 bike platform carrier was mounted on a 2010 Subaru Outback equipped with a 2" receiver. I will also use the bike carrier on a 2008 Saturn Vue. Ordering from etrailer was straight forward, shipping was fast with continuous texts from etrailer as to shipping status. Impressive. The bike rack works perfect for my wife's extended wheel base-pedal forward Townie bike and my Giant Sequoia trail bike. Bike positioning is important, but not difficult. Retaining hooks ratchet into place easily, and rubber straps secure the wheels. The anti-rattle receiver mount with threaded locking hitch pin works well. No slop there. The only concern we have is the flexing of the receiver bar. With no bikes on board and the carrier arms in the vertical positing, you can watch the minor 'dancing' of the vertical members. Put 2 bikes on the carrier and you can see a little more wobble of the bikes. I suspect the receiver arm of the carrier needs to be sturdier to eliminate this movement. When you read the warranty, you will notice Swagman will void the warranty if the bikes are carried on a 5th wheel trailer or on a vehicle that is taken off road. That tells me they know the receiver arm needs beefing up. Oh well, it works for my interstate transport. I would recommend this carrier for normal day to day transport of 2 bikes.
Delivery from etrailer was super fast and the price was very competetive. First the PROS: Basic assembly of this carrier was easy and quick. It does carry both our bikes within the width of the car (barely). The carrier is fairly light and attaches easily to the receiver. Mounting the bikes is easy. The latch release can be locked with small padlock, but I would lock both. The squared frame on my hybrid bike can be securely latched down with no marking. Now the CONS: Jiggly! My old Reese carrier was rock solid but this one really sways alot. The wheel carriers are not welded correctly and do not allow folding up to the latch point. Teeth on the hold down bar could be deeper. Getting our 2 bikes to sit within vehicle width took alot of initial finagling. Reflective surfaces were limited so i added my own tape for safety. Purchase of a bike post quick clamp was necessary to fit the 2 bikes on the carrier. And did i say jiggly! Oh, yeah. I don't know how long the rubber wheel straps or the hold down teeth will hold up. I can live with it not folding up as i use the rubber stap to grab the other side wheel hoop. ( i did call e-trailer support about this issue, CSR asked politely if i put it together correctly. Yes, i’m an engineer of 37 years senority). But the jiggling about really bothers me, and evidently, drivers behind as they do not tailgate anymore. So the jury is still out on the value of this product.
# 3
Swagman XC2 Bike Rack for 2 bikes - 1-1/4" and 2" Hitches - Frame Mount
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!
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.
# 4
Swagman XTC4 Bike Rack for 4 Bikes - 2" Hitches - Frame Mount
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…
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.
# 5
Swagman Trailhead Bike Rack for 2 Bikes - 1-1/4" and 2" Hitches - Tilting
Everything has been great so far. One issue I am having is with the hitch bolt and pin. I have a 2020 Subaru Outback and a hitch installed by the dealer. The bolt screws in just fine, but is about 1/4 inch short to allow the hitch pin to be inserted into the bolt. While not a major concern, it does up the anxiety that the bolt may become loose with extended driving. I am currently looking for a solution.
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.
# 6
Yakima HoldUp Bike Rack for 2 Bikes - 2" Hitches - Wheel Mount
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.
# 7
Kuat NV 2.0 Bike Rack for 2 Bikes - 2" Hitches - Wheel Mount - Gunmetal Gray
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.
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.
# 8
Yakima RidgeBack Bike Rack for 4 Bikes - 1-1/4" and 2" Hitches - Tilting
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.
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
# 9
RockyMounts MonoRail Bike Rack for 2 Bikes - 2" Hitches - Wheel Mount
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.
This is a really well-made rack that much sturdier than my last hitch-mounted rack. My only concern, before purchasing, was whether or not the 3rd bike, because of its distance from the hitch, might put too much of a load on my suspension, but my 2020 Outback only squatted a 1/2" or less with all 3 bikes loaded. (Note: the bikes are roughly 30 pounds each. See pics.) I only wish that RockyMounts would have included better locks. I know that locks only keep casual thieves from stealing, but these are really, really cheap. This likely isn't as problematic for the hitch pin (which is hard to see/get to) as it certainly is for the locking cable pin--which is much more visible. Still, this one shortcoming aside, I'm very, very pleased with this purchase. Plus, and I know this might not be the best reason to buy the rack, but it looks really nice in the folded-up position. Finally, I really appreciated the wonderful videos and email answers provided by etrailer.com, which helped me understand the numerous racks and pick the one that best fits my needs.
Kuat Hitch Bike Racks Review - 2020 Subaru Outback Wagon
Hey, everybody. Ryan here at etrailer. Today, we're gonna be checking out the Kuat NV hitch-mounted bike rack on our 2020 Subaru Outback. So, when it comes to hitch-mounted bike racks, these Kuats are top-notch. These things are put together really well. And are super easy to use and have a ton of cool features.
Thule Hitch Bike Racks Review - 2020 Subaru Outback Wagon
Zack: Hey guys. Zack here at etrailer.com and today we're going to be taking a look at the Thule T2 Pro XTB on our 2020 Subaru Outback wagon. This is going to be a really versatile bike rack regardless of what type of bike you're looking to carry. It's going to be a wheel mounted style. So it's going to be really suitable for carbon fiber bikes, but has a really high capacity at 60 pounds. So you can even get some electric bikes on here.
Thule Hitch Bike Racks Review - 2020 Subaru Outback Wagon TH44VR
Zach: Hey guys, Zach here at etrailer.com. Today we're going to be taking a look at the Thule helium two bike platform style bike rack on our 2020 Subaru Outback wagon. This is going to be a really good bike rack if you're looking for something that doesn't have frame contact. I like this style because it's versatile on the way that I can get my bikes to sit on the trace. A problem that a lot of racks have is that they interfere with each other, so other platform style racks, it's set where those bikes go. Sometimes the handlebars will interfere with the seat posts on the other bikes.
What our customers are saying:
"I needed a hitch and bike rack for my 2006 Toyota Highlander. Placed the order for hitch kit, wiring harness, and Rola Bike Rack. Three days later the parts arrived. I installed and tried everything the following weekend. Everything fit and worked as expected. Great products and fast delivery. Thanks."