Tandem Cycling - Tandem Hitch Rack

I'm loking at buying a rack for a new tandem. I'm looking for a hitch rack rather than a roof bike rack. Does anyone have any recommendations for tandem hitch racks and/or what to stay away from?

Cheers

Tony

I got ours home from the shop on a regular Saris hitch rack, just took off the wheels. It was a little long but for now its good enough.

We have a Thule hitch rack I'll put the tandem on in a pinch. The wheels hang past the car so best to remove them if you are driving any distance at all. I would at least get a double arm rack, I don't think a single arm would handle the size and weight very well.

John

I'm loking at buying a rack for a new tandem. I'm looking for a hitch rack rather than a roof bike rack. Does anyone have any recommendations for tandem hitch racks and/or what to stay away from?



If money is no object, check out the Draftmaster hitch rack for tandems and recumbents, available from Tandems East and Precision Tandem, and others, for $625 or so. It appears to be the only hitch rack designed specifically for long bikes.

If money is really no object, buy a long mini van and garage your mount everywhere -- out of sight, out of mind.......

We carry our tandem on a Saris T-rax sport hitch rack. We got the two bike model so it doesn't have too many tie downs to get in the way. We have to take off the wheels, and watch the mailboxes on the side of the road, sticks out just a bit on either side of our Saturn.

We've used a Draftmaster hitch rack now for two years. Worth every penny IMHO. Hauled our recumbent tandem all over Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. We use the hitch at least twice a week; one person can load and unload the big bike with ease.

We have used two different hitch racks for our santana. The first used a single support on the top tube. Althugh it worked OK i worrided that it might damage the top tube. I went to one with two supports from Performance ( various mfg make variations) in an effort to protect the TT. Both have worked.

I have your basic four bike Thule rack and I've traveled thousands of miles carrying two tandems at a time, and we NEVER remove the either wheel and never have a problem. The difference between the wing span of the two side view mirrors on the vehicle versus the length of the tandem is, in my opinion, negligible.