You want to take the family riding, but most bike racks are bulky and expensive, and you've got nowhere to keep one. The ShiftShow gets the whole crew to the trail and packs away in a closet, in your trunk, or on a shelf when you're done.
The Benton ShiftShow is built for families and friends who just want to get out and ride. It's even ready right out of the box, so you don't have to waste any time assembling it. It carries four bikes, though depending on bike styles, you might see a little contact between them. If you've got carbon frames or bikes you want to keep pristine, we recommend the Benton Shifts&Grins platform rack (B82FR - sold separately). But if the risk of a few scuffs doesn't bother you, this is one of the easiest ways to carry four bikes without spending a fortune.
One of the best things about the ShiftShow is how little space it takes up when folded. The support arm folds flat, and the shank pivots in tight against the mast, turning the full-size rack into something compact enough to stash in a trunk, closet, or garage shelf. It doesn't lean awkwardly against the wall or take up floor space like other platforms. In fact, it tucks away so neatly you might lose track of it if you're not paying attention.
Grabbing gear from the trunk doesn't have to mean unloading all your bikes. Unlike most hanging racks, you can tilt the ShiftShow away from your vehicle by pulling the lower spring pin and gently lowering it down with both hands. Need snacks? A jacket? No problem. Grab what you need and get back on the road. And when your bikes aren't loaded, you can fold the support arm down into its storage position so it takes up less space behind your vehicle. That way, you can leave the rack on and still park in your garage.
This rack keeps everything secure no matter where you park. The included D-shaped hitch lock secures the rack to your hitch, while the steel cable lock (with vinyl coating) keeps your bikes in place. Plus, for added convenience, they both use the same key.
If you have a women's bike, kid's bike, or any other bike without a straight, horizontal top tube, you'll need an adapter bar (sold separately) to properly mount your bike. It fits between the seat post and handlebar stem to create a level mounting point.
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Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Hi, I'm Matt with etrailer. Today we're gonna be talking about the Benton ShiftShow Bike Rack on the back of our 2025 Subaru Outback wagon. Now, this'll be a great rack if you wanna go out riding with your family, but you want something that's gonna be affordable, and is gonna save you space in your Subaru. And what's really nice is, this compact's really small, so you can just throw it back there. If you wanna see that process now, you can actually fast forward in the video and check that out. But right now I'm just gonna talk about how it's fitting on here at the moment with our bike.
So with the bike on at the moment, let's say you're on some bumpy roads, this is gonna move around a little bit, since it is a hanging-style bike rack, but not enough where it's gonna make contact with anything. Now with the front side, of course you are gonna have this tire be able to spin around some, so at most, this wheel is gonna make contact with your bumper. If you don't like that, I know a lot of people will actually strap down this tire to the rest of the frame, so it doesn't move as much. Another thing you wanna watch out for is, if you have that roof rack on your Subaru, and you have a really long item, let's say some skis or a kayak, just watch out, because this does stick out a little bit high, but it's also gonna depend on the size of your bike too. Now at the moment, I'm not gonna be able to open up my hatch, so how I can do that is by tilting this back.
And that's what's really unique about this rack, 'cause most hanging bike racks out there that tilt this back, oops, wrong button, there it is, the tilt this back, you'll have to take off that bike. With this one, I don't need to do that at all. Which is pretty impressive, because this is also gonna have a weight capacity of 40 pounds per bike, perfect for your standard bikes. If you have e-bikes, I'd recommend something that has a high weight capacity. This is great because I can sit down, tie my shoe, get ready for my ride, or if I'm out and about, I can grab any groceries, throw 'em back here, anything like that.
And now we can put this back up until it clicks into place. And now I can talk about how to take it off. So there's gonna be three straps for these to work with, it's gonna have two on top and one on the backside. So since we are making direct frame contact, I wouldn't recommend anything like a carbon frame bike. And if you have an alternative frame bike or a kid bike, you might need a bike adapter bar, which we have plenty here at etrailer.
And I can take this off. Now, during this process, taking this one off is pretty okay, since I do have a larger frame. But if you have a cup holder, like I do too, it can be a little bit tricky at times, it might take a little bit of getting used to. But now, I can go take my bike out for a ride. Now, with these areas where my bike was, you'll notice there is some additional padding. That padding is there to ensure that we don't scratch up our bike. Now, I do like these traps, because they don't come off, so you're not gonna have any likelihood of losing them like you would with some other options out there. With that said, lemme get a couple measurements to see how this is sitting on here. The first one I'm going to get is gonna be the total distance away. So at the moment, we are gonna be sitting roughly, I'm gonna say a little bit over 40 inches. So for a four-bike rack, that's actually a pretty good number. But we can save space if you're in a spot like a parking spot or a garage, and if you don't have any bikes on here, you might as well just fold it down some. That's gonna be this pin up at the top, sometimes I'll push up on the rack a bit to more easily fold that in. (rack popping) And now, this is only gonna be sitting at a little bit under 16 inches, so that's gonna save you a ton of room. The next point I wanna measure is gonna be the ground clearance, and that's gonna be a little bit over 12 inches, which is pretty standard for something like this. Now, if you have this fully loaded up, this is probably gonna drop down maybe by an inch, maybe two, so I'd watch out, if you're going up any really steep inclines like a hill or driveway. But, since this is so close to our vehicle, you shouldn't have to worry about it too much. Now, how it's sitting on here at the moment, it is gonna block a few things. So, our backup camera and our license plate are mostly gonna be obstructed. Either side of it, you can still see what's going on, but if you are gonna back up, I'd mainly rely on your back window or your mirrors. And as for your taillights, those won't be obstructed either. Now, the way this is gonna install is, we're gonna have a two-inch shank that goes into a two-inch hitch receiver. So as long as you have that two-inch hitch receiver, this is gonna be compatible. Now, there are gonna be two versions of this, there is gonna be a locking one and a non-locking one. The locking one's great, because you have the extra security and it does come with a cable lock. And then once I remove this pin, this is gonna be your anti-rattle device right here. And what that does is prevent this from rattling around when you're driving. When I remove it, you notice it moves quite a bit. So now, take it out completely, and I can show you it folding in now, it's pretty easy to do. There's gonna be a pin on this side, you pull on that, push it down, and then in it goes. That's super compact, there's not too many bike racks out there that really get that small. And now I can even throw it in the back of my vehicle. Just in case you're out and about, you need to save as much room behind you, you can throw it in here and still have room to spare. Now in my opinion, I think this is gonna be a solid rack if you're looking for, again, something affordable to go out with your family. Now, if you do have some heavier-style bikes, then I'd recommend checking out another option, it's gonna be a little more stable too, it's gonna be the Benton Shifts&Grins. Now I will say, it is gonna be much larger and much heavier, so if you can't really move around some heavy racks, then I'd go with this one instead. And if you guys do decide to go with this, let us know how it's working for you in either a comment or review. But again, I'm Matt, and thanks for watching.
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