Video Transcript for Test Fitting the Benton Shifts&Grins Bike Rack for 2 Bikes on a 2025 Ford Escape

Hello, neighbor, this is Curt with etrailer, and today we're gonna be taking a look at the Benton Shifts&Grins hitch bike rack, and we're gonna see how it works with our 2025 Ford Escape. Now the Benton Shifts&Grins is a two-bike platform hitch bike rack, and the thing that's gonna really stand out to you is how versatile it is. First and foremost, we have a weight capacity of 55 pounds per tray, so it is gonna be able to accommodate some of those lighter weight e-bikes that are out there on the market. Not only that, it can work with a variety of styles of bikes, and that's because this bike rack could be either wheel-mounted or it can be frame-mounted. So if you have a carbon fiber frame, or a custom paint job, or just you want the ease of wheel-mounting, you could always do it just like it's set up here. But if you have a bike with fenders, you're not gonna be able to use the wheel mount.

So what you would need to do is just hold the bike upright like this, depress this button here, we're gonna remove the hook from the arm, I'm just gonna pass it on right over there, and replace the hook onto the frame, and now it'll be frame-mounted. Now the arm and hook is just one point of contact. We have two other points of contact, one on each of our wheels. They'll have a ratcheting wheel strap here with a rubber pad that's gonna help protect those wheels. Now let's take a look at how it fits with the Escape.

And for frame of reference, our bike today is a medium frame with 15-inch handlebars, so you could use that to scale against the bike you have at home. But as you can see, we've got a ton of room between the bike and the back of the vehicle. Even if we're on a rougher patch of road, we're really not in any danger of those contacting each other. But, like with every hitch bike rack, there's gonna be some visual obstruction when it comes to the rear of the vehicle. First and foremost, the Shifts&Grins does hold the bike a little bit high off of the ground, so you're gonna see some of the bike coming through your rear window.

As far as other drivers go, we're gonna have partial blockage of both of our taillights and our license plates, so bear that in mind. But for you, the driver, something really important to know is that you're gonna have some blockage coming out of your rear view camera. So it's really important to understand just what kind of footprint this is leaving behind your bumper. And if we're gonna measure this to the furthest point on the bike rack from the bumper, this is gonna put an extra 31 and a half inches extra on your bumper, so keep that in mind, you've got almost another three feet back here that you're gonna have to account for whenever you're backing into a tighter space or trying to parallel park. The other thing we'll take a look at is our ground clearance.

So again, from the furthest point of the rack, we're looking at 16 and three-quarter inches of ground clearance, and that's a decent amount, but it is something you want to keep in mind whenever you come upon a steeper driveway or incline. Now, I had mentioned before that this bike carrier can accommodate bikes up to 55 pounds, but we don't have any kind of ramp or load assist for the Shifts&Grins. So just if you wanted to use it, however much your bike weighs, make sure you're comfortable getting that up and down a height of about 22 inches, I would say, just to make sure you can comfortably use the Shifts&Grins with your Escape. Now one of the most common questions that we get when it comes to a hitch bike rack is, "Will you have access to your cargo area without removing the bikes" And the answer in this case is yes. So we have this button at the end of our rack here. What we want to do is just hold onto the bike, make sure that it doesn't lower too quickly on us. We're gonna depress this button, and we're just gonna lower it away from the vehicle, just like so. Now I can come around here and get full access into my cargo area. We got plenty of clearance between the lift gate and the bike itself, but now I could stop in, I could grab other equipment, change shoes, grab my helmet, get snacks, get extra water, whatever it might be. Or maybe on my way home from the trail, I need to stop and get some groceries or something. Now I can do all of that without removing the bike from the bike rack, which would be a huge inconvenience. And when it's time to get up and go, all you need to do, you don't need to engage the button, you just need to lift up against it. (hitch clicking) We'll hear that loud click, it'll be locked in the upright position, and now we're ready to drive. And loading and unloading the bike is a really simple process, and I'm about to unload the bike for you right now, but when it comes to loading, we're gonna do the exact opposite. So for instance, when you're loading the bike, the first thing you want to engage is your arm and hook, that'll keep the bike upright for you while you engage the wheel straps. When we're unloading it, what we're gonna do is do the wheel straps first. That way, this will keep the bike upright. So I'm gonna come down here to my wheel strap, depress this tab, it'll release the strap, and I can feed it through the wheel and out the other side. I'm gonna come over here and do the same thing on my rear. All right, once that's done, I can just grab the frame, hold it upright, I'm gonna lift up against the hook, clear this front wheel, and I can easily remove the bike. But now I'm ready to take it and hit the trail, or I can go ahead and store it away for the night. Now, when we don't have a bike on the rack, we don't want this extra almost three feet hanging off all the time for no reason. And the Shifts&Grins as a bike rack is powder-coated steel, so it's very corrosion-resistant, however, it does make it a little bit on the heavy side, weighing in close to 60 pounds, so it might not be a rack that you want to take in and outta your hitch just whenever you want to take a ride. If you ride pretty frequently, this is something that can live inside the hitch, and that's because we also have a stowaway feature. So I'm gonna go ahead and get this stowed away. First thing I think you should do when you do that is go ahead and use your wheel strap to secure your arm and hook down. Then you'll come around to the back, we'll engage that same button here, but instead of dropping it away, we're gonna lift up against it (hitch clicking) and toward the back of the vehicle. Now we've really reduced that footprint back here. In fact, we've got it knocked down to about 17 inches. So we pretty much cut in half that footprint that we had. Now the other great news is that we've got full visibility out of our rear window. Other drivers are gonna be able to see our license plate and our taillights. You're still gonna have some visual obstruction through that rear view camera. So keep in mind, we don't have three feet back here, almost three feet back here anymore, but we do still have about a foot and a half. So bear that in mind, but all in all, if you're somebody that's looking for a very versatile bike rack to go with your Escape, I think the Benton Shifts&Grins can be an excellent choice for you, on top of the fact that this is gonna come with an included cable lock that's gonna be keyed alike to your locking hitch pin. So if after watching this video, you've still got some questions about the Shifts&Grins, or maybe you've used it and you've got an experience to share, go ahead and leave those in the comments below. Sharing those with other neighbors just like you can help them make the best decision for themselves. Once again, this is Curt with etrailer, thanks for stopping by.