Video Transcript for RockyMounts Gigawatt Bike Rack for 2 Bikes Review - 2023 Honda Passport - RKY37MR

Hey everyone, it's Evangeline right here at etrailer. Today we have the Rocky Mount GigaWatt Bike Rack. This is gonna be a heavy duty bike rack for your heavy electric bikes. We're gonna take a look at how it fits here on our 2023 Honda Passport. So the GigaWatt is, I think, a really good bike rack in terms of they make it a lot easier for you to get your bikes onto the rack, and once they're on there, you have a really sturdy fit. This is also a rack that includes a ramp, which is awesome.

I like the ramp. It's lightweight, it's sturdy, and while it does not store on the rack, it is pretty easy to keep inside your vehicle. Now, one of the other features that I like with this rack compared to other bike racks that also have similar features is that this has a really deep tilt-away. Now, the tilt-away feature, if you have two bikes loaded, might feel a little sketchy at first, but if you take it slow or if you have a second person to help you out, then it's worth it because then you're able to open up the hatch here on your Passport. So you can see here as the door opens so much clearance between the door, our pedals and our handlebars.

We're able to get in there, grab our waters, grab our helmets. If you're the type of person that likes to switch out your shoes before and after your ride, this is a perfect time and a way to do so all without having to take your bikes off, making it very convenient and you still get full use of your Passport while having a bike rack on. Now, when you lift it up, snaps into place and you're now ready to drive. So what types of bikes are you planning on carrying Because chances are the GigaWatt can carry it. It is technically a frame free contact bike rack, meaning you're holding onto the bike by the front wheel and the rear wheel.

You also have a bunch of different touch points here, so two straps on the wheels, and then you have a front hook. If you have fenders, you then put the hook further down and you have this extra strap so that it is also fender compatible. Now our rear wheel is a classic rocky mount style where you have this lever. We're gonna start by removing this strap and then we're gonna slide it out of the way. Being able to slide it like that also means this can accommodate for different wheel bases.

Coming over to the front, we're then gonna go set front hoop. Notice how this has a strap on that hoop, and then up front, we're then gonna hold onto the bike as we disengage this hook and push it out. Now I could use the ramp in this scenario, and if I did have a heavy bike up to 80 pounds by the way, that would be very helpful with how high the Passport sits. But I also would like to show you how this ramp tapers down. I like that design. It does make it a bit easier to get those bikes up. If you have, let's say a rear hub drive, you just get that front wheel up onto the rack and then you can go forward. That makes it a lot easier for those extra extra heavy electric bikes. And if that's still not enough, you just load that ramp on and you're able to ramp your bike up. Now I'm gonna put this bike over to this side so that we can take a closer look at the rack. Notice too those grooves on the inside of the tray. That's for your different tire widths. You have your thin road bike tires or your wide fat bike tires of up to 4.5 inches wide. The ramp just fits right onto the tray just like that and drops right down, making for a strong and sturdy fit. And it also mimics the grooves on your tray. Now when you're done and you're not taking your bikes out for a ride, I do recommend just putting everything back, put your straps back in, put your hooks back down, and that way everything is nice and neat and doesn't take up as much space. So how much space does the GigaWatt take up Well, if you measure from the Passport to the end of the bike rack, I have it sitting at about 36 inches, technically around 35-3/4 inches. So that's about three feet behind your vehicle. In the realm of bike racks, it's only slightly more than normal, but nothing crazy. Still something to remember if you have a small garage, or you need to park into a tight spots. The next measurement is ground clearance. So at the end of the rack to the ground, it's about 20-1/2 inches. Where this tapers up though, that's gonna be around 19 inches. So you can see there's a slight rise to get up and onto the rack. Where the trays sits though, that's going to be 22-1/2 inches. So if you're not a big fan of lifting your bike up about 22 inches, then I do recommend looking at that ramp. And if you wanna make this rack even more compact or if you're not planning on taking your bikes out just yet, let's lift this into the compact position. So with it sitting like this, measuring for closest point, that's gonna be the bumper to the bike rack. That's four inches. And the length this extend out, that's gonna be about 13 inches. Now your front hook may move around. So if that's gonna be the issue, I do recommend using that strap and securing your hook to the tray. That's just for extra peace of mind when you're driving around. You can also do the same thing with the rear wheel strap. But this is going to be what it looks like behind your car. You can see that it does taper down, so it looks a little wonky at first until you realize that that's the whole system. I do like how it doesn't sit too high up. We have full visibility through our window, of our taillights. Technically, our license plate and our backup camera are visible too with the camera sitting right up there. So with all that being said, if you have a two inch hitch receiver on your Passport, I definitely recommend checking out the GigaWatt. If you do not yet have a hitch receiver, you can find one custom fit for your Passport. We actually installed this one earlier today. So if you have heavy electric bikes and you're looking for something easy to use, easy the load, and has a ramp included, this is a great option for you. One other alternative would be the Yakima OnRamp LX. The main difference with that is that that ramp is attached to the rack, so you're less likely to lose it and forget it. But the Yakima OnRamp LX is a frame mount bike rack versus the GigaWatt where you have that easy to use front wheel hook. I much prefer this style, but they do have similar weight capacities. Check that one out here on our website if you're curious how that works. But for a solid, easy to use, high weight capacity bike rack. This was a look at the Rocky Mounts GigaWatts two electric bike rack on the 2022 Honda Passport.