Hitch bike rack?

clarkenstein

clarkenstein

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
JORBA.ORG
After consciously dismissing all the puns that ran through my head about racks...

I need a hitch bike rack that fits 4 bikes. I have a 2” hitch.

After searching for all of ten minutes I immediately became overwhelmed and decided I should ask the peanut gallery. I need to be able to move 20”, Road bike, 26”, and 27.5+ Tire Mountain bikes with it. Sometimes all of those wheel sizes at the same time.

What’s your recommendation?
 
clarkenstein said:
After consciously dismissing all the puns that ran through my head about racks...

I need a hitch bike rack that fits 4 bikes. I have a 2” hitch.

After searching for all of ten minutes I immediately became overwhelmed and decided I should ask the peanut gallery. I need to be able to move 20”, Road bike, 26”, and 27.5+ Tire Mountain bikes with it. Sometimes all of those wheel sizes at the same time.

What’s your recommendation?
Click to expand...
New bikes with consistent wheel size. J/K Yakima holdup, I've used it for about 2 years and seems solid. A little heavy, the lighter version is too mucho dinero!
 
I was and am a big fan of 1up but after losing mine off the back road of somewhere in Chester, I couldnt bring myself to $$$$ on a new one then a fat kit. I ended getting rockymounts mono rail 2 bike rack for half the price. I am exceptionally pleased with the quality and no need for extras. All wheel size bikes fit. Your problem is 4 bikes and there only one is the upgrade version split rail rack but still less then a 1up 4 bike kit. Another option is Hollywood racks or north shore racks, extremely popular out west and amongst the gravity crew. I pretty sure @chemgirl has one and can offer her opinion and probably brought it from out west. Hope this helps....
 
I am happy with my Thule T2 Classic it’s very sturdy and I just got the Add-On to make it into a 4 bike setup for big road trips. FYI, I got the rack 1/2 off (HighGear going out of biz sale) and the Add-On cheap too. So I did not look at any other brands before buying.
 
I have a hollywood. It is a frame grabber (instead of tire grabber) and is 2/4 bike convertible. ou adjust the wheel holders any way you want. I now have 3 normal and 1 fat bike holder. Downsides: it is a beast, heavy; the set-up/takedown is awkward. the paint is peeling off and there is rust everywhere. OTOH it is so much steel not sure what the rust is doing to it. If I had to do it again I'd get something lighter and maybe not so bomb-proof.
 
Sorry I thought Hollywood made a rack like northshore

Northshore rack
475f00b48354daa6c0d2464037cd830f.jpg


Rockymounts splitrail
Rocky-Mounts-rack-review-split-rail-24.jpg
 
Thule will carry anything from a kids bike up to a fat bike, methinks.
I has the double. It heavy, but strong AF.
 
i gotz the kuat - $$$ tho. and heavy, like really heavy.
works great tho.
do a two bike hitch 1-up, and a couple on the roof..the 2 bike 1-up
will make lots of sense as the family goes in different directions on certain days.
and easier to deal with 1 bike if needed.
 
I use 3 racks on the daily:
Thule T2 XT Pro
Kuat NV 2.0
1up

Carry 20", 24", 29ers, and fatbikes any given day.

My nod goes to the Thule. Only two negatives are:
1) when in 4 bike mode, most fat bikes cant be in 3rd spot because derailleur hits arm of 2nd spot.
2) it's a bit of a PITA to swap between 2 and 4 bike modes... but I have the process down to less than 10 min.

The Kuat is much easier to swap between 2 and 4 bike modes, but:
1) is impossible to tilt down/up without someone to help
2) has noticeably more bars/seat interference of bikes VS the T2
 
I not trying to shit on anybody's rack but I guess I just did.

Thule and Yamika dont even compare rockymounts quality. You need to see first hand.
 
i heard that thule is going to put a rack out that is just like the 1UP, so you may want to wait for that if the 1up isnt your thanggg
 
I only have experience with the Thule XT Pro2 with 2" hitch that I bought off here from someone for a great deal, and I have only used it with 2 bikes so far, a few times with 2 MTB (26 and 29) and a few times with 2 road bikes.

When I was looking into a rack I had the same problem, totally overwhelmed and they are so much money brand new. I decided on this one and I waited patiently to get the one I have used for a decent price, but I guess you could try to catch a sale at some point.

Pros:
- as others have stated its built solid and the trays accept all kinds of bikes out of the box including fatbikes.
- no frame clamping its all from the wheels
- setup and operating it are not that complicated
- key locks the hitch to the car, and also the built in cable locks that come out of the clamping arm
- solid build and the bikes dont seem to move around a lot with any bad bouncing

Cons:
- the main 2 bike part is a bit heavy, but not terrible though I didnt really compare it to any others in person. I could see with the add on this thing will be a beast size wise.
- cable locks are not foolproof but I am sure no one on here would rely only on those and leave the bikes on the rack for any extended period
- With 2 MTB bikes I had some minor ground clearance issues on my 2013 Santa Fe when backing up into my driveway, but I have an aftermarket Curt hitch on there, and I probably went a little too fast and scraped it a little. Good thing they designed a little steel skid plate on the hitch just for that purpose so no damage.

Overall I would probably buy this one again if I had my choice, mostly because I got great customer service. the rack I got was missing one of the rubber guards from the rear wheel strap on one of the trays, and when I emailed Thule they sent it to me free with no questions asked!

Hope that helps and good luck.
 
I have the Thule XT Pro2 1.25" hitch mount rack (which is similar to the 2"). It fits all of my bikes - BMX to DH and the tire tray can accommodate a Fat Bike. I realize that this only carries 2 bikes but what I wanted to chime in about was their Warranty and customer service.

I did have some excessive rusting on the arm of one of the trays after only 2 years. Thule stepped up with their Warranty and not only replaced one tray but both trays - and very speedy responses/delivery. So I'm quite happy with their customer service and Warranty.
 
We have the Hollywood rack, 4 bike. I like that you can pull off a section and use as a 2 bike set up if needed. It is heavy and well built. We put anything from a 29", 27.5, 26, and 20 bike on it, and they stay put.
 
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