# 1
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.
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!
# 2
Thule Passage Trunk Bike Rack for 2 Bikes - Hanging Style
Excellent and prompt customer service! When I first ordered my product it wasn’t in stock— staff were quick to let me know and offered me comparable products. I ended up waiting for my original order and shipping quick and they stayed in touch with ideas! Thule: The instructions could be a little more detailed. I ended up watching YouTube videos to help me instal. Overall it was easy, and this was the first rack I’ve ever installed and I did it by myself! I was surprised to learn the bike rack is in no way secured inside your vehicle, so.. I store it in my garage when it’s on.
Positive: The product is well thought out and works for a wide range of automotive vehicles. It comes with interesting dampers that i think work. Instructions seem to be translated from another language, but are quite good, accompanying pictures make installation straightforward. A test drive over speed bumps shows that the rack will support the bike for all travel needs. It can be disassembled , collapsed and stored in the trunk. Downside: The rack is made for the classic triangular shaped frame: horizontal cross bar, "male" bike. For bikes without the horizontal bar, mounting is a little less satisfactory. Such a bike can only be mounted on the outside mounts. Cannot use the damper on one side. Picture shows the mounting. as to a design solution, maybe brackets could be replaced with smaller profile, some adjustability? however, as it is, vibration control is good and adjustability with smaller profile would have vibration concerns.
# 3
Thule Passage 3 Bike Carrier - Trunk Mount
Fits perfectly on our Lexus CT200h. Only on the old LS400, the side straps have to be fastened to the wheel arch edge, since the upper trunklid gap is to narrow for inserting the strap hooks. Mounting of two bikes is (with some routine) quickly done, and they stay safe even for longer and faster routes. For transporting three (mountain) bikes, though, the design doesn't seem big and robust enough. Nevertheless, the price-benefit-fun ratios are way better than reasonable.
We are very pleased with the quality and ease of use for our like-new purchase. From the online shopping experience with etrailer.com through multiple outings already, this bike carrier more than meets our needs. Thank you!
# 4
Swagman Trailhead Bike Rack for 2 Bikes - 1-1/4" and 2" Hitches - Tilting
etrailer has the best pre- and post-sales customer service I've ever seen! I started out not knowing anything about hitch-mounted racks. So I wrote to etrailer telling them about my car and type of hitch I was about to have installed. Samuel wrote back with lots of great information tailored specifically to my car. He even included a photo that looked just like my 2017 white VW GTI with a hitch and rack installed. Okay something of a coincidence. But the rest of the assistance I got from the crew at etrailer was just as prophetic. I went into this a novice and came out knowing lots more about hitches and racks and finding the rack best suited to my situation. I have a small car, a class 1 hitch and a heavy mountain bike. I got exactly what I needed. As to the Swagman rack itself, it works fine. If I had a different situation I would probably buy a platform rack as they are easier to load. There's no reason to buy a bike rack anywhere else.
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!
# 5
Rhino-Rack MountainTrail Rooftop Bike Carrier - Fork Mount
Love this bike rack! It fits perfectly with my Rhino Rack Cross Bars. I'm very impressed by the lack of wind noise. With the bike mounted on the rack, you can barely hear the wind noise at 60mph. With the sunroof open you can hear wind noise, but as long as the window is closed, you can only slightly hear anything if the radio is off and you are trying to hear it. Amazing! Can't wait to get more use out of it in the future!
I have used a lot of bike racks and this is the one I keep on my 4Runner. It just works. It is the easiest to take on and off, which is important for me because between me, my wife and kids I have 4 bikes that need to be rearranged often. We also use a roof box, kayak racks and a SUP rack so I am always taking things off and on. The front straps loop over the bar and tightens with an allen key, the back is a couple wing nuts. Since there are 2 straps up front the rack is very stable when a bike is on it. I like that it comes with locks and the skewer is super easy to adjust, clamp and unclamp. If it is cold, dark and damp at 6am and I am tired, late for a ride and still waking up this is the rack I go for because it is easy. There are a couple things to be aware of though... You will need to put a drop of oil in the skewer every 6 months or so to keep it opening and closing smoothly. Otherwise is can stick. Sometimes if the skewer is turned just right there will be a bit of whistle because of a hole in the clamping mechanism. If I turn it to a different angle the whistle stops. And after going through the car wash with the rack on my roof a dozen times or so the black paint began to have a bit of a rainbow sheen. Not sure if it is the bike rack or the soap my car wash uses.
# 6
Kuat Beta Bike Rack for 2 Bikes - 1-1/4" Trailer Hitches - Tilting
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.
We've been using this bike rack with a 1.25" Draw-Tite receiver hitch (also purchased from etrailer) on a 2012 Prius C for a month with no problems. As shown on the pictures, it fits two bikes very well, even one with a baby carrier. I chose this model based on recommendations from etrailer that it can be easily detached from the car without tools. True to their word, it is very easily detachable from the hitch and folds up nicely to fit in your garage/closet/storage area. Basically, it uses a hand tightened ball bearing mechanism to secure itself into the hitch receiver, and then uses a 3/8" hand locked pin as a safety device. You can install and de-install this rack in just a few minutes. During driving, there is little noticeable vibration from this rack, even on rougher roads or speed bumps. The only downside is that the holes on the receiver hitch do not align perfectly with the holes on the bike rack (see picture). I believe a few other reviewers also noted this issue. There is enough room to fit the safety pin, but not quite enough to fit a 1/2" hitch lock. I called Kuat to ask them about this and the rep told me that not all hitches will line up with this rack. Kuat, coincidentally(?), sells a hitch lock that is also 3/8" (same size as the safety pin) and still fits.
# 7
Swagman Titan Bike Rack for 2 Bikes - 1-1/4" and 2" Hitches - Tilting
One of the few racks that will clear my Jeep's large rear mounted spare tire without using an extender. The other is the Allen which doesn't have the nice features the Swagman Titan has. Tips enough to allow partial opening of Jeep rear door, but enough to open the soft top rear window. The vertical portion of rack tips slightly toward vehicle (at least it does on mine). Would be better if the horizontal "S" shaped piece could be turned around to dip down, moving it further from the spare tire, but there are only holes drilled to mount it as shown. Can't attest to the durability yet, but it doesn't wobble even a tiny bit. Have to compliment everyone I spoke with at etrailer. very nice and extremely helpful.
eTrailer.com had my new Swagman Titan bike rack delivered super fast. I received the right amout of email communication informing me of the status of my order, plus I could track my delivery directly from the eTrailer website. Awesome! As for the hitch, I am so happy with it. I was tired of taking the front wheel off my bike and cramming it into the back of my small Corolla, it never really fit right, was always a struggle, and then I had no room for anything else in my car. Now, I just hang my bike onto the rack and strap it in, takes less than 60 seconds and I have all the extra room in my car and don't have to fold down the back seats. The other feature I really like is that this bike rack has an integrated locking cable, once your bike is on the rack, you attach the locking cable so now your bike is locked onto the rack. Someone can't take your bike off the rack and walk away with it when you aren't looking. I also got the Swagman bike rack locking pin, that attaches the bike rack to the car hitch. I've used the bike rack twice so far and it makes my life so much easier. Solidly built bike rack that is well worth it. Thank you eTrailer, you rock!
RockyMounts TieRod Roof Bike Rack Review - 2006 Acura TL
Today on our 2006 Acura TL we'll be test fitting the RockyMounts TieRod Roof Mounted Bike Carrier, part number RKY1014. With a Thule Arrow Blade Roof Rack System assembled onto our vehicle, we'll begin our test fit by placing the RockyMounts TieRod directly onto our load bars. Here at the front, we'll bring our straps around our front bar and then remove the black plastic cover. We'll fit the straps back into the head of the carrier and use an Allen key to tighten down our Allen bolt, which will tighten our straps around our front bar. Now we can replace our black plastic cover and make sure our skewer is loose. Here at the rear, we'll take our rear bracket and bring it around our rear bar.
Swagman Fork Down Roof Bike Rack Review - 2006 Acura TL
Today on our 2006 Acura TL, well be test fitting the Swagman Fork Down Roof Mounted Bike Carrier, part number S64710. With the Thule aero blade roof rack system assembled onto our vehicle, well begin our test fit by placing the Swagman Fork Down directly onto our load bars. Here at the front platform, well bring our U-bolts around the underside of our load bar bringing them up to our front platform and tighten it with two wing nuts. Well repeat this process for the other side of the front platform. Here at the rear, well take our U-bolt, drop it through the top of our bike rack making sure that it goes around to our rear load bar, fit the bracket through the bolts, and tight them in place with the wing nuts. With our front and rear secured, we can now go ahead and undo our rear wheel strap and make sure that our skewer at the front is loose. Well grab our bike, place it onto our bike rack, and well secure it first by tightening our skewer and then move to the rear and tighten with the wheel strap.
RockyMounts TieRod Stretch Roof Bike Rack Review - 2006 Acura TL
Today, on our 2006 Acura TL, we'll be test-fitting the RockyMounts TieRod Stretch roof-mounted bike carrier, part number RKY1011. With the Thule AeroBlade Roof Rack System assembled onto our vehicle, we'll begin the test-fit by placing the stretch directly onto our load bars. Here at the front we'll bring our rubber-coated straps around our front load bar, remove our black plastic cover and fit our straps back into the head of the carrier. Then we'll use an Allen key to tighten the Allen bolt which will tighten our straps around our bar. Once we have that done we can replace our black plastic cover, and then check to make sure the skewer is loose for when we're ready to load our bike. Here at the rear, we'll bring our rear bracket around our rear bar, drop the bolt through the bracket and tighten with an Allen key. With the front and rear of our carrier tight, it's secured our vehicle and we're ready to load our bike.
What our customers are saying:
"great experience!!! I've been looking for a hitch. With the experience I just had with the bike rack, I;kk definitely come back and order the hitch when I have a little more $$$. delivery was quick! the product was awesome!!! Frank"