Most Popular Bike and Hitch Lock for 1998 Volkswagen GTI

Had a Yakima...wife took it so I decided to upgrade...and I did. Easy to put together and install. 10 hour road trip, very little wobble. Did have retighten screws after trip but bike was secure and liked the fact the bike was locked to the rack and the rack locked to the hitch. Definitely would recommend.

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.

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Great rack! This is our third hitch rack: we had a 4-bike Thule for hanging bikes by their tubes and then a 2-bike Thule platform rack whose 100-pound rating didn't permit loading 2 e-bikes, so that was our criterion for the search that led to this purchase. Assembly was not intuitive, so we had to re-do a few steps, but the final product is excellent: very stable. Two cautions: (1) Be sure to check whether any panniers block your tail lights; (2) Always use the included lock because each bike's rear wheel sits on a relatively flat surface and a big bump might dislodge it if the back strap isn't firmly seated.

Bought a new Mazda 3 HB and decided to go with a hitch bike rack. I've had a Kuat Trasnfer bike rack. That rack did it's job, but I felt the Sherpa or NV 2.0 Base would be better in every way. I've bought hitches and Kuat from etrailer and I knew their online prices and customer service was the best in business so it was a no brainer to go back to buy another bike rack. It was a tough decision between the Sherpa and NV 2.0 Base, but I felt had all the right checks for me to go with the NV Base 2.0. Once I ordered the rack, it was shipped the same day and arrived at my doorstep a day earlier! The box was ok, but the packaging inside was excellent. The quality is top notch and the manual is easy to read. Not gonna lie, the rack is heavy. I knew it was going to be heavy after researching on it and it's not a big deal, but doing a solo assembly wasn't going to be easy. Luckily I had my son with me to assist. Assembly took 15min (with another person). Manual doesn't state NM torque, but I set it around 8-10nm to bolt down everything. Once I put it on the hitch, I turned the anti-rattle knob and it locked the bike rack down to the hitch like a vice grip. It's solid and wont budge at all! everything on this rack is sturdy and top quality. The bike and rack barely sways during the drive. I can't express how impressive this rack is! The only down side to this and it's not even the rack, it's the hitch lock pin. It feels like an after thought and it's too thin. it flops around. With the price I paid for this, I was hoping for something little better. Overall all, the Kuat NV 2.0 Base is hands down the best bike rack on the market and I'm glad I went with it.

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Love this bike rack! The NV 2.0 firmly keeps my road bike and beach cruiser securely in place. The added lock is a great feature for keeping the bikes safe after a day of riding. Even on my tiny Corolla the rack looks and fits great. I never have to worry about the bikes when they're locked onto the NV 2.0

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Ok at 1 year I still remember how good customer service is with etrailer.com. This rack remains awesome as well, favorite features are the locks and the flip down capability so even with bikes loaded I can open the back hatch of my SUV with no issues. Also I think it is easy to take on and off so I don't just drive around with it on, hangs easily in the garage.