Best Mazda MX-5 Miata Bike Racks

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

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.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

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.

The customer service was absolutely fantastic. She helped me choose the perfect bike rack. I have used it many times on short trips and three very long trips. It’s fabulous. I highly recommend this company

These are descent bike holders, but I was disappointed in the fact that at speed, the bike closer to the vehicle will be pushed back (by the air) and rub against the other bike. My brand new bike now has a big bare spot in the paint, which made me pretty unhappy.

The BEST bike carrier by far!! We are both in our 7th decade and even I alone (5’2” 120 lbs) can manage to attach this in my hitch without any issues. It’s so easy to load both our hybrid and e-bike and they are super secure. We love that it folds up small and wheels away when not in use. This bike carrier is worth every penny!!

This rack is perfect! eTrailer had it shipped and at my home in almost no time. I drove with it on the car today, and it was solid and secure. It's super easy to get on and off the hitch. I'm 5'1 and I was able to load the bike on with the ramp without a struggle. Thanks for the thorough video and comparison information. It made this purchase easy.

Click to Enlarge

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.

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

I had to put my electric bikes into this rack, backwards, to make them fit. Not ideal, but it works.The receiving 'trays' that are intended to provide support for holding the bikes, by being placed under the bike tires, are forced to be moved to a location that is not directly under the bottom of the bike tires. While it works in this manner, it is not ideal.For the support that attaches to the diagonal bike frame, we had to remove it from the vertical rail of the rack. We reinstalled it, upside down, because that's the only way we could make it fit, or 'grab', the bike frame. Again, we made it work, but it's not ideal. We chose to keep the rack because it was so much less expensive than the Thule rack we considered buying. The bike shop owner didn't agree with us. He observed that we are putting $3000 worth of bikes on the rack and risking that investment. So far, no problems, other than the ill-fitting installation.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Loved our Saris rack that went on the trunk but love having the bike rack on a hitch even more! Now we can take the bikes AND put the top to the convertible up and down as we please :)

Installation was straightforward. The rack sits high up on my 2016 Subaru Forester so lifting bikes onto the rack requires effort. Getting 3 mountain bikes on the rack was a bit tricky. When loaded rack was secure and stable.

Seems like a sturdy, reliable product so far. Components are solid and well put together. Fits great and carries well on my 2014 Corolla. Excellent value considering the price tag on other racks out there. And the prompt delivery was great!

Click to Enlarge

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

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.

Click to Enlarge

Ordered online, it shipped the same day. Received it 3 days later. There is a little assembly, but, pretty simple. It took me less than 15 minutes to install and no tools were needed. It is adjustable to be used on many different auto types, but, the instructions were very clear about how to adjust it to fit my 2011 Ford Edge. I have used it twice so far to transport my bike. There are a couple of items that are inherent in the design, not a flaw, but, you need to be aware of them. First, you can't use rear window wipers. Second, the back-up alarm goes nuts because it registers a bike less than 6 inches behind you (I tolerate it for the few seconds it takes to back out of my driveway or out of a parking lot). Third, there is a little flexibility, it is held on with straps and clamps, not bolts, so, it bounces a little when you go over bumps or make sharp turns, however, it holds the bike fast to the frame and stays on the car. I use mine to transport my bike on short trips around town to bike trails. On a long trip I would suggest checking that the straps remain tight from time to time during the drive.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

The Komodo was the perfect solution for carrying my road bike on the trunk lid on my old BMW Z3 Roadster. I also purchased the front wheel Hogg and or works beautifully. Seasucker's Komodo Is a very high quality product that looks like a piece of art. I'm likely to get more compliments on the Komodo rack than my bike or car!

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

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.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

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!

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

The Komodo was the perfect solution for carrying my road bike on the trunk lid on my old BMW Z3 Roadster. I also purchased the front wheel Hogg and or works beautifully. Seasucker's Komodo Is a very high quality product that looks like a piece of art. I'm likely to get more compliments on the Komodo rack than my bike or car!

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Bike rack has been great. We've taken it on several road trips. It makes taking the bikes somewhere close to the house an option now. Before this we had one of the strap on racks that take 15 minutes to get the rack and bikes onto the car, the thought of going anywhere with the bikes was really annoying. This thing takes 2 minutes to get on or off, so taking the bikes somewhere is a breeze.

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

The Destination bike rack works perfectly on my 2020 Pacifica and I have clearance going over speed bumps! I recently upgraded my bike to a Trek step through which hung too low on my old Thule rack no matter how the cross bar adapter was adjusted. Problem solved!

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

I realy like how it holds my bikes securly in place. I also like that (without the bikes) I can open and close the hatch on my 2014 Hyundia Santa Fe. I have a 2" receiver on my car. We went away for a long weekend from CT to VT and had no issues with it holding my bikes. Would definetly recomend.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

The Komodo was the perfect solution for carrying my road bike on the trunk lid on my old BMW Z3 Roadster. I also purchased the front wheel Hogg and or works beautifully. Seasucker's Komodo Is a very high quality product that looks like a piece of art. I'm likely to get more compliments on the Komodo rack than my bike or car!

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

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

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).

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

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.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

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.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

The rack is great for a senior single. Lightweight to install into hitch and seems pretty sturdy. However the directions for assembly need help. 1.The Tire Hook Arm Assy and Arm Kunckle and Arm Installation: The pictures show assembling the Hook Arm and Arm Knuckle in one way. And Installing the Arm show the cutout of the Arm Knuckle for the screw another way. I think the 2 diagrams don't agree with each other as far as which side of the rack the arm is installed on. It added more time for assembly. 2. In the Hitch Shank Assembly, the holes for slipping in the bolt were not lined up - at all. Tried to wiggle, somewhat force it - no success. I finally figured out that the plastic wrap that was put into place to hold the Foot Pivot lever at a certain tension - wasn't really holding it at all. Once I pressed on the Foot Pivot tension lever, the holes could be aligned for an easy insertion of the bolt. I hope this helps

The Komodo was the perfect solution for carrying my road bike on the trunk lid on my old BMW Z3 Roadster. I also purchased the front wheel Hogg and or works beautifully. Seasucker's Komodo Is a very high quality product that looks like a piece of art. I'm likely to get more compliments on the Komodo rack than my bike or car!

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

The rack arrived very quickly. Upon opening the box I observed that the covers for the suction pads had come loose during shipping. Probably not an issue. The instructions for assembly and mounting were clear and easy to follow. I planned to secure the cups to the glass roof on my VW. So, I thought it would be best to clean the glass and roof with auto detailing spray. After doing that I attached the carrier and gave it a prett y good shake. I have attached three photographs that may add clarity. I'm very optimistic. This may be the best carrier I've had for my bicycle. Keep Eager.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Your product is still working great. It’s on top of a fiberglass truck top. Speeds up to 75 mph. It’s a heavy hybrid Fugi. Well I do lose some suction in one of the cups but not much. I’m always able to pump it back up. Sorry I can provide a picture at this time.