# 1
Yakima FrontLoader Wheel Mount Bike Carrier - Roof Mount
Overall I am happy with these bike carriers. They mount to the racks over the bed of my Tundra TRD Pro. Installation is simple. I think they could be just a bit sturdier because there is just a bit of wobbling when driving on bumpy roads but I'm not too worried about them coming dislodged. Take note that although they come with a cable lock to attach the bike to the carrier, the key is sold separately.
Very good product. It holds the bike securely on the roof without contacting the frame. It is easy to adjust from my road bike to my 29er mountain bike. Our drives are all relatively short, so I like that I do not need to remove the front wheel to lock in the bike. It's also nice that the SKS locking system allows me to use the same key for this rack that I use for my Yakima roof box and hitch rack. This is my first roof rack and I chose this route for a couple reasons. Some of the roads we travel to get to our trail heads are a bit rough and with a roof rack I don't have to worry about bottoming out a hitch rack hanging off the back of the vehicle. Also, it takes up less room in the garage. Our vehicle is a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee with an additional 4 inches of ground clearance. That makes it a bit of a reach for my 5'4" wife, so we take our two-step along to help her. This is my third time purchasing from etrailer, and each experience has been very good. They are a very customer service oriented company. I really appreciate all the additional information they provide on their products, especially all the videos they produce to aid in reviews, assembly, and use.
# 2
Yakima RidgeBack Bike Rack for 4 Bikes - 1-1/4" and 2" Hitches - Tilting
Check out my other review on the hidden hitch for a 2015 BMW 4 Series for the majority of the review, but this thing is great. Easy setup and install, does all the things it's supposed to do. Mounting and removing bikes is a snap with the included clips (big difference from some of the cheaper variants with nylon ratchet straps). Fits very snugly in my 2" receiver, and pretty solid on the highway and over bumpy roads.
The rack itself is fantastic. Not too heavy, easy to attach to hitch, and very easy setup. The only real downside is if your bicycles don't have a standard frame, you'll need to buy the Yakima Tube Top Bike Adapter Bars (~$50 each) in order to be able to mount them on the rack. I will say that smaller bikes (for my 9 year old) can be a challenge to mount with larger bikes as you'll need to finagle the handle bars and such to get them to line up but once you do it a few times you figure it out.
# 3
Yakima RidgeBack Bike Rack for 2 Bikes - 1-1/4" and 2" Hitches - Tilting
This two bike rack has been great for the occasional bike ride outside of our home area. I like the sturdy construction, but beware that it is a little heavier than it looks (I’m retired and a bit older so maybe not as strong). Easy to fit into the factory trailer hitch on our 5 passenger SUV and no problem securing the bikes for transport. My only complaint is, the stick on Yakima Graphic started coming apart the day we got it. Sorry, no free advertising for Yakima.
I used this product twice to go back and forth on a 700 mile trip (1400 miles total). My initial impression was that it was sturdy because it was larger than most 2 bike carriers I've seen. The strapping system is convenient and the locking system worked great. The only flaw so far is that one of the locking mechanisms actually broke off. After closer inspection, I realized that the parts are plastic. I'm not sure what actually caused it to break other than the force of hitting a pothole causing the bike to bounce on the rack. Those types of forces should be expected with normal driving however and I expected the locking mechanism to hold up. I was fairly disappointed that it happened given the asking price and the reviews I read prior to my purchase. Other than the locking mechanism on the actual bike rack, I wouldn't put to much faith in the red handled locking pin that inserts into the trailer hitch and insertion bar portion of the bike rack. It is understood that the pin does not go all the way through the insertion bar as the locking mechanism is inside and prevents further advancement. Yakima could probably improve this aspect of the product. I will be contacting Yakima to see if they will replace the broken part. One thing I did notice was that the broken bracket is screwed in and can be removed/replaced fairly easily. I have included pics of the broken bracket and working bracket for comparison. Hope this helps in your decision!
What our customers are saying:
"The bike rack went together with ease. Everything was in the box, no missing parts. It was very stable on my first trip with it.Works well with womens bikes also. Delivery was prompt with no mishaps. Good job"