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Big rides need steady support. The Kuat NV 2.0 Base hauls up to 4 bikes—40 lbs each when fully loaded, or 60 lbs per bike when running the 2-bike setup. That means e-bikes, fat tires, and full-suspension builds ride secure without pushing the limit. The lightweight aluminum frame keeps things strong yet manageable, and the matte black powder coat adds a clean, rust-resistant finish that holds up over time.
Paint jobs and carbon frames stay untouched thanks to the ratcheting wheel hooks that secure bikes by the front wheel only. Large front wheel cradles and sliding rear straps adjust to fit different wheelbases up to 50". The included fat-tire strap handles tires up to 5.0" wide, so you can load anything from a skinny road wheel to a full winter setup.
When you’ve got the rack loaded, the spring-loaded foot lever makes it easy to tilt the setup down for trunk or cargo access. It’s accessible even when bikes are mounted and lets you keep both hands free to control the rack. Once unloaded, it folds upright to save space—no awkward reaching or wrestling required.
Each wheel tray hides a built-in cable lock that loops through your bike frame, backed up by a locking hitch pin that secures the rack itself. Add matching lock cores (sold separately) if you want one key for everything. Together, they keep your gear locked tight whether you’re grabbing coffee or camping overnight.
When you don’t need all four trays, the NV 2.0 Base quickly converts to a 2-bike rack. Just remove four bolts with the included Allen tool and store the add-on section. It’s the same rack that handles big family weekends and quick weekday rides, built to adapt with zero fuss.
Ratings & Reviews
We purchased this same product from etrailer.com some time ago. It was stolen, along with our old Toyota FJ Cruiser last year. So we purchased another (same) bike rack from etrailer.com.
Their web site, service and promptness are excellent. Also, and most iimportant, their prices are good.
We highly recommend them.
Also, as an avid bicylist for 40 years, the Kuat bike rack ROCKS !
etrailer.com had the best price anywhere.
Easy to install and great fit for the bikes! Love the option of turning it from a 2 bikes to 4 rack. It’s also the best looking rack out there, in my opinion. Great buy, no regrets!
While heavy and expensive, this rack is the best bike rack we have ever owned. It holds the bikes securely and well away from each other, preventing scratching. I love the feature where you can tighten the rack into the receiver and it's rock solid. This is one quality piece of gear. In this case, you get what you pay for.
One of the locks didn’t work at first. Kuat customer service was attentive and helpful. They sent me parts to fix it promptly as it was my preference.
The rack is fantastic. Durable, easy to use, good looking, locks are secure, and doesn’t rattle around at all.
Awesome bike platform. Assembly instructions are straightforward (although I brought it down to a UHaul dealer to assemble for $20 tip - they were installing the hitch anyway).
It's very easy to use, sturdy with hardly any sway. The ordering and delivery was easy and quick and the price on etrailer was extremely competitive!
This is am excellent bike rack. It is very easy to mount and dismount multiple bikes. It is a bit heavy especially with the 2 additional bike extension.
Got the bike rack in a great time, and have had it for a year and is still awesome, no banging bikes, and super easy and smooth to put on
We literally could not be happier with Etrailer! We placed an order at 6:30pm on a Wednesday and at 8:30pm the same evening we got an email saying “thank you! Ypur Order has been shipped” it was here on our porch on Friday. I couldn’t believe it. Unbelievable customer service, QUALITY (we love our hitch and bike rack!) and better prices than I’ve seen anywhere else.
I used the base 2-bike rack once already, and it is solid and sturdy. I haven't added the +2 rack yet, but I did get one 20" adapter in both boxes. No need to buy them for smaller kid bikes! Assembly would have been easier with another set of hands but manageable solo using things to hold up pieces while getting the screws threaded. Using hex socket and ratchet way to go over the included hex key. Fits TJ perfectly with aftermarket tire carrier/receiver and 33"x10.5 spare tire. Crazy fast shipping, my estimated delivery date is in 3 days and I already had it a week!
The rack shipped timely and box was slightly damaged. Kuat really packages their items well and nothing inside was damaged. The rack was very easy to put together. I purchased the add on, which was also easy to connect. Even though it’s considered light for a 4 bike platform it’s still got some weight to it. I was able to lift it with no problem and attached it to our Honda Pilot. Wow, it was so nice and easy to load my bikes. You then turn the stabilizer knob to prevent it was swaying and off you go. It’s easy to lower and raise. It’s well made and I am glad we bought it. I really like the fact that it’s aluminum and easy to adjust for various bikes.
There was a hiccup during the installation process. One of the center bolts from the add-on had slightly bigger diameter on thread that it didn't fit in. I called for customer support to arrange for a new bolt replacement which I desperately needed for a planned bike trip. Allison helped out a lot to expedite the process and Kuat was also able to ship it quickly so that the part arrived one night before my trip. I was able to enjoy the new new bike rack for the trip if it weren't from the great customer support of etrailer and Kuat!
The bike rack carries all bikes through bumpy roads without any problem. It's really sturdy and easy to use. Love the tilting feature so I can open the hatch easily.
Like the ability to add the second part for 4 bikes total. The locking feature works well. Works for mountain bike tires the best. The ratcheting clamp for road bike tires seems to wear on the bike tires but we use a pool noodle cut to size, split it down one-half of the center and place it over the clamp between it and the tire to prevent the wearing. The distance between bikes is good for road bikes but a little snug for the mountain bikes as handle bars and seats tend to rub a bit.
The Kuat bike rack has preformed better than expected. We are applying the rack to some very busy commercial demand, far exceeding the wear and tear of a single family situation. I would highly recommend this product.
It would nice to have electric marker lights that illuminate when the bike rack is in the service position.
The rack is heavy and somewhat cumbersome due to the weight to attach to your hitch mount. If you have mountain bikes, be aware that with the longer bar widths and dropper post setup it will take some finessing when loading 4 bikes. The conversion from a 4 bike carrier to 2 Bike is also cumbersome due to the bolts that have to be unthreaded.
Great product from a great company that really understands customer service in a time that most customer service disappoints me anymore. I ACTUALLY GOT TO TALK TO A PERSON, not to mention that SheilaC was realistic and could problem solve with empathy to correct my minor concern and even followed up afterwards. This customer service will bring me here to shop first!
Gwendolyn Y.
11/7/2024
Hey Kent! Sheila is a true gem here! I'm going to make sure she gets your kudos.
This is a great bike rack. Admittedly it's my first platform based trailer hitch rack, but I have no complaints. it's easy to use, built like a tank and looks cool. I like all the features it has as well, like the built in cable locks. They're not Kryptonite grade by any means, but it's a deterrent at least. So far the arms are still stiff enough not to fall over on their own, which was something I was initially concerned about.
I love my new bike rack, Kuat is top of the line!
Amazing customer service! Called about an update of my order late in the evening and they were super helpful. I will defiantly recommend and purchase from them again.
When I ordered this rack, I was thinking " Wow, this is a lot of money for a bike rack." Now that its assembled and I loaded it with 4 bike's (don't ask me what the bike's cost) I'm thinking "Wow, this is a lot of bike rack for the money". Awesome product and customer service.
I worked with Katie and she's amazing! Her knowledge of the available products was deep and very helpful, she made the process of ordering the bike rack very easy, she followed up post sale to make sure all was okay. Five stars for sure!
The Kuat NV 2 was fairly easy to put together (need an extra set of hands) and my fat tire bike fits it perfectly. Great quality and I'm VERY happy with the rack. Bike doesn't move at all while underway.
First, trying to find the proper rack for my needs was a little tough. Have two emtb along with regular mtb. Weight and wheelbase were a factor with a lot of the other 4 bikes racks. The Kuat rack was able to accommodate. etrailer has so much info that sometimes its too much. I had to [search for] their cs number and just call to talk with one of their reps.
Stephen R. took my call and was awesome. We looked at a few options before choosing the Kuat. It was supposed to be delivered in about 5-7 days, but came in 2.
The rack is easy to put together and looks great. It was a hard pill to swallow for this much money, but after seeing the quality I felt much better.
This does fit my 2018 Jeep Wrangler jk unlimited with a spare tire. Have BF Goodrich and it will still fold up. You cannot open the rear while attached though.
Rack was great on our first trip of 200 miles.
Bikes stayed secure and did not rub.
Thanks Stephen R. and etrailer.
Quality bike rack. Easy to put together and install. Very solid. Keeps bikes secure and doesn’t bounce around unlike my Thule bike rack. I purchased this rack after almost losing new mountain bikes as I was driving from the carrier bouncing around. It also has integrated cable locks. I bought the additional extension to carry up to 4 bikes. The only criticism is that the extension uses a different type of cable lock with a different key.
With a SUV we didn't want to hoist our bikes on the roof (we are rather short in our family), so we looked for a hitch rack that could fit our 4 bikes.
The NV base + the addon works great at this.
Assembly is not the easiest since it can be tricky to get the bolts to line up while holding in place, if you have another person to help that will make it tons easier.
Loading and unloading a bike is very easy and so far the bikes are always securely on without any issue.
The locks are ok, nothing fancy, and nothing that will stop a determined thief, I consider them mostly a "slow them down a little" item.
My only gripe is how heavy it is. We live in the city and plan on removing it from the car while not in use, and that is a bit of a chore with how heavy it is.
Overall if you are looking for a great 4 bike hitch bike, can't really go wrong with it
We needed to move up from our Saris Bones 3 rack now that our youngest is on a big girl bike. We initially went for a budget platform rack which was (not surprisingly) subjected to a recall. After an incredible amount of research, I opted for the Kuat NV 2.0 Base. I took advantage of the etrailer price pledge program and was very satisfied with the etrailer staff who were very easy to deal with both on the phone and online.
Following my order, etrailer inadvertently sent me the incorrect base model. The sent me the 1.25 inch instead of 2.0 inch model and as the shipping label covered the hitch size I only discovered this after opening and unpacking it (thereby having to repack and re-ship it). This inconvenience notwithstanding, etrailer was very apologetic, paid for the return shipping and sent out the correct 2.0 inch model.
Unpacking and assembly was easy (the second time...and I learned the valuable lesson of taking photos of the unpacking in the event you need to repack it). You certainly get what you pay for with Kuat! The fit and finish are first rate and the rack's design, in my opinion, makes it the most intuitive, cleanest and best looking rack out there. I was considering the RockyMounts Split Rail 2+2 (similar design and athletics and a bit lighter) but I am so glad I went with Kuat.
I mounted it on my 06 Pilot today in less than 5 minutes with my wife's help (though it can be accomplished solo), locked the pin and tightened the anti-rattle mechanism for a rock solid mount. All bikes fit on it like a dream (my 29er, wife's mountain bike and 2 kids mountain bikes...have not tried by road bike yet but I don't anticipate any issues).
Very impressed with the rack and my etrailer experience.
This rack definitely has some pros and cons (as do most racks). A minor frustration is that despite ordering the rack and add-on at the same time, the keys don’t match so if locking three or more bikes you need two different keys (this has only really irritated me when it was raining). As other reviewers have mentioned, this thing is heavy. Neither my wife nor kids can lift it to put it on or get it off the car by themselves. The downside is that given the size of the rack it is not real convenient to just leave it on the car. When the rack is in the up position, it is impossible to get in the back so it is necessary to lower the rack each time you want to get in. The other downside is that the rack significantly cuts down on visibility when backing up. All that being said, the rack is rock solid and the bikes are very secure. The rack is great for extended trips. When loaded and tipped down, it is great to be able to open and access the back. The spacing of the bikes is great and I don’t have to spend 15 minutes figuring out how to slide four bikes in just the right spot to make them all fit as I did with my old rack. Best of all the bikes are only sustaining damage on the trail, not on the back of the car! Despite some minor annoyances, I highly recommend this rack. As for assembly, my 13 year old put it together by himself in about 20 minutes (I promised him i would include that fact).
William L.
1/1/2019
In the past year we have had some bike upgrades. With three or four modern mountain bikes of a similar size on the rack it is more of a challenge to make them fit. I need to have an allen wrench handy to adjust the bars andor seats for travel. Other than that, the rack has held up great with heavy and frequent use.
Info for this part was:
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Chris B.
6/26/2020
Still same great product, well worth it