Best 1988 Volkswagen Golf Bike Racks

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.

Click to Enlarge

Hitch pin broke before I got it. Looks like a poor design for the locking pin, they might want to consider a different design. I got a 3/8 shear pin from Home Depot to replace and it works great. Bike rack is great!

Click to Enlarge

I installed this rack onto a Curt trailer hitch which is mounted onto a 2017 Honda Fit. I have been using it intermittently for several months, probably about 5 times with one bike and twice with two bikes. I give some pros and cons below and then elaborate. Pros: easy to assemble, easy to mount and dismount bikes, easy to lock and unlock, how to put the rack into different positions is intuitive Cons: inconvenient to put the rack into different positions, inconvenient to mount the rack onto the hitch, rack protrudes about 15 inches from bumper when in flipped up position (seems very vulnerable to someone backing into it in a parking lot, very inelegant looking I say the repositioning is intuitive because there is really only one way you could possibly place the pins for each position. But removing and replacing two pins is much less convenient than turning a knob or a lever, like some racks do. Also many racks fold and flip in such a way as to look very unobtrusive when in non-use mode. This one looks like kind of a monstrosity. That does not really bother me but it might bother some owners. The part that does bother me is how far it protrudes from the car. I back into parking spaces whenever possible to avoid someone bumping into the rack and damaging it (which happened to a friend). My number one suggestion for Curt is related to mounting the rack onto the hitch. Make it easier to tell when the holes are lined up so that the bolt/pin will fit and thread. As it is now, if you insert the rack as far as it can go it is way too far in. Ideally, it would be exactly lined up. Failing that, maybe some kind of click or other feedback to know at least that you are in the neighborhood. It would also be great to have an attaching device that is easier to fasten and unfasten than is the bolt/pin. Tip for mounting the rack onto the hitch: I assumed that it would be awkward to hold, what is it 46 pounds?, while trying to line up the rack probe with the receiver. If you have a garage with exposed collar ties, my solution could work well for you. I looped a cargo strap over a collar tie. Then I hooked both hooks of a bungie onto that loop. The idea is that you hook one of the bike frame holders of the rack onto the bungie, suspending the rack a few inches off the garage floor. This takes most of the weight of the rack so that you can just pull up or down and forward until you line up with the receiver. Tip for mounting bikes. Don't put the little screw into the post that prevents you from completely removing the bike frame holders. Remove both holders. Position the first bike, slide the holder into place, position the second bike, slide the holder into place. I found this makes it much easier, because you avoid parts of the bike hitting the holder as you are trying to get the wheels into place. The trick is that if you are mounting only one bike, don't forget to put the second holder back on - or maybe just stick it inside the car right away.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

I had a 1 1/4" hitch installed on my 2016 toyota camry (the only size offered on the camry). I was very pleased with the ride. I expected to hear alot of noise like experienced when towing a trailer, but I heard almost nothing accept when going over speed bumps. I had to extend the tire supports to their widest position because having mountain bikes with a step through angled bar, they were more secure the closer i could get the upper and lower support arms to the seat post. The bikes were mounted in opposite directions and only stuck out maybe 6 inches or so. One locking barrel on the lower support arm was malfunctioning and gave me trouble but i called etrailer and they sent a replacement as soon as they were in stock. It comes with a anti rattle hitch pin but I highly recommend purchasing an anti rattle hitch pin with a lock on the end instead of just a clip for more security when unattended. After a few times mounting the bikes and figuring out the best way they should be positioned (pedals positions, direction of bike, and that my wife's smaller bike fit better going on first with my larger bike on the outside) I can mount the rack and bikes and be ready to go in just 5 minutes. (70 pounds on a torque wrench recommended for the hitch pin) I am overall pleased with my purchase i would recommend this product.

Works great and looks great. Included tools we're a nice bonus

I’ve had the Kuat Sherpa for about a year now and could not be more happy with this bike rack. When not in use I keep it safely in the garage- it only takes a few minutes to install it to my Honda Civic and safely secure two bikes using its exquisitely engineered and designed system. I’ve used this for 900+ mile trips with no issues whatsoever - the perfect bike rack!

Seemingly well-constructed and supported bike rack. It fits my 2018 Toyota Camry SE just fine and I haven't had any issues with sway or even feeling my bike while driving. I've only carried one bike on it and have used it a limited number of times, so I cannot speak on durability and longevity. Although you shouldn't open your trunk while the rack is attached, I have been able to do so with no issue (without the bike attached).

While getting a bike rack for a sports car isn't ideal, I really wanted to transfer my bike with my own car instead of borrowing my friend's pickup truck. After hours of trying to find a bike rack that would be good for my 07 Mustang, I decided to give this one a try and I gotta say, it has been pretty good so far. It fits very well over the factory spoiler. One of my biggest concerns I was worried about when ordering a rack for my Mustang was ruining the paint, but the feet on the legs haven't left one scratch. I have used this to transfer my bike at freeway speeds (up to 80 mph) on car rides that typically last an hour and my bike was perfectly secure throughout each ride. For extra security, I wrapped both bike wheels with a ratchet strap so the wheels and pedals wouldn't shift in transit. So far, I am very pleased with this bike rack for the price and quality. I would highly recommend this if you want a rack that is affordable and durable.

Click to Enlarge

Planning on bringing bikes while camping. I mounted 2 of the Swagman bike racks to my new Sportrack on my pop-up camper. The bikes fit perfectly. The racks seem sturdy enough. Not heavy duty, but for my needs they should be fine. Assembly was relatively fast and easy.

Click to Enlarge

We have used the Swagman Roof Rack a number of times when we have needed the additional bike carrying capacity. It took a couple attempts to get the initial spacing of the bike rack properly balanced on the van’s roof rack as recommended by the instructions. But it was easy to do and once set was very easy and quick to put on and take off. The rack works great, the bike is easy to put into place and secure. The bike and rack are very stable and quiet and haven’t required any mid-trip adjustments. We always put the cheapest bike on the roof (lol) but do use a bit of duct tape to protect the finish just Incase. We are very satisfied with the rack and consider it quite a deal for the money.

Click to Enlarge

Works great and looks great. Included tools we're a nice bonus

All in all pretty good. The arms that grab the front wheel have loosened a little bit and move side to side. They have never failed, just feel a little wobbly. The hitch receptacle is also hard to tighten but might be due to the receptacle it self. Used rack on a long trip and the bikes moved slightly side to side, but nothing serious.

Click to Enlarge

Perfect for my 2019 RAV-4. I like this product because it allows me to drive and park without having to worry about height clearances in the city and parking was still navigable. Definitely worth the money!

Click to Enlarge

First, etrailers.com is the BEST! Okay, this rack is amazing. If it was made in the U.S.A, I believe it would be closer to $ 800.00+, it's not, thus the incredible price point, imo. Incredible craftmanship, sturdy, versatile, nice to look at, as well. Very detailed instructions included. Fits my 2015 Prius 4 perfectly. Our beach cruises both required adaptor bars. I opted to wait on the bike rack, to ensure a good fit, etc. then purchase the adaptor bars. After much research, I went with Delta adaptors, I wish etrailers.com carried them, but they do not. Nevertheless, this rack is tops, highly recommend. Thank you for reading!

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Absolutely love it. Put it on the car the first day and took it out with the bike. Was a little iffy about it at first but after a few minutes my fears were eased. This rack is rock solid and I’m so glad I purchased it.

This is a great bike rack. I was rear ended a few weeks ago, which damaged the bike rack, but I liked it so much I bought the exact same one.

Easy to set up. Very stable with bikes mounted. Great product.

Easy to set up and attach! Attached to my 2014 VW Golf. This is a keeper product for years to come.

Works great and looks great. Included tools we're a nice bonus

I am very happy with my purchase!!! It all began with a pleasant experience contacting Etrailer to confirm that the Kuat Sherpa 2.0 would work with my Class 1 1-1/4" hitch on my 2011 Honda CRV. Roger answered my questions and assisted me with placing my order. I ordered on a Monday and I received it on Thursday in California! It did take me about 2 hours to assemble because I initially tried to follow the written instructions that were in the box. I remembered that several reviewers said that they recommend that you follow the You Tube videos for the Kuat Sherpa 2.0 assembly instructions. Once I followed the videos the assembly was a snap! The bike rack is very sturdy despite weighing in at 35 lbs. I am a 60 year old relatively athletic female and have no problem attaching the bike rack to my hitch! Here's hoping the bike rack holds up for years to come!

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Couldn’t be more satisfied with my decision to go with this bike rack, was on the fence between brands but Rhino Rack makes it beyond easy to use, from installing it on the racks, to daily use is just unbelievably simple! 100% would recommend to anyone looking into bike racks. Also huge selling point for sure is that it covers a very wide range of tire sizes where others are very specific!

Click to Enlarge

Great bike carrier! Etrailer always provides me with high quality products with fast deliveries.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

1 year in, this remains a fantastic rack. It is best in the one-bike configuration, as it is more solid and the trunk on my VW Golf can be opened even with it raised. The extension is a little wobbly simply because it is a separate piece. You definitely need to crank down the screws on the extension periodically. Overall, if you want a one-bike rack that can accommodate a buddy's bike for the occasional ride, this is perfect. If you need two all the time, I'd look for a single-piece unit for the sturdiness. But the tray style is 1000% the way to go!

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!

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Does the trick to carry my mountain bike.

I was looking for a light weight bike rack for my 2015 Honda Accord. Your videos stated that the Kuat Beta was light and easy to install. You were right. I opened the box, read the instructions, and had it installed in about 10 minutes. I don't use a rack lock. It is so easy to pop on and off the hitch that I keep the rack in my car trunk.

Click to Enlarge

First off, thanks to Jason T. or "Troop". The exemplary customer service he provided is rare these days. Troop made several calls to the various manufacturers to ascertain which bike rack would afford me the most ground clearance as my new VW Golf sits low to the ground and my old bike rack frequently scraped the ground when I went up even a slight up hill grade. His efforts paid off as he found me the best bike rack for my car, the Swagman Trailhead 2 Bike Carrier. It sits up off the ground just high enough that it doesn't scrape on my driveway. It is also sturdy and holds my bikes securely. And, the delivery was amazingly fast. I had my rack in about 2 days! Note to Troop, see my Pittsburgh Pirates Logo on my bumper in the attached pictures? Pirate Fans persevere! The Bucco's will be coming after your Cardinals this year! Thanks again Troop!

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

We are very pleased with our Swagman 2 bike hitch. We felt our race bikes were safe and secure while traveling long distances and easy to but on and take off. We will be traveling again this year and and can't wait to use the hitch again.

I'm very happy with the Swagman XTC-2 bike rack & Curt C11355 trailer hitch. The installation was quick and trouble free. Perfect fit & looks great on my Golf.

nice rack. had to put hitch frame in press to get the tower away from back of car. the inside bikes pedals were making contact with the car

Easy to set up. Very stable with bikes mounted. Great product.

Easy to set up and attach! Attached to my 2014 VW Golf. This is a keeper product for years to come.

Truly grooving on my wife's new Swagman Chinook bike rack. She wanted to be able to transport her nice road bike easily without throwing it in the back of her car, and since a roof rack is out of the question, this Swagman model fit the bill perfectly. It arrived quickly on the anticipated date. Kudos to etrailer.com for the email updates to keep me informed of my purchase. Within one hour, it was installed on my wife's 2014 Mazda3 hatchback. The Swagman is heavy and solid, which is reassuring as it makes me feel confident that it will keep the bikes secure. It also makes me feel like I got my money's worth. A ratchet wrench and Phillip's head screwdriver were the only tools required for the easy install. I did my research before purchasing the Chinook model as I was also eyeballing a very similar Thule rack that was slightly more expensive. I spoke with an etrailer.com expert who gave me the lowdown on both models. Ultimately, the Swagman won out because it has a smaller 'footprint' while extended or folded up ... and also can tilt away from the car for easy access to the hatchback area. Very convenient! FYI: Mazda doesn't make a trailer hitch for the Mazda3 as it's a small car with a small engine and has no business towing anything. Thankfully, the Curt company makes an aftermarket frame and trailer hitch that fits the Mazda3 hatchback perfectly with no drilling. Stupidly, I purchased it from another online company thinking I was getting a good deal. Turns out etrailer.com had it for less with FREE shipping. Oh well ... live and learn. Now I know that etrailer.com is one-stop shopping for bike racks AND trailer hitches. (Full disclosure: I had the garage down the street install the frame as it's easier with a lift) Only snafu: the shipment contained an extra set of keys that I assumed was for the hitch bolt lock (there was also a set of keys on the bolt itself). I spent 15 minutes using those keys trying to figure out how to remove the lock from the bolt to install it on the hitch. The keys just wouldn't turn in the lock. I called etrailer.com and Kevin told me to try the other set of keys ... and they worked. So an extra set of keys came with it that did absolutely nothing ... weird! Obviously, I can't speak to the longevity and durability of the Swagman Chinook 2 Bike Platform Rack as I just installed it. What I can speak to is the sturdiness of it, the ease of the installation and my complete satisfaction with the good folks at etrailer.com.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

I ordered the Swagman Chinook 2 Bike Platform Rack on line from etrailer and so far have been very satisfied. The bike rack was delivered in less than a week. Unpacking the rack and assembly was fairly straightforward. I have read some reviews that complained the assembly instructions were a bit vague. I didn't have a problem but can see where others without a mechanical background get confused. The rack is very sturdy, but there is some side to side play in the tilt mechanism. I'm not sure this can be avoided with a rack that folds down. Installing the Curt trunk stabilizing strap takes most of the sway out of the rack. Installation is fairly easy and quick. It takes me 6 - 7 minutes to install the back on my hitch, and to install the bike and be ready to drive away. That seems reasonable to me. So far I've only loaded 1 bike. I've included pictures of my installation on a 2014 Mercedes Benz E350 sedan. Clearance between the bikes, the rack and the car are good. With the bike loaded in the inside, most forward position, I have 6" clearance between the pedal and the bumper. With the bike removed, the center support folded flat and the rack folded up in the storage position, I have 4" clearance between the closest part of the bike rack (the fold down hinge assembly) and the back bumper of the car. I am able to open the trunk of the car without removing the bikes or using the tilt feature, but I do have to remove the stabilizing strap first. Overall, I'm very pleased with the bike rack and think it will serve me much better than my old strap on rack. Since the weather has been cool since getting the bike carrier, I haven't taken any long trips to give it a real workout.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

First off, thanks to Jason T. or "Troop". The exemplary customer service he provided is rare these days. Troop made several calls to the various manufacturers to ascertain which bike rack would afford me the most ground clearance as my new VW Golf sits low to the ground and my old bike rack frequently scraped the ground when I went up even a slight up hill grade. His efforts paid off as he found me the best bike rack for my car, the Swagman Trailhead 2 Bike Carrier. It sits up off the ground just high enough that it doesn't scrape on my driveway. It is also sturdy and holds my bikes securely. And, the delivery was amazingly fast. I had my rack in about 2 days! Note to Troop, see my Pittsburgh Pirates Logo on my bumper in the attached pictures? Pirate Fans persevere! The Bucco's will be coming after your Cardinals this year! Thanks again Troop!

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

We are very pleased with our Swagman 2 bike hitch. We felt our race bikes were safe and secure while traveling long distances and easy to but on and take off. We will be traveling again this year and and can't wait to use the hitch again.