# 1
Swagman Truck Bed Bike Rack for 2 Bikes - Fork Mount - 9-mm Skewer
I used 2 inch square tubing cut the length of the tie down support bracket in my 2007 Honda Ridgeline and secured with a stainless bolt and wing nut, use a large enough washer to cover the diameter of the supply hole in the Honda Ridgeline bracket on the truck. A couple of notes: Be sure to use something as a cushioning gasket to insure a snug fit and to protect your truck lining. I used rubber or foam exercise mat cut to the same as the aluminum square tubing. Use a washer that a combination of hard plastic and metal to avoid the corrosive effects of dissimilar metals in contact with each other. last: My 26" full suspension bike fits, but I have swing it to one side slightly before i close the tailgate and lift the bike up and slide it down....It's a very snug fit but the suspension adds pressure to the tailgate and its works out very well. Or you could just use a tailgate extender.
Referring to special mounting instructions if you have a bed liner: (line #3). I do not have a bed liner, but I do have a molded plastic cap on my bed rails ('04 Ford F350). The first install over the plastic cap the locking pin or pin as called out in line #3 was nowhere near making contact with the metal lip of the metal bed under the plastic. What I did next on the second and final install was remove/cut away the plastic on the inside of the bed rail to allow the vertical portion of the "L" mounting bracket (Fig 4) to contact the metal bed. The locking pin is now at a position almost where it would protrude under the metal bed lip if I would remove the rest of the plastic under the horizontal portion of the "L" mounting bracket, I did not do that. After cutting a notch in the metal rail to accept the pin, the pin barely flushes out to secure the rack. A 1/4" longer pin would take care of this problem. One other thing that was not addressed in the install instructions was if you have a full size pick-up bed you are likely to attach the passenger side fork mount (Fig 2) to the right of the extension tube locking mechanism. The extension tube is a smaller diameter, so you will have resize the fork tube clamp (Fig 1) for the smaller tube. I can't explain how to do it other than it's a Chinese puzzle.
# 2
Softride Shuttle Pad Tailgate Pad for Mid-Size Trucks - Up to 6 Bikes - 54" Wide
Received this tailgate cover very promptly, two days ahead of scheduled delivery date, and just in time to use yesterday. Cover was dry easy to install ( no directions required) and fit my tailgate well. I particularly liked the included Velcro tie downs and access pocket, which allows you to utilize your tailgate release. As you can see from the attached photo, it easily accommodated 4 additional bikes w/ front wheels still attached, and allowed me to transport 7 total bikes of varying design. Our 4 hr drive showed no indication of movement and the cover stayed in place securely. Great product!
Order process was easy & information was great. The order processed quickly & came on time. It looks & works greats. It was easy to put on & took only a few minutes to install. I have 2 expensive bikes & one is an extra large frame. It fits great. The only thing I had to add when transporting was a strap around the tires on my tailgate as a precaution & to prevent any movement. It would be fine without it & the product works exactly as I expected. I put in on a 2000 Toyota Tundra. Very Happy! Exactly what I have been looking for & the price was just right. Thank You!!!
# 3
Inno Velo Gripper Bike Rack for Truck Beds - Clamp On
Everything arrived in good order, ahead of time. There are some minor problems with the instruction manual. The instructions at the top of p. US-3 don’t make sense. I read them repeatedly and finally realized that the word “are” between “clamps” and “over” is missing (a failure to translate se trouvent in French, estén in Spanish). I am familiar with both of those languages, and so I could consult the other texts for clarification. Similarly, a very minor point of translation: “pushing” in the directions by the arrow should be simply “push” Another admittedly very minor point (but you might as well get even small details right, if corrections are going to be made): “Make sure you follow [the] instruction[s],” not just “follow instruction” (though the meaning is clear, the translation is odd and not idiomatic) Yet another minor point: The opening text instructs readers to contact the service center at “the bottom of the page.” But there is nothing at the bottom of the page. What is meant is the “end of the instructions” on p. 3. The French also has “en bas de la page.” The Spanish is better “al final.” In English simply “below” should suffice and be less confusing — though I doubt that anyone will get confused about how to contact the service center. To move to more substantial issues: One of my main uncertainties about the Velo Gripper was how much to cut my previously installed truck-bed lining (which extends to the top of the sides of the bed) to allow the clamps to fit and be manually accessible. This was also my main hesitation about buying the Velo Gripper. At any rate, I cut holes of approximately four by six inches. The four holes do not seem to me to present any problems. I had years ago cut smaller holes in the lining when installing a kayak carrier — without creating any problems. It’s hard to make sense out of the terms used on p. US-1 under “Caution”: “Remove the bed lining when it interrupts the installation of the carrier.” I don’t understand what “interrupts the installation” actually means in this context; it seems so vague as to be worthless. The French and Spanish versions are not much better. At any rate, I was not going to remove all of my bed lining. I am above all puzzled by the “maximum load 33 pounds,” which would disqualify many bicycles and virtually all e-bikes. Why so light? One of my e-bikes weighs 34 pounds and another around 50 pounds. I can’t see why there would be a danger for them, and thus I ignored this warning. Am I missing something? I would of course not use the Velo Grippers to hold something as heavy as a motorcycle, but up to around 60 pounds seems safe enough. Perhaps worries about liability have resulted in unrealistic directions. I should say that I also use supplementary straps to make sure the bikes remain securely in place. The manual’s instructions emphasize that one should “make sure to follow all of the instructions carefully.” I actually doubt that most of your customers do that — or even read the directions rather than simply follow the pictures — but if I had done so scrupulously I probably would have returned the product. That would have been a shame, since it is a good product, though I will have to reserve my final judgement until I have used it extensively.
Using the Grippers for carrying 2 ebikes, weighing 55 & 75 lbs. I know this is above the rated bike weights but so far they have performed well. My short bed keeps the 75# bike pretty well locked in front to back so that may help.
# 4
RockyMounts HotRod Truck Bed Bike Carrier - Thru-Axle Mount - Bolt On - Black
This is not the first bolt-on 12mm thru-axle fork mount I've attempted to use, but it IS the only one I've ever actually been able to use properly. I'm always please with RockyMounts quality and this is no different!
This is my second RockyMounts Thru-Axle Mount. Attached easily to the old rack in the bed of my pickup. The bicycle's thru-axle fits snugly, making transport safe and secure.
# 5
Hollywood Racks Truck Bed Bike Carrier - Fork Mount - Bolt On
The Hollywood Racks Truck Bed Bike Carrier - Fork Mount - Bolt On, is just what I was looking for to be able to build a bike rack for carrying one of my bikes on my motorcycle. It was easy to mount and it holds my bike in place while riding on bumpy dirt roads, city streets, highways and even when I hit some twisty country roads. It's really easy to load and unload my bike when I get to where I want to ride. I use a velcro strap around the quick-release and the fork arm as an added safety as well as a couple tie-downs from my bike handlebars to my motorcycle passenger pegs to help distribute the weight on my rack. If you want to build your own DIY bike rack I totally recommend the Hollywood Racks Truck Bed Bike Carrier - Fork Mount - Bolt On.
Love this product! I built a great bike carrying system for my F-150 using two of these fork clamps. They are easy to install and extremely well made. No more tangled bikes and lots more room in the bed for other stuff! Best way to go for a nice bike rack system. Thanks, Phil T.
# 6
Kuat Dirtbag Bike Rack - Fork Mount - Bolt On - 15 mm Thru-Axle Skewer
Cheap alternative compared to having to buy a 9mm thru axle mount for the utili-track in my Nissan Frontier AND THEN having to buy an adapter for that! For under $10 I bought some parts from a local hardware store and made this mount fit the track. It's sturdy, and high quality.
Disappointed. The Kuat Dirtbag works, and feels relatively solid once installed, but is about 2-3 mm shorter than my hub. That means while loading and unloading the fork doesn't sit nicely on the rack and inserting/removing the thru-axle can be quite challenging. I'd heard great things about Kuat's products, and all I can say is I'm glad this one isn't as overpriced as the rest of their lineup.
# 7
Thule Insta-Gater Pro Truck Bed Bike Rack - 1 Bike
Linda and I recently ordered two Aventon Pace 500 NextGen E-bikes from [bike store] in Madison, WI. Not wanting to just toss our expensive new bikes in the back of the p/u when they arrive next month we promptly ordered the Thule Instagator from etrailer. My prior experience with etrailer came as a recommendation from a friend. I was able to do quite a bit of the research on etrailers website, the demonstration video extremely helpful and we placed an order. The racks were in-stock, shipped promptly, etrailer providing a very nice tracking link that included pics of the staff involved in processing the order and a map of the route all the way to delivery. Absolutely 1st rate service. The racks showed up in perfect condition about two days after placing the order, exactly as promised. We are very pleased with etrailer, will most certainly be ordering from them again and recommend this company w/o reservation. Nice job etrailer!
I bought two racks to transport my ebikes. The tires do not fit in the rack. the cradle that holds the tire require to be wider. I need to return them. please assist me in this matter. thank you
# 8
Hollywood Racks Sport Rider SE Bike Rack for 2 Electric Bikes - 2" Hitches - Frame Mount
This bike rack works great for our 2 Lectric 2.0 e-bikes. We mount it on our 2019 Honda Ridgeline. It folds up nicely when it’s on the truck and we are using our bikes. The locking mechanisms work well also. I contacted support for a smaller hook arm to clamp B over the bike frame. They knew exactly what I needed and shipped it - no problem.
I've been using this bike rack alongside a trailer hitch I got here for my small car (chevy bolt ev) and it was exactly what I was looking to get to haul around my fat tire mountain bike bike. Sometimes I throw two bikes on there (either an e-bike, slightly heavier at 60 lbs, or a 2nd mountain bike) and it's perfect.
# 9
Hollywood Racks Sport Rider SE2 Bike Rack for 2 Bikes - 2" Hitches - Frame Mount
I love this bike rack! It came quickly and it was super easy to put together. I am a 66 year old female, and if I can do it, anyone can do it! It has everything that was advertised. It has the built in locks, which is awesome, and all the moving parts are easy to use. My bike does not move going down the road and that is a big plus for me! I did rap a bungee cord around my bike frame and the frame hook bar for my piece of mind, but it is not necessary. I highly recommend this bike rack.
Even though the rack is an import, I was well pleased with the ease of assembly and the quality of the racks manufacturing. I would recommend that you purchase one if you are in need of a 2-bike rack assembly. I also purchased the 3-wheeled trike rack and assembled it. I'm totally satisfied with both my purchases at this time
# 10
Thule Hitching Post Pro Bike Rack for 4 Bikes - 1-1/4" and 2" Hitches
The good: I like the way the bikes are held in and the ability to add the upright adapters to the bike frame holders. The straps are quality too. For a jeep with a spare tire, this is the perfect length to clear it. This rack is 5 stars from the bike holders to the base of it. The bad: the 2"receiver adapter and bolt are insufficient. I wish they made this in a solid 2" hitch. The entire setup is held into the receiver by a very short bolt. It only goes about half way into the receiver tube. So your hitch is only "secured" on one side. A hitch pin or bolt should go through the receiver tube completely imo so it can be secured on the other end with a retaining clip or nut. Because this only goes in the one side, the entire weight of the rack plus bikes are held tight to one side of the receiver by the undersized bolt and washer. A few bumps down the road and that bolt loosens. Now instead of distibuting the weight of the rack and bikes on the receiver and post, it's completely up to the bolt to keep you from losing the rack. The bolt threads get damaged too. I took this down a dirt road and nearly lost everything. I had to buy my own bolt with hd fender washers and lock washers to correct this. Thule should've provided this from the start. The current short bolt design where only one side of the receiver secures the rack is unacceptable. This rack is 1 star at best for the connection to the receiver.
I bought this bike rack back in April but wanted to make sure I used it to give the best review. First I want to say I did a lot of research on bike racks and found this one to be the best one to fit my needs. The best price I found was on etrailer.com, at the time it was When I called the customer service to place my order, I spoke to Dan. He was very pleasant on the phone and took the time and listened to what I needed and understood my concerns. I ordered the bike rack and also ordered the Thule Snug Tite Hitch Lock and Anti-Rattle Device and the Thule Cable Lock w/ One Key System Lock. Dan suggested I also get the Thule Bike Adapter Bar, which I never even thought of getting. Delivery was in about two business days, which was really fast and at the time of order they were running a special free delivery over $99. When I went to put it together I noticed I was missing the flat cap screw M6 x 16mm, part number #853-5787-02. I emailed Dan and within 24 hours received an email that the part was sent out and also in the email their was a link to track the order. After I received the part I did notice that the flat cap screw was actually in the 2 inch adaptor sleeve. The instructions were very easy to read, and it took me about 20 minutes to put together. I did have an issue when I positioned the stinger into the cradle, with the 8mm locking nut, it was not staying tight and when I took it off I noticed the threads inside were gone, so I ended up going out to Lowes and buying a new one and its holds perfectly fine. I also had a question about that part because it is not a locking part and was worried someone would try to steal the rack. I contacted etrailer.com to find if they make a locking device for this and they said no but I can contact Thule to double check, I'm still waiting for an answer back from Thule. The weather finally broke and we installed the rack onto my hitch, tightened it and it doesn't rattle. When I finally used the rack and put my bike on, it did sway a little but at 50 mph I was very happy with it. The trailer comes out just enough away from my car that I do not have to fold completely out and I can open my trunk with no issues. I am very happy with my purchase and had a great customer experience with Dan. Would highly recommend ordering from them to anyone.
# 11
RockyMounts MonoRail Solo Bike Rack for 1 Bike - 1-1/4" and 2" Hitches - Wheel Mount
I just finished installing this rack on my 2017 Subaru Outback. I've been researching platform racks for about 2 months now, and the most important things to me (other than a reasonable price) were no frame contact, ease of getting the bike on and off the rack, not too heavy for me to take it off the car, and enough clearance in the back for me to close my garage door. This rack is perfect for me. And I like that it's expandable to two bikes if I want to do that down the line. It came very well packaged. I am a single gal and not handy AT ALL, but I was able to do the installation with no problem. I did put my bike on the rack and took a short test ride, it was very stable. Very solid well made product!
could have been so much better if the front wheel backstop had been designed to fold back to allow easier loading of front tire. almost a deal breaker. the install was straight forward, all parts accounted for and decent materials for the price. but like I said with a bit of thoughtful engineering with that front backstop it would have rated a 4 that's if no surprises come up traveling a distance with the bike loaded. My bike is RadCity 5+ and weighs about 55 pounds without the battery. The weight compounds the awkward loading with that tall front backstop in the way. I doubt I would have noticed if I had been loading a light weight road bike.
# 12
Yakima Locking BlockHead Single Bike Truck Bed Mounted Rack - Bolt-on - 9-mm Skewer
1997 Chevrolet C/K Series PickupBought this product one year ago, and I absolutely love it! I bolted it to my pickup box. It is in brand new condition after a year in our harsh coastal weather. It is a breeze to operate. And the locking system secures my bike so well that I have piece of mind if I have to leave my bike unattended. I highly recommend this product! Fast shipping, very reasonable price.
I thought you guys might want to see the way I am using the Yakima bike racks.
# 13
Kuat Transfer V2 Bike Rack for 1 Bike - 1-1/4" and 2" Hitches - Wheel Mount
This is a solid product. Easy to assemble and simple to operate. A couple of issues make it less than ideal. First, because it is built to fit 1 1/4 and 2" hitches, the hitch pin holes do not line up correctly in a standard 2" trailer hitch. This means that you cannot use a 5/8" hitch pin. You can use the smaller pin, but you get the kind of fit you would expect -- it's loose and it rattles. If the cam system fails, the smaller hitch pin isn't going to help much. This is a huge design flaw in my opinion. Note that if you order the hitch pin lock that they say you need for this particular rack (HL2), it comes with a 5/8" pin that won't fit. Just dumb. My rack didn't come with the cable, so I contacted etrailer and after alot of back and forth, they said they would reach out to Kuat. That was a month ago. There is not a cap to snap over the cable lock, so when the rack is folded in the upright position, water leaks into the hollow bar behind the lock. It will sit in there forever unless you pull the rack and turn it upside down. I put a piece of duct tape over it -- the lock is no use to me since etrailer and Kuat can't seem to provide me with the missing cable.
My husband and I are in our 60's and had no problem putting this together as per instructions. It's a good solid rack, no wobble even with my big 35 pound 29'er. It easily clears our steep curb on the back of our Subaru Outback. The hatch clears the bike and there's plenty of room to move between the car and bike in that tilt position. We loaded our car for vacation with the bike on the rack. It's a bonus to be able to leave it all on the car in our garage. We also bought the Drawtite 2" hitch from etrailer.com. We're very happy with this setup!
# 14
Saris SuperClamp EX Bike Rack for 2 Bikes - 1-1/4" and 2" Hitches - Wheel Mount
At the age of 70, I needed a “friendlier” mounting and bike access rack. A platform rack seemed to be the solution. I had one caveat. My Subaru Forester had a 1and 1/4” receiver (with a non-standard 3/4” length mounting hole). My Volvo had a tuck away 2” receiver. After some research I gravitated toward Thule only to find out they had no solution for my above conundrum. In fact their customer service offered no interest in solving my problem which others also must have had. More research…enter Saris! An American made company with an innovative solution. I quickly received my SuperClamp EX-2 from ETrailer along with excellent customer service support. The ease of constructing the unit for use and the obvious structural integrity was immediately apparent. My wife couldn’t believe how easy it was to use and to stow away on my garage wall after use. Thank you Saris and ETrailer for a wonderful product and experience. I guess American made is still alive and well. I highly recommend this product and the associated companies.
Purchased this bike rack last year and am very pleased with the stability of the rack. The straps and clamps secure the bike well to the rack. Some things that I learned: When attaching the rack onto your hitch, it helps to put a piece of tape on the rack (hitchtite) once you have lined up the holes. This will make it easier to find the exact location of the holes the next time that you want to use the rack. Finding the exact location allows you to smoothly hand tighten the bolt to the end of the hitch. At that point, just use a socket wrench to finish the tightening. When putting the bike on the rack, I loosely secure the clamps to the tires at first. This allows me to rotate the tires to find the right location in the wheel well for the straps to go around the spokes. I next secure the bike with the straps and then fininsh securing the clamps to the tires.
# 15
Softride Hang2 2-Bike Rack for 1-1/4" and 2" Hitches - Tilting
The bike rack is made for bikes with no fender, our bikes have fenders and a rack over the back tire. We added some padding for the back tire so the rack doesn't get scratched, it works just fine our bikes are secure.
Nice to keep bike rims distant from the exhaust, which can damage carbon-fiber rims. But, IMHO over-designed......very heavy with thick-walled box channel sections. At least we know it won't structurally fail :)
# 16
Thule T2 Pro XTR Bike Rack for 2 Bikes - 2" Hitches - Wheel Mount
Great product, great company to do business with. etrailer is the best. Friendly, helpful and they made sure the bike rack was shipped immediately and it was delivered on time.
The quality of the rack is very sturdy and well built. I needed a rack that has a 12” spacing between wheels do to the baskets on each bike, and this rack delivered that. The issues I have with this rack are: I have a GMC Yukon suv and with the rack mounted I have to lift my two Lecritc 2.0 e-bikes, at 60 pounds each up over 24” to get it mounted. It sure could use ramps, which I know it did not come with. The clamp hold down does not work with fenders on a bike. It does not clamp very well on the cross bar (male and female) type do to the width and the angle of the cross bars. When clamping in front of the front fender makes the bike very unstable, and will require additional strapping and tie downs to secure the bikes. It claims it is for e-bikes, but only if it has no fenders. Nice rack, just not for me.
# 17
Hollywood Racks Trail Rider Bike Rack for 2 Bikes - 1-1/4" and 2" Hitches - Frame Mount
Overall the hitch works great sturdy heavy duty easy to load. The only difficulty was getting a receiver mounted on our little Honda Civic that took a mechanic! This hitch is much better than the kind we used to use strapping on the back of the car much more secure.
I was impressed with this bike rack from the minute I unpacked it. The assembly was simple & straight forward. I looked at quite a few bike racks & for the price point this product was hard to beat. It is well designed & the keyhole pins make it easy to remove & fold up when not carrying the bikes. The locking hitch pin & locking frame bars are convenient and fairly secure. I will add my cable lock to make the bikes even a little more tamper proof. So far I’m very happy with this his purchase. Now the test of time!
# 18
Swagman E-Spec Bike Rack for 2 Electric Bikes - 2" Hitches - Frame Mount
I have pulled my 33’ 5th wheel around 400 miles since I installed my Swagman E-Spec bike rack with a Rad Mini and a Rad expand E-bike on board and have had absolutely no problems. The bikes are held firmly and safely in place without shake or excessive vibration. I have had friends follow closely behind me just to verify the ride and they are equally impressed. This bike rack makes carrying two E-bikes effortless. I can load and unload the bikes by myself without any problem and the “keyed alike” feature make all the locking components quick and easy to access. etrailer delivered without any hassle and their helpfulness in recommending the 4”+ tire adapters was the ticket to making my rack fit one of my bikes.
I was worried about a rear bumper bike rack for my 2 Lectric bikes bouncing too much but after traveling 2,000 miles, we didn't have any trouble. The Swagman E-spec from etrailer bike rack was made specifically for my RV and attaches to the hitch that is rated at 300 lbs. The bike rack locks the bikes into the rack and I had a cover from [online] to protect the bikes from the elements. Loading and unloading is very easy. Prior to the bike rack, we had to fold the bikes in half and put them in a 80 gallon plastic tub and muscle them into the living room between the slides and that was a horrible experience having to lift them into and out of the RV. The supply chain pandemic issue took place and delayed the arrival by 6 months but worth the wait.
# 19
Yakima RidgeBack Bike Rack for 4 Bikes - 1-1/4" and 2" Hitches - Tilting
Check out my other review on the hidden hitch for a 2015 BMW 4 Series for the majority of the review, but this thing is great. Easy setup and install, does all the things it's supposed to do. Mounting and removing bikes is a snap with the included clips (big difference from some of the cheaper variants with nylon ratchet straps). Fits very snugly in my 2" receiver, and pretty solid on the highway and over bumpy roads.
The rack itself is fantastic. Not too heavy, easy to attach to hitch, and very easy setup. The only real downside is if your bicycles don't have a standard frame, you'll need to buy the Yakima Tube Top Bike Adapter Bars (~$50 each) in order to be able to mount them on the rack. I will say that smaller bikes (for my 9 year old) can be a challenge to mount with larger bikes as you'll need to finagle the handle bars and such to get them to line up but once you do it a few times you figure it out.
What our customers are saying:
"Just to let you know I was very satisfied with my orders for a hitch, wiring harness, bike rack and extension. I have a 1995 Dodge Ram van and some of the parts are hard to get elsewhere. I received all my orders proptly and will recommend you to others. The pricing can't be beat. Thank you. Sincerely, Frank"