This premiun rack carries 4 bikes when the whole family wants to ride, or it can be quickly converted into a 2-bike rack for couples. Simply un-bolt the 2-bike add-on using the included tool and throw it in your trunk or garage.
Features:
Specs:
Note: May interfere with bikes with front fenders.
The NV 2.0 Base has ratcheting hooks that grab your bikes firmly by the front wheel - not the frame. It's perfect for carrying carbon bikes or bikes with a custom paint job. To load a bike, simply place your front wheel in the cradle, rotate the arm up and over the wheel, and press down firmly on the ratcheting hook.
The front wheel cradles will easily accommodate fat bike wheels. They can also be adjusted to perfectly fit each bike's wheelbase. Use the included Allen key stored in the compartment at the back of the rack to adjust.
Ratcheting rear-wheel straps slide along the wheel trays to accommodate bikes with a variety of wheelbases. Press the quick-release button on the strap buckle to remove your bikes. An extender strap is included for use with 1 fat bike. Additional extender straps (sold separately) are available if you have more than 1 fat bike.
The spring-loaded foot lever is easily accessible even with your bikes loaded. No more crawling through your bikes or squeezing between the rack and the vehicle to hit the tilt release lever.
The foot lever lets you tilt the rack down with bikes loaded for cargo area access. It leaves both hands free so that you can lower the rack in a controlled manner. When the rack is unloaded you can fold it up for storage.
This rack gives you the option of adding the Trail Doc (TDKB - sold separately). It's a handy repair stand that attaches to the front of the rack. It lets you position your bike as needed for adjustments, cleaning, and on-the-go repairs. It can be also be locked into place to prevent theft and includes a cap for the housing if you prefer to use the rack without it.
The knob at the front of the shank lets you quickly and easily install the rack. Just slide the shank into your hitch and turn the knob until snug. The knob deploys an anti-rattle wedge inside the shank to help take play out of the hitch connection. The locking hitch pin has an Allen tool on the end that further tightens the hand knob if you are still experiencing rattle after hand-tightening.
Each wheel tray has an integrated cable lock that lets you secure your bike to the rack. A 1/4" thick, braided steel cable extends from the end of the wheel tray, threads through your bike's frame, and locks back onto itself.
A locking hitch pin is also included to secure the rack to your vehicle. Lock cores (sold separately) let you key each lock alikeso you only need 1 key for the rack.
Average Customer Rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars (297 Customer Reviews)
This premiun rack carries 4 bikes when the whole family wants to ride, or it can be quickly converted into a 2-bike rack for couples. Simply un-bolt the 2-bike add-on using the included tool and throw it in your trunk or garage.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.
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 - 01/01/2019We 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.
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
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.
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.
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.
I can commute bikes for the whole family now, it is a game changer! Very happy with this product and how it changes my mobility and exploitation possibilities.
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.
Cannot complain about the rack itself or etrailer. The rack was shipped quickly, and the communication was great from etrailer. It is nice to have communication from the company. The price was better than I could find anywhere as well. Would do business again with etrailer, and love the Kuat rack.
I love my new bike rack, Kuat is top of the line!
Gets the job done, the 4 bike solution is a bit long off the back of the vehicle and heavy to handle, otherwise very sturdy rack.
great trailer. The only problem was the two separate units were keyed differently, and that presented a real problem on a vacation! Also it would be nice to have turn signals built into the unit
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!
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.
The E in Etrailer.com means excellent.
Lori B was great. The 4-bike carrier I
order arrived quickly. Thank you etrailer
your business is great.
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 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.
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.
Great product and easy to use. Was on back order last year but customer service was great about keeping me up to speed on process. And the price was the best you can find for new. [online site] couldn’t even compete! Thanks etrailer!
1 year later and no complaints. This is a great product, and stands up to both local pot-holed streets and long distance interstate travel. Be aware, the rack is heavy. You will want to find a convenient place to store it near the car.
This is a great rack. It's heavy, but well-made. The system works quite well and even has built in locks for piece of mind. I wish there was a universal lock and key, but heck, it's fantastic for getting the bikes to where we needed to go.
I am quite happy with the fit and finish of this product. I would be happier if there was one key for the whole rack, rather than two separate lock systems. I added the swing away rack which added a third lock and key.
Sturdy bike rack. Has served us well.
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