20 Best Bike Racks For Trucks (2023 Updated)

This is a departure for me, since the last several years I’ve been using a (very expensive) Yakima hitch-mounted rack to carry my bicycles with my truck. However, this year a new development foiled that plan – I bought a travel trailer, which kinda has priority on the hitch now.

Not wanting to throw my expensive 29’er into the bed of the truck with the ice chests and firewood when we go camping, I set out to find an alternative. This carrier kept coming up in every search that I did.

After deciding to give it a try, I’m happy that I did. My first impression is that it’s heavy – much more solid and substantial feeling than it appears just looking at the pictures. It seems to be well-made.

Already off to a good start. It’s also easy to install, and just cams right into place in the bed. I was worried about the amount of force required, thinking this was a good way to bow the sides of your bed rails out, but it really doesn’t take that much to lock securely into place.

If you set it back about five or six inches from the bulkhead of the bed, it gives you a place to slip your front wheel in for transport. I used some buckle-type hook and loop straps to secure the wheel to the horizontal bar.

For what it’s worth, my install vehicle is a 2016 Ford F-250. I secured the bike to the rack and left it in place for a day while I ran errands all over town, and the bike never budged a bit. This weekend, I’ll have two bikes on it for 6 days as we take the RV up to the northeast part of the state for Memorial Day Weekend.

That will be the litmus test, but I don’t expect any problems at all. (Interesting anecdote: The first time I went to this lake three years ago with my brand-spanking-new $400+ Yakima, the Yakima rack fell apart on the way.

) There’s one recommendation I would make for installation. Swagman supplies some pins that screw into the mounting feet of the carrier for cases where you have a slick drop-in bedliner. I don’t have a bedliner, but the location of the pins is thoughtfully just below the bed rail, so I suggest installing them anyway.

It provides a little extra security – if anything should go wrong, the pins will keep the carrier from getting up and off of the bed rail. And now for an important announcement: The manual says keep your fingers out of the way when you lock down the Swagman bar.

PAY ATTENTION. I got the web of my right thumb in the wrong place as I cammed that bar down, and it bit the holy *&^#%@ out of me. I’ve still got a big blood blister. Just keep your hands where they should be and it will be a happier experience!.

Great product, best bang for your buck! So I’ve used it like 5 times now. It was super easy to install, feels secure and I usually just leave it installed. I just took a trip from AZ to Bryce Canyon, to Yellowstone/Grand Teton, to Mount Rushmore, to Rocky Mountain National Park to Durango and back to AZ.

My bikes stayed secure the whole time, with all of that driving and bouncing on dirt roads I never once had an issue nor worried about my bikes coming loose. Works great in the back of my 2019 Ranger with 5′ bed with a slight angling of the rear bike tires.

I’m sure it will be perfect in any other truck with 5′ bed or longer. Does appear to adjust pretty wide as well. Solid!.

Very sturdy and secure bike rack. this is the second bike rack i buy from Swagman and I have to say they build quality functional racks. I’ve spent more money in the past on the recognized (Yakima, Thule) Racks only to find that the Swagman brand racks are just as good or sometimes better than higher end brands and Swagman is much more affordable.

This Rack i keep behind the seat of my truck ready for install at any moment. I use it on a 2011 Ford F150 short bed and it is perfect for it. the only thing to watch out for and I believe another reviewer mentioned it too is when you unfold it to install make sure you don’t catch your hand or finger on the fold-able hinge cause it will hurt.

other than that this rack is great, you feel like you’re getting a high end rack for a fraction of the cost.

We’ve used this rack through two seasons of kids MTB racing and family rides. One season on a pickup and one on a mid-size SUV. As mentioned in other reviews, it barely fits 4 bikes, and they really need to be just the right size and frame shape.

Probably 4 road bikes with flat top tubes fit best. In the real world, we barely squeeze 3 MTBs (S, M & L) onto it, but must carefully wrap forks and chainstays with homemade pool noodle foam and Velcro to prevent damage from vibration, etc.

And you need to buy Yakima’s top-tube bridge things if you have any kind of funky top-tube or tight frame size. Top-tube/bridge and seat post are held securely in place by Yakima’s provided loose plastic clips which can be easy to misplace.

The rack does swing away nicely from even a dropped pickup tailgate, but you must unscrew the swing securing bolt each time you need access to the rear and redo it once closed. Hitch fit is pretty good and seems more dependent on small hitch receiver variations than the rack itself.

Some minor fading of the plastic parts after 18 months outside. Metal parts are still glossy and nice. Overall, this is really an OK rack for occasional 3 bike family use, especially if you’re not fussy about your bikes.

A 3-4 bike family with higher end bikes will probably want to look elsewhere. I’m probably moving on to a 4-bike tray rack.

This is not a 4 bike rack. I tried to fit 4 mountain bikes on it and there is no way to get all 4 on. I was able to cram 3 bikes on, though I had to remove 2 of the front tires to do so. Also one of the bikes we had would not fit on the rack at all, even by itself.

It is a standard Trek mountain bike but I could not get the frame over the rack arms. I thought maybe if I added a top bar to the bike that would work, but it did not. The arms are too thick to fit. Actually it is the holder for the bikes that is too big to fit through the frame.

Overall this was a huge disappointment. On the plus side, the swing arm does work well. I did have to get a drop hitch extension to make it work on my Jeep though, because the spare tire would hit the rack.

If you are looking for a 4 bike rack, do not buy this one.

I liked my previous Yakima bike rack so much that I bought the same one when the old one got totaled in a car wreck. I have had the new one for six months. At around month three, the swinging arm stopped lining up with the stationary part.

It no longer clicks into place. So every time I need to open and close it, I have to unscrew and then re-screw the bolt in the back. This never happened in the 10 year I had the other one. The straps that hold down your bikes are very cheap and get stuck.

The newer ratchet button-thingies are at really awkward angles now. I am looking at Kuat bike racks now. Done with Yakima and Thule.

Over the years, we went from hitch-mounted hanging racks to Thule roof-tops to an older T2 (Classic) to this Helium Platform XT two bike 2 inch hitch model for our road and MTBs. Couldn’t be happier! Quick and easy operation, easier than the T2, and no straps to adjust or worry about losing or breaking.

Very easy hitch mechanism – no hitch pin to wrestle, and a built-in, secure locking system. Very simple bolt-up assembly of five major pieces with a handful of same size bolts and washers – main body for the hitch and four wheel cradles.

Instructions are very different – all photos, no words! Turned into a “What’s different about this picture?” game but otherwise easy assembly. Just started using the rack with our MTBs about six times (once a week) when one of the tire hold-down bracket joints came loose.

Seems like some kind of retaining clip came off a hinge pin, but no obvious way to open up the sealed wheel cradle assembly and fix it myself. I filled out an on-line warranty form about 10 days ago which was approved.

I am now happily waiting to receive a new wheel cradle assembly – yay, Thule! So thanks again, Thule, for a great, simple, fast hitch rack, and thanks for GREAT warranty service!.

I purchased this rack for my MTB from REI. It was beautiful looking and easy to assemble. Mounting it to the hitch was easy and secure. I had it from about 3 months and one day I went to mount my bike after a ride and as I pushed the arm over my front wheel after securing my rear wheel, I heard the plastic ratchet system give way a and my bike rolled off the back.

I took it to REI and they said it was a defective plastic ratchet strip and exchanged it for a new one. I can confirm the new way had no such issues. But when I went to take the rack off out of the hitch, it wouldn’t release.

The turn know completely dislodged and but the hitch wouldn’t budge. I drove it back to REI and they said something about a set screw had turned too far and wouldn’t loosen the wedge inside the hitch.

With some wiggle and pull for about 20 minutes, it finally released. I had to return that one now. I ended up losing all confidence in the rack and so I purchased a NV 2. 0 instead. I’m actually really disappointed that it didn’t work out because I really think the rack has so much potential.

For almost $900, you expect quality in materials. I feel lucky that REI has such a great return policy. I’ve had other Thule products and bike racks and they have been great so I am sad that this rack just wasn’t the same quality as I was accustomed to from the brand.

I purchased this rack brand new and found after building it that my 29 inch hard tail mountain bike could literally lift straight out of the rack with little to no effort no matter how i tried to position the arms.

I tried a handful of other bikes with mostly similar results. I purchased this based on my good luck I have had with my T2 rack for many years. But this rack disappointed in every possible way. I don’t think i have ever felt like I’ve wasted so much money before in my life.

When I called Thule to voice my concerns the customer service agent that took my call took no effort to remedy or help in any way. he just said things like “We designed this more with high end road bikes in mind not mountain bikes” long story short this product is a disappointment and the Thule T2 is a much better buy and Thule needs some better customer service people!.

I live on Vancouver Island where we receive a fair amount of precipitation and the bike is on the car all year round. I bought this rack a few years ago. The arms rusted very quickly and wrecked the plastic at the arms joints.

Yakima was good about the warranty claim and replaced the first set of arms, but the second set quickly followed in the same footsteps as the first. 4 years later and I’m in the market for a new rack.

It rusted very quickly and is now super wobbly. If you can take good care of this rack, it’ll last a long time. If you’re like me and this thing is a year-round necessity, look for something a little more rugged.

as a solution for people who don’t want the risk or inefficiency of a roof rack, the hitch rack is where it’s at! There are few racks that can do as much as this rack at this cost! I can throw my bike on the rack and secure it in less than 5 seconds and be on my way.

I love how quick and easy it is to use. The securement mechanism is very secure (driven it through some pretty rough terrain and smacked it on stuff and it keeps on kickin’) and fits pretty much anything but fatbikes.

The rack folds up quite easily and quickly when not in use with a couple quick release pins. The arms fold down and lock themselves into place which is really cool, and keeps the arms from swinging out and hitting your car.

You can also easily lock your bikes to the rack using a cable lock that pops out of the top of the securement wheel hook, but the cable is pretty thin and not long enough to secure more than the frame only.

I wouldn’t trust it alone for too long in bad areas. Minor quibbles are the redundant safety pin that reinforces the “rack folding mechanism” can work free on its own if it isn’t inserted entirely, and has a weird little cable that ties it onto the rack, that also can fall off altogether since it’s held in by a plastic plug that can just be pulled out.

While the loss of this part doesn’t really affect the rack’s performance and isn’t a structural component, it does cut down on some of the sway of the rack so I do like to have it. It just isn’t all that secure.

I lost that original pin but Yakima sent me a new one that I ziptied on. The other problem is that the cable securing this pin gets pinched into the hole that the pin goes into and eventually frays the cable.

This is just dumb engineering, but again, pretty minor. Other thing is that the rack does make some noise on the back of the car from swaying and bounching over stuff. It can’t really be helped too much since it is a hitch rack after all but some more stiffness built into the design would have been appreciated.

All in all, great rack for the cash! PROS: Durable, Stable, Lightweight, Easy to Install, Easy to Use BEST USES: Mountain Bikes, Road Bikes, Small Cars.

I bought this to replace one of my Audi (Thule) brand fork mount carrier as my new bike, a Trek FX2 Disc has thru-skew fork, which means leaving the wheels on without the ability to fork mount. Fits on the Audi cross bars with the T-slot just like a factory component as Thule makes all of the Audi stuff.

They even have their Audi branded version of this but I didn’t not order as it was unavailable/backordered everywhere. I have this on top of an Audi Q3 and I am 6′ tall so I can use it fairly well without issue.

I did notice other reviewers saying they have to tilt the bike away from them to mount/dismount and they can’t see where to guide the wheel straps as they are on the opposite side of the wheel, etc. I can already see the issue they are having without them even providing photos.

They have mounted the carrier on the WRONG SIDE of the vehicle. The carrier comes out of the box to be mounted on the passenger side of the vehicle, making the jaw opening and wheel straps face the passenger side which facilitates you NOT having to tilt the bike away from you to mount or fasten wheel straps out of your view.

The mouth of the jaw should always be facing the side of the car you are putting the carrier on so when you put the bike up on the carrier, tilting it away from you would have the frame rest into the jaw holding the bike up for you.

It is possible to install the carrier on the drivers side simply by reversing the wheel trays by removing the end caps and sliding the trays off and back on flipped around. Also on the underside of the arm base there is 2 locks to unlock with a flathead screwdriver or even a butter knife.

Then you can flip the arm assembly so the jaw will accommodate mounting a bike from the driver’s side, this is what I did. NO part of the mounting process should have you tilting the bike away from your reach, if it does, you have the carrier set up for the wrong side of the vehicle.

The pro ride XT is slick and holds onto the bike very tight. It is very easy to use when you actually read the instructions and put it onto the right side! Who knew?! And when lined up properly and tightened right it had no wobble cruising at 100km/h and 80km/h with winds, other than small shakes.

Very impressed. Unfortunately It seems THULE decided that security should cost so you have to but the locks separately which just added to the already huge price. But it should last me a long time. It comes with T-slot adapters and square bar too so it can be used on different rigs.

Also it grabs meaty MTB tires with room to spare. She’s a banger of a rig overall.

I’ve been using this bike rack for a couple weeks now for my full suspension mountain bike. Today I was driving through a local parking lot going 10mph, the pavement was slightly uneven which created an intense side to side sway of my mountain bike.

In a flash, my frame had forced its way out of the locking frame clamp, swung down and created a decent sized dent in my A pillar. Note: the frame clamp was 100% torqued down and locked. My bike was struggling to hold on via the straps that hold the wheels in place.

If this bike rack can’t even handle an uneven parking lot, how could it possibly secure a bike while going highway speeds. I absolutely DO NOT recommend this rack.

I chose this rack after it kept coming up as the best bike carrier in numerous online ratings. Despite the horrible assembly instructions, it does everything I want it to do but I have never used another tray-style hitch mount bike rack before to compare it to.

It does seem more sturdy and easier to customize than my previous hitch mount hanging-style bike carrier. I have two large mountain bikes and there is plenty of room between them now whereas it was hard to fit those same bikes on my hanging-style bike rack without piecing the puzzle together just right and they still tended to bang into each other along the ride.

As many other reviews have stated, the instructions to put it together are absolutely horrible so, I watched some unaffiliated person’s YouTube video to get better instructions. Many of the complaints I read in other reviews were really just people who didn’t understand how some part or function worked because the original instructions were so absolutely horrible.

Some functions, like the cable lock connections were not intuitive to me and the instructions were not much help so I too would’ve been angry and frustrated had I not found alternate instructions. Also, I’d like to mention that all my friends told me that it is way easier and faster to put your bikes on this tray-style of rack than on my hanging-style rack.

I have not found that to be the case. I mount the bikes in about the same time on either style but the rack itself is much heavier (50+ lbs. ) and takes some extra effort to mount onto my hitch and it also takes up more room in my garage.

Despite the extra effort needed to put the rack on, it definitely holds the bikes much sturdier and keeps them from banging into each other and the bonus integrated cable locks, although not completely theft-proof, definitely discourages any convenience thieves from snatching my bikes off while I run into the gas station to use the bathroom.

Did I mention that the instructions were horrible, though?.

If you have 2 bikes, want to get them on and off your vehicle quickly, and also want them to stay secure on your car without the rack jostling around when off-road, then i think that this is the best rack out there.

I have not tried other racks, but I have noticed how much otherws move around while people are driving, and that makes me soooo unsettled. I have dirven way too fast on dirt roads, taking corners with aggression, and i look in my rearview, and there is no jiggle.

I have a road bike and a mtb. The one piece with multiple molds front tire holder is really well made so i can put road or mtb on either one without any fussing. The rack is also designed to prevent over-tightening, which would hurt the raack and my wheel.

Speaking of wheels, it has wheels on it, so when i take the rack out of my garage to bring to my car, I can just roll it which saves my back. To sum it up, the rack is OBSESSIVELY designed. If you are a believer in the “buy once cry once” mantra, and geek out on features then I would recommend.

If you just want something for your old hybrid, then maybe consider something cheaper. Cons: when front tire bar is recessed, it sits over the handle to bring the rack up or down. I try to just leave the bar an inch above, and it stays where I put it.

This solves the problem, but I am a gear head so I complain 😉 It is also heavy, which I dont notice much, but its the price you pay for a lifelong tool. Lastly, it can be a tad awkward getting the rear wheel situated without putting it on top of the plastic buckle (the thing with the teeth.

) I also fear that this piece is just plastic, and gets pulled around pretty hard, so I fear it will break over time. Also, the little pad on itto protect the wheel is awkward to align bc the buckle moves as it gets tighter.

Maybe just a a longer protective piece would work better?.

This rack is awesome, it is extremely sturdy and secure. I had a hard time deciding between this one and the Kuat NV but ultimately chose this one. You can’t go wrong with either but this one felt more robust and better built.

There were two factors why I chose this one over the Kuat, one, the arms that hook on to the front tire on the Thule are very solid and stable. The Kuat has telescoping arms and at full extension the arms felt light and were quite wobbly.

Two, I really like the method that it mounts into the hitch on my truck. The only way to steal this thing is to tie a chain around it and pull it out with tremendous force, a la a winch or pulling it out with another vehicle chained to it.

The Kuat is secured to the vehicle with a locking pin, which can easily be removed with a small hammer. Once the pin is out the whole rack will just slide out. My only complaint is the price. $800 plus tax is way too expensive considering that the previous version, which is pretty much the exact same thing, was around $200 cheaper less than a year ago.

I understand inflation but come on man. But overall, this is the best rack on the market, and if you have bikes that cost in the thousands, it’s worth spending the extra money for peace of mind while going 75mph on the interstate.

Sturdy bike rack! Test drove and bikes stayed on very secure. Not very complicated to install but the directions were poor. Takes a few adjustments to get the bikes positioned correctly before locking in all the settings.

Once it was set up though, I could have the bikes on/off in a matter of seconds. Does have a locking feature for the hitch and each bike. Folds down to allow tail lift to open when bikes are off. Also, there is enough room to stand between the vehicle and bike to make unloading easier or getting stuff out to the tail lift window on our vehicle.

After looking all over for a trusted retailer who offered this rack, I pulled the trigger on this with my first order with Moosejaw. And, boy, I’m glad I did. First, the rack is tremendous — everything is quality on it.

Assembled in less than 30 mins. , and the thing is rock solid. I took it for a test ride without a bike, and then one with a cheapo from the back of the garage. No sway, no problems. Now, it’s transported my bike all over the Southwest.

It is well worth the money, and I would advise Moosejaw to restock it. Second, the service from Moosejaw was fantastic. I called them for more info about the company, the product, and their rewards program and was sold by their commitment to getting everything just right.

They seemed to have my demographic profile pegged — I’ve abandoned the grumpy world for one that is more fun. Life’s just too short. From a satisfied Mooser.

Quality build, no rattling or excessive wobbles. Good features, well thought out. Can drop my tailgate (F-150) without interference. Like the integrated locks on both hitch & mast clamps. Instructions really suck, but if you know which end of a hammer is the handle then you should be able to figure it out without too much cussin’.

4 out of 5 due to short term of actual use.

There are so many great racks these days it was a tough choice. Here’s some pros and cons from me having just installed and loaded this for the first time. * EXCELLENT: Easy to install. Unlike an IKEA bookshelf this unit is mostly pre-assembled.

Only 5 bolts were used. For some vehicle hitches a socket wrench is likely a better choice than a crescent wrench (which is what the instructions suggest). Written instructions and diagrams were excellent.

* EXCELLENT: Bikes seem very well secured, with tire-only contact. * GOOD: Looks nice. There are other racks that look more cool or high tech, but this thing looks polished enough, and much better looking than my previous rust bucket rack * GOOD: Integrated locking system.

It is so well integrated that at first I thought I was missing something “wait, wasn’t this supposed to have some kind of locking feature?” I found the cables after a moment and found them easy to use.

I would prefer it if they were a little longer and tougher looking (more visual deterrent to someone thinking about using bolt cutters). Also, I wish they were partially retractable for times you don’t need the full length.

making it harder to get a good angle with a grinder or cutter. GOOD: Isolating bikes from each other. Make no mistake it will always be a jigsaw puzzle fitting 4 full size bikes in such a small space (and to be fair I have only loaded two so far), but with the offset positioning of the wheel trays, etc.

I am feeling good about my chances. Also, once the bikes are clamped, they can’t really move at all so I don’t expect to see unexpected contact from swaying, etc. * MEH: Plastic wheel trays and straps feel vulnerable to breaking.

I am trying to take it easy on them after reading of others accidentally breaking them. * MEH: Easier to load than my last rack, but not as fluid to load as an upright system like Velocirax, Alta, Recon, etc.

You need a strong and long-limbed adult to lift each bike up and into place before securing. Since you are trying to hold the bike horizontally in the air and control both wheel positions at the same time, it feels more physically challenging than just hoisting a front wheel into a basket Velocirax style.

* MEH: The rectangular tubing shaft which goes into the receiver hitch didn’t fit tightly in my receiver, allowing for some wiggle with other the poor hitch bolt to handle potential swaying/twisting loads.

I think I will add one of those tightener accessories to lock down the interface more Once I have more experience with it I will update with any major new pros or cons.

Have owned this bike rack for 6 mos and very pleased with it. Load mostly all mountain bikes without issues once you figure out ideal loading order of your various bike sizes. My only gripe is the clunky threaded metal piece or bracket that goes inside the of the rack arm that enters the hitch on my vehicle.

Have to carefully place and slide in so that thread stays aligned to where bolt goes in, otherwise you have fish for it and pull it out again, reset it and try again. This could have easily been resolved by making a better fitting threaded bracket instead of having to fish for it if not aligned perfectly.

Otherwise as stated before, very pleased with the overall quality and steadiness. Haves used the locks as well. No issues. Would definitely recommend and would buy again especially since I am able to put on and take off fairly easily due to manageable weight of the rack which is below 80# compared to competitors.

If you are contemplating needing a solid rack that is adjustable and will carry a variety of sizes of bikes, then this is your answer. I replaced my Kuat that I had that was very clunky and a total pain to use with this Saris Superclamp EX.

The hitch mount is very straight forward and the mechanisms, mounting trays, and wheel clamps are very sturdy compared to others what I have used before. Once mounted to the vehicle the rack is super sturdy and does not move like some cheaper racks.

I am running a 29er, 27. 5, and a 24 inch bike, but it will also accomodate a smaller 20 inch bike as well. When you have it collapsed and upright, it is very easy to get it in/out of the hitch mounts to take it on/off.

This rack is worth every penny and replacement parts are readily available if needed as well but I haven’t had any issues with mine. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

The rack is super easy to use and the locking release handles on the arms are a nice touch. The product only came with one lock insert for the hitch pin, though. there were no lock inserts for the two release handles, those had to be purchased separately.

The rack is fairly stable, but we’ve had bikes roll over at highway speeds twice now (neither fell off the rack while driving, thank goodness), so we’ve taken to adding a ratchet strap or bungee to prevent the problem.

The strap stops the bicycle from moving backwards away from the vehicle while traveling, which I assume is due to the force of the wind traveling over and around the car. After doing so, we went for a couple of three hour drives on the interstate without a problem.

I can’t say if this is a design flaw or just something I’m experiencing due to either my bicycle build or a lack of expertise in mounting the bikes. The best thing about the rack is the ease of use – Petunia really enjoys being able to load the bikes by herself.

We’d definitely buy this rack again.

We own both the T2 Pro and the T2 classic. We bought the Pro first, but the expanding wedge that locks it to the receiver will not work with the 2. 5 inch receiver without an extension. This causes additional challenges.

The T2 works well with a threaded anti rattle hitchpin that extends through the 2. 5 inch hitch. It is solid and holds the bikes well with little movement. Each Shepards hook can be locked with a thule lock cylinder (you must purchase this separately, expensive but interchangeable).

The hooks hold the front tire well. Cons. the rack is heavy. The locks only hold the front wheel, not the rest of the bike. The tire mounted on the back of my wife’s Jeep prevents the rack from folding up.

While not as refined as the T2 Pro, I prefer this rack for its ability to positively secure the rack to a vehicle, and because it works with my 2. 5 inch hitch (common on 3/4 ton trucks).

The bike rack comes with wheels so I can roll it out of the garage or shed and not have to carry it to my car. I have the 1. 25 version which mates to my 1. 25 hitch receiver with no wobble. I didn’t need an extension which can introduce the wobble.

I have taken this on long highway speed drives with no issues. I wish the cable lock was about a couple of inches longer but other than that, it’s been a great experience. When you buy a hitch rack please do your own research for your specific bike fit and vehicle.

I’ve seen some reviews here complaining about incompatibility and the documentation is out there for you to determine if it will fit your car and if you’ll need an extension. For those complaining about having a hard time placing bike on this hitch rack then I don’t know what to tell you.

Good luck putting it on a roof rack or placing it inside your vehicle. This is as easy as it’s gonna get.

I am beyond disappointed in this product. First, the directions are hard to follow, and pictures make very little sense. It doesn’t fit correctly on my car. I drive a Subaru Crosstrek, and I carefully checked the Thule website to make sure it would, but the clips on the side keep falling off no matter how much I tighten them.

Even worse is that I can’t get my son’s bike to fit on this, so it’s completely useless. It’s absolutely impossible to get his bike on it as the arms are too wide for the frame of it. He rides a 24” mountain bike, so it’s not like he’s riding a little kid’s bike.

I’ll be returning this as soon as possible.

I just purchased this product and have spent the last two hours trying to find a suitable resting point for my small women’s bike. The arms are too far apart to fit the frame. The rubber straps require a weight-lifter’s strength to stretch.

The sway stabilizers are difficult to mount and apparently have to be unmounted before a bike can be put on or removed (I was only successful in getting one on and was able to stabilize the bike better by using extra straps).

There were several other issues with the rack itself as it related to my bicycle, but there were also issues with mounting it to my car (yes, I checked the Fit Guide). Even when pulled as tightly as I could manage, the straps were still loose.

The hooks do not fit easily into the gap between the trunk and the car body, although I had to open the trunk in order to get the bottom ones back out again. Nor am I impressed with the security of it.

It seems to me that a thief would take less than thirty seconds to remove bike, rack and all if your car was left unattended even briefly.

Thule documentation claims that the Thule Passage trunk mount bike rack can be mounted on the back of a 2013 XC70 wagon. However, there are plastic lenses running along the top 80% of the sides of the back of this wagon.

As a result, there is no where to attach the side straps. I have contacted Thule for advice. Meanwhile, the best that I can do is to use a homemade accessory strap as shown in the photo. Perhaps Thule should offer such an accessory strap.

Solid, quality rack. I’ve used it in-town and on the Interstate with just one bike and multiple bikes. The rack is a little heavy for my wife to mount to the vehicle by herself, but everything is very intuitive.

My only real complaint is that the hitch connector is a 1. 25 inch tube. A plastic adapter is provided for 2 inch hitches, but the connector is loose enough to allow more lateral movement than I expected.

(You’ll see the bikes swaying several inches left-right while driving). Because the 2 inch adapter is plastic, any shims will dig into the surface, probably making the problem worse over time.

This product got the job done with one gripe: we have a 2 inch receiver on our vehicle and this rack has a plastic adapter that wraps around the smaller shank for the smaller receivers. Because it is a plastic adapter there was a little play making the bikes a little wobbly in transit.

Like I said, it works, but at first I was a little concerned. The company could have made the adapter metal to avoid this. All in all, a decent product.

So far we used this for 4 mountain/hybrid bikes on a 7-hour round-trip drive. Easy to install on our Honda Odyssey. Our old rack was half the price, but it bent on the last trip. This rack doesn’t look like it would ever bend.

We didn’t even have to secure any wheels with bungee cords. the straps and arms were enough to hold everything steady. I don’t have a big garage so I like how this one stores easily; it’s the main reason I didn’t purchase a platform-style rack.

I’d buy this again.

The installation is simple but, it requires that the tire is against the tailgate to be most stable. When you tighten the rack against the tailgate with a 29″ or 27. 5″ tire it pulls the rack forward so the tire is not seated entirely in the tire track, reducing stability.

Because the track support is so narrow, the bike is secure but not stable. What I mean by that is, once the bike is secured in the rack it is not going to fall over but, it does move from side to side a great deal when going over speed bumps or on rough roads.

I purchased three of these for my truck (the most you can fit in a full size bed) and because you can install the bikes forward or backwards, they shouldn’t hit each other when rocking back and forth.

If they had a way to connect multiple Insta-gaters together it would help a great deal with the stability issue. I settled on the insta-gater because I needed a solution where the bikes are in the bed of the truck and out of the way when I am towing our camper.

As well something that is easy to install and remove while not taking up a lot of room when not in use. I had the Apex 4 bike rack for many years and the bikes would frequently get loose in the rack and fall into each other.

When my carbon fiber road bike got damaged beyond repair in that rack I decided it was time to finally get rid of it. The insta-gater is a much better solution than that rack. There is a way to lock the rack to your bed by looping your own lock through the rack and attaching it to your truck bed but, if you have multiple racks, you would need multiple cables.

Overall, this is a very good solution for truck bed racks BUT you should be aware that your bikes are going to wobble side to side a great deal when on rough roads.

I’ve purchased two of these previously. They are solid and work great. I did have a failure on one (the rivet attaching the tail gate plastic strap to the base pipe failed) more than 2 years after I bought it and Thule still replaced the whole unit for free.

Big props to them for standing behind their product. That said, I really struggle with the pricing. It’s a smart idea, but it’s some steel tubes, some plastic, a little foam. I cannot imagine the margin on it per unit.

So I feel like you are paying a premium for the brand name and because Thule is taking advantage of lifestyle of their typical customer.

I haven’t seen this mentioned in other reviews. My Large size, full suspension mtb frame, with 29 inch wheels, 2. 3 wide, doesn’t fit in the carrier at its maximum width. I made it work but doesn’t seems very secure, particularly with those cheap straps that were provided.

Can’t get tires to sit on rack correctly. just had to wedge it in but still doesn’t sit on the frame of the rack as it should. If I knew it wouldn’t fit a mtb with 29 inch wheels I would have bought something else, but now I have it and don’t want to deal with returning it so I will just make it work.

Definitely would recommend useing some type of ratchet straps or heavy duty bungee to secure it better to the rack. I wouldn’t feel comfortable driving down the road as it is. Bike would probably fall off the rack while going down the road if I just used what was provided with this product.

Well, I’m not terribly impressed and frankly surprised at the overall positive reviews. This is a typical Chinese mass produced, poorly constructed piece of junk. It came pre rusted, so that’s always convenient.

Assembly instructions are poorly printed, with just a blown up diagram, which actually would have been fine if it wasn’t a 4th or 5th generation of a bad copy. A picture would have been more appropriate.

The section that goes into the receiver on the hitch is very sloppy, with lots of wobble (nothing else I use the hitch for does this) which will undoubtedly crack from metal fatigue, or the welds will crack.

The pieces of velcro to hold the bike tires to the upright column don’t ad any integrity to the rack and the bike flops back and forth. Using the velcro to attach it too the frame is far more secure.

Bottom line, I does function, although poorly. I reserve 1 star reviews for items that are not what are advertised, or do not function as designed. I would never use this for any distance over a few miles, which is ultimately all I’ll use it for anyway, and ultimately, it does function so I’ll give it 2 stars.

Spend the extra money on a real bike rack manufactured by one of the larger well known brands. I’m not surprised at anything from Walmart being of inferior quality, I am however surprised at the overwhelming positive reviews of this product, which tells me that the company is probably offering coupons for positive reviews, or some other underhanded approach at marketing.

Bought this a while ago, and finally got to use it. Brought two bikes from Maine to Florida. Not difficult to put together. Took a little while, but was able to do it in the livingroom and carry outside when done.

Seems stable. The bikes never budged. I did use the velcro that came with it. The pieces are long and wrap around a few times, but I did buy some extra straps and used them also. The only thing I question is why the part that goes into the hitch is so long.

This makes the bikes sit quite far out away from my van. I’m considering having someone cut it to be a bit shorter and drill a new hole so that I can slide it in further to the hitch receiver.

Good: Looks stylish (my opinion, subjective) Holds the bike very well if used correctly. Fast bike install ONCE you get used to it. Bad: If you don’t have a Thule set of cross bars you need to buy T Bolts for your model unless you use the over clamps.

The over clamps can and probably will scratch your cross bars. The T bolts for my car that Thule recommended had to come from a dealer in Europe and could not be shipped to the US. I will keep looking and hope to find them.

I am using the over clamps at the moment that are all metal, for a metal on metal fit. I am not sure why the insides are not lined with a non marring material like rubber. It is possible for the two bars to not click together which could lead to a less secure holding of the front wheel.

I double checked and found this condition and reinstalled. Very important to listen for the click. If a person is in a hurry or in a loud area its possible to install the bike incorrectly. Best to visually check to assure the pin is in the groove/ Takes a little getting used to.

Not intuitive. Easy once you get used to it. Not the easiest to get your bike into but to be fair This is my first roof rack. My SUV is not tall but I need a step ladder. The lock for the bike to the rack needs to be purchased separately.

The lock for rack to the cross bar needs to be purchased separately.

The rack works well for me and my road bike and I love not having to take the front wheel off to load it. Personally, I don’t understand the purpose of having a roof rack but also needing to take the wheel off and put it in your car.

Oh well, I really like this rack as it’s easy to install and use but when I came back to buy another one, I noticed that the price seems to be much higher than it was when I bought my first one. I bought this while on sale and used something like $40 in REI rewards which meant I got this rack for under $200 – a steal, I know! BUT even without my points, it was close to $200 on sale and I think around $250 MSRP so I was pretty shocked when I saw it’s around $100 more expensive for the exact same rack.

I was pushing off adding a trailer hitch to my car because I didn’t want to make the investment in the hitch and the rack, but with how expensive roof racks are becoming, it’s pushing me further in that direction.

At the end of the day, I’m sure Thule has their reasons for the price increase, whether it be material costs, paying employees fairly, or whatever it actually is, but 33% or so seems like a lot. I’d still recommend this rack though.

If you’re anything like me, you’ll expect as rack like this to be intuitive and more-or-less “just work”. The good news is that it does work very well (with one small modification that I’ll explain), but it does require developing some “muscle memory”.

The directions don’t help much, so let me advise you: (1) extend the forward arm at the required setting to accommodate your wheel; (2) use two arms to grasp the bike and hoist it up onto the rack, ensuring first that rear wheel/tire nestles into the track and then front wheel also nestles in the bottom track, but also rolls into the center of the arm/bracket extending forward; (3) once that front wheel is appropriately aligned and nestled the bike will essentially stay still, allowing you to complete the mount without worrying about the bike falling; (4) strap the rear wheel by inserting the plastic, rubbed strap and ratcheting it down; (5) raise the second arm that wraps the rear part of the front wheel and pull it up until it loosely stays in place [you will ratchet it in place next step]; (6) rotate the lever at the base of the front wheel and push the rear arm up until the latches at the intersection of the forward and rear arm engage and hold [this is the piece that took me a while to figure out].

Once you do that you’re mostly good. I’ve found that securing an additional line around the forward and rear arm does provide necessary, additional tension.

At first glance the product looks awesome. But after useing it the bike carrier just can’t hold up to daily use. The thumb knobs to tighten the tire stiru and the arms that go over the bike constantly loosen up leaving your bike flopping.

On the first trip this resulted in the bike flopping and wearing thru the foam that protects the bikes and leaving both bikes scratched up from metal to metal. I have tightened them so tight I broke one thumb screw off and still they come loose.

All this can be fixed by having some welding done on carrier but then it will no longer be adjustable. The tire stirrups are always sagging down and loose and over all after 15-20 miles down the rd your bike looks sloppy on the rack.

I have not contacted anyone from the company about these issues yet but hope to at least get a new thumbscrew to replace the one that I broke. It is reasonably priced and folds up great but other than that not much good to say about it.

My wife & I purchased two E-Bikes for our 37th Anniversary; then we began our search for a 2-Bike rack. It was then that we realized our bikes were just over 55lbs each & should have a more substantial rack than the standard bike racks that Ive looked at.

Wow! Did we get STICKER SHOCK! To purchase a Bike rack that could handle 150lbs or more are outrageous! Most All of the Name brands that I was familiar with are $600 & up! You literally can spend All you want too for a heavy duty bike rack.

I am so glad we found the Guide Gear Fat Tire 2-Bike Rack. For a fraction of the price it does a great job hauling/ holding securely our e-bikes. We paid just over $200 which included shipping & sales tax since we live in Arkansas.

If I was going to be real picky, I would like for the tire cradles to be slightly narrower; however, it is a Fat Tire Bike rack. Nevertheless, it holds our e-bikes tight. We have used 4-5 times & would highly recommend it.

This bike carrier is designed so it can be assembled as a single bike carrier or a 2 bike carrier. I began with it as a single bike carrier and the square tube plugs directly into the receiver without the extension pieces and all that extra weight.

also, as a single is several inches lower. I’m pulling a trailer so I need a bifurcator in the receiver. The Lower hole is for an extension and the hitch ball and the upper hole is for the bike rack.

I had done this before with the Allen 4 bike carrier. This design supports the wheels rather than hanging the bikes by the frame top tube. with a heavy fat tire , or worse an ebike this is much easier to load the bike on.

Lift the front wheel into its wheel support loop, then lift the back wheel onto it support loop. with the frame hanging design the entire bike weight has to be lifted at once. Also my ebike is a step through, so there is no upper tube to hang it from.

tThis carrier is rated for 200# so that is enough to carry two 70# ebikes with capacity to spare. This carrier is 55% the cost of the Amazon versions and has more weight capacity. The one down side is the plastic topped “wing bolts”.

cannot be tightened enough by hand to secure the wheel support loops in place or the inverted “vee” frame holder. This 71 year old had to put a wrench on to wing to tighten them adequately, and the plastic wing was obviously distressed.

It didn’t break. Might have been better to just leave the hex bolt heads exposed.

Good quality parts, arrived quickly. Packed OK, disassembled, all hardware and simple instructions included. Heavy square metal tubing for all structural parts, brackets for tires are bent metal rod.

Straps to secure bikes are adequate, but I replaced with better and with different lock (my choice). Could use some more padding to minimize scratching bikes, but that’s easy to add (I use a swimming pool noodle on the upright of the rack).

All in all, very good quality, I am very pleased, would buy again — works great for my needs, and a good value. If used as originally designed, I would expect rocking back and forth around the hitch post – to prevent this, use a bungee to hold both bikes down on one side to minimize bouncing.

How I’m using it: I put two of these racks back-to-back to hold 4 bikes upright in a pickup truck bed with a bedliner, and slide the rack toward the tailgate to simplify removal. I needed one piece of square tubing to join the two racks – without modifying the racks.

I can still use both racks separately as originally designed.

The price gives you all the necessary pre-cut metal pieces and hardware to assemble a very lightweight bicycle carrier (total safe carrying weight of 50lbs, more than enough for two average bicycles).

There were some who left negative reviews because they experienced the bolts coming loose while going down the highway, and others who said they experienced crushing the thin metal by just tightening the bolts.

Having been a mechanic for over 30 years I can say that I have never experienced a PROPERLY TORQUED lock-nut shaking loose from a bolt, and the metal is plenty thick to be able to properly tighten the bolts without crushing the metal.

Anyone who does so had to REALLY put the muscle to the bolts! That being said, the directions give very little information as to HOW to assemble the carrier, but for anyone with average mechanical skills, a few wrenches, a hacksaw, and a few extra pieces of metal, you can create a carrier sturdier than those priced over $300! The extra materials I used were: six feet of 3/4″ x 1/8″ aluminum bar stock (10$), six 1/4″ x 2″ bolts and lock-nuts ($2), 4 steel post caps ($3), and sixteen inches of 3/4″ square tubing ($4) for a total of $19, all from Ace Hdw.

I used the post caps to keep the bike tires from sliding off the tubing, the 3/4″ tubing fortwo 8″ cross braces, and the bar stock for the main braces. The pictures will show the rest. I had about 2 hours into the project and I now have a very sturdy bicycle carrier capable of SAFELY carrying around AT LEAST 100lbs of evenly distributed weight over rough roads.

I weigh 170 lbs and I stood on one end and the carrier did not budge! However, if you factor in going over rough roads, railroad tracks, etc, any carrier can fail if overloaded. Remember. it’s a BICYCLE carrier, not a cargo carrier.

So be safe and have fun!.

Material of construction is actually heavier than expected. This is not a light unit. Because of foldablity there is play that leaves components sag out of parallel and move back and forth. The upright play leaves the bikes flop back and forth.

The latches on the upright have teeth that are suppose to engage and lock with a pin but good luck with that. There is a second slide lock though to secure. In my opinion the tire hoops should be flipped to allow deeper seating of the tires.

Of course the hitch adapter leaves room for improvement but I have encountered the same thing on others. If you don’t need the adapter it should be better. For the money it is a fair buy. I do recommend this for ease of loading especially the outside bike.

You can lift the front tire in first than the back tire and the post stops bike from falling forward. The inside bike is a little tricky having the potential for the bike to fall into the car.

This bike rack was perfect for what I needed. I bought a 2008 Subaru Impreza last summer and always struggled to slide my bike into the trunk and had to use a bungee cord strapped to my passenger seat to keep it from falling out when accelerating up a hill.

(I never had this problem with my 1999 VW Golf as I was able to slide my bike into the hatchback completely and close the hatch. ) Finally rolled up my sleeves and installed a hitch and the T1 bike rack on the weekend.

Everything went smoothly for the most part. This bike rack feels remarkably strong, is rugged, and looks like it will maintain good appearance for many years with its thick black coating. Securing my bike was quick and easy.

The rack didn’t wiggle much when I took it for a test drive with the bike attached. I tried sudden panic stops and maneuvers as if to avoid a dangerous pothole and the bike rack held the bike just fine.

My only complaint was steps 4 and 5 in the instructions. For someone such as myself who has never owned or installed a hitch mounted bike rack before, I had trouble figuring out exactly how and where to mount the assembly onto the rotating arm.

There is a label indicating ideal horizontal placement, but nothing for vertical placement. The instructions only have a drawing indicating that you should stay above the THULE label. Well I wasn’t sure how far above, so I left it loose at first, and in trying to figure out the ideal height, the assembly slid down and, without me realizing at first, scraped off half of the T in THULE.

I only noticed once I rotated the arm up. After this, I determined that the ideal height for my car (so that nothing will touch the rear bumper) is to put the assembly as high as possible, flush with the handle.

I have a professional label machine so I can print another label that says THULE, but it was annoying not to have a minimum vertical placement notch in the metal that could have prevented me from scuffing up THULE in the first place.

Almost lost my Mate X bike on the highway! The front tire holder is not deep enough and strong enough to hold a 60lbs fat tire bike!!! Front tire just kept slipping out of the sleeve. After about 15 miles I literally watched my bike flip backwards on the rack in the rear view mirror at 65mph on the highway.

Thought that was it for the bike. Rear wheel strap and the locking cable on the rack prevented the bike from falling off the rack completely, but my fork got scratched pretty badly. Can’t imagine what the driver behind me must have felt at that moment.

Had to stop and readjust the bike 5 times after that during a 100 mile trip and felt like the bike can fall backwards at anytime! If you getting this rack to transport heavy electric fat tire bikes – stay away!.

The rack is easy to assemble and road bike loads easily. Rear wheel attachment is at the very end of the bar and I can see my rear wheel in the side mirror more than I can see the front wheel. it’s just visually off.

I think my wheel base is 45″ and the max is -/+50″ (I think). Easily folds up and down for hatch/trunk access. I have a 2″ hitch so the adapter is necessary but is also secure. Cost is more than other single racks but it’s stable and easy to use – all things considered I’m fine with the price point.

This is a solidly constructed hitch mounted bike rack. It holds up to 2 bikes and folds for storage. Initial assembly was intuitive (didn’t require following instructions) and only took about 5 minutes from unboxing to connecting it to my hitch.

It has ratcheting clamps to keep the bikes in place. This works, but I added straps (the idea of watching either or both of my bikes bouncing down the road behind me after I have hit a bump is terrifying).

There is a little bit of a squeak/rattle noise introduced when the rack is connected to the hitch, but this could easily be addressed with a hitch clamp. Note: This rack does not pivot outwards to allow access to a tailgate or rear hatch (it has to be removed for access).

When not in use, the 2 “wings” of the rack (the parts that cradle the bike tires) fold upward, however, the rack does not pivot, slide, or otherwise change position to reduce how far it sticks out behind the vehicle (this can be inconvenient if you have space issues where you park).

Bottom line: I would recommend this rack to anyone that is looking for a solid, no frills method for transporting 1 or 2 bikes.

I am pleased with this bike rack. I had a 1. 25 inch hitch receiver mounted on my 2011 Honda Fit and this bike rack worked great with that set-up. we took a long trip from Phoenix to the Redwood Coast of California and we took along one bike on this bike rack.

The bike was secure on the rack. As the trip went on we became quite confident that the rack was securely holding the bike. We used some velcro straps to make the bike extra secure on the rack when we were on I-5 going 75mph.

it was pretty easy to take the bike off and put back on. I am a 63 year old lady. the center post on the rack can be lowered so once the bike is off the rack i can lower the post and open the hatchback no problem.

I put orange tape on the outer ends of the rack so we wouldn’t hit our shin on it. I got the hitch from eTrailer and had it installed on the Honda Fit at B and M Bumpers in Glendale, Arizona (definitely recommend B.

I have the big name brand but my bike hangs and if I’m hauling 2 bikes they may tap each other in transit. I love this rack because the tires seat snugly in the tire holders. You push the bar down to secure and stabilize the bike and your done.

I had issues with the instructions and emailed the Swagman folks and they were extremely patient, understanding and helpful. All my issues were resolved. I even bought the locking cable and hitch lock, for added security when traveling.

I had a sway in the rack and heard others complain of this. But I found a screw that needed tightened at the hitch. They informed me to check all screws periodically. Good advice. It’s still easy for me to access the hatch of my SUV once I remove the bike and lower the bar, without removing the entire rack.

Very pleased!.

I purchased this unit for an ebike (Trek Allant +7). Due to the weight of the bike, the presence of fenders and the easy-entry configuration of the frame (downtube only), very few bike racks were compatible.

No assembly is required on the rack and it comes with locks for both bikes and the hitch. It is fairly light, folds in a small package for storage and has a ramp to roll the bike. It has the expanding feature in the hitch receiver that prevents wobble and noise.

The locking mechanism however for the bikes and hitch is of an older generation, goes back to 30 years ago, at least. It disengages the handle from the nut, preventing theft, but does nothing to positively secure the nut in place against vibration from the road.

This has to be done by applying a certain pre-load which is ok for the hitch portion, but not recommended on todays thin aluminum or carbon frames. So you have to tighten enough to prevent losing your bike on the road but not too much so as to not damage the frame.

My old Thule roof rack had this type of lock and for sure I had the unpleasant surprise of arriving home one day with the nut loosen. Luckily the bike had not fallen sideways from the roof but I was not far for from this happening.

The Big Mouth generation of roof racks that followed solved that issue with a positive locking mechanism. It is a sad thing that Thule put back in service here some hardware from 30 years ago that had known flaws.

The second serious issue with this bike rack is that it is difficult on some bike configuration to secure the bike frame with the top mounting soft jaw. It requires a lot of adjustment and swapping of the short arm position with the longer arm position, and moving the bikes back and forth, to reach a configuration that works.

Most of the time, the jaw will end up grabbing the frame sideways, not perpendicular, and the grip will be far from optimal, having edges instead of surfaces contacting the frame, which makes you want to apply even less pressure to the jaw in order not to dent the frame, with an increased risk of loosening on the road.

It is actually so time consuming that the only bike I put on the rack is my wife’s ebike, on which the jaw grips perfectly, and I keep putting my bike on the roof because it is quicker to do so, and I feel safer having it there.

I am not surprised to read the comments from people on the Thule site that they have lost their bike with this rack. It is not a mistake proof bike rack and I can see why this happens. Nothing beats the reliability, universality and ease of use of a Big Mouth rack, if only they could adapt it to a hitch mount, and make it accept big tires.

Bottom line, this rack is good but not good enough, Thule you can do better and re-commissioning old hardware that had known issue 30 years ago is a big no no. Good corporations are those that design with best practices that are continuously updated based on their lessons learned.

You have not done so here. You need a version 2 of this rack, ASAP.

I purchased this bike rack in October of 2021. On 10/25/21 I posted the following review on the REI website where we purchased the bike and also on the Thule site. Thule refused to publish my review indicating it did not meet their criteria.

Instead they pretended to work with us, asking us to submit proof of purchase and the receipt for repair of our bike due to the faulty control arms. They promised to send us a new arm and to activate our case.

We have heard nothing. Please read my original politely stated, respectful but rejected review: Caution! We have had nothing but trouble with the control arms that hold the bikes upright. Our first incident occurred while highway driving when the longer control arm came off and the bikes fell backward, dragging on the ground at 60mph.

The cost to fix the handle bar, brake level assembly and replacement mirror was over $200. We assumed the fault was ours, thinking maybe we had not completely fastened the control arm to the bike bar.

After this incident we were very careful to fasten the control arm securely and added nylon rope as an additional precaution. Our most recent incident involved removing the shorter control arm and placing it in our trunk where we keep the arms when not in use.

Today when we retrieved the control arm there was a part missing. The hinged clamp must have come apart and fallen off. We found it but it had been run over and destroyed. We called Thule customer service and spoke to a helpful gentleman who will order a replacement part for the arm but he cannot guarantee when it will arrive.

We have had Thule products in the past and have always been satisfied, however, we will have to delay our planned travel and no longer have any trust in this bike carrier. I have never written a negative review before, but Ido not wish this problem on another customer.

I was told this was the Roll Royce of bike racks. Its very good, but not perfect 1. The wheels are a big help in moving i when it is closed, but the handle is so low, its awkward to lift the end up to roll it.

I end up having to carry it. 2. The automatic pin insert is a great idea. I no longer have to fisget with the insertion of the rack to align it to the hole in my hitch. The problem is, the pin is on a spring, so when I want to remove the rack, I need to hold the pin open and pull on rack at same time, which is difficult.

If you dont hold the pin, it snaps back in. 3. for the bikes I have, it is sometimes tricking to attach the long removable arm and find a place to attach it to the front bike. I always get grease from the bike chain on my hands 4.

This is not a problem, but a concern. My old rack had a steel pin I put in the hitch hole that held the rack on. This as I say was difficult at times, but I had peace of mind that it was secure. The method this rack uses of expanding the piece inside the hitch does work, but I constantly worry about whether it is strong enough.

5. The 2 arms that hold the bikes to the rack, need to be turned until you hear a click. This takes some strength to get it that tight. 6. There is an included ramp for anebike that is stowed inside the rack.

There is no way to secure that piece and anyone can lower the rack and remove it. I keep it separate from the rack. The bikes are otherwise easily but on. It is a good size and easy to store. The arm that inserts into the hitch folds up unlilke most racks which is great for storage.

This is my first bike rack and was excited to get this tray style rack because these types are suppose to offer better stability and ease of use. The metal looks good and the attachments seem fine. However, It is so sloppy.

Every joint/connection has WAY to much play and literally flops around. You cannot get it tight enough. I have a 2″ receiver and it comes with an adapter to make the rack “work/fit”. Even here its a sloppy fit and has way to much play.

It sways up and down, left and right. I use 3-4 tow ratchets in addition to make it stable enough to use. I can’t wait to upgrade. Horrible purchase, better off saving money and upgrading.

This is a great rack. Exactly as described. HOWEVER, be aware that a step thru frame or a ladies bike will probably require a bar across the top of the bike (going from the handlebar stem to seat post) as the arms do not go low enough to hold the bike in place.

This is a very easy fix and well worth the effort. You can find a bar adapter for around $20. The tire holders easily adjust to hold any length bike. The hook arms ratchet up and down the post and securely lock in place.

The best bicycle rack for the price on the market. Very sturdy! If fact, when the rack was not in use we were hit in the rear by a careless driver. Because of Curt’s hardened steel construction we suffered very little damage to our SUV.

So impressed I bought another Curt rack to replace the damaged one.