OT: Advice on trailer hitch mounted bicycle racks

[Scot Brooks]

I'm going to be picking up a little Class 1 trailer hitch and bike rack for my Honda Fit, and I'm hoping for some advice. The hitch is easy, but the selection of racks is a little overwhelming, even with the reviews and all that.

I'm just wondering if anyone has specifically gone this route and found something they'd happily recommend. Thanks all!

[Kelly]

If you get one that hangs the bike from the top tune then buy those noodles for pipe insulation. I've taken scrapes out of my decals and scratched things up pretty good on two bikes.

The ones that stand the bike up and have clamps for the top tube look best to me and I would have one except they don't come for four bikes.

The ones that clamp at the brakes on the tires are best but useless with fenders.

Kelly

[David Spranger]

I have this one mounted on my wife's Prius:

http://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Bike-Racks/Swagman/S64670.html

I can highly recommend it. Easy to install, remove, fold up, and mount and dismount bikes. Never have felt that the bikes were less than secure while carrying them.

David 

Charlotte, NC

[Ray Shine]

I have used the Thule on my Jeep Cherokee for several years and like it a lot. One big drawback to the Thule is that it is a little on the heavy side. The thing I really like about it is that it uses a bolt to hold it into the receiver rather than a pin. This holds the rack firmly and it does not wiggle around inside the receiver. My bro-n-law uses one of the Swagman racks like David. He drives a small Subaru. Here is the Thule model I use:

http://www.rei.com/product/816726/thule-t2-xtr-2-bike

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From: David Spranger <daspr...@gmail.com>
To: rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Mon, September 24, 2012 3:07:41 AM
Subject: [RBW] Re: OT: Advice on trailer hitch mounted bicycle racks

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[Scot Brooks]

Thanks for the great insight, everyone!

David - with a platform rack, is is possible to secure two bikes with nearly identical stand over height? Do the hooks at the top have a way to deal with this?

[David Spranger]

Yes, one hook is longer than the other. Works great.

[jandrews_nyc]

HI 

This isn't a hitch-mount, but it sort of behaves like one..

it's the Thule Raceway "Platform" 2.

The bikes sit in their own wheel-rails and they are lower than the usual trunk mounted bike rack.

I just drove 1200 miles to Maine with two heavy bikes and it was perfect.

See picture

Jason

[Horace]

We did this to our Honda Fit. The Class 1 hitch has a maximum
recommended vertical load of 200lb, so the salesman at the shop
recommended that we use the lightest possible rack. We would have
preferred a tray rack, but we settled for the Thule Helium rack for
two bikes.

H.

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[Bruce Baker]

I have had a thule drop down hitch rack for about ten years. This is
the one that the wheels set in trays and it is secured in back with a
rim strap and in front with an adjustable
hook in the front. I have had no porblem with it and use it 4 times a
week. If I was going to buy a new one I would look at the Kuat. Those
are pretty cool on of them has an integrated clamp bike stand on the
rack.
My two cents...

[Kelly]

Does that mount work on fenders? I was afraid it would been them. Steel fenders anyway.

Kelly

[Rob]

I went through this selection process a year or so ago. I settled on a Softride Dura for my wife's station wagon, based on wanting something that folded down to allow access to the hatch, and I thought getting the backs on a rear rack would be easier than lifting them up onto a roof rack. I found one on craigslist: http://www.flickr.com/photos/robharrison/5969361080/ The Dura has an adapter that allows it to fit both 1 1/4" and 2" receivers, but the 1 1/4" adapter moves the whole rack back about 8", which makes for a pretty long cantilever: http://www.flickr.com/photos/robharrison/5969363620/  The rack is bolted on, very sturdy, and quite heavy. We leave it on all the time. The bars that actually hold the bikes come off, so you can put those in the back of the car. The rubber straps that fasten the bikes to the rack arms are secure, but not at all easy to attach. There are provisions for anti-sway straps too, which work well, but are also hard to attach. I haven't had any issues with scratching of bikes with the rack. I take care to slide the rubber straps under any cables. We've had two kids' bikes and two adult bikes on the rack. I like the fact that the bikes sit behind the car, which affords better mileage I imagine than having the bikes on top. 

That said, if I had it to do over again, because of the difficulty of strapping the bikes on with this rack, and the versatility of being able to carry other stuff too (skis, canoe) on a roof rack, I'd get a roof rack with an arm like the KC Metro buses have instead, like this Thule Sidearm: http://www.thule.com/en-US/US/Products/Bike-Carriers/RoofCarriers/594XT-Sidearm As I understand it, Thule bought the rights to use this design from the Seattle company which makes the racks for the buses. Sportsrack maybe? You can still sometimes find the car roof racks they made on craigslist.

Rob in Seattle 

[Bruce Baker]

No It wouldn't work on fenders.  The hook clamps onto the tire to hold the bike in place....

On Tue, Sep 25, 2012 at 10:06 AM, Kelly <tksl...@gmail.com> wrote:

Does that mount work on fenders?  I was afraid it would been them. Steel fenders anyway.

Kelly

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[René Sterental]

If your bikes have fenders and you don't want to hang them from the top tubes (I don't!), then there are only three options in the market for tray based hitch racks:

 

Yakima Stickup 2 - This is the one I upgraded to from the Thule (see below) mainly for its curved arm to help clear curbs and driveways, as well as the added separation between the two bikes as well as their completely independent arms. It has no integrated locks, but I take care of that with a bike chain when I'm parked.

 

Thule DoubleTrack - This is the one I used on my Corolla and Prius, but it had the bad habit of hitting the ground when going up and down driveways. Additionally, the bikes are quite close together which sometimes created issues with my Rivendells.

 

Swagman XC2 - I've never used this, so I cannot comment on them.

 

Bpth the Corolla and Prius have Class 1 hitches and I never had any issues with the Thule. I have just upgraded to the Stickup 2.

 

René

[Ron Mc]

I decided to post since I saw the maker Softride come up, though my post won't relate to the original question.  But if you have a pickup, the Softride tailgate pad is the best thing since sliced and buttered bread.  $80 if you hunt around online - OK, e-trailer.  Have hauled one to five bikes across the back of my truck 

easy on, easy off, secure and safe.  When I first loaded bikes I couldn't believe this was enough, so a pair of kayak-hauling ratchet straps through the seat rails to further secure the bikes - but it wasn't needed - all it did was vibrate the straps.  I've found for each bike, two velcro straps to the headtube - one from each side, and one to each side is all I need to securely hold the bikes and I can drive like - well, like I normally do.  

[Bruce Baker]

Check out this KUAT rack.
http://kuatracks.com/products/bike/alpha/

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[Jim]

You might want to explore the possibility of a 2" receiver. That might give you a more solid base for the rack. I have a used one ( make unknown) but a good feature is the use of a bolt to secure the bike rack to the receiver.          Jim D       Massachusetts

[Brian Hanson]

Have you had problems with handlebars touching or making 3 bikes unworkable?  I read a review that states you can't fit 3 MTB flat-bar bikes without interference.   This one looks like a keeper if I can get at least 2 mtb and 1 road on it?

Brian

Seattle, WA

On Tue, Sep 25, 2012 at 8:13 AM, sancruz <georg...@hotmail.com> wrote:

I have the Saris Thelma 3 on the back of my VW wagon, and it works flawlessly!  The rack is easily removed from the hitch by unthreading a single bolt.  When its on the car, but not in use, it folds up 90 degrees to nest against the back of the car.  Its super simple to put the bikes onto the rack too - you just need to lift the bike up about 12+ inches into the trays and wrap a locking strap around each wheel for a solid hold.  You can get 3 bikes on the rack and never have to worry about the bikes rubbing on one another, and much better for fuel economy too!  

On Sunday, September 23, 2012 9:09:52 PM UTC-5, Scot Brooks wrote:

I'm going to be picking up a little Class 1 trailer hitch and bike rack for my Honda Fit, and I'm hoping for some advice. The hitch is easy, but the selection of racks is a little overwhelming, even with the reviews and all that.

I'm just wondering if anyone has specifically gone this route and found something they'd happily recommend. Thanks all!

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[Michael Hechmer]

After years of using a variety of roof top racks we bought a Saris T Bones Hitch rack for our Prius in '09.  We love it.  The entire rack easily slides off the hitch and it comes with a floor mount, so when the hitch is not in use it doubles as a bike rack in the garage.  Initially I had some problems with the sliding members being a bit tight and Saris replaced them, no questions asked.  They seem to be a really good company to do business with.  The hitch is just wide enough to get the rear lift open, but as mentioned, when not in use it's about 30 seconds to remove the whole think.  It comes with integrated locks for both the hitch and the bikes.

Michael